Paul Joseph Guillaume Hillemacher (25 November 1852 – 13 August 1933) was a French composer and pianist.

Life

Born in Paris, Hillemacher studied at 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 ...

in François Bazin's class. He received a Deuxième Prix for

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 ...

in 1870, and a "1er accessit" in

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 ...

two years later. He won, in 1873, a Second Prix de Rome then, in 1876, the Premier Grand Prix de Rome with his cantata ''Judith''. He composed many stage works, operas, symphonies and art songs. Most of his works were composed in collaboration with his brother Lucien Hillemacher (1860–1909). Their first collaboration began in 1879 with two songs, ''Le Dernier banquet'' and ''Barcarolle''. By 1881, they signed their works, "P. L. Hillemacher", adopting the name Paul-Lucien Hillemacher. In 1882, they published a collection of ''Vingt mélodies'' as well as the symphonic poem ''Loreley'', which won the prize of the City of Paris. One of their songs, ''Ici-bas'', was published by mistake under

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 ...

's name, which testifies to their fame. Lucien Hillemacher won a Second Prix de Rome in 1879 and the First Grand Prix de Rome in 1880 with his Scène lyrique ''Fingal'' after Charles Dancours. There is also a piece for organ in G sharp minor (1907)''Moderato quasi andantino'', dedicated "to Mr Marcel Fouquier, sympathetic tribute, P. L. Hillemacher, 25 Oct. 07". The two Hillemacher brothers were the sons of the academic painter

Eugène Ernest Hillemacher Eugène Ernest Hillemacher (13 October 1818, Paris – 3 March 1887, Paris) was a French history, portrait and Genre art, genre painter in the Academicism, Academic style. Biography His mother was the youngest sister of the Belgian painter a ...

Works in collaboration with Lucien Hillemacher

*''Loreley'', symphonic legend after Eugène Adenis,

Théâtre du Châtelet The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a s ...

, 1882. * 20 mélodies, 1882.''L'invitation au voyage'' on a poem by

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poetry, French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticis ...

, ''S'il est un charmant gazon'' on a poem by

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

(''Les Chants du Crépuscule''), ''Soupir'' on a poem by Sully Prudhomme *''Saint Mégrin'', opéra-comique in four acts on a libretto by Ernest Dubreuil and Eugène Adenis after

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer ...

, Brussels, Théâtre de la Monnaie, 2 March 1886. * ''La Légende de Sainte Geneviève'' (oratorio), 1886. * ''La Passion'' (oratorio), 1887. * ''Les Pêcheurs de l'Adriatique'' (lyrics by C. Brizeux), for voice and orchestra, 1887. *''Une Aventure d'Arlequin'', one-act

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 ...

on a libretto by Louis Judicis de Mirandol, Théâtre de la Monnaie, 22 March 1888. * ''Héro et Léandre'', stage music after a play by

Edmond Haraucourt Edmond Haraucourt (18 October 1856 Bourmont – November 1941 Paris) was a French poet and novelist. Work His first work, ''La légende des sexes, poèmes hystériques'' (1883), under the pen-name of Le Sire de Chambley, attracted some attenti ...

, Paris, Le Chat-Noir, 24 November 1893. * ''One for Two'', pantomime en un acte, London, Théâtre du Prince de Galles, 26 May 1894. * ''Le Régiment qui passe'', one-act opéra comique on a libretto by

Maurice Hennequin Maurice Hennequin (10 December 1863 – 3 September 1926) was a French-naturalized Belgian playwright. Biography A great-grandson of the painter Philippe-Auguste Hennequin, Maurice Hennequin was the son of Alfred Hennequin (1842–1887), himse ...

, Royan, 11 September 1893. * ''Solitudes'', 15 mélodies (poems by

), 1893. * ''Le Drac'', lyrical drama on a libretto by Louis Gallet after George Sand and

Paul Meurice Paul Meurice (5 February 1818 - 11 December 1905) was a French novelist and playwright best known for his friendship with Victor Hugo. Biography Meurice was born and died in Paris. In 1836, aged eighteen, he was introduced to Hugo by his frie ...

, Karlsruhe, 14 November 1896 in German (''Der Flutgeist''); Paris, 1942. * ''Claudie'', stage music from a play by George Sand, 1900. * ''Orsola'', lyrical drama on a libretto by Pierre-Barthélemy Gheusi, Opéra Garnier, 21 May 1902. * 10 mélodies, 1904. * ''Circé'', lyrical poem on a libretto by

, Paris, Opéra Comique, 17 April 1907.

Works by Paul Hillemacher

* ''Judith'',

Cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...

after Pierre Alexandre, 1876. * ''Villanelle XVIIIth'', 1876. * ''15 pièces'', 1876. * ''Trois pièces caractéristiques'', 1879. * Two motets for choir and organ 1881. * 5 romances without words by Mendelssohn, arranged for orchestra, 1882. * 20 new pieces for piano, 1884. * Three waltzes for piano 4 hands, 1884. * ''Retraite'' for orchestra, 1885. * Musical sketches for piano, 1886. * ''Élégie'' for violin, cello and piano, 1889. * Three pieces for cello and piano, 1910. * Two new pieces for cello and orchestra, 1913. * ''Poème de la nuit'', six songs for one voice, 1881. * ''Suite dans le style ancien'' for cello and orchestra, 1919. * Two picturesque pieces, 1921. * Four songs on English texts (New York, 1921). * ''40 leçons graduées de solfège'', 1923. * ''Fra Angelico'', Tableau musical after Maurice Vaucaire, Théâtre national de l'Opéra-Comique, 10 June 1924. * ''Villanelle archaïque'' for oboe (Paris, Brussels, 1926). * ''Le Mystère enchanté'', Ballet pantomime. * ''Midas'', two-act opera.

Writings

* ''Charles Gounod, biographie critique illustrée de douze reproductions hors texte'', Paris, Laurens, vol. 1 (1905), vol. 2 (1925).''Charles Gounod, biographie critique illustrée de douze reproductions hors texte''
on WorldCat

Bibliography

* Stanley Sadie (ed.), ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (London: Macmillan, 1980), vol. 8, p. 562.

Notes

References

External links

Discography
(

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

) *
Paul Hillemacher : Danse des Follets , #7 from 'Quinze Pièces'
(YouTube) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hillemacher, Paul 1852 births 1933 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century French male classical pianists 20th-century classical composers 20th-century French male classical pianists Conservatoire de Paris alumni French male classical composers French Romantic composers Musicians from Paris Prix de Rome for composition