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Jacques François Antoine Marie Ibert (15 August 1890 – 5 February 1962) was a French composer of
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 ...
. Having studied music from an early age, he studied at the
Paris Conservatoire 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 ...
and won its top prize, the Prix de Rome at his first attempt, despite studies interrupted by his service in World War I. Ibert pursued a successful composing career, writing (sometimes in collaboration with other composers) seven operas, five ballets, incidental music for plays and films, works for piano solo, choral works, and chamber music. He is probably best remembered for his orchestral works including ''Divertissement'' (1930) and ''Escales'' (1922). As a composer, Ibert did not attach himself to any of the prevalent genres of music of his time, and has been described as an eclectic. This is seen even in his best-known pieces: ''Divertissement'' for small orchestra is lighthearted, even frivolous, and ''Escales'' (1922) is a ripely romantic work for large orchestra. In tandem with his creative work, Ibert was the director of the Académie de France at the Villa Medici in Rome. During World War II he was proscribed by the pro- Nazi government in Paris, and for a time he went into exile in Switzerland. Restored to his former eminence in French musical life after the war, his final musical appointment was in charge of the Paris Opera and the
Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...
.


Biography


Early years

Ibert was born in Paris. His father was a successful businessman, and his mother a talented pianist who had studied with
Antoine François Marmontel Antoine François Marmontel () (18 July 1816 – 16 January 1898) was a French pianist, composer, teacher and musicographer. He is mainly known today as an influential teacher at the Paris Conservatory, where he taught many musicians who became ...
and encouraged the young Ibert's musical interests. From the age of four, he began studying music, first learning the violin and then the piano from his mother, despite his father's wishes that his son would follow in his business profession. After leaving school, he earned a living as a private teacher, as an accompanist, and as a cinema pianist. He also started composing songs, sometimes under the pen name William Berty, and helped his father's business, which had suffered a financial setback. In 1910, Ibert became a student at the
Paris Conservatoire 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 ...
, studying with
Émile Pessard Émile Louis Fortuné Pessard (29 May 1843 – 10 February 1917) was a French composer. Pessard was born and died in Paris. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he won 1st prize in Harmony. In 1866 he won the Grand Prix de Rome with h ...
(harmony),
André Gedalge André Gedalge (27 December 1856 – 5 February 1926) was a French composer and teacher. Biography André Gedalge was born at 75 rue des Saints-Pères in Paris where he first worked as a bookseller and editor, specialising in ''livres de prix' ...
(counterpoint) and
Paul Vidal Paul Antonin Vidal (16 June 1863 – 9 April 1931) was a French composer, conductor and music teacher mainly active in Paris.Charlton D. Paul Vidal. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London and New York, 1997. Life and caree ...
(composition)."Jacques Ibert", in '' Sax, Mule & Co'',
Jean-Pierre Thiollet Jean-Pierre Thiollet (; born 9 December 1956) is a French writer and journalist. Primarily living in Paris, he is the author of numerous books and one of the national leaders of the European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CEDI), a ...
, H & D, 2004, p. 135
Gédalge also gave him private lessons in orchestration; Ibert's fellow-students at these private classes included
Arthur Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. A member of Les Six, his best known work is probably ''Antigone'', composed between 1924 and 1927 to ...
and Darius Milhaud.Laederich, Alexandra
"Ibert, Jacques."
''Grove Music Online''. Oxford Music Online, accessed 18 September 2010
Ibert's musical studies were interrupted by the outbreak of World War I, in which he served as a naval officer. After the war he married Rosette Veber, daughter of the painter Jean Veber. Resuming his studies, he won the Conservatoire's top prize, the Prix de Rome at his first attempt, in 1919. The prize gave him the opportunity to pursue further musical studies in Rome. In the course of these, Ibert composed his first opera, ''Persée et Andromède'' (1921), to a libretto by his brother-in-law, the author Michel Veber, writing under the pen name "Nino".Langham Smith, Richard 1992
"Ibert, Jacques."
''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', Grove Music Online, accessed 18 September 2010


