Paul Lacombe (11 July 1837 – 4 June 1927) was a
Languedoc
The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France.
Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...
ien (
French)
composer and
pianist
A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...
.
Biography
Paul Lacombe was born in
Carcassonne
Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department.
Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the Au ...
into a wealthy family of linen merchants. Initial music lessons were at the piano with his mother and he later studied voice,
fugue,
harmony and
counterpoint with François Teysseyre (1821–1887), an alumnus of 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 ...
who opened the first music school in Carcassonne in 1851.
[Andrieu, Martial]
Société des Amis de Paul Lacombe: Biographie
Retrieved 17 September 2012. [Ferchault, Guy]
"Lacombe, Paul"
''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', Barenreiter Kassel – Basel, 1960, pp. 39-40.
Lacombe was an admirer of the music of
Georges Bizet, particularly the opera ''
The Pearl Fishers
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
''. In 1866 he began a correspondence with Bizet and asked him to help with his composition. Bizet accepted, and for two years, from 1866 to 1868, compositional advice and corrections were exchanged via post. A real friendship developed between the two as Bizet realized the enthusiasm of his student.
In 1871, Lacombe was a founding member of the
Société Nationale de Musique
Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA.
Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the sec ...
. Bizet promoted Lacombe's music among his Parisian peers, and was responsible for a performance of Lacombe's Violin Sonata, Op. 8, by
Pablo de Sarasate and
Élie-Miriam Delaborde
Élie-Miriam Delaborde (born Eraïm-Miriam Delaborde; 7 February 18399 December 1913) was a French virtuoso pianist and composer. He was also renowned as a player of the pedal piano.
Life
His birth was registered under the name of his mother L ...
. Having shown excellent compositional control in a study for quartet, Bizet wrote to Lacombe in 1867 encouraging him to write a symphonic work. Lacombe produced the ''Ouverture symphonique'', Op. 22, which was premiered in 1876, a performance Bizet never heard due to his untimely death the previous year.
Lacombe went on to write ''Suite pastorale'', Op. 31 (1878), a work praised by
Édouard Lalo
Édouard-Victoire-Antoine Lalo (27 January 182322 April 1892) was a French composer. His most celebrated piece is the '' Symphonie espagnole'', a five-movement concerto for violin and orchestra, which remains a popular work in the standard repe ...
, and two Prix-de-la-société-des-compositeurs-winning symphonies: No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 30 (1879) and No. 3 in A, Op. 48 (1887). Due to efforts made by Bizet, his music was played regularly at the
Concerts Colonne
The Colonne Orchestra is a French symphony orchestra, founded in 1873 by the violinist and conductor Édouard Colonne.
History
While leader of the Opéra de Paris orchestra, Édouard Colonne was engaged by the publisher Georges Hartmann to lead ...
and
Pasdeloup.
Though Lacombe's music was well appreciated among fellow composers and musicians, it never gained a widespread popularity as he was not willing to leave his hometown of Carcassonne for Paris.
A prolific composer with more than 150 works, his only significant popular success came in 1890 with the ''Aubade printanière'', Op. 37. Throughout he retained a sense of classical form and melody, but explored contemporary (i.e.
Impressionistic
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passag ...
) harmonies in his later works. His compositional style presents, aside from its clean and solid craftsmanship, an amiable and appealing character, but with no particular originality.
In addition to symphonic works, Lacombe composed a large volume of piano music, concertante works, chamber music and some 120 songs, many of which remain in manuscript.
Recordings of his three piano trios, and the ''Méditation pour violon et piano'', Op 124 of 1906, were released on the Dutton Epoch label in 2021.
In 1901, Lacombe was appointed under the sponsorship of
Camille Saint-Saëns 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, ...
, who awarded him the Prix Chartier for his chamber music in 1887. He was made a
Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur in 1902.
Lacombe died in Carcassonne in 1927. In 1929, the city erected a monument in his memory on the street that bears his name, and honored him in June 1984 through a major exhibition and concert.
Paul Lacombe has sometimes been confused with fellow composer
Paul Lacôme d'Estalenx (1838–1920).
Some of Lacôme's scores, including in operettas ''La fille de l'air'' and ''Les quatre filles Aymon'', were published as composed by "Paul Lacombe".
