Marie François Maurice Emmanuel (2 May 1862 – 14 December 1938) was a French

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 ...

and musicologist born in

Bar-sur-Aube Bar-sur-Aube (, literally ''Bar on Aube'') is a commune and a sub-prefecture in the Aube department in the Grand Est region of France. Surrounded by hills and Champagne vineyards, the city is traversed by the river Aube, from which it derives ...

, a small town in the

Champagne-Ardenne Champagne-Ardenne () is a former administrative region of France, located in the northeast of the country, bordering Belgium. Mostly corresponding to the historic province of Champagne, the region is known for its sparkling white wine of the ...

region of northeastern France. It was there where he first heard his grandfather's printing press which according to his granddaughter, Anne Eichner-Emmanuel, first gave him the feeling of rhythm. Brought up in

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

, Maurice Emmanuel became a chorister at

Beaune Beaune () is the wine capital of Burgundy in the Côte d'Or department in eastern France. It is located between Lyon and Dijon. Beaune is one of the key wine centers in France, and the center of Burgundy wine production and business. The annua ...

cathedral after his family moved to the city in 1869. According to his granddaughter, Anne Eichner-Emmanuel, he was influenced by the brass bands on the streets of Beaune and by the "songs of the grape pickers which imprinted melodies in his memory so different from all the classical music he was taught in the academy of music." Subsequently, he went to Paris, and in 1880 he entered 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 ...

, where his composition teacher was

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� ...

. His other teachers included

Théodore Dubois Clément François Théodore Dubois (24 August 1837 – 11 June 1924) was a French Romantic composer, organist, and music teacher. After study at the Paris Conservatoire, Dubois won France's premier musical prize, the Prix de Rome in 1861. He bec ...

(harmony) and

Louis-Albert Bourgault-Ducoudray Louis-Albert Bourgault-Ducoudray (2 February 1840 – 4 July 1910) was a French Breton composer, pianist, and professor of music history/theory at the Conservatoire de Paris as well as a Prix de Rome laureate. He was born at Nantes and died at ...

(history). Emmanuel also studied classics, poetics, philology and art history at the Sorbonne and

École du Louvre The École du Louvre is an institution of higher education and grande école located in the Aile de Flore of the Louvre Palace in Paris, France. It is dedicated to the study of archaeology, art history, anthropology and epigraphy. Admission is ...

. Delibes' strong disapproval of his early modal compositions (Cello Sonata, Op. 2, Sonatinas No. 1, Op. 4 and No. 2, Op. 5)'The Pith and Marrow' by

Harry Halbreich Harry Halbreich (Berlin, 9 February 1931 – Brussels, 27 June 2016) was a Belgian musicologist.Dust jacket biography of Harry Halbreich from #Halbreich2007, Halbreich (2007).Patrick Szersnovicz. Harry Halbreich (obituary). ''Diapason (magazine), ...

, an essay in the booklet notes to Timpani recording 1C1194 caused a rift between them and his expulsion from Delibes' class. Emmanuel subsequently went to study with

Ernest Guiraud Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor *Ernest, M ...

, also at the Conservatoire. At the Conservatoire he came to know

Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

who was also a pupil there. In addition, he attended the Conservatoire classes of

César Franck César-Auguste Jean-Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in modern-day Belgium. He was born in Liège (which at the time of his birth was p ...

, about whom he wrote a short book in 1930 (''César Franck: Etude Critique''). Emmanuel pursued a notable academic career. He wrote a treatise in 1895 on the music of

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...

, for which he earned a doctorate in 1896. He taught art history at the

Lycée Racine The lycée Racine is a public school in the quartier de l'Europe located in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It consists of a lycée as well as BTS assistant manager and BTS bank staff courses. It takes the name of Jean Racine, playwright and his ...

and Lycée Lamartine until 1904, when he became choirmaster at the church of Sainte-Clotilde, assisted by

Émile Poillot Émile André Poillot () (10 March 1886 – 22 June 1948) was a French pianist, organist, and pedagogue. Life Émile Poillot was born in Dijon, Côte-d'Or, France, on . He received his first musical training from his father, Jules Poillot, who ha ...

, during the tenure of organist

Charles Tournemire Charles Arnould Tournemire (22 January 1870 – 3 or 4 November 1939) was a French composer and organist, notable partly for his improvisations, which were often rooted in the music of Gregorian chant. His compositions include eight symphon ...

, serving until 1907. He was appointed professor of the history of music at the Conservatoire in 1909, and taught there until 1936. His students included

Robert Casadesus Robert Marcel Casadesus (7 April 1899 – 19 September 1972) was a renowned 20th-century French pianist and composer. He was the most prominent member of a distinguished musical family, being the nephew of Henri Casadesus and Marius Casadesus, ...

Yvonne Lefébure Yvonne Lefébure (29 June 1898, Ermont – 23 January 1986, Paris) was a French pianist and teacher. Born in Ermont, she studied with Alfred Cortot at the Conservatoire de Paris, taking a ''premier prix'' in piano and numerous other subjects. She ...

