Théodore Jean-Baptiste Weckerlin or Wekerlin (9 November 1821 – 20 May 1910) was a French composer and music publisher from

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

Biography

Weckerlin was born at

Guebwiller Guebwiller (french: Guebwiller, ; Alsatian: ''Gàwiller'' ; ) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est currently in north-eastern France. It was a sub-prefecture of the department until 2015. It is situated northwest of Mulhous ...

. In 1844, he began studying singing with

Antoine Ponchard Louis Antoine Ponchard (31 August 1787 – 6 June 1866) was a 19th-century French operatic tenor and teacher. He made his debut in 1812 in ''L'Ami de la maison'', opera by Grétry. In 1825, he sang the leading role − George Brown − at th ...

and composition with

Fromental Halévy Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy, usually known as Fromental Halévy (; 27 May 179917 March 1862), was a French composer. He is known today largely for his opera ''La Juive''. Early career Halévy was born in Paris, son of the cantor ...

at the

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 ...

. In 1847, he published his heroic symphony ''Roland''. In 1853, Weckerlin produced a one-act comic opera, ''L'Organiste dans l'embarras''. In 1869, he was appointed assistant librarian to the Conservatory. In 1863, he produced his comic opera ''Die dreifach Hochzeit im Bäsethal'', and in 1879 ''Der verhäxt Herbst''. These were both in

Alsatian dialect Alsatian ( gsw-FR, Elsässisch, links=no or "Alsatian German"; Lorraine Franconian: ''Elsässerdeitsch''; french: Alsacien; german: Elsässisch or ) is the group of Alemannic German dialects spoken in most of Alsace, a formerly disputed region ...

. In 1877, he brought out the one-act opera ''Après Fontenoy''. In 1876, he became

Félicien David Félicien-César David (13 April 1810 – 29 August 1876) was a French composer. Biography Félicien David was born in Cadenet, and began to study music at the age of five under his father, whose death when the boy was six left him an impoverish ...

's successor as librarian at the Conservatory and published in 1885 a biographical catalogue. Later he became librarian of the Société des Compositeurs. He gained great renown as a composer of choral works. He married Marie Damoreau, the daughter of Madame Laure Cinti-Damoreau, the prima donna of Rossini's French operas. Weckerlin is best remembered for his piano arrangements of traditional French songs, notably the

bergerette A bergerette, or shepherdess' air, is a form of early rustic French song. The bergerette, developed by Burgundian composers, is a virelai with only one stanza. It is one of the "fixed forms" of early French song and related to the rondeau. Example ...

, a particular kind of pastoral

air The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing f ...

, originally for voice accompanied by harpsichord, harp or guitar. His major work, ''Bergerettes, romances et chansons du XVIII siècle'', was published in 1860. It is recorded that he "died in Trottberg" but an obituary on his death in 1910 ran:

Works

Among his works are: * ''Le Jugement dernier'', oratorio * ''L'Aurore'' and ''Paix, charité, grandeur'' (1866), cantatas * ''Les Poèmes de la mer'', for soloist, chorus and orchestra (1860) * ''L'Inde'' (1873) * ''La Fête d'Alexandre'' (1873)

Writings

His ''Histoire de l'instrumentation depuis le seizième siècle jusqu'à l'époque actuelle'' won the gold medal of the Académie in 1875. His ''Musiciana. Extraits d'ouvrages rare ou bizarre'' usiciana. Descriptions of rare or bizarre inventionsdescribes the cat organ and

piganino The Piganino is a conjectural musical instrument using a keyboard as to produce sound from pigs by poking them. Satirical use includes further terms as in german: Schweineorgel (pig organ), french: l’orgue à cochons, and "Hog Harmonium", (a p ...

Selected recordings

* Notable recordings of Weckerlin's arrangements were made by the soprano Mady Mesplé for

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

in the 1970s.''Gramophone'' vol. 59 (1982), p. 704–708: "French Pastoral Songs of the Eighteenth Century", performed by Mady Mesple (soprano), Janine Reisa (harpsichord); EMI Pathe Marconi / Conifer 2C 069 14044 (f 5-75); contains ''Menuet d'Exaudet'', ''Que ne suis-je la fougere'', and ''Bergere legere'' by Weckerlin. * ''La Laitière de Trianon'', performed by Joan Rogers and Yann Beuron; Opera Rara 245.

Bibliography

* * Sam Morgenstern & Harry Barlow: ''A Dictionary of Opera and Song Themes'' (Crown Publishers, 1950)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weckerlin, Jean-Baptiste 1821 births 1910 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century French composers 19th-century French male musicians Conservatoire de Paris alumni French classical composers French librarians French male classical composers French opera composers Male opera composers Music publishers (people) People from Guebwiller Pupils of Fromental Halévy