Selected works
;Orchestral
* ''Ouverture symphonique'', Op. 22 (1876)
* Symphony No. 1 in B minor, Op. 30 (1879); awarded Prix de la Société des compositeurs in 1879
* ''Suite pastorale'', Op. 31 (1878)
* Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 34 (1882)
* ''Ouverture dramatique''
* ''Aubade printanière'', Op. 37 (1884)
* ''Sérénade catalane'', Op. 39 (published 1890)
* ''Intermède-Gavotte'', Op. 43 (1880)
* ''Ronde languedocienne'' for chamber orchestra, Op. 44 (1884); also for piano
* ''Sérénade d'automne'' for string orchestra, Op. 47 (1887)
* Symphony No. 3 in A, Op. 48 (1887); awarded Prix de la Société des compositeurs in 1887
* ''Scène au camp'', Op. 49 (1886)
* ''Marche élégiaque'', Op. 50 (1892)
* ''Parade hongroise'', Op. 53 (1892); also for piano
* ''Promenade sous bois'', Op. 54 (1892); also for piano
* ''Aubade aux mariés'', Op. 56 (1892)
* ''Chanson gasconne'', Op. 60 (1893); also for piano
* ''Sous le balcon'' (Beneath the Balcony), Sérénade for chamber orchestra, Op. 62 (1893)
* ''Printemps joyeux'', Op. 67; also for piano
* ''Ballade: Impressions d'avril'' (1895)
* ''Intermède'' for string orchestra, Op. 74 (1895)
* ''Sous les étoiles'', Marche-Nocturne for chamber orchestra, Op. 78 (1896); also for piano
* ''Rapsodie sur des airs du pays d'Oc'' in E major, Op. 128 (1906)
* ''Dernière aubade'', Op. 137 (1910); also for piano
* ''Marche dernière'', Op. 150 (1918)
* ''Dialogue sentimental'', Op. 151 (1917); also for piano
* ''Cortège religieux'' in E major
;Concertante
* ''Divertissement'' for piano and orchestra, Op. 40 (1885); awarded Prix de la Société des compositeurs in 1885
* ''Sérénade d'automne'' for flute, oboe, string orchestra and horn (ad libitum), Op. 47 (1891)
* ''Rapsodie'' for violin and orchestra, Op. 51 (1891); also for violin and piano
* Suite for piano and orchestra, Op. 52 (1896)
* ''L'amour'' for cello and chamber orchestra, Op. 77
* ''Concerto en ré'' for piano and orchestra
* Concerto No. 2 for piano and orchestra
;Chamber music
* Sonata No. 1 in A minor for violin and piano, Op. 8 (1868)
* ''3 Morceaux de fantaisie'' for cello and piano, Op. 10
* Piano Trio No. 1 in G major, Op. 12 (1870)
* ''4 Morceaux'' for violin and piano, Op. 14
* Sonata No. 2 in F minor for violin and piano, Op. 17 (c.1873)
* ''3 Airs de ballet'' for violin or cello and piano
* ''Rapsodie'' for violin and piano (or orchestra), Op. 51 (1891)
* ''Berceuse'' for violin and piano, Op. 77 (1895)
* Suite No. 2, 4 Morceaux for violin and piano, Op. 88 (1897)
* Piano Trio No. 2, Op. 90 (1898)
* ''Sérénade humoristique'', Trio for violin, cello and piano, Op. 93 (1898)
* Sonata No. 3 for violin and piano, Op. 98
* Sonata for cello and piano, Op. 100 (1902)
* Piano Quartet in C minor, Op. 101 (1904)
* ''6 Pièces'' for violin and piano, Op. 107
* ''Méditation'' for violin and piano, Op. 124 (1906)
* ''Aubade à Ninon'' for violin and piano, Op. 125
* ''Morceau de fantaisie'' in D major for viola and piano, Op. 133 (1909)
* Piano Trio No. 3 in A minor, Op. 134 (1909)
* ''Chanson d'Espagne'' for cello and piano, Op. 142
;Piano
* ''Remembrance'', Op. 3
* ''Absence et retour'', 2 Romances sans paroles, Op. 5
* ''5 Morceaux caractéristiques'', Op. 7 (1966)
* ''4 Pièces'' for piano 4-hands, Op. 9 (1869)
* ''2 Idylles: Caprice chromatique et gavotte'', Op. 11 (1869)
* ''Nocturne et Impromptu'', Op. 13
* Suite No. 1 in A minor, Op. 15
