Émile Durand (; 16 February 18307 May 1903) was a French musical theorist, teacher and composer. He was better known for his theoretical writings than for his compositions.

Biography

Émile Durand was born in 1830, at Saint-Brieuc,

Côtes-d'Armor The Côtes-d'Armor (, ; ; br, Aodoù-an-Arvor, ), formerly known as Côtes-du-Nord ( br, Aodoù-an-Hanternoz, link=no, ), are a department in the north of Brittany, in northwestern France. In 2019, it had a population of 600,582.

, in the

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

region of France, and moved south with his family to Montpellier when he was 12 years old. He entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1845 at age 15, in the class of

Napoléon Alkan Napoléon Alexandre Alkan, born Napoléon Alexandre Morhange (2 February 1826 – August 1906), was a French composer and music teacher. Career Alkan was born in Paris, one of six children of Alkan Morhange and Julie Abraham. The family was Jewis ...

(brother of Charles-Valentin Alkan). François Bazin and

Fromental Halévy Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy, usually known as Fromental Halévy (; 27 May 179917 March 1862), was a French composer. He is known today largely for his opera ''La Juive''. Early career Halévy was born in Paris, son of the cantor ...

were among his other noteworthy teachers. In 1853, he won the second Grand

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

with his cantata ''Le Rocher d'Appenzell''.Amis et Passionnes de Pere-Lachaise, ''DURAND, Emile (1830-1903)''
/ref> He joined the conservatoire as a teacher of music theory and harmony, succeeding his own teacher Bazin in 1871. His pupils includes

Gabriel Pierné Henri Constant Gabriel Pierné (16 August 1863 – 17 July 1937) was a French composer, conductor, pianist and organist. Biography Gabriel Pierné was born in Metz. His family moved to Paris, after Metz and part of Lorraine were annexed to Ger ...

, Claude Debussy,

Camille Erlanger Camille Erlanger (25 May 186324 April 1919) was a French opera composer. He studied at the Paris Conservatory under Léo Delibes (composition), Georges Mathias (piano), as well as Émile Durand and Antoine Taubon (harmony).Jacobshagen, Arnold: " ...

and Arthur Goring Thomas. Durand favored writing popular songs (

chanson A (, , french: chanson française, link=no, ; ) is generally any lyric-driven French song, though it most often refers to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval and Renaissance music. The genre had origins in the monophonic so ...

s) and art songs (

mélodie A ''mélodie'' () is a form of French art song, arising in the mid-19th century. It is comparable to the German ''Lied''. A ''chanson'', by contrast, is a folk or popular French song. The literal meaning of the word in the French language is "melod ...

s), although he also produced a few lighter works for stage early in his career, including the opéra comique ''L'Elixir de Cormelius'' in 1868, and the operetta ''L'Astronome de Pont-Neuf'' in 1869. He remained attached to the region of his birth throughout his life. As a member of cultural and social groups such as "The Bretons de Paris," also called "''La Pomme''", he participated in their Celtic dinners, cultural and musical celebrations. The influence of his musical colleagues

Louis-Albert Bourgault-Ducoudray Louis-Albert Bourgault-Ducoudray (2 February 1840 – 4 July 1910) was a French Breton composer, pianist, and professor of music history/theory at the Conservatoire de Paris as well as a Prix de Rome laureate. He was born at Nantes and died at ...

Guy Ropartz Joseph Guy Marie Ropartz (; 15 June 1864 – 22 November 1955) was a French composer and conductor. His compositions included five symphonies, three violin sonatas, cello sonatas, six string quartets, a piano trio and string trio (both in A minor ...

, and Louis Tiercelin, members of the Breton Renaissance Movement, is particularly evident in his ''Chants d'Armorique'' composed in 1889. At the request of the publisher Leduc, Durand spent the last twenty years of his life writing his major theoretical works for which he is best remembered: ''Traité d'harmonie théorique et pratique'' (1881), ''Traité d'accompagnement pratique au piano'' (1884) and ''Traité de composition musicale'' (1899). Émile Durand died in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine on 6 or 7Answers.com, ''Emile Durand''
/ref> May 1903, and he was buried at

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (french: Cimetière du Père-Lachaise ; formerly , "East Cemetery") is the largest cemetery in Paris, France (). With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Notable figure ...

in Paris.

Selected compositions

*''L'Elixir de Cormelius'', Opéra comique, 1868 (libretto by

Henri Meilhac Henri Meilhac (23 February 1830 – 6 July 1897) was a French dramatist and opera librettist, best known for his collaborations with Ludovic Halévy on Georges Bizet's ''Carmen'' and on the works of Jacques Offenbach, as well as Jules Massenet' ...

and Arthur Delavigne, f.p. Fantaisies Parisiennes, 3 February 1868) *''L'Astronome de Pont-Neuf'', pochade musicale, 1869 (libretto by

Jules Moinaux Jules Moinaux, real name Joseph-Désiré Moineaux or Moineau"Moinaux or Moineau? The surname appears never to have been finally determined. Joseph-Désiré's father enrolled his son as Moineau but himself signed Moinaux. An uncle, born in 1826, is ...

, f.p. Variétés, 18 February 1869) *''Sourires de Bretagne'', fantaisie for oboe, violin, and clarinet, 1888 * numerous songs, including the well-known composition ''Comme à vingt ans'' (1858), sung by

Théodore Botrel Jean-Baptiste-Théodore-Marie Botrel (14 September 1868 – 28 July 1925) was a French singer-songwriter, poet and playwright. He is best known for his popular songs about his native Brittany, of which the most famous is ''La Paimpolaise''. Durin ...

* works for piano.

Selected writings

Treatises on music theory and harmony: *''Traité d’harmonie théorique et pratique'', 1881 *''Traité d’accompagnement pratique au piano'', 1884 *''Traité de composition musicale'', 1899 *''Solfège élémentaire'' *''Solfège melodique'' *''Traite de transposition''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Durand, Emile 1830 births 1903 deaths French music educators French composers French male composers French music theorists Prix de Rome for composition Conservatoire de Paris alumni Burials at Montmartre Cemetery French male non-fiction writers 19th-century French male musicians 19th-century musicologists