Composer and administrator

Among Ibert's early orchestral compositions were ''La Ballade de la geôle de Reading'', inspired by
Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
's poem, and ''Escales'' (''Ports of Call''), inspired by his experiences of Mediterranean ports while he was serving in the navy.Kuhn, Laura (ed.
Ibert, Jacques (François Antoine)
Student Encyclopedia of Music, vol. 2, Schirmer Reference New York, published 1999, accessed 18 September 2010
The first of these works was played at the Concerts Colonne in October 1922, conducted by Gabriel Pierné; the second was performed in January 1924 with
Paul Paray Paul Marie-Adolphe Charles Paray () (24 May 1886 – 10 October 1979) was a French conductor, organist and composer. He was the resident conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 1952 until 1963. Early life and education Paul Paray was b ...
conducting the Orchestre Lamoureux. The two works made Ibert an early reputation both at home and abroad. His publisher Alphonse Leduc commissioned two collections of piano music from him, ''Histoires'' and ''Les Rencontres'', which enhanced his popularity. In 1927 his opéra-bouffe ''Angélique'' was produced; it was the most successful of his operas, a musical farce, displaying eclectic style and flair. In addition to composing, Ibert was active as a conductor and in musical administration. He was a member of professional committees, and in 1937 he was appointed director of the Académie de France at the Villa Medici in Rome. Ibert, with the enthusiastic support of his wife "threw himself wholeheartedly into his administrative role and proved an excellent ambassador of French culture in Italy." He held the post until the end of 1960, except for an enforced break while France and Italy were at war during World War II.


Later years

The war years were difficult for Ibert. In 1940 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 ter ...
banned his music and he retreated to
Antibes Antibes (, also , ; oc, label= Provençal, Antíbol) is a coastal city in the Alpes-Maritimes department of southeastern France, on the Côte d'Azur between Cannes and Nice. The town of Juan-les-Pins is in the commune of Antibes and the Soph ...
, in the south of France, and later to Switzerland and the Haute-Savoie. In August 1944, he was readmitted to the musical life of the country when General de Gaulle recalled him to Paris. In 1955 Ibert was appointed administrator of the Réunion des Théâtres Lyriques Nationaux, which ran both the Paris Opera and the
Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...
. After less than a year, his health obliged him to retire. Shortly afterwards he was elected to the
Académie des Beaux-Arts An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...
. Ibert died in Paris aged 71, and is buried at
Passy Cemetery Passy Cemetery (french: Cimetière de Passy) is a small cemetery in Passy, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. History The current cemetery replaced the old cemetery (''l'ancien cimetière communal de Passy'', located on Rue Lekain), ...
in the city's
16th arrondissement The 16th arrondissement of Paris (''XVIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''seizième''. The arrondissement includes part of the Arc de T ...
.


