Isidore Edouard Legouix (1 April 1834 – 15 September 1916) was a 19th-century French composer.

Biography

Isidore Legouix was the eldest son of the music publisher and bookseller Onesimus Legouix (1809–1867). His father's business, which had opened early in the reign of

Louis-Philippe I Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...

, was located at 4, rue Chauveau-Lagarde, in the 8th arrondissement. In 1847, Isidore Legouix 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 ...

where he studied

harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...

with

Napoléon Henri Reber Napoléon Henri Reber (21 October 1807 – 24 November 1880) was a French composer. Life and career Reber was born in Mulhouse, Alsace, and studied with Anton Reicha and Jean François Lesueur, wrote chamber music, and set to music works of Fr ...

and composition with Ambroise Thomas. He obtained a first prize in music theory in 1850, a first prize in harmony in 1855, and the following year a "2me accessit" in

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 ...

. Competing for the Prix de Rome in 1860, he received an honorable mention for his cantata ''Le Czar Ivan IV'' to words by Theodore Anne. After graduating from the Conservatoire, Legouix worked in the family music shop and engaged in composition, particularly in

incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as t ...

. He composed several

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

s, of which contemporary critics praised the talent and wit. But one could hardly win against the overwhelming competition of the works by

Hervé Hervé is a French language, French masculine given name of Breton language, Breton origin, from the name of the 6th-century Breton Saint Hervé. The common latinization of the name is Herveus (also ''Haerveus''), an early (8th-century) latinizati ...

, Offenbach, Lecocq,

Audran The Audrans were a family of French artists, natives of Paris and Lyons. * Charles Audran I (1594-1674) * Claude Audran I (1597-1677) *Germain Audran (1631-1710), son of Charles I * Claude Audran II (1639-1684), nephew of Charles I * Gérard Audran ...

Planquette The river Planquette () is one of the small streams that flow from the plateau of the southern Boulonnais and Picardy, into the Canche. Its length is . The river rises at Planques and passes Fressin, Wambercourt, Cavron-Saint-Martin and join ...

and Varney, the masters of Parisian operetta. Despite his fifteen works in this genre, Isidore Legouix would never reach the same fame, even if some of his operettas encountered a some success. Legouix also composed some pieces for piano and songs. He wrote (in English) the

opéra comique ''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular '' opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent (and to a l ...

''The Crimson Scarf'' (''L'Écharpe cramoisie''), played in the 1870s in London. Legouix married in 1900 in Boulogne-sur-Seine with Aurélie Gregory. He died 1916 three weeks after his younger brother Gustave. His publishing catalogue was taken over by his younger son, Gustave Legouix (1844–1916), then by the latter's son, Robert Legouix. In 1960, the store, under the banner "Libraire Musicale R. Legouix" still remained at the same address ( Place de la Madeleine).

Main works

*1855
''la Perle de Normandie''
polka mazurka for piano. *1863: ''Un Othello'', one-act operetta, lyrics by

Charles Nuitter Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

and

Alexandre Beaumont Alexandre Beaume, called Alexandre Beaumont (1 August 1827 – 11 March 1909), was a French librettist, playwright and novelist. After he finished his studies in law he set up a law practice. He is mostly known for his literary production (nov ...

Théâtre des Champs-Élysées The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées () is an entertainment venue standing at 15 avenue Montaigne in Paris. It is situated near Avenue des Champs-Élysées, from which it takes its name. Its eponymous main hall may seat up to 1,905 people, while th ...

, December. *1864: ''Le Lion de Saint-Marc'', one-act opéra-bouffe, lyrics by Charles Nuitter and Alexandre Beaumont, Théâtre Saint-Germain, 24 November. *1866: ''Ma Fille'', operetta in 1 act, Théâtre des Délassements-Comiques, 20 March. *1867: ''Malborough s'en va-t-en guerre'', opéra-bouffe in 4 acts, cowritten with

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', whi ...

