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

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

Biography

Weckerlin was born at

Guebwiller Guebwiller (; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ''Gàwiller'' ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Haut-Rhin Departments of France, département in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It was a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the de ...

. 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 the ...

and composition with Fromental Halévy at the

Paris Conservatory 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 ...

. 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 ( or "Alsatian German"; Lorraine Franconian: ''Elsässerdeitsch''; ; or ) is the group of Alemannic German dialects spoken in most of Alsace, a formerly disputed region in eastern France that has passed between French and German co ...

. 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. Exam ...

, a particular kind of

pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...

air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

, 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.

Selected recordings

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

Mady Mesplé Mady Mesplé (7 March 1931 – 30 May 2020) was a French opera singer who was considered the leading coloratura soprano of her generation in France, and sometimes heralded as the successor to Mado Robin, with ''Lakmé'' by Delibes becoming her si ...

for

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

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 Opera Rara is a London-based opera company and recording label which specialises in recording and performing forgotten operatic repertoire from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1970 by bel canto enthusiasts Patric Schmid and Don Whi ...

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 French classical composers 19th-century French male musicians Conservatoire de Paris alumni French librarians French opera composers French male opera composers French music publishers (people) People from Guebwiller Musicians from Haut-Rhin Pupils of Fromental Halévy