Amédée Joseph Gabriel Marie Manca-Amat, Comte de Vallombrosa (24 March 1880 – 9 February 1968) was a French

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

Early life

Born in

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...

, Amédée de Vallombrosa was the son of Riccardo Manca-Amat, 4th Duke of Vallombrosa and Asinara (b. 1834), and Geneviève (b. 1836). He was the younger brother of Antoine-Amédée-Marie-Vincent Manca Amat de Vallombrosa, Marquis de Morès, who was a well-known

frontier A frontier is the political and geographical area near or beyond a boundary. A frontier can also be referred to as a "front". The term came from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"—the region of a country that fronts o ...

ranchman in the

Badlands Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded."Badlands" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 47. They are characterized by steep slopes, m ...

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of No ...

during the final years of the

American Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

who was assassinated in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

in 1896. His paternal grandparents were Vincenzo Maria Giuseppe Manca-Amat, 3rd Duke of Vallombrosa and Asinara and Léontine Alexandrine Claire de Galard de Béarn. His maternal grandparents were Amédée-François-Régis de Pérusse des Cars, Comte des Cars and Duc des Cars,

Peer of France The Peerage of France (french: Pairie de France) was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 in the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France (french: Pair de France, links=no) was ...

, and Augustine-Joséphine du Bouchet de Sourches de Tourzel (a granddaughter of Louise-Élisabeth du Bouchet de Sourches, Duchess of Tourzel). His aunt, Marie-Paule de Pérusse des Cars, was the first wife of

Louis, Duke of Blacas Louis Charles Pierre Casimir de Blacas d'Aulps, 2nd Duke of Blacas, 2nd Prince of Blacas (15 April 1815, London – 10 February 1866, Venice) was a French nobleman and antiquarian. He was the son of Pierre-Louis de Blacas d'Aulps, 1st Duke of ...

Career

Despite his family fortune, the Comte de Vallombrosa did not choose the path of business but devoted his life to music and the organ at an early age. He was the pupil, substitute and friend of the great organist

Charles-Marie Widor Charles-Marie-Jean-Albert Widor (21 February 1844 – 12 March 1937) was a French organist, composer and teacher of the mid-Romantic era, most notable for his ten organ symphonies. His Toccata from the fifth organ symphony has become one of the ...

and composed several pieces himself. In 1910, he succeeded Camille Rage to the great organ of the Église Saint-Leu-Saint-Gilles de Paris, while also holding the position of

Kapellmeister (, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...

. In 1928, he succeeded

Félix Raugel Félix Alphonse Raugel (27 November 1881 – 30 December 1975) was a French musician, conductor and musicologist. After studying at the conservatory of Lille where he obtained the first prize for viola, he continued in Paris where he worked in h ...

as head of chapel of the église Saint-Eustache. He continued to work on music until the end of his life. At more than 80 years old, he still played on the choir organ of the Saint-Eustache church.

Personal life

On 20 November 1906, he married Adrienne Lannes de Montebello in Paris. She was the daughter of Jean Alban Lannes, 2nd Baron de Montebello and Albertine de Briey and a granddaughter of Gustave Olivier Lannes, Baron de Montebello (the fourth and youngest son of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

Jean Lannes Jean Lannes, 1st Duke of Montebello, Prince of Siewierz (10 April 1769 – 31 May 1809), was a French military commander and a Marshal of the Empire who served during both the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He was one of Napoleon's ...

, Duke of Montebello, Prince of

Siewierz Siewierz is a town in southern Poland, in the Będzin County in the Silesian Voivodeship, seat of Gmina Siewierz. History Siewierz was first mentioned in 1125, and was administered by the Castellan of Bytom. In 1177, Casimir II of Poland grante ...

). Their daughter: * Roselyne de Vallombrosa (1910–1988), who married Foulques de Sabran-Pontevès, 7th

Duke of Sabran The House of Sabran was an illustrious Provençal family of knightly extraction extinguished in 1847Henri Jougla de Morenas "Grand Armorial de France" tome 6, page 110-111. in the person of , general, made a hereditary peer of France in 1815, com ...

(1908–1973), in 1936. The Duke was a son of Elzéar, Comte de Sabran-Pontevès and Princess Constance of Croÿ. The Comte de Vallombrosa died in the

7th arrondissement of Paris The 7th arrondissement of Paris (''VIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''le septième''. The arrondissement, ca ...

on 9 February 1968, aged 87.

Descendants

Through his daughter Roselyne, he was a grandfather of Gersende de Sabran-Pontevès (b. 1942), who married Prince Jacques, Duke of Orléans (b. 1941), a son of Henri, Count of Paris, the Orléanist pretender to the French throne, in 1969. Their son, the Comte de Vallombrosa's great-grandson, is Prince Charles Louis, Duke of Chartres.

References

External links

Amédée de Vallombrosa
on Musicalics

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vallombrosa, Amedee de French classical organists French male organists Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) 1880 births People from Cannes 1968 deaths 20th-century organists 20th-century French male musicians 20th-century classical musicians Male classical organists