Émile Louis Fortuné Pessard (29 May 1843 – 10 February 1917) was a French composer. Pessard was born and died in Paris. He studied at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

, where he won 1st prize in Harmony. In 1866 he won the

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 A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...

''Dalila'' which was performed at the Paris Opera on February 21, 1867. From 1878 to 1880 he was inspector of singing at Paris Schools, in 1881 he became professor of Harmony at the Paris Conservatory. His students included

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

Jacques Ibert Jacques François Antoine Marie Ibert (15 August 1890 – 5 February 1962) was a French composer of classical music. Having studied music from an early age, he studied at the Paris Conservatoire and won its top prize, the Prix de Rome at his first ...

, William Molard, Albert Seitz and Justin Élie. After 1895 he was a critic and director. He composed many

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

s and

operettas Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

, as well as masses.

Works

*''Dalila'' (cantata, 1866)

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 ...

.Annegret Fauser, Mark Everist ''Music, Theater, and Cultural Transfer: Paris, 1830-1914'' 2009 Page 136 "(Its final round required the contestants to compose a lyric scene, an unstaged mini-opera referred to as a cantata.) ... Théodore Dubois (1861), Charles Ferdinand Lenepveu (1865), Émile Pessard (1866), and Henri Maréchal ... *''La Cruche cassée'' (opéra comicque in 1 act, libretto by Hyppolite Lucas and Emile Abraham, premiered on February 21, 1870 at the

Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique The Salle Favart, officially the Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique, is a Paris opera house and theatre, the current home of the Opéra-Comique. It was built from 1893 to 1898 in a neo-Baroque style to the designs of the French architect Louis Berni ...

in Paris) *''Don Quichotte'' (opera, premiered on February 13, 1874, at the

Salle Érard Salle Érard The salle Érard is a music venue located in Paris, 13 rue du Mail in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris. It is part of the hôtel particulier which belonged, from the 18th century, to the family of piano, harp and harpsichord manufact ...

in Paris) *''Le Char'' (opera, premiered on January 18, 1878, at the Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique in Paris) *''Le Capitaine Fracasse'' (opera, premiered on July 2, 1878 at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris) *''Tabarin'' (opera, premiered on January 12, 1885, at the

Théâtre de l'Opéra The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be k ...

in Paris) *''Tartarin sur les Alpes'' (comic opera, premiered on November 17, 1888, at the Théâtre de la Gaîté in Paris) *''Les Folies amoureuses'' (comic opera, premiered on April 15, 1891 at the Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique in Paris); Work in three acts from Regnard, by André Lénéka and Emmanuel Matrat, with Lise Landouzy (1861-1943) (Agathe, soprano), Zoé Molé-Truffier (1855-1923) (Lisette, soprano), Ernest Carbonne (Eraste, ténor), Gabriel Soulacroix (Crispin, baryton), Lucien Fugère (Albert, basse), Edmond Clément (Clitandre, ténor) and Mr. Thierry (Ragotin, basse) ; Jules Danbé, conductor, and Henri Carré (1848-1925), choir director. *''Une Nuit de Noël'' (opera, premiered in 1893 at the Ambigu in Paris) *''Mam'zelle Carabin'' (comic opera, premiered on November 3, 1893 at the Bouffes-Parisiens, Salle Choiseul, in Paris) *''Le Muet'' (opera in 1 act, 1894) *''La Dame de trèfle'' (comic opera, premiered on May 13, 1898 at the Bouffes-Parisiens, Salle Choiseul, in Paris) *''L'Armée des vierges'' (comic opera in 3 acts, premiered on October 15, 1902, at the Bouffes-Parisiens, Salle Choiseul, in Paris) *''L'Epave'' (comic opera in 1 act, premiered on February 17, 1903, at the Bouffes-Parisiens, Salle Choiseul, in Paris)

Recordings

* ''Émile Pessard - Vingt-cinq pièces pour le piano''. Olivier Godin. XXI-21 Productions. 2011 * 2 songs on collection: ''L’invitation au voyage Mélodies from La belle époque'' : ''Le spectre de la rose'' (

Théophile Gautier Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and rem ...

), ''Oh! quand je dors'' (

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

John Mark Ainsley John Mark Ainsley (born 9 July 1963) is an English lyric tenor. Known for his supple voice, Ainsley is particularly admired for his interpretations of baroque music and the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In the course of his career, he has g ...

(tenor)

Graham Johnson (pianist) Graham Johnson OBE (born 10 July 1950) is a British classical pianist and Lieder accompanist. Biography Johnson was born in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia. His father played the piano and the saxophone. In 1967, Johnson began studies at the R ...

Hyperion Records Hyperion Records is an independent British classical record label. History Hyperion is an independent British classical label that was established in 1980 with the goal of showcasing recordings of music in all genres and from all time period ...

*''Dans la Forêt'', Op. 130 on album ''Chant d'Automne Forgotten Treasures Vol. 6'' Ulrich Hubner (horn) Kolner Akademie, Michael Alexander Willens *One song on collection: ''L'adieu de matin'', from ''Cinq Mélodies''; rec.

Richard Crooks Richard Alexander Crooks (June 26, 1900 – September 29, 1972) was an American tenor and a leading singer at the New York Metropolitan Opera. Biography He was born the second son of Alexander and Elizabeth Crooks on June 26, 1900 in Trenton, N ...

(tenor) on RCA Victor, 1940; on collection ''Richard Crooks in Songs and Ballads'' (Nimbus Records) *''Petite Messe brève'', op.62, for one or two voces and organ : Maîtrise d'Enfants Notre-Dame de Brive ; soloists : Virginie Verrez, Alice Imbert ; choir director : Christophe Loiseleur des Longchamps. Recorded in Gramat (Lot), with Junck organ. June 2004. Studio création n°200402.

External links

Sources

*''The Biographical Dictionary of Musicians,'' p. 332, 1940, Blue Ribbon Books, Inc. (Original (c) 1903)
Emile Pessard's Works
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pessard, Emile 1843 births 1917 deaths Musicians from Paris Prix de Rome for composition Conservatoire de Paris alumni Conservatoire de Paris faculty French classical composers French male classical composers French opera composers Male opera composers Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery