Marie-Alexis de Castillon de Saint-Victor (13 December 1838 – 5 March 1873) was a French composer.
Life and career
Born in
Chartres into an old aristocratic family from Languedoc, his parents initially intended him to pursue a military career. But Castillon gave up plans for professional soldiering in favour of music, which he learned first in his birthplace and then in Paris, studying piano and composition, initially with
Charles Delioux. For composition, he attended the classes of
Victor Massé
Victor Massé (born ''Félix-Marie Massé''; 7 March 1822 – 5 July 1884) was a French composer.
Biography
Massé was born in Lorient (Morbihan) and studied at the Paris Conservatoire, winning the Prix de Rome in 1844 for his cantata ''Le Rén ...
and, from 1869, of
César Franck
César-Auguste Jean-Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in modern-day Belgium.
He was born in Liège (which at the time of his birth was pa ...
at the
Paris Conservatoire
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 ...
. Before his studies with Franck, he had completed his Opus 1, a
piano quintet
In classical music, a piano quintet is a work of chamber music written for piano and four other instruments, most commonly a string quartet (i.e., two violins, viola, and cello). The term also refers to the group of musicians that plays a pian ...
, probably inspired by the earlier example of his friend
Camille Saint-Saëns. Both the quintet and the later piano quartet Op. 7 follow
Schumann
Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...
's model.
[Fauquet (1997), p. 302.] He disavowed earlier efforts, including a symphony in
F major
F major (or the key of F) is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative minor is D minor and its parallel minor is F minor.
The F major scale is:
:
F major is the ...
, which he had written in 1865.
In fragile health at the best of times (volunteering during the War of 1870, he fell ill and was demobilized in 1871), he died of complications from fever in 1873 at age 34. His works include pieces for piano, chamber music,
mélodies, a
piano concerto, and other orchestral music. He was also active in Parisian musical life, in particular helping to create, in 1871, the ''
Société Nationale de Musique
Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA.
Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the sec ...
'', of which he was the first secretary.
List of compositions
Piano solo
* Fugue in G minor
* ''Fugues dans le style libre'', Op. 2 (1869)
* Suite No. 1, Op. 5 (1867?-69)
::I. ''Canon''
::II. ''Scherzo''
::III. ''Thème et Variations''
::IV. ''Gavotte''
::V. ''Marche''
* ''5 Pièces dans le style ancien'', Op. 9 (1870)
::I. ''Prélude''
::II. ''Sicilienne''
::III. ''Sarabande''
::IV. ''Air'' (D major)
::V. ''Fughette''
* Suite No. 2, Op. 10 (1870)
::I. ''Ballade''
::II. ''Ronde''
::III. ''Adagietto'' (F major)
::IV. ''Fantaisie'' (D minor)
::V. ''Saltarelle''
* ''6 Valses humoristiques'', Op. 11 (1871) (orchestrated by
Charles Koechlin)
[Warszawski, 2005.]
::I. (Liberamente) (E major)
::II. (Non troppo vivo) (A major)
::III. (Con fantasia) (C minor)
::IV. (Comodo) (F major)
::V. (Energico) (B major)
::VI. (Vivo assai) (E major)
* ''24 Pensées fugitives'' (1873)
::I. ''Aveu''
::II. ''Minuetto''
::III. ''Au bois''
::IV. ''Carillon''
::V. ''Compliment''
::VI. ''Première Mazurka''
::VII. ''Causerie''
::VIII. ''Fanfare''
::IX. ''Scherzo-Valse''
::X. ''Regrets''
::XI. ''Deuxième Mazurka''
::XII. ''Toccata''
::XIII. ''Marche des Français''
::XIV. ''Au revoir''
::XV. ''Feu follet''
::XVI. ''Bayadère''
::XVII. ''Chanson du cavalier''
::XVIII. ''Extase''
::XIX. ''Colombine''
::XX. ''Les Dragons''
::XXI. ''Scherzettino''
::XXII. ''Appel du soir''
::XXIII. ''Troisième Mazurka''
::XXIV. ''Aubade''
Chamber
* Piano Quintet, Op. 1 (1863–64)
::I. ''Allegro''
::II. ''Scherzo''
::III. ''Adagio et final''
* String Quartet No. 1, Op. 3, No. 1 (1867) (ded. to Henri Poencet)
::I. (Allegro)
::II. (Adagio molto lento - Allegro scherzando)
::III. (Molto grave - Molto allegro)
* String Quartet No. 2, Op. 3, No. 2 (1867) (unfinished, only ''Cavatina'' published)
* Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 4 (1865)
::I. ''Prélude et Andante''
::II. ''Scherzo''
::III. ''Romance''
::IV. ''Finale''
* Sonata for violin and piano, Op. 6 (1868) (ded. to
Elie-Miriam Delaborde)
::I. (Allegro moderato)
::II. (Allegro scherzando)
::III. (Andante)
::IV. (Allegro molto)
* Piano Quartet, Op. 7 (1869) (ded. to
Anton Rubinstein
Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein ( rus, Антон Григорьевич Рубинштейн, r=Anton Grigor'evič Rubinštejn; ) was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor who became a pivotal figure in Russian culture when he founded the Sa ...
