Claude Étienne Edmond Marie Pierre Delvincourt (12 January 1888 – 5 April 1954) was a French

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

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 ...

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

Biography

Delvincourt was born in Paris, the son of Pierre Delvincourt and Marguerite Fourès. 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 ...

, first under Leon Boëllmann, then under the centenarian

Henri Büsser Paul Henri Büsser (16 January 1872 – 30 December 1973) was a French classical composer, organist, and conductor. Biography Büsser was born in Toulouse of partly German ancestry. He entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1889, where he studied ...

. Also, he was taught

counterpoint In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

and

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 ...

Georges Caussade Georges Paul Alphonse Emilien Caussade (20 November 1873 – 5 August 1936) was a French composer, music theorist, and music educator. Biography Born in Port Louis, Mauritius, he joined the faculty of the Conservatoire de Paris in 1905 as a teac ...

and composition by

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 th ...

. A

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 ...

winner in 1911 and again in 1913 (on the latter occasion he shared the award with

Lili Boulanger Marie Juliette "Lili" Boulanger (; 21 August 189315 March 1918) was a French composer and the first female winner of the Prix de Rome composition prize. Her older sister was the noted composer and composition teacher Nadia Boulanger. Biography ...

), he was appointed Director of Conservatoire at

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

in 1932 and Director of the Paris Conservatoire in 1940, following the resignation of

Henri Rabaud Henri Benjamin Rabaud (10 November 187311 September 1949) was a French conductor, composer and pedagogue, who held important posts in the French musical establishment and upheld mainly conservative trends in French music in the first half of t ...

. During the

German occupation of France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

, Delvincourt was forced to apply the racial laws of the

Vichy government Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

to the Paris Conservatoire, excluding

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

professors and students. But he managed, with the help of his former teacher's niece Marie-Louise Boëllmann, to prevent numerous students from being compelled to join the

STO STO may refer to: Businesses and organizations Government * Science & Technology Organization, a NATO organization * ''Service du travail obligatoire'', French men & women between certain ages deported to Germany during WWII to work as slave la ...

(law of 16 February 1943). He gathered the young musicians in the Orchestre des Cadets du Conservatoire and convinced the German authorities that they were doing their duties by this method. Meanwhile, Delvincourt joined the

Front National des Musiciens The Front national des musiciens was an organization of musicians in Nazi occupied France that was part of the French Resistance. Active from the Spring of 1941 through the Autumn of 1944, the group's most prominent members were composers Elsa Ba ...

. Furthermore, he "did all he could to protect his flock, never asking for papers and always trying to hide illegal students.",Rampal, Jean-Pierre (1989). "Music, My Love". ''Chapter 4: Music by Default'' : page 43 succeeded in saving many students and was threatened by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

. He was forced to disappear until the end of the

Military occupation Military occupation, also known as belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is the effective military control by a ruling power over a territory that is outside of that power's sovereign territory.Eyāl Benveniśtî. The international law ...

. He died, still Conservatoire director, on April 5, 1954, from injuries he incurred in a car accident on a road in

Orbetello Orbetello is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Grosseto (Tuscany), Italy. It is located about south of Grosseto, on the eponymous lagoon, which is home to an important Natural Reserve. History Orbetello was an ancient Etruscan settlemen ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The great organist

Marcel Dupré Marcel Jean-Jules Dupré () (3 May 1886 – 30 May 1971) was a French organist, composer, and pedagogue. Biography Born in Rouen into a wealthy musical family, Marcel Dupré was a child prodigy. His father Aimable Albert Dupré was titular o ...

succeeded him in the directorship.

Principal works

Orchestral works

*''Serenade'' or ''Radio-Serenade'', suite for orchestra (1914) *'' Typhaon'', symphonic poem (1914) *''L'offrande à Siva'', choreographic poem for Large orchestra (1921) *''Boccacerie'', portraits for the "

Decameron ''The Decameron'' (; it, label=Italian, Decameron or ''Decamerone'' ), subtitled ''Prince Galehaut'' (Old it, Prencipe Galeotto, links=no ) and sometimes nicknamed ''l'Umana commedia'' ("the Human comedy", as it was Boccaccio that dubbed Dan ...

", version for orchestra (1924) *''Croquembouches'', Two pieces for piano and orchestra (1926) *''Bal vénitien'', suite for orchestra (1927) *''Choreographic Prelude'' for orchestra (1931) *''Ce Monde de rosée'', version for orchestra (1934) *''Film d'Asie'', suite for orchestra (1937) after the documentary "La Croisière Jaune" (1934) *''

Pamir Pamir may refer to: Geographical features * Pamir Mountains, a mountain range in Central Asia ** Pamir-Alay, a mountain system in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, part of the Pamir Mountains *A pamir (valley) is a high plateau or valley surro ...

