Gabriel Édouard Xavier Dupont (1 March 1878 – 1 August 1914) was a French composer, known for his

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

s and

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small nu ...

Biography

Dupont was born in

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Paris Conservatory 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 ...

at the age of 15. There he studied composition with

Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are '' Manon'' (1884) and '' Werther ...

, harmony with Antoine Taudou, and

descant A descant, discant, or is any of several different things in music, depending on the period in question; etymologically, the word means a voice (''cantus'') above or removed from others. The Harvard Dictionary of Music states: A descant is a ...

with

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' ...

. In 1895, he was also given instruction on the organ by

Alexandre Guilmant Félix-Alexandre Guilmant (; 12 March 1837 – 29 March 1911) was a French organist and composer. He was the organist of La Trinité from 1871 until 1901. A noted pedagogue, performer, and improviser, Guilmant helped found the Schola Cantor ...

. Between 1897 and 1903, he studied composition with

Charles-Marie Widor Charles-Marie-Jean-Albert Widor (21 February 1844 – 12 March 1937) was a French organist, composer and teacher of the mid-Romantic era, most notable for his ten organ symphonies. His Toccata from the fifth organ symphony has become one of th ...

. In 1901, while performing his military service, Dupont competed 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 ...

. He won second prize, behind

André Caplet André Caplet (23 November 1878 – 22 April 1925) was a French composer and conductor of classical music. He was a friend of Claude Debussy and completed the orchestration of several of Debussy's compositions as well as arrangements of severa ...

but ahead of

Maurice 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 ...

. He was also named laureate of the Sonzogno competition for his opera ''La Cabrera'', which was later presented with success at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

and then at the Théâtre national de l'Opéra-Comique in 1905. In 1903, Dupont composed a cycle of fourteen pieces for the piano, ''Les Heures dolentes'', during his convalescence from his first bout of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, ...

– the disease that would ultimately cause his death at the age of 36. While residing at Cap Ferret, a small island refuge for tuberculosis patients, he composed another cycle of ten pieces for the piano, ''La Maison dans les dunes'' (1908–1909). Maurice Dumesnil premiered the suite on 3 June 1910 at the

Salle Pleyel The Salle Pleyel (, meaning "Pleyel Hall") is a concert hall in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, designed by acoustician Gustave Lyon together with architect Jacques Marcel Auburtin, who died in 1926, and the work was completed in 1927 by ...

. Dupont wrote three more operas: ''La Glu'' (1909), a Breton melodrama based on a novel by

Jean Richepin Jean Richepin (; 4 February 1849 – 12 December 1926) was a French poet, novelist and dramatist. Biography Son of an army doctor, Jean Richepin was born 4 February 1849 at Médéa, French Algeria. At school and at the École Normale Supé ...

; ''La Farce du cuvier'' (1911), using a libretto by

Henri Caïn Henri Cain (11 October 1857 – 21 November 1937) was a French dramatist, opera and ballet librettist. He wrote over forty librettos from 1893 to his death, for many of the most prominent composers of the Parisian Belle Epoque. Cain was born in ...

; and ''Antar'' (1912–14), also using a Caïn libretto. ''Antar'' was performed after Dupont's death in a grandiose and exotically dark production at the Opéra Comique in March 1921. Dupont died from tuberculosis in Le Vésinet. The monument on his tomb is prominent in the cemetery there. Dupont's brothers also had artistic careers. Maurice, curator of the

Guimet Museum The Guimet Museum (full name in french: Musée national des arts asiatiques-Guimet; MNAAG; ) is an art museum located at 6, place d'Iéna in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. Literally translated into English, its full name is the Nation ...

, was an Oriental expert and man of letters. Robert (1874–1949) was a landscaper for

Sarthe Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the '' Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It ha ...

and Brittany, as well as an official painter of the town halls of Paris.

Selected works

Operas * ''La Cabrera'', libretto by Henri Cain (1903) * ''La Glu'', libretto by

and Henri Cain (1908) * ''La Farce du cuvier'' (1911) * ''Antar'', libretto by Chekri Ganem (1913) Vocal * ''Trois Choeurs'', songs from Normandy for women's choir (1900) * ''Poèmes d'automne'', songs (1904) Orchestra * ''Les Heures dolentes'' (1906) * ''Le Chant de la Destinée'', symphonic poem (1908) Organ * ''Allegretto'' (1898) * ''Élévation en Si bémol majeur'' * ''Pièce en forme de canon'', published in ''L'Orgue moderne'', 10th issue, edited by

and

(Paris: Leduc, 1897) * ''Méditation'', published in ''L'Orgue moderne'', 15th isssue, edited by Charles-Marie Widor and Alexandre Guilmant (Paris: Leduc, 1899) * ''Pour la Toussaint'' (1902) * ''Offertoire'', ''Élévation'' and ''Sortie'', published in ''Archives de l'organiste'', vol. 4, edited by H. Delépine (Arras: Procure Générale de musique religieuse, c. 1910) Piano * ''Deux Airs de Ballet'' (1895) * ''Feuillets d'album'' (1897) * ''Les Heures dolentes'' (1905) * ''La Maison dans les Dunes'' (1909) Chamber * ''Journée de Printemps'' for violin and piano (1901) * ''Poème'' for piano and string quartet (1911)

Recordings

Dupont's complete works for solo piano have been recorded by Émile Naoumoff,

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 cl ...

, and Bo Ties. A recording of ''La Cabrera'' has been released on the Bongiovanni label. A recording of "Les Heures Dolentes", played by pianist Daniel Blumenthal, was released on the Cybella label. Dupont's "Poème", "Journées de Printemps", as well as selections from "Heures dolentes" and "La Maison dans les dunes", were recorded by Marie-Catherine Girod and the Pražák Quartet and released on the Mirare label in 2014.

Bibliography

* Robert Jardillier
Hommage à Gabriel Dupont
in ''Revue de Bourgogne'', vol. 12, p. 635–646 (Dijon, 1924) * Philippe Simon, ''Gabriel Dupont (1878–1914), ou La Mélancolie du Bonheur'', Atlantica-Séguier (2001). * Adriano Spampanato, ''Gabriel Dupont, un compositeur méconnu'', CNSMDP, Master's thesis, 2016 * Adriano Spampanato, ''En attendant Dupont ...'', in: ''Revue Massenet'', no. 14, p. 50–58, Mortagne-au-Perche 20

* Bo Ties
''An Orchestral Approach to the Piano Works of Gabriel Dupont. Remembering and Recording a Forgotten Musician
', DMA (Doctor of Musical Arts) thesis (University of Iowa, 2018)

References

External links

*
Dupont: Complete Works for Solo Piano, by Émile Naoumoff
*, 4 excerpts by Daniel Blumenthal (pianist), Daniel Blumenthal, piano *, complete, Stéphane Lemelin, piano *, Sara Chen and Pablo Muńoz, violin; Jae Choi, cello; Émile Naoumoff, piano {{DEFAULTSORT:Dupont, Gabriel 1878 births 1914 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century French composers 19th-century French male musicians 20th-century classical composers 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis 20th-century French composers 20th-century French male musicians Conservatoire de Paris alumni French male classical composers French Romantic composers Musicians from Caen Prix de Rome for composition Tuberculosis deaths in France