Jean Déré (23 June 1886 – 6 December 1970) was a French music educator and composer.

Life

Born in

Niort Niort (; Poitevin: ''Niàu''; ; ) is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department, western France. It is the prefecture of Deux-Sèvres. The population of Niort is 58,707 (2017) and more than 177,000 people live in the urban area. Geography T ...

, Déré was introduced to classical music by his father, who was organist and choir director in Niort, and performed in public at the age of six. From 1897 he studied 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 was a student of

Louis Diémer Louis Joseph Diémer (14 February 1843 – 21 December 1919) was a French pianist and composer. He was the founder of the Société des Instruments Anciens in the 1890s, and also gave recitals on the harpsichord. His output as a composer was exten ...

Albert Lavignac Alexandre Jean Albert Lavignac (21 January 1846 – 28 May 1916) was a French music scholar, known for his essays on theory, and a minor composer. Biography Lavignac was born in Paris and studied with Antoine François Marmontel, François Ben ...

, Georges Caussade, Charles Lenepveu,

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

and Charles Marie Widor. Already in the time of the First World War he developed his first compositions, among them a symphonic poem and an opera. During this time he also taught in Niort and temporarily represented Widor as organist at The Great Organ of Église Saint-Sulpice de Paris, where he also met

Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was a German and French polymath from Alsace. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. As a Lutheran minister, ...

several times. As the competition and 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 ...

were suspended during the war, Déré had already clearly exceeded the maximum age of thirty years laid down in the rules when he participated in 1919. He won the "Second Grand Prix" 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 Poéte et la Fée''. He then taught

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 ...

at the Conservatoire de Paris before becoming professor of solfège and harmony from 1937 to 1956. In 1933 he became one of the pioneers in the broadcasting of great classical concerts with Désiré-Émile Inghelbrecht, Élisabeth Brasseur and

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

. He was

Jacques Loussier Jacques Loussier (26 October 1934 – 5 March 2019) was a French pianist and composer. He arranged jazz interpretations of many of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, such as the '' Goldberg Variations''. The Jacques Loussier Trio, founded in 1 ...

's teacher. He is the author of pieces for piano, violin, orchestra and an opera ''Le Mirage''. He is also author of film music, in particular '' Kœnigsmark'' (1923). He remained active as a composer and wrote numerous church music works in addition to orchestral and choral works and

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 ...

. Déré died in Sainte-Suzanne, Mayenne at age 84.

Works

* ''Sonate'' for piano and violin * ''Trio'' for piano, violin and cello * ''Poème de la mer'', symphonic poem in three parts * ''Au seuil des arènes'', Opera in three acts * ''Esquisses sketches'', ten pieces for orchestra * ''Krishna'', symphonic poem * ''Trois Esquisses'' for piano and orchestra * Stage music for ''Faustus'' by

Christopher Marlowe Christopher Marlowe ( ; Baptism, baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), also known as Kit Marlowe, was an English playwright, poet, and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the English Renaissance theatre, Eli ...

* ''Andante et Scherzo'' for clarinet and piano * ''Suite brève et disparate'' for cello and piano * ''Chant héroïque'' for cello and piano * ''Deux sonates'' and ''Trois sonatines'' for violin and piano * ''Trois sonatines'' for piano * ''A la campagne'' for piano * ''Trois marines'' for piano * ''Trois danses anciennes'' for piano * ''Chants arabes'' after * ''Les Saintes du Paradis'',

song cycle A song cycle () is a group, or cycle (music), cycle, of individually complete Art song, songs designed to be performed in sequence, as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online'' The songs are either for solo voice or an ensemble, or rarely a combinat ...

after

Rémy de Gourmont Remy de Gourmont (4 April 1858 – 27 September 1915) was a French symbolist poet, novelist, and influential critic. He was widely read in his era, and an important influence on Blaise Cendrars and Georges Bataille. The spelling ''Rémy'' de Gour ...

* ''Jeux et chansons à la mode de chez nous'' * ''Cinq Repons pour les funérailles : Libera me, Domine, Subvenite, In paradisum, Credo quod Redemptor'' and ''Qui Lazarum''.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dere, Jean 1886 births 1970 deaths 20th-century French composers 20th-century French male musicians French classical composers French male classical composers French music educators Academic staff of the Conservatoire de Paris Conservatoire de Paris alumni Prix de Rome for composition Knights of the Legion of Honour People from Niort