Alexandre-Étienne Choron (21 October 1771 – 29 June 1834) was a French musicologist. For a short time he directed the

Paris Opera 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 ...

. He made a distinction between sacred and secular music and was one of the originators of French interest in musicology.

Biography

Choron studied mathematics at the

Collège de Juilly In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

. Since his father had forbidden him to study music, he taught himself the theories of

Jean-Philippe Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; – ) was a French composer and music theory, music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of Fr ...

, followed by lessons in harmony from abbé Roze and Bonesi. Bonesi familiarized him with Italian music and the treatises on

fugue In music, a fugue () is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the c ...

and strict counterpoint of

Nicola Sala Nicola Sala (7 April 1713 – 31 August 1801) was an Italian composer and music theorist. He was born in Tocco Caudio and died in Naples. He was chapel-master and professor at Naples, having devoted himself to the collection of the finest m ...

(1713-1801). He drew from these his book ''Principes de composition des écoles d'Italie.'' He learned German, studied musical treatises in that language, then undertook to reform all branches of musical activity. A professor of mathematics at the

École Polytechnique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

since its founding, then a corresponding member of the

Académie des Beaux-Arts An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

, Choron was charged in 1811 with reorganizing the choir schools with the title of Director of Music of Religious Ceremonies. Named director of the Paris Opéra on 18 January 1816, he instituted the reopening of the

Paris Conservatory 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 ...

, which had been closed since 1815, under the name of ''École royale de chant et de déclamation.'' On 30 March 1817 he was forced to resign the directorship of the Opera, without a pension, as a result of having wanted to make too many radical changes. In 1817, he founded and directed the ''Institution royale de musique classique et religieuse.'' Its influence was considerable. It trained or influenced some of the most important artists of this era, notably the celebrated singers Gilbert Duprez and Rosine Stoltz, and the actress

Rachel Felix Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aun ...

. It published and had performed publicly very old choral works, including those of

Palestrina Palestrina (ancient ''Praeneste''; grc, Πραίνεστος, ''Prainestos'') is a modern Italian city and ''comune'' (municipality) with a population of about 22,000, in Lazio, about east of Rome. It is connected to the latter by the Via Pren ...

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

and

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

. With the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...

in 1830, the government withdrew his subsidies, and the institution ran into grave difficulties. Choron died soon thereafter in 1834. The institution was resuscitated under the name of ''Conservatoire royal de musique classique de France'' or '' École Niedermeyer'' by

Louis Niedermeyer Abraham Louis Niedermeyer (27 April 180214 March 1861) was a Swiss and naturalized French composer. He chiefly wrote church music and a few operas. He also taught music and took over the École Choron, renamed École Niedermeyer de Paris, a scho ...

, who thus ensured the transmission of the principles and teachings of Choron. Choron published numerous musical works. He also left behind his voluminous papers, preserved at the

Bibliothèque nationale de France The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...

Works

* 1808: ''Principes de composition des écoles d’Italie'' (based on

, teacher at the Pieta dei Turchini conservatory) * 1810–11, revised 1817: ''Dictionnaire historique des musiciens, artistes et amateurs, morts ou vivants'' (with F. Fayolle) * 1811: ''Méthode élémentaire de musique et de plain-chant'' * 1813: Revised and augmented edition of ''Traité général des voix et des instruments d'orchestre'' by L. Francoeur * 1814–16: translations of theoretical works of Albrechtsberger and F. Azopardi * 1820: ''Méthode concertante à 3 parties'' * 1820: ''Méthode de chant'' * 1836–39: ''Manuel complet de musique vocale et instrumentale, ou Encyclopédie musicale'' (with la Fage)

Bibliography

* Hutchings, Arthur and Hervé Audéon, "Choron, Alexandre(-Etienne)" in ''Grove Music Online'' * Meidhof, Nathalie, ''Alexandre Étiennes Akkordlehre. Konzepte, Quellen, Verbreitung'', Olms, Hildesheim 2016. * Réty, Hippolyte, ''Notice historique sur Choron et son École : discours prononcé à l'Académie de Mâcon le 22 novembre 1872'', C. Douniol, Paris, 1873, 25 p. * Simms, Bryan Randolph, ''Alexandre Choron (1771-1834) as an historian and theorist of music,'' Ph.D. Diss., Yale University, 1971.

External links

Havard de La Montagne (Denis), ''Alexandre Choron (1771-1834) ou Petite histoire de la musique religieuse depuis la Révolution''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Choron, Alexandre-Etienne Musicians from Caen 1771 births 1834 deaths French music theorists French music educators 18th-century French musicians 19th-century French musicians 19th-century French musicologists French male non-fiction writers Directors of the Paris Opera