Music

Ibert refused to ally himself to any particular musical fashion or school, maintaining that "all systems are valid", a position that has caused many commentators to categorise him as "eclectic". His biographer, Alexandra Laederich, writes, "His music can be festive and gay … lyrical and inspired, or descriptive and evocative … often tinged with gentle humour … all the elements of his musical language bar that of harmony relate closely to the Classical tradition." The early orchestral works, such as ''Escales'', are in "a lush Impressionist style",Griffiths, Paul and Richard Langham Smit
"Ibert, Jacques (François Antoine Marie)."
''The Oxford Companion to Music'', Oxford Music Online, accessed 18 September 2010
but Ibert is at least as well known for lighthearted, even frivolous, pieces, among which are the ''Divertissement'' for small orchestra and the Flute Concerto. Ibert's stage works similarly embrace a wide variety of styles. His first opera, ''Persée et Andromède'', is a concise, gently satirical piece. ''Angélique'' displays his "eclectic style and his accomplished writing of pastiche set pieces". ''Le roi d'Yvetot'' is written, in part in a simple folklike style. The opéra bouffe ''Gonzague'' is another essay in the old opera bouffe style. ''
L'Aiglon ''L'Aiglon'' is a play in six acts by Edmond Rostand based on the life of Napoleon II, who was the son of Emperor Napoleon I and his second wife, Empress Marie Louise. The title of the play comes from a nickname for Napoleon II, the French wo ...
'', composed jointly with Honegger, employs
commedia dell'arte (; ; ) was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as , , and . Charact ...
characters and much musical pastiche in a style both accessible and sophisticated. For the farcical ''Les petites Cardinal'' the music is in set pieces in the manner of an operetta. By contrast ''Le chevalier errant'', a choreographic piece incorporating chorus and two reciters, is in an epic style. Ibert's practice of collaborating with other composers extended to his works for the ballet stage. His first work composed expressly for the ballet was a waltz for ''L'éventail de Jeanne'' (1929) to which he was one of ten contributors, others of whom were
Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...
and
Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include mélodie, songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among th ...
. He was the sole composer of four further ballets between 1934 and 1954. For the theatre and cinema, Ibert was a prolific composer of incidental music. His best-known theatre score was music for Eugène Labiche's ''Un chapeau de paille d'Italie'', which Ibert later reworked as the suite ''Divertissement''. Other scores ranged from music for farce to that for Shakespeare productions. His cinema scores covered a similarly broad range. He wrote the music for more than a dozen French films, and for American directors he composed a score for Orson Welles's 1948 film of '' Macbeth'', and the ''Circus'' ballet for Gene Kelly's '' Invitation to the Dance'' in 1952.


Works


Operas

* '' Persée et Andromède'', 1921 * ''
Angélique (opera) ''Angélique'' is a 1927 French opera by Jacques Ibert Jacques François Antoine Marie Ibert (15 August 1890 – 5 February 1962) was a French composer of classical music. Having studied music from an early age, he studied at the Paris Conservatoi ...
'', 1927 * ''Le roi d'Yvetot'', 1930 * ''Gonzague'', 1931 * ''
L'Aiglon ''L'Aiglon'' is a play in six acts by Edmond Rostand based on the life of Napoleon II, who was the son of Emperor Napoleon I and his second wife, Empress Marie Louise. The title of the play comes from a nickname for Napoleon II, the French wo ...
'' (Acts 1 and 5, the rest by
Arthur Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. A member of Les Six, his best known work is probably ''Antigone'', composed between 1924 and 1927 to ...
), 1937 * ''Les petites cardinal'' (operetta, with Honegger), 1938 * ''Barbe-bleue'', 1943


Ballet

* ''Les amours de Jupiter'', ballet (1945) * ''Le chevalier errant'', épopée choréographique (1951)


Orchestral

* ''La ballade de la geôle de Reading'' (1920) * ''Escales'' (1922) *# Rome – Palerme *# Tunis – Nefta *# Valencia * ''Valse'' (1927; for the children's ballet '' L'éventail de Jeanne'', to which ten French composers each contributed a dance) * ''Divertissement'' (1929) * ''Suite symphonique'' (1930) * ''Symphonie marine'' (1931) * ''Ouverture de fête'' (1940) * ''Louisville Concerto'' (1953) * ''Hommage à Mozart'' (1955) * ''Bacchanale'' (1956) * ''Tropismes pour des amours imaginaires'' (1957) * ''Bostoniana'' (1961; first movement of an unfinished symphony)


Concertos

* Concerto for Cello and Wind Instruments (1925) *
Flute Concerto A flute concerto is a concerto for solo flute and instrumental ensemble, customarily the orchestra. Such works have been written from the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up through the present day. Some major compose ...
(1934) * Concertino da camera for Alto Saxophone and Eleven Instruments (1935–1936) * Symphonie Concertante for Oboe and String Orchestra


Vocal/choral orchestral

* ''Le poète et la fée''