'', suite for Large orchestra (1938) *''Piano Concerto'', unfinished (1954)

Chamber music

*''Quintet'' for piano and string quartet (1907) *''Trio'' for piano, violin and cello (1909) *''Sonata'' for violin and piano (1922) *''Croquembouches'' for saxophone and piano (1929) *''Danceries'', Five pieces for violin and piano (1930) *''Contemplation'' for violin and piano (1935) *''String Quartet'' (posthume) for Two violins, viola and cello (1954)

Works for solo instruments

*''Five Pieces'' for piano (1923) *''Boccacerie'', Five portraits for the "Decameron", for piano (also version for orchestra) (1926) *''Croquembouches'', Twelve pieces for piano (1926) *''Bal vénitien'', suite for orchestra, reduction for two pianos (1927) *''Heures juvéniles'', Twelve pieces for piano (1928) *''Images pour les contes du temps passé'', for Four-hand piano (1935) *''Three Pieces for organ'' (Marche d'église - Méditation - Sortie de fête) (1937)

Vocal and choral works

*''Thestylis'', for soprano and orchestra, after

Leconte de Lisle Charles Marie René Leconte de Lisle (; 22 October 1818 – 17 July 1894) was a French poet of the Parnassian movement. He is traditionally known by his surname only, Leconte de Lisle''. Biography Leconte de Lisle was born on the French overseas ...

poem (1908) *''Hodie Christus natus'', for choir, oboe, bassoon and organ (1909) *''Aurore'', choir for female voices and orchestra (or piano), after

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 ...

poem (1910) *'' Acis et Galathée'', cantata ; poem by Eugène Adenis (1910) *''Nuit tombante'', for mixed choir and orchestra (or piano), after Victor Hugo poem (1911) *''Yanitza'', cantata (1911) *''La Source'', choir for female voices and orchestra (or piano) (1912) *''Fulvia'', cantata (1912) *''Berceuse'', melody for voice and piano, after Maurice d'Assier poem (1912) *''

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...

and Helena'', cantata ; poem by Eugène Adenis (1913) *''Five Melodies'' for voice and piano, after Maurice d'Assier poems (1914) *''Ave Verum Tota Pulchra Es'', Motet for mixed choir, solo, organ and Strings (1920) *''Ce Monde de rosée'', Fourteen Utas translated from Japanese (1925) *''Onchets'', Five melodies on poems by René Chalupt (1929) *''Chansons de la ville et des champs'', Six melodies in the popular style (1933) *''Four Songs by

Clément Marot Clément Marot (23 November 1496 – 12 September 1544) was a French Renaissance poet. Biography Youth Marot was born at Cahors, the capital of the province of Quercy, some time during the winter of 1496–1497. His father, Jean Marot (c.&n ...

'', melodies for soprano and piano (or orchestra) (1935) *''

Pater Noster The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...

'', for Mezzo (or Soprano) and organ (1937) *''Melody'' for voice and piano, after the poem "Un éventail, un sourire" by Pierre Bedat de Monlaur (1942) *''Salut solennel en sol'', for choir, soli, organ and orchestra (1948)

Incidental music

*''La femme à barde'', Farce in Two Acts ; Book by André de la Tourasse (1936) *''Automne'', Incidental Music with choirs (1937) *'' Œdipus-rex'', Incidental Music with choirs (1939) *''

Lucifer Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passage ...

ou Le Mystère de Caïn'', Mystere in One prologue and Three episodes ; Book by

René Dumesnil René Dumesnil (19 June 1879 – 24 December 1967) was a French physician, literary critic and musicologist. Dumesnil studied literature at the Sorbonne and became a literary critic. Then he was music critic for '' Le Mercure de France'' and ' ...

(1940)

Film and documentary music

*''La Croisière jaune'',

Léon Poirier Léon Poirier (25 August 1884 – 27 June 1968) was a French film director, screenwriter and film producer best known for his silent films from 1913 onwards. He directed some 25 films between 1913 and 1949. His most famous film today is '' Verdu ...

and André Sauvage documentary (1934) * ''

The Call of Silence ''The Call of Silence'', also screened as ''The Call'' (French: ''L'Appel du Silence''), is a 1936 French drama film directed by Léon Poirier and starring Jean Yonnel, Pierre de Guingand and Jacqueline Francell. It is a biography based on the ...

'', Léon Poirier film (1936) *'' Sœurs d'armes'', Léon Poirier film (1937) *'' Brazza ou l'épopée du Congo'', Léon Poirier film (1940)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Delvincourt, Claude 1888 births 1954 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century French composers 20th-century French male musicians Conservatoire de Paris alumni Directors of the Conservatoire de Paris French classical composers French male classical composers Musicians from Paris Prix de Rome for composition Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Road incident deaths in Italy