Félix Godefroid by Marie-Alexandre Alophe

Dieudonné-Félix Godefroid (24 July 1818 - 12 July 1897) was a Belgian

harpist The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orc ...

, who composed for his instrument and for the piano. Félix Godefroid was born at

Namur Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namu ...

, where his father failed in a theatre venture and moved the family to

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...

, where he opened a music school. In 1832 Félix entered 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 ...

to study harp with

François Joseph Naderman François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, Kin ...

and

Théodore Labarre Théodore François Joseph Berry Labarre (23 March 1805 – 9 March 1870) was a French harpist and composer. He lived in Paris and in London and was awarded the Prix de Rome in 1823 as well as the Légion d'honneur in 1862. Life Labarre was born ...

. Impressed with the

pedal harp The pedal harp (also known as the concert harp) is a large and technologically modern harp, designed primarily for use in art music. It may be played solo, as part of a chamber ensemble, or in an orchestra. It typically has 47 strings with seve ...

perfected by

Sébastien Érard Sébastien Érard (born Sebastian Erhard, 5 April 1752 – 5 August 1831) was a French instrument maker of German origin who specialised in the production of pianos and harps, developing the capacities of both instruments and pioneering the mode ...

, Godefroid elected to pursue a concert career. From 1839, he began a brilliant solo tour through Europe and the Levant. In 1847, Félix Godefroid settled in Paris and finally made his debut there. Called the "Paganini of the harp" he became a great virtuoso, giving concerts throughout Europe. Besides his pieces for harp and for piano, on which he was also a virtuoso performer, Godefroid composed masses and two operas, ''La Harpe d'or'' and ''La Fille de Saül''. His didactic work ''Mes exercices pour la harpe'' was employed by several generations of harpists. The Belgian painter

Félicien Rops Félicien Victor Joseph Rops (7 July 1833 – 23 August 1898) was a Belgian artist associated with Symbolism and the Parisian Fin-de Siecle. He was a painter, illustrator, caricaturist and a prolific and innovative print maker, particularly in ...

painted his portrait in August 1856. His older brother Jules-Joseph Godefroid (1811-1840) was also a harpist and composer. Godefroid died in Villers-sur-Mer. The ''Concours Godefroid'', established to mark the centennial of his death, is held every three years at his native city of Namur and nearby Belgian cities.

Publications

* ''Mes exercices pour la harpe'' (1891) * ''Étude de concert en mi bémol mineur pour harpe'' (reprint 1978)

External links

Scores by Félix Godefroid
on archive.org from the

International Harp Archives The International Harp Archives (IHA) is a collection of archives from the World Harp Congress, American Harp Society, and individual harpists. It is located at the Harold B. Lee Library in Brigham Young University (BYU). The archives began as a c ...

* 1818 births 1897 deaths People from Namur (city) Belgian harpists French classical harpists Belgian classical composers Belgian male classical composers Composers for harp Romantic composers 19th-century classical composers 19th-century French musicians 19th-century Belgian male musicians {{Belgium-composer-stub