Chamber/instrumental

* ''Six pièces'' for harp solo (1916–1917) * ''Trois Pièces'' for organ Pièce Solennelle, Musette, Fugue (1920) * ''Deux mouvements'' for 2 flutes (or flute and oboe), clarinet and bassoon (1921) * ''Jeux'', Sonatine for flute and piano (1923) * ''Le Jardinier de Samos'' for flute, clarinet, trumpet, violin, cello and percussion (1924) * ''Française'' for guitar (1926) * ''Arie (Vocalise)'' for flute, violin and piano (1927) * ''Aria'' for flute (or other instrument) and piano (1927, 1930) * ''Trois pièces brèves'' for wind quintet (1930) * ''Ariette'' for guitar (1935) * ''Cinq pièces en trio'' for oboe, clarinet and bassoon (1935) * ''Entr'acte'' for flute (or violin) and harp (or guitar) (1935) * ''Pièce'' for flute solo (1936) * String Quartet (1937–1942) * ''Capriccio pour dix instruments'' for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, harp, 2 violins, viola, and cello (1936–1938) * Trio for violin, cello and harp (1944) * ''Deux interludes'' for flute, violin and harpsichord (or harp) (1946) * ''Étude-caprice pour un Tombeau de Chopin'' for cello solo (1949) * ''Ghirlarzana'' for cello solo (1950) * ''Caprilena'' for violin solo (1950) * ''Impromptu'' for trumpet and piano (1950) * ''Carignane'' for bassoon and piano (1953) * ''Arabesque'' for bassoon and piano


Piano

* ''Histoires'', ten pieces for piano (1922) *# La meneuse de tortues d'or (D minor) *# Le petit âne blanc (F major) *# Le vieux mendiant (E major) *# A Giddy Girl (G major) *# Dans la maison triste (C minor) *# Le palais abandonné (B minor) *# Bajo la mesa (A minor) *# La cage de cristal (The crystal cage) (E minor) *# La marchande d'eau fraiche (The water seller) (F minor) *# Le cortège de Balkis (F major) * Toccata (D major) * ''Escales'' (arr. for piano by the composer) * ''Le vent dans les ruines'' (En Champagne) * ''Les rencontres'' (Petite suite en forme de ballet) * ''Matin sur l'eau'' * ''Noel en Picardie'' * ''Petite suite en 15 images'' (1944) *# Prélude *# Ronde *# Le gai vigneron *# Berceuse aux étoiles *# Le cavalier Sans-Souci *# Parade *# La promenade en traineau *# Romance *# Quadrille *# Sérénade sur l'eau *# La machine à coudre *# L'adieu *# Les crocus *# Premier bal *# Danse du cocher * Valse de '' L'éventail de Jeanne'' (arr. for piano by the composer)


Incidental music

* ''Suite Élisabéthaine'' for Shakespeare's ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amo ...
'' (1942) * ''Entr'acte'' for Pedro Ignacio Calderón's '' El médico de su honra (Le médecin de son honneur)'' (1937) Patsy Morit
"Entr'acte, for flute (or violin) & harp (or guitar)(from "Le médecin de son honneur"). "ALLMUSIC", accessed 30 March 2014
/ref>


