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 impoverished orphan. His good voice enabled him to study as a choirboy at the Cathedral of Saint-Sauveur in
Aix-en-Provence
Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...
, which he left at the age of 15 with a sound knowledge of music, and a scholarship which enabled him to study literature at a
Jesuit
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
college. However, after three years, he abandoned these studies to pursue a musical career.
He first obtained a position in the orchestra of the theatre at Aix. In 1829, he became '' maître de chapelle'' at Saint-Sauveur, but realised that to complete his musical education he needed to study at Paris. An allowance of 50 francs per month from a rich uncle made this possible.
In Paris in 1830 he convinced
Luigi Cherubini
Maria Luigi Carlo Zenobio Salvatore Cherubini ( ; ; 8 or 14 SeptemberWillis, in Sadie (Ed.), p. 833 1760 – 15 March 1842) was an Italian Classical and Romantic composer. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music. Beethov ...
, the director of the
Conservatoire
A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...
, to enroll him as a pupil: despite his reservations, Cherubini recognised the talent shown by David's choral setting of ''
Beatus vir
''Beatus vir'' (; "Blessed is the man...") are the first words in the Latin Vulgate Bible of both Psalm 1 and Psalm 112 (in the general modern numbering; it is Psalm 111 in the Greek Septuagint and the Vulgate). In each case, the words are used ...
''. Despite the sudden withdrawal of his uncle's subsidy, David's studies, with Fétis and others, continued successfully.
On leaving the Conservatoire, David was caught up in the
Saint-Simonian
Claude Henri de Rouvroy, Comte de Saint-Simon (; ; 17 October 1760 – 19 May 1825), better known as Henri de Saint-Simon (), was a French political, economic and socialist theorist and businessman whose thought had a substantial influence on po ...
movement, for which he became a great enthusiast. The Saint-Simonians held music to be an important art, and David wrote much music for them, including a number of hymns. After the suppression of the movement in 1832, David joined with a number of adepts who visited the Middle East. This also proved a source of strong inspiration, leading eventually to his greatest success, the symphonic ode ''Le désert'' of 1844.
Returning to Paris in 1833, he wrote a number of '' romances'', and instrumental music including three symphonies (in F major, E major and C minor, composed in 1837, 1838 and 1849); by 1838/39 he was successful enough to be able to arrange public performances of his works. With ''Le désert'' he was acknowledged by the public and the critics as a significant force. The ''
Revue et gazette musicale
The ' () was a weekly musical review founded in 1827 by the Belgian musicologist, teacher and composer François-Joseph Fétis, then working as professor of counterpoint and fugue at the Conservatoire de Paris. It was the first French-language ...
'' announced, the morning after its premiere, "A great composer has been born amongst us". To relieve his substantial debts, however, the composer sold the rights to his masterpiece for a relatively small sum.
David wrote a number of operas, of which the most notable are ''Christophe Colomb'' (1847), ''La perle du Brésil'' (1851), '' Herculanum'' (1859), and '' Lalla-Roukh'' (1862). Amongst his oratorios are ''Moïse au Sinaï'' ('Moses on Sinai') (1846), and ''Eden'' (1848).
David became a member of the
Légion d'honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
in 1862 and was given a civil pension. On the death of
Berlioz
Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...
in 1869, he took his place in the
Institut de France
The ; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the . 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 manages approximately ...
. He died in
Le Pecq
Le Pecq () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the center of Paris.
Geography
The commune of Le Pecq is located in a loop of the Se ...
(now
Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. ...
) in the département
Yvelines
Yvelines () is a department in the western part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207.Musicologie.org lists no.3 in E as being in E, but there is substantial evidence elsewhere that their key is wrong. No.3 is in E major, was published in 1846 by Meissonnier, can be seen in partial manuscript at the Morgan Library & Museum, New York, and was recorded in 2017 by Ediciones Singulares.
Vocal
* '' Le désert'' (Ode-symphonie)
* ''Christoph Colomb'' (Ode-symphonie)
* ''Moïse au Sinaï'',
oratorio
An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble.
Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...
* ''Eden'', oratorio
* ''
La Perle du Brésil
''La Perle du Brésil'' (''The Pearl of Brazil'') is an 1851 in 3 acts by composer Félicien David to a French-language libretto by J. Gabriel and .
Performance history
The opera was premiered on 22 November 1851 by the Opéra-National under Ed ...
'',
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 Théâtre de la foire, Fair Theatres of St Germain and S ...
in three acts (22 November 1851, Paris)
* '' Herculanum'', opéra in four acts (4 March 1859, Paris)
* '' Lalla-Roukh'', opéra comique in two acts (12 May 1862, Paris)
* ''Le Saphir'', opéra comique in three acts (8 March 1865, Paris) on a libretto by Michel Carré, Adolphe de Leuven and Térence Hadot (18..-18..)
* ''La Captive'', opéra comique in three acts (1883, Paris)
* Motets ''Pie Jesu'' / ''Miseremini'' / ''Alma redemptoris Mater'' (for Aix cathedral choir), ''O salutaris''