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''Le désert'' is an "ode-symphonie" in three parts by the French composer
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 ...
with words by fellow Saint-Simonien Auguste Colin, written after the composer's stay in Egypt and the Holy Land.Macdonald H. Félicien David. In : ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London and New York, 1997. The work was first performed to great acclaim at the
Paris Conservatoire 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 ...
on 8 December 1844, conducted by Théophile Tilmant, and taken up at the Théâtre-Italien and by
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'' ...
. At its premiere the work was played alongside two other Saint-Simonien works also by David; ''Chant du Soir'' and ''Le Sommeil de Paris''.Locke, Ralph P. ''Music, Musicians and Saint-Simonians.'' The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 1986, p209-210. David had needed to borrow 1,200 francs to pay for the orchestra and hall. David's friends and colleagues Charles Duveyrier (half brother of Mélesville) and Barthélemy Prosper Enfantin took it upon themselves to challenge a contract David had innocently signed with Escudier which had given the publisher the rights to all David's works for ever, for only 1,200 francs. ''Le désert'' was successful from its premiere and influenced the conception of works based around the orient by many other French composers. David later wrote other works in similar vein, such as his operas ''
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 ...
'' and '' Lalla-Roukh''. The work is scored for speaker, tenor solo, male chorus and orchestra. It consists of several vocal and orchestral movements, each introduced by a recitation. The different sections of the ode move from the song of the desert, arrival of a caravan, storm in the desert, calm after the storm and the caravan continuing its journey, the star of Venus, a hymn to the night, dances, sunrise, the song of the
muezzin The muezzin (; ), also spelled mu'azzin, is the person who proclaims the call to the daily prayer ( ṣalāt) five times a day ( Fajr prayer, Zuhr prayer, Asr prayer, Maghrib prayer and Isha prayer) at a mosque from the minaret. The muezzin ...
, departure of the caravan and song to Allah. ''Le désert'' was planned to be staged as an opera at the
Théâtre Lyrique The Théâtre Lyrique () was one of four opera companies performing in Paris during the middle of the 19th century (the other three being the Paris Opera, Opéra, the Opéra-Comique, and the Théâtre-Italien (1801–1878), Théâtre-Italien). ...
to accompany ''
La sonnambula ''La sonnambula'' (; ''The Sleepwalker'') is an opera semiseria in two acts, with music in the ''bel canto'' tradition by Vincenzo Bellini set to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani, based on a scenario for a ''ballet-pantomime'' written by Eu ...
'' in 1867, but these plans did not come to fruition. However, Pasdeloup in his short-lived tenure at the Théâtre Lyrique presented seven well-received concert performances in 1869–70, as well as concerts of David's symphonic ode ''Christophe Colomb''.
Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma, to a family of moderate means, recei ...
used the melody of the ‘chant du muezzin’ in his ballet music for the Paris premiere of ''
Otello ''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on William Shakespeare, Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the La Scala, Teatro alla Scala, M ...
'' in 1894. Budden also finds the influence of the dawn movement of ''Le désert'' – which Verdi had heard in Milan in 1845 – in the prologue of ''
Attila Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central Europe, C ...
'' (1846). Parts of Bizet's '' Les pecheurs de perles'', also show the influence of ''Le désert'', for instance in the Act 1 finale (« O dieu Brahma ») and Act 2 « De mon amie ». Offenbach wrote music for a 'parodie' of the work entitled ''Citrouillard au désert'', first performed at the house of the Countess Bertin de Vaux at the end of February 1846. A simple bourgeois is bored in the desert, and diverted by several choruses and dances. At the break of dawn a long crescendo leads to the tune '
Au clair de la lune "" (, ) is a French Folk music, folk song of the 18th century. Its composer and lyricist are unknown. Its simple melody () is commonly taught to beginners learning an instrument. Lyrics The song appears as early as 1820 i''Les Voitures Verse� ...
'. The work was also performed at the
Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique () is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular Théâtre de la foire, theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief riva ...
on 27 March 1846.Yon, Jean-Claude. ''Jacques Offenbach.'' Éditions Gallimard, Paris, 2000. David's work is mentioned in chapter XV of
Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...
's 1886 novel '' Robur the Conqueror''. Wikisource text of Robur the Conqueror
André Gide André Paul Guillaume Gide (; 22 November 1869 – 19 February 1951) was a French writer and author whose writings spanned a wide variety of styles and topics. He was awarded the 1947 Nobel Prize in Literature. Gide's career ranged from his begi ...
was fond of this "likeable" piece as a teenager, as reported in his memoir '' Si le grain ne meurt'', chapter 6. Henri Vieuxtemps made a transcription of the tenor aria ''"Hymne à la nuit"'' as ''La Nuit'' for viola and piano.


Section listing

;Première partie :# Chœur: Allah! Allah! :# Marche de la caravane :# La tempête au désert; La caravane reprend sa marche ;Deuxième partie :# Hymne à la nuit :# Fantaisie arabe; Danse des Almées :# La liberté au désert :# La rêverie du soir ;Troisième partie :# Le lever du soleil :# Chant du muezzin :# Le départ de la caravane


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Desert, le 1844 compositions Orientalism