Film music

* ''S.O.S. Foch'' (director, Jean Arroy), 1931 * '' Moon Over Morocco'' ( Julien Duvivier), 1931 * ''
Don Quichotte ''Don Quichotte'' (''Don Quixote'') is an opera in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Caïn. It was first performed on 19 February 1910 at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo. Massenet's ''comédie-héroïque'', like many dramati ...
'' (
Georg Wilhelm Pabst Georg Wilhelm Pabst (25 August 1885 – 29 May 1967) was an Austrian film director and screenwriter. He started as an actor and theater director, before becoming one of the most influential German-language filmmakers during the Weimar Republic. ...
), 1932 * '' The Two Orphans'' (
Maurice Tourneur Maurice may refer to: People *Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr *Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor * Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and L ...
), 1933 * ''Maternité'' (
Jean Choux Jean Choux (1887–1946) was a French/Swiss film director and producer born in Geneva. Filmography * '' La Vocation d'André Carel'' (1925) * '' La Terre qui meurt'' (1926) * '' Le Baiser qui tue'' (1927) * '' Espionnage ou la guerre sans armes'' ...
), 1934 * ' (Tourneur), 1935 * ''
Golgotha Calvary ( la, Calvariae or ) or Golgotha ( grc-gre, Γολγοθᾶ, ''Golgothâ'') was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where Jesus was said to have been crucified according to the canonical Gospels. Since at least the early mediev ...
'' (Duvivier), 1935 * ''Le Coupable'' ( Raymond Bernard), 1936 * ''
Anne-Marie Anne-Marie Rose Nicholson (born 7 April 1991) is an English singer. She has attained charting singles on the UK Singles Chart, including Clean Bandit's " Rockabye", which peaked at number one, as well as "Alarm", " Ciao Adios", "Friends", "200 ...
'', 1936 * ''
The Former Mattia Pascal '' The Former Mattia Pascal'' (Italian: ''Il fu Mattia Pascal'') is a 1937 Italian drama film directed by Pierre Chenal and starring Pierre Blanchar, Isa Miranda and Irma Gramatica.Landy p.155 It is based on the 1904 novel '' Il fu Mattia Pascal'' ...
'' (''L'Homme de nulle part'') ( Pierre Chenal), 1937 * ''
Conflict Conflict may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Conflict'' (1921 film), an American silent film directed by Stuart Paton * ''Conflict'' (1936 film), an American boxing film starring John Wayne * ''Conflict'' (1937 film) ...
'' (
Léonide Moguy Léonide Moguy (14 July 1899 – 21 April 1976) was a Ukrainian, French and Italian film director, screenwriter and film editor. Moguy was born Leonid Mohylevskyi () in Odesa, Russian Empire in 1899 in a Jewish family. He lived in Soviet Ukraine ...
), 1938 * '' The Patriot'' (1938) * '' Angelica'' (1939) * '' Thérèse Martin'' (1939) * ''
The Phantom Carriage ''The Phantom Carriage'' ( sv, Körkarlen, literally "The Wagoner") is a 1921 Swedish silent film directed by and starring Victor Sjöström, based on the 1912 novel '' Thy Soul Shall Bear Witness!'' (''Körkarlen'') by Swedish author Selma Lag ...
'' (1939) * ''Le Héros de la Marne'' (
André Hugon André Hugon (17 December 1886 – 22 August 1960) was a French film director, screenwriter and film producer best known for his silent films from 1913 onwards, particularly of the 1920s and into sound. Hugon was born in Algiers in 1886 wh ...
), 1939 * ''
La Comédie du bonheur ''La Comédie du bonheur'' ( "the comedy of happiness") is a French-Italian film directed by Marcel L'Herbier as a dual-language production. It was filmed in Rome in the early months of 1940, but after Italy joined World War II on the side of Germa ...
'' ( Marcel L'Herbier), 1940 * ''
Les Petites du quai aux fleurs ''Les Petites du quai aux fleurs'' is a French film. Plot A bookshop owner has four daughters who have romantic troubles. References External linksat louisjourdan.net''Les Petites du quai aux fleurs''at IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Int ...
'' ( Marc Allégret), 1944 * '' Macbeth'' ( Orson Welles), 1948 * ''Circus'' (ballet for '' Invitation to the Dance'', Gene Kelly), 1952; * ''
Marianne of My Youth ''Marianne of My Youth'' (French: ''Marianne de ma jeunesse'', German: ''Marianne'') is a 1955 French–West German romantic drama film directed by Julien Duvivier and starring Marianne Hold, Horst Buchholz and Pierre Vaneck.McCann p.174 It was ...
'' (Duvivier), 1955


References


External links

*
The official website of Jacques Ibert
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ibert, Jacques 1890 births 1962 deaths Musicians from Paris 20th-century classical composers French film score composers French male film score composers French male classical composers French opera composers Male opera composers Prix de Rome for composition French ballet composers Conservatoire de Paris alumni Members of the Académie des beaux-arts French military personnel of World War I Burials at Passy Cemetery French exiles French expatriates in Switzerland Directors of the Paris Opera 20th-century French composers 20th-century French male musicians