Jean François Gail (1795–1845) was a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

classicist, the only son of the prolific

hellenist Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient ...

and editor

Jean-Baptiste Gail Jean-Baptiste Gail (1755–1829) was a French Hellenist scholar, member of the Institut de France (French Institute). Early years Gail was born in Paris on July 4, 1755. In 1791 he was appointed deputy, and in 1792 titular professor at the Collè ...

(1755–1829), and his wife

Sophie Gail Edmee Sophie Gail née Garre (28 August 1775 – 24 July 1819) was a French singer and composer. Life Sophie Garre was born in Paris in the parish of Saint Sulpice, the daughter of Marie-Louise Adelaide Colloz and surgeon Claude-Francois Ga ...

(1775–1819), a singer and composer. The parents married with two decades difference in their ages and were divorced in 1801.

Career

Gail was musical. He wrote many words for songs by

Luigi Cherubini Luigi Cherubini ( ; ; 8 or 14 SeptemberWillis, in Sadie (Ed.), p. 833 1760 – 15 March 1842) was an Italian Classical and Romantic composer. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music. Beethoven regarded Cherubini as the gre ...

, and for

Hector Berlioz In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

he wrote the libretto for the cantata '' La mort de Sardanapale'' (1830), the last, of Berlioz' four attempts at the

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 ...

. His text for the Prix de Rome cantata of Hippolyte-Raymond Colet (''L'entrée en Loge'', 1834) also proved successful for that composer. In his ''Réflexions sur le goût musical en France'' (1832) he criticized French composers who were dazzled by the success of

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

and were tempted to imitate him.Noted by Steven Huebner, "Italianate duets in Meyerbeer's grand operas", ''Journal of Musicological Research'', 8.3–4 (1989) pp203-58. His work ''Dissertation sur le Périple de Seylax: Et sur l'époque présumée de sa rédaction'' (1825) marks the beginning of modern critical study of the ''

Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax The ''Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax'' is an ancient Greek periplus (περίπλους ''períplous'', 'circumnavigation') describing the sea route around the Mediterranean and Black Sea. It probably dates from the mid-4th century BC, specifically t ...

''. He also edited texts of other minor Greek writers on geography.

Selected works

*''Récherches sur la nature du culte de Bacchus en Grèce, et sur l'origine de la diversité de ses rites'' ''Mémoire qui a remporté le prix proposé à l'Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres, le 23 juillet 1819''. Paris: Gail Neveu & Treuttel et Würtz, 1821. xii, 368 pp. *''Dissertation sur le Périple de Seylax: Et sur l'époque présumée de sa rédaction'' *''Geographi Graeci Minores: Arriani Periplum Ponti Euxini; Anonymi Periplum Ponti Euxini; Anonymi (Alterius) Periplum Ponti Euxini et Maeotidis'' * (with Matthiae) ''Grammaire raisonnée de la langue grecque: Syntaxe'' (1831, 1836)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gail, Jean Francois French librettists French male writers 1795 births 1845 deaths