Théodore François Joseph Berry Labarre (23 March 1805 – 9 March 1870) was a French

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...

ist and composer. He lived in Paris and in London and was awarded 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 ...

in 1823 as well as the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

in 1862.

Life

Labarre was born in Paris to parents Pierre Charles Berry Labarre and Sophie Genevelly. He studied the harp with Jacques-Georges Cousineau and 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 ...

with François Joseph Naderman and

Nicolas-Charles Bochsa Robert-Nicolas-Charles Bochsa (; 9 August 1789 – 6 January 1856) was a French harpist and composer. His relationship with Anna Bishop was popularly thought to have inspired that of Svengali and Trilby in George du Maurier's 1894 novel ''Tril ...

, also harmony with Victor Dourlen and composition with

François-Adrien Boieldieu François-Adrien Boieldieu (, also ) (16 December 1775 – 8 October 1834) was a French composer, mainly of operas, often called "the French Mozart".. Although his reputation is largely based upon his operas, Boieldieu composed other works and amo ...

. In 1823, after having won the

, he travelled to England to give several solo concerts, also including Ireland. This was followed by travels to Switzerland and Italy, before he returned to France in 1831. He tried his hand, with varying degrees of success, in opera and ballet, but his popularity largely stemmed from his romances and melodies rather than from his large-scale works. The main focus of his work were compositions for the harp. In 1837, he married the singer Algaé Caroline Antoinette Lambert, with whom he regularly performed in England. He was conductor of the Opéra Comique between 1847 and 1849, afterwards "inspecteur accompagnateur" of the Imperial Chapel of

Napoléon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

, and finally (from 1867), professor of harp at the Conservatoire. His pupils included Joseph-Léon Gatayes and

Félix Godefroid Dieudonné-Félix Godefroid (24 July 1818 - 12 July 1897) was a Belgian harpist, who composed for his instrument and for the piano. Félix Godefroid was born at Namur, where his father failed in a theatre venture and moved the family to Boulogn ...

. He died in Paris.Biographical account mainly based on Labarre's entry in ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart (MGG)'', biographical part vol. 10, Kassel: Bärenreiter, 2003, cc. 949.

Selected works

Opera *''Les Deux familles'', comic opera in 3 acts (1831) *''L'Aspirant de marine'', comic opera in 1 act (1834) *''Le Ménétrier, ou Les deux duchesses'', comic opera in 3 acts (1845) *''Pantagruel'', opéra bouffe in 2 acts (1855) Ballet *''La Révolte des femmes au sérail'', 3 acts (1833) *''Jovita, ou Les Boucaniers'', 3 tableaux (1853) *''La Fonti'', 6 tableaux (1855) *''Graziosa'', 1 act (1861) Vocal (songs) *''Rives de la Plata'' (words: A. Betourné). Romance. Paris:

Le Ménestrel ''Le Ménestrel'' (, ''The Minstrel'') was an influential French music journal published weekly from 1833 until 1940. It was founded by Joseph-Hippolyte l'Henry and originally printed by Poussièlgue. In 1840 it was acquired by the music publishe ...

(Journal) n° 23, Mai 1834. Also version with guitar accompaniment by

Matteo Carcassi Matteo Carcassi (8 April 1792 – 16 January 1853)Raffaele Carpino, Mario dell'Ara: "Matteo Carcassi. Un nuovo aggiornamento biografico", in: ''Il Fronimo'' no. 184 (2018), p. 5–9. was an Italian guitarist and composer. Life Carcassi was born i ...

(in same issue) *''Album. 8 Mélodies'' (1843) *''Album. 12 Mélodies'' (1844) *''Album. 12 Romances'' (1852) *many more songs and religious music Harp *''Souvenirs irlandais'' op. 32 (1829) *''Thème et Variations'' op. 34 (c.1829) *''Trois Airs irlandais favoris: Sly Patrick, The Minstrel Boy, Nora Creena'' op. 39 (1830) *''Fantaisie sur des motifs de Fra Diavolo de D.F.E. Auber'' op. 46 (1830) *''Ricordanza di Paganini'' op. 51 (1831) *''Fantaisie sur des motifs de l'opéra de Gustave ou Le Bal masqué de D.F.E. Auber'' op. 66 (c.1835) *''Fantaisie écossaise'' op. 90 (1838) *''Nocturne espagnol'' op. 91 (1838) *''Les Danses nationales de l'Europe'' op. 93 (c.1838) *''Les Charmes de Londres. Grande fantaisie sur des airs anglais favoris'' op. 100 (1840) *''Souvenir de Donizetti''. Fantaisie op. 101 (1840) *''Fantaisie sur l'opéra Il Giuramento de Mercadante'' op. 103 (1841) *''Grande fantaisie sur des motifs de Anna Bolena et de La Norma'' op. 109 (1842) *''Fantaisie sur des motifs de l'Opéra La Favorite de G. Donizetti'' op. 112 (1842) Piano *''Six Petits caprices caractéristiques'' op. 115 (1842) *''Sylvia'', romance sans paroles (c.1845) Duos for harp and piano *''Duo sur l'opéra de Tancrède'' op. 9 (c.1820) *''Mosaïque sur l'Ambassadrice'' op. 83 (1837) *''Grand duo du couronnement'' op. 104 (1841) *''Duo sur des motifs de La Favorite de G. Donizetti'' op. 111 (1842) *''Duo brillant sur les plus beaux motifs de Linda de Chamouny de Donizetti'' op. 115 (c.1843)

References

External links

Théodore Labarre scores
at IMSLP
Musical Manuscripts Collection
at the

Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center, known as the Humanities Research Center until 1983, is an archive, library, and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Labarre, Theodore 1805 births 1870 deaths 19th-century French classical composers 19th-century French male musicians Knights of the Legion of Honour Composers for harp Conservatoire de Paris alumni Academic staff of the Conservatoire de Paris French ballet composers French classical harpists French male classical composers French opera composers French Romantic composers Musicians from Paris Prix de Rome for composition Pupils of Victor Dourlen