Georges Migot Georges Elbert Migot (27 February 1891 – 5 January 1976) was a prolific French composer. Though primarily known as a composer, he was also a poet, often integrating his poetry into his compositions, and an accomplished painter. He won the 1921 ...

Jacques Chailley Jacques Chailley (24 March 1910 – 21 January 1999) was a French musicologist and composer.Alain Lompech, "Jacques Chailley, musicologue-praticien et infatigable chercheur", ''Consociatio internationalis musicæ sacræ, Musicæ sacræ ministerium ...

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonically ...

and

Henri Dutilleux Henri Paul Julien Dutilleux (; 22 January 1916 – 22 May 2013) was a French composer active mainly in the second half of the 20th century. His small body of published work, which garnered international acclaim, followed in the tradition of ...

. Emmanuel destroyed all but 30 works composed up to 1938; he died in Paris that year. Emmanuel's interests included

folksong Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

Oriental The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the ...

music, and exotic

modes Mode ( la, modus meaning "manner, tune, measure, due measure, rhythm, melody") may refer to: Arts and entertainment * '' MO''D''E (magazine)'', a defunct U.S. women's fashion magazine * ''Mode'' magazine, a fictional fashion magazine which is ...

— his use of these modes in various of his works had appalled Delibes, who had vetoed his entering for 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 ...

. The compositions of Emmanuel, seldom heard today even in France, include operas after Aeschylus (''Prométhée enchaîné'' and ''Salamine'') as well as symphonies and

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

s. Probably the creations of his most often performed now are his six ''sonatines'' for solo piano, which (like many of his other pieces) demonstrate his eclectic academic interests. The first of the ''sonatines'' draws on the music of Burgundy, while the second incorporates

birdsong Bird vocalization includes both bird calls and bird songs. In non-technical use, bird songs are the bird sounds that are melodious to the human ear. In ornithology and birding, songs (relatively complex vocalizations) are distinguished by func ...

, the third uses a Burgundian folk tune in its finale, and the fourth is subtitled ''en divers modes hindous'' ("in various Hindu modes").

Recordings

*''Complete Songs'' - Odelettes anacréontiques op. 13; Musiques op. 17; Vocalise-étude op. 24; In memoriam op. 11. Florence Katz,

Marie-Catherine Girod Marie-Catherine Girod (born 19 August 1949) is a French classical pianist. Biography Born in Peyrehorade, Girod studied piano at the Conservatoire de musique de Bordeaux, then at the Conservatoire de Paris where she entered Jules Gentil's cla ...

, Timpani (record label), 1995 *''Songs of Burgundy'' -

orchestral song The orchestral song (German ') is a late romantic genre of classical music for solo voices and orchestra. History What was effectively song with instrumental accompaniment – the cantata and the aria – had been part of music since the early bar ...

s. Florence Katz, Jean-Pierre Quénaudon, Laure Rivierre (piano), Choeur de Bourgogne, cond. Roger Toulet Marco Polo (record label), 1995 *''Chamber Music'' - Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op. 2; Trio for Flute, Clarinet and Piano, Op. 11; Suite on Greek Folk Songs, Op. 10; Sonata for bugle and piano, Op. 29; String Quartet, Op. 8. Various Artists Timpani (record label), 2010 *''Symphonies, Suite, Overture'' - Overture for a Gay Story, Op. 2; Symphony No. 1 in A, Op. 18; French Suite, Op. 26; Symphony No. 2 in A, Op. 25. Slovene Philharmonic Orchestra, cond.

Emmanuel Villaume Emmanuel Villaume (born 1964 in Strasbourg, France) is a French orchestra conductor. He is currently music director of the Dallas Opera and chief conductor of the Prague Philharmonia. Biography Villaume began his musical education at the Strasbou ...

Timpani (record label), 2010 *''6 Sonatines (Op. 4, Op. 5, Op. 19, Op. 20, Op. 22, Op. 23) - Laurent Wagschal, piano Timpani (record label), 2010

References

* Malcolm MacDonald, notes for recording Continuum CCD 1048, ''Maurice Emmanuel Six Sonatines'', Peter Jacobs (piano). * ''Maurice Emmanuel, compositeur français'', ed. Sylvie Douche. Praha: Bärenreiter, 2007 Paris: Université de Paris-Sorbonne, 2007. * Christophe Corbier, ''Maurice Emmanuel'', bleu nuit éditeur, Paris 2007. * Anne Eichner-Emmanuel, Grand-daughter of ''Maurice Emmanuel'', Interview on accompanying DVD to the music CD on Timpani No. 1c1194

External links

Maurice Emmanuel
at Musicologie.org *

Biography by Naxos
Maurice Emmanuel
Website for the Composer {{DEFAULTSORT:Emmanuel, Maurice 1862 births 1938 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century French composers 19th-century French male musicians 19th-century French musicologists 20th-century classical composers 20th-century French composers 20th-century French male musicians 20th-century French musicologists French Romantic composers French male classical composers French opera composers Male opera composers Conservatoire de Paris faculty Conservatoire de Paris alumni People from Beaune Musicians from Dijon Pupils of Léo Delibes