Léo Delibes Clément Philibert Léo Delibes (; 21 February 1836 – 16 January 1891) was a French Romantic composer, best known for his ballets and operas. His works include the ballets ''Coppélia'' (1870) and '' Sylvia'' (1876) and the opera ''Lakm� ...

and

Émile Jonas Émile Jonas (5 March 1827 – 21 May 1905) was a 19th-century French composer. Works *1855: ''Le Duel de Benjamin'', libretto by Eugène Mestépès *1856: ''La Parade'', libretto by Jules Barbier and Jules Brésil) *1857: ''Le roi boit'', lib ...

(the third act is by Legouix), lyrics by

Paul Siraudin Pierre-Paul-Désiré Siraudin (18 December 1812 – 8 September 1883) was a French playwright and librettist. He also used the pen names Paul de Siraudin de Sancy, Paul Siraudin de Sancy and M. Malperché. Biography He wrote many plays, mai ...

and

William Busnach William Bertrand Busnach (7 March 1832, Paris – 20 January 1907, Paris) was a French dramatist. Biography Busnach was a nephew of the composer Fromental Halévy. His father was associated with David Ben Joseph Coen Bakri, to whom France was ...

Théâtre de l'Athénée The Théâtre de l'Athénée is a theatre at 7 rue Boudreau, in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. Renovated in 1996 and classified a historical monument, the Athénée inherits an artistic tradition marked by the figure of Louis Jouvet who dire ...

, 15 December. *1868: ''Le Vengeur'', opéra-bouffe in 1 act, lyrics by Charles Nuitter and Alexandre Beaumont, Théâtre de l'Athénée, 20 November. *1869: ''Deux portières pour un cordon'', pochade musicale in 1 act, written in collaboration with Florimond Hervé,

Charles Lecocq Alexandre Charles Lecocq (3 June 183224 October 1918) was a French composer, known for his opérettes and opéra comique, opéras comiques. He became the most prominent successor to Jacques Offenbach in this sphere, and enjoyed considerable succ ...

and G. Maurice, under the unique pseudonym "Alcindor", lyrics by MMrr. Lefebvre and Lucian, Théâtre du Palais-Royal, 19 March. *1869: ''L'Ours et l'amateur de jardins'', bouffonnerie in 1 act, lyrics by

and Auguste Maquet, Bouffes-Parisiens, 1 September. *1874: ''Les Dernières Grisettes'', opéra-bouffe in 3 acts, Théâtre des Fantaisises-Parisiennes in Brussels, 12 December. *1876: ''Le Mariage d'une étoile'', operetta in 1 act, lyrics by

Eugène Grangé Eugène Grangé (16 December 1810 – 1 March 1887) was a French playwright, librettist, chansonnier and goguettier. Biography The son of Pierre-Joseph Basté and Louise-Thérèse Grangé, Pierre-Eugène Basté was born in rue Beautreillis ...

and Victor Bernard, Bouffes-Parisiens, 1 April. *1877: ''Madame Clare'', somnambule, « folie » in 1 act with new tunes, Théâtre du Palais-Royal, March. * ''La Tartane'', operetta. * ''Quinolette'', one-act operetta, lyrics by Maurice Mac-Nab, published in the magazine ''Le Magasin des Demoiselles''. * ''La Clef d'argent'', opéra comique 1 act, lyrics byAlexandre Beaumont, published in the magazine ''Le Magasin des Demoiselles''. * ''Après la noce'', operetta in 1 act. * ''La Fée aux genêts'', opera, lyrics by Eugène Adenis. * ''Une nouvelle Cendrillon'', operetta in 1 act, lyrics by Eugène Adenis.

External links

Isidore Legouix
on data.bnf.fr
Isidore Legouix
o

{{DEFAULTSORT:Legouix, Isidore 1834 births 1916 deaths 19th-century classical composers Conservatoire de Paris alumni French operetta composers French music publishers (people) French Romantic composers Composers from Paris