)
::I. (Larghetto - Allegro deciso - Allegro)
::II. (Scherzando)
::III. (Larghetto, quasi marcia religiosa)
::IV. ''Finale'' (Allegro)
* Piano Trio No. 2, Op. 17 (1870-73?)
::I. (Allegro moderato)
::II. (Allegretto non vivo) (B major)
::III. (Scherzando vivace) (G minor)
::IV. (Adagio - Allegro con fuoco - Molto expressivo senza rigore)
Concertante
* Piano Concerto, Op. 12 (1871) (ded. to and first performed (in 1872) by
Camille Saint-Saëns piano) (also arr. for 2 pianos by
Vincent d'Indy
Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy (; 27 March 18512 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher. His influence as a teacher, in particular, was considerable. He was a co-founder of the Schola Cantorum de Paris and also taught at the P ...
)
::I. (Allegro moderato)
::II. (Molto lento)
::III. (Allegro con fuoco)
Orchestra
*
Robert Schumann: ''Trois morceaux'', arr. for orchestra (unpublished)
* ''Marche Scandinave'' (ded. to
Georges Bizet) (unpublished)
* Symphony No. 1 (1865) (unpublished)
* ''5 Airs de Danse'', suite for orchestra (1870) (unpublished)
::I. ''Introduction et Ronde''
::II. ''Tempo di Walzer''
::III. ''Sicilienne''
::IV. ''Menuet''
::V. ''Danse guerrière''
* ''Esquisses symphoniques'', Op. 15 (1872)
::I. ''Prélude''
::II. ''Gavotte''
::III. ''Allegretto''
::IV. ''Retour du Prélude et Finale''
* Symphony No. 2 (1872) (unfinished)
*
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wo ...
: Impromptu, Op. 90, No. 1, arr. for orchestra (1872) (unpublished)
* ''3 Pièces dans le style ancien'' (1873) (orchestration of Nos. 3, 4, and 5 of Op. 9) (unpublished)
::I. ''Sarabande''
::II. ''Air''
::III. ''Fughette''
* ''Torquato Tasso'', Ouverture (unfinished)
Songs
* ''6 Poésies d'Armand Silvestre'', Op. 8 (1868–73) (orchestrated 1920 by
Charles Koechlin)
::I. ''Le Bûcher''
::II. ''Le Semeur''
::III. ''Sonnet mélancolique''
::IV. ''La Mer''
::V. ''Renouveau''
::VI. ''Vendange''
Choral
* ''Paraphrase du Psaume 84'', for soloists, choir, and orchestra, on a text by
Louis Gallet
Louis Gallet (14 February 1835 in Valence, Drôme
Valence (, ; oc, Valença ) is a commune in southeastern France, the prefecture of the Drôme department and within the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. It is situated on the left bank of the ...
, Op. 16 (1872)
* Mass (1872) (unfinished)
References
Notes
Sources
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Castillon, Alexis de
1838 births
1873 deaths
19th-century classical composers
19th-century French composers
19th-century French male musicians
People from Chartres
Conservatoire de Paris alumni
French male classical composers
French Romantic composers