Félix-Ludger Rossignol, known as Victorin de Joncières (12 April 1839 – 26 October 1903), 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 ...

and

music critic ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...

.Wright LA. "Victorin de Joncières". In: ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volu ...

.'' Macmillan, London & New York, 1997.

Biography

Son of a political writer and editor of ''La Patrie'' and ''Constitutionel'', he was born at Paris, and his first musical lessons were from aunts. Leaving the

Lycée Bonaparte Lycée Bonaparte is a French international school in Doha, Qatar. It includes levels ''maternelle'' (preschool) through '' lycée'' (senior high school). The École Française de Doha was established in a rented villa in Slata Al Jadida in the 19 ...

at 16, he decided to study to be a painter, entering the studio of

Picot picot is a loop of thread created for functional or ornamental purposes along the edge of lace or ribbon, or croché, knitted or tatted fabric. The loops vary in size according to their function and artistic intention. 'Picot', pronounced ''p ...

. Fétis F-J. ''Biographie universelle des musiciens.'' Paris, 1878. However, Joncières kept up his musical interest and had a short

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 ...

performed by students 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 ...

, and was advised to abandon art and take up music. He entered the Conservatoire and followed the classes of Simon Leborne 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 ...

and

counterpoint In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

. However, after hearing one of

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

's first concerts in the French capital, he had a disagreement with the professors and in 1860 abandoned his studies to devote himself to composition. He composed some incidental music for ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' (performed both in Paris and

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

), but found little success with two operas produced at the

Théâtre Lyrique The Théâtre Lyrique was one of four opera companies performing in Paris during the middle of the 19th century (the other three being the Opéra, the Opéra-Comique, and the Théâtre-Italien). The company was founded in 1847 as the Opéra-N ...

: ''Sardanapale'' (based on

Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...

, with Christina Nilsson, 1867) and ''Les Derniers jours de Pompéi'' (from

the novel ''The Novel'' (1991) is a novel written by American author James A. Michener. A departure from Michener's better known historical fiction, ''The Novel'' is told from the viewpoints of four different characters involved in the life and work of ...

Edward Bulwer-Lytton Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton, PC (25 May 180318 January 1873) was an English writer and politician. He served as a Whig member of Parliament from 1831 to 1841 and a Conservative from 1851 to 1866. He was Secret ...

, 1869). His violin concerto was played at the Conservatoire in 1870 by

Jules Danbé Jules Danbé (16 November 1840 – 30 October 1905) was a French violinist, composer and conductor, mainly of opera. Biography Danbé was born in Caen, Calvados. Trained as a violinist, he was a pupil of Narcisse Girard and Marie Gabriel Augu ...

, and a ''Symphonie romantique'' at the Concert national in 1873. His opera '' Dimitri'' (after Schiller's play ''

Demetrius Demetrius is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning “Demetris” - "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, Dimitri, Dimitrie, Dimitar, Dumit ...

'') had more success in 1876 and was revived in 1890 at 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 ...

. From 1871 to 1900, he wrote on music for ''La Liberté'' (using the pseudonym "Jennius""Jennius"
D'Heylli G. ''Dictionnaire des pseudonymes.'' New (3rd) edition. Dentu & Cie., Paris, 1887. Gallica.), penning biting criticisms of earlier opéra comique composers and of Berlioz. Although Joncières presented his candidature for the

Institut de France The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute m ...

he was refused. He died in his native city of Paris.

Works

Stage *Incidental music for ''Hamlet'', 1864 *''Sardanapale'' (words by Henry Becque after

, 8 February 1867 *''Les Derniers jours de Pompéi'', Théâtre Lyrique, 21 September 1869 *'' Dimitri'' (words by de Bornier,

Silvestre Silvestre is a Spanish and Portuguese given name or surname, or a French surname. Notable people with the name include: Surname *Cindy Silvestre (born 1993), a French kickboxer * Franck Silvestre (born 1967), a retired French footballer *Israel ...

and Carvalho after Schiller), Théâtre de la Gaîté, 5 May 1876 *''La Reine Berthe'' (words by

Jules Barbier Paul Jules Barbier (8 March 182516 January 1901) was a French poet, writer and opera librettist who often wrote in collaboration with Michel Carré. He was a noted Parisian bon vivant and man of letters.Opéra de Paris The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...

, 27 December 1878 * ''Le Chevalier Jean'', (words by Gallet and Blau),

, 11 March 1885 * ''Le Baron Frick'' ( Ernest Depré, Clairville), operetta in 1 act (1885), written in collaboration with

Georges Pfeiffer Georges Jean Pfeiffer (12 December 1835 – 14 February 1908) was a French composer, pianist, and music critic. He was a much sought-after chamber music partner in the second half of the nineteenth century in Paris. Life Pfeiffer was born in Ver ...

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 ...

, and

Francis Thomé Francis Thomé (18 October 1850 – 16 November 1909), was a French pianist and composer. He was born in Port Louis, Mauritius, and studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Jules Duprato and Ambroise Thomas. After leaving the Conservatoire, he bec ...

*''

Lancelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), also written as Launcelot and other variants (such as early German ''Lanzelet'', early French ''Lanselos'', early Welsh ''Lanslod Lak'', Italian ''Lancillotto'', Spanish ''Lanzarote del Lago' ...

'', (words by Gallet and Blau), Paris Opéra, 7 February 1900 Orchestral music * Violin Concerto, Paris, 12 December 1869 *''Symphonie romantique'', Paris, 9 March 1873 *''La Mer'', ode symphonique, 1881

References

Deshoulières, Nicolas, ''L’Œuvre critique et musicale de Victorin Joncières (1839-1903)'', thèse de doctorat sous la direction de J.-P. Bartoli, Paris-Sorbonne, 1151 p., 2018. {{DEFAULTSORT:Joncieres, Victorin 1839 births 1903 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century French composers 19th-century French journalists 19th-century French male writers 19th-century French male musicians Conservatoire de Paris alumni French male classical composers French male journalists French male writers French music critics French opera composers Male opera composers Musicians from Paris Writers from Paris