Henri Maréchal (22 January 1842 – 12 May 1924) was a French composer.

Life

Born in Paris, Maréchal studied music theory with Émile Chevé and

Édouard Batiste Édouard Batiste (; 28 March 1820 – 9 November 1876) was a French composer and organist. Career Batiste was born in Paris and studied at the Conservatory as a teenager, winning prizes in solfège, harmony and accompaniment, counterpoint and f ...

and piano with Louis Chollet. On the advice of Alexis de Castillon, he entered the composition class of

Victor Massé Victor Massé (; born Félix Marie Massé; 7 March 1822 – 5 July 1884) was a French composer. Biography Massé was born in Lorient (Morbihan) and studied at the Paris Conservatoire, winning the Prix de Rome in 1844 for his cantata ''Le Rénég ...

at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or 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 Jean Ja ...

, where he also studied

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

with

François Benoist François Benoist (; 10 September 1794 – 6 May 1878) was a French organist, pedagogue, and composer. Life and career Benoist was born in Nantes on 10 September 1794. He took his first music lessons under Georges Scheuermann. Benoist studied m ...

and

counterpoint In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. The term originates from the Latin ...

with Charles-Alexis Chauvet. In 1870 he won the Premier Grand Prix de Rome with the

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...

''Le Jugement de Dieu'' . After the stay in the

villa Medici The Villa Medici () is a sixteenth-century Italian Mannerist villa and an architectural complex with 7-hectare Italian garden, contiguous with the more extensive Borghese gardens, on the Pincian Hill next to Trinità dei Monti in the historic ...

in Rome associated with the prize, he made his debut as a composer in Paris with the "poème sacré" ''La Nativité'' (1875). He then composed several operas, ballets and dramatic music, another "drame sacré", choral and orchestral works, songs,

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

pieces and

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the preeminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to the Eng ...

s. His first opera ''Les Amoureux de Catherine'' was performed for the hundredth time in 1889 and was given until 1920. Maréchal's compositional style is often characterized by chromaticism, his musical expression simple, but dramatic and effective. He also wrote music-critical articles for ''

Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...

'' and published several volumes of Memories and in 1910 the ''Monographie universelle de l'Orphéon''.Henri Maréchal
on Musimen He corresponded with the composer Marguerite Olagnier. Maréchal died in Paris.

Selected works

*''La Nativité'', poème sacré, 1875 *''Les Amoureux de Catherine'', Opera, 1876 *''La Taverne des Trabans'', Opera, 1876 *''L'Ami Fritz'', theatrical music, 1876 *''L'Etoile'', Opera, 1881 *''Les Rantzau'', theatrical music, 1882 *''Les vivants et les mortes'' for four voices and orchestra, 1886 *''Le Miracle de Naïm'', drame sacré, 1887 *''Déidamie'', Opera, 1893 *''Calendal'', Opera, 1894 *''Esquisses vénitiennes'', "Suite symphonique" for Orchestra, 1894 *''Pin-Sin'', Opera, 1895 *''Daphnis et Chloé'', Opera, 1899 *''Le Lac des Aulnes'', Opera, 1907 *''Crime et châtiment'', theatrical music *''Rapsodie'' for violin and piano *''Elégie'' for viola and piano, *''Chansons du Midi'' for Choir *''Provence'' for Choir *''Le Voyage'' for Choir *''Agnus Dei'' three-part motet *''Kyrie'', three-part motet *''Ave verum'', motet for solo baritone *''O Salutaris'', motet

Writings

*''Rome: Souvenirs d'un musicien'' (1904) *''Paris: Souvenirs d'un musicien'' (1907) *''Monographie universelle de l'Orphéon'' (1910) *''Lettres et Souvenirs, 1871–1874'' (1920)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marechal, Henri 1842 births 1924 deaths 19th-century French male musicians 20th-century French male musicians Conservatoire de Paris alumni French ballet composers French male classical composers French opera composers French Romantic composers Composers from Paris Prix de Rome for composition