* ''Arabesques'', Op. 16
* ''Études en forme de variations'', Op. 18 (1875)
* ''Caprice-Polka'' in E major, Op. 21 (1876)
* ''5 Feuilles d'album'', Op. 23 (1876)
* ''Ballade'', Op. 24
* ''2 Impromptus'', Op. 26
* ''Aquarelles'', 4 Pièces faciles, Op. 27
* ''Esquisses et souvenirs'', Fantaisies en forme de valses, Op. 28 (1878)
* ''Élégies'', Op. 32
* ''6 Études'', Op. 33 (1880)
* ''3 Airs de ballet'', Op. 35
* ''Nocturne et valse lent'', Op. 36
* ''Aubade printanière'', Op. 37 (1884); also orchestrated
* ''Intermède de concert'', Op. 38 (1887)
* ''Valse'', Op. 41
* ''Ronde languedocienne'', Op. 44 (1884); also orchestrated
* ''Impromptu No. 4'', Op. 46
* ''Marche élégiaque'', Op. 50
* ''Parade hongroise'', Op. 53 (1892); also orchestrated
* ''Promenade sous bois'' in F major, Op. 54 (1892); also orchestrated
* ''Laendler'', Op. 55
* ''Intimités'', Op. 57
* ''Chanson gasconne'', Op. 60 (1893); also orchestrated
* ''2 Valses'', Op. 61
* Suite No. 2, Op. 64 (1894)
* ''Printemps joyeux'', Op. 67; also orchestrated
* ''Impromptu No. 5'', Op. 71
* ''Danse basque à cinq temps'', Op. 72 (1895)
* ''2 Pièces'', Op. 74 (1895)
* ''Sous les étoiles'', Marche-nocturne, Op. 78 (1896); also orchestrated
* ''Pages improvisées'', Op. 79 (1896)
* Suite No. 3, Op. 80 (1896)
* ''Promenade matinale'', Op. 81 (1896)
* ''Toccatina'' in A major, Op. 85 (1897)
* ''Adoration'', Op. 86
* ''Valse'', Op. 91
* ''Valse humoresque'', Op. 95 (1898)
* ''Vieux airs'' (1899)
* ''Petite valse'', Op. 102 (1900)
* ''Prélude et étude de concert'', Op. 105 (1903)
* ''4 Études à Francis Planté'', Op. 109 (1903)
* ''Danse d'Aïnhara'', Airs du pays basque, Op. 110
* ''Feuilles volantes'', Pièces brèves, Op. 112 (1904)
* ''6 Morceaux de danse en forme de mazurka'', Op. 114 (1905)
* ''Impromptu No. 6'', Op. 118
* ''Suite de valses'', Op. 120 (1906)
* ''2 Romances sans paroles'', Op. 126
* ''Aria et sarabande'', Op. 130
* ''Dernière aubade'', Op. 137 (1910); also orchestrated
* ''Petits préludes'', Op. 140 (1911)
* ''Marche dernière'', Op. 150 (1917)
* ''Dialogue sentimental'', Op. 151 (1917); also orchestrated
* ''Impromptu No. 7''
* ''Petite suite'' (1921)
;Vocal
* ''Les crépuscules'' for voice and piano; words by Charles Fuster (1866–1929)
* ''Bruyère jolie'' for voice and piano (1894); words by J. Dejean
* ''Les ailes du rêve'' for voice and piano (1897); words by Charles Fuster
* ''La chanson des cigales'', Petits poèmes chantés for 3 female voices; words by
Marguerite de Baure
* ''Nuit d'été'', Duo for soprano and mezzo-soprano (1902); words by
Marguerite de Baure
* ''Aubade'' for voice and piano; words by
Jean Lahor
* ''Aubade printanière'' for voice and piano
Sources
Paul Lacombe website: Société des Amis de Paul Lacombe
*
Fétis, François-Joseph (1880). ''Biographie universelle des musiciens et bibliographie générale de la musique, Supplément et Complément, Tome 2''. Paris: Firmin-Didot et Cie. p. 58.
References
External links
Paul Lacombe website: Société des Amis de Paul Lacombe
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lacombe, Paul
1837 births
1927 deaths
19th-century classical composers
20th-century classical composers
Knights of the Legion of Honour
French male classical composers
19th-century French male classical pianists
People from Carcassonne
French Romantic composers
19th-century French composers
20th-century French composers
20th-century French male musicians