Alexis Roland-Manuel (22 March 18911 November 1966) was a French composer and critic, remembered mainly for his criticism.

Biography

He was born Roland Alexis Manuel Lévy in Paris, to a family of

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

and

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

origins. He studied composition under

Vincent d'Indy Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy (; 27 March 18512 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher. His influence as a teacher, in particular, was considerable. He was a co-founder of the Schola Cantorum de Paris and also taught at the P ...

and Albert Roussel. As a young man he befriended composer Erik Satie, who helped him to make numerous influential connections. In 1911, Satie introduced Roland-Manuel to Maurice Ravel, whose pupil, friend and biographer he soon became. In 1947, he was appointed Professor of

Aesthetics Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed t ...

at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as 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 ...

, where he remained until his retirement in 1961, making many contributions to musical theory and criticism, even assisting Igor Stravinsky by ghost-writing the theoretical work "The Poetics of Music". In addition to theoretical works, he wrote and composed various works for stage, especially

comic operas Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

, and screen, developing a partnership with director

Jean Grémillon Jean Grémillon (; 3 October 1901 – 25 November 1959)Note that, despite attempts at correction, thIMDb entry on the directorlists his date of birth erroneously as 4 March 1898. The correct date is given in his standard biography, by Geneviève S ...

, for five of whose films he composed the scores. Roland-Manuel's criticism included several monographs on the music of Ravel from the perspective of a respectful pupil and a lifetime friend. The titles include "Ravel", "Ravel et son oeuvre" and "Ravel et son oeuvre dramatique".

Arthur Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. A member of Les Six, his best known work is probably ''Antigone'', composed between 1924 and 1927 t ...

dedicated '' Pastorale d'été'' to Roland-Manuel.Topeka Symphony
He died in Paris in 1966.

Selected works

Stage

*''Isabelle et Pantalon'' (1922) * ''Canarie'' (1927; for the children's ballet ''

L'éventail de Jeanne ''L'éventail de Jeanne'' (''Jean's Fan'') is a children's ballet choreographed in 1927 by Alice Bourgat and Yvonne Franck. The music is a collaborative work by ten French composers, each of whom contributed a stylised dance in classic form: ...

'', to which ten French composers each contributed a dance) * ''Le Diable amoureux'' (1929), opera based on the novel '' The Devil in Love'' by

Jacques Cazotte Jacques Cazotte (; 17 October 1719 – 25 September 1792) was a French author. Life Born in Dijon, he was educated by the Jesuits. Cazotte then worked for the French Ministry of the Marine and at the age of 27 he obtained a public office at Mar ...

* ''Canarie'' (1952: for the collaborative orchestral work '' La guirlande de Campra'') * ''Jeanne d'Arc'' (1955)

Film scores

* ''

Little Lise ''Little Lise'' (French: ''La petite Lise'') is a 1930 French drama film directed by Jean Grémillon and starring Nadia Sibirskaïa.Andrew p.107 It was shot at the Joinville Studios of Pathé in Paris. The film's sets were designed by Guy de Ga ...

'' (1930) * '' The Dream'' (1931) * ''Partir'' ('' Departure'', 1931) * ''

The Brighton Twins ''The Brighton Twins'' (French: ''Les jumeaux de Brighton'') is a 1936 French comedy film directed by Claude Heymann and starring Raimu, Michel Simon and Suzy Prim.Crisp p.407 It is based on the 1908 play of the same title by Tristan Bernard. ...

'' (1936) * ''

The Strange Monsieur Victor ''The Strange Monsieur Victor'' (French: ''L'Étrange Monsieur Victor'') is a 1938 French-German drama film directed by Jean Grémillon and starring Raimu, Pierre Blanchar and Madeleine Renaud. It was shot at the Tempelhof Studios in Berlin. The ...

'' (1938) * ''Remorques'', ('' Stormy Waters'', 1941) * '' Summer Light'' (1943) * ''Le Ciel est à vous'' ('' The Woman Who Dared'', 1944)

References

External links

* * Writers from Paris 1891 births 1966 deaths 20th-century classical composers French male classical composers French music critics French ballet composers French male non-fiction writers 20th-century French composers 20th-century French male musicians 20th-century French male writers Ravel scholars {{France-composer-stub