Félix-Ludger Rossignol (12 April 1839 – 26 October 1903), known as Victorin de Joncières (), was a French composer and music critic.Wright LA. "Victorin de Joncières". In: ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes. The dictionary was first published in 1992 by Macmillan Reference, L ...

.'' Macmillan, London & New York, 1997.

Biography

Son of a political writer and editor of ''La Patrie'' and ''Constitutionel'', he was born at Paris, and his first musical lessons were from aunts. Leaving the

Lycée Bonaparte Lycée Bonaparte is a French international school in Doha, Qatar. It includes levels ''maternelle'' (preschool) through ''lycée'' (senior high school). It is named after French Emperor Napoleon. The École Française de Doha was established in ...

at 16, he decided to study to be a painter, entering the studio of

Picot A picot is a loop of thread created for functional or ornamental purposes along the edge of lace or ribbon, or crocheted, knitted or tatted fabric. The loops vary in size according to their function and artistic intention. 'Picot', pronounced ...

. Fétis F-J. ''Biographie universelle des musiciens.'' Paris, 1878. However, Joncières kept up his musical interest and had a short

opéra comique ''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular ''opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Théâtre de la foire, Fair Theatres of St Germain and S ...

performed by students of 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 ...

, and was advised to abandon art and take up music. He entered the Conservatoire and followed the classes of Simon Leborne in

fugue In classical music, a fugue (, from Latin ''fuga'', meaning "flight" or "escape""Fugue, ''n''." ''The Concise Oxford English Dictionary'', eleventh edition, revised, ed. Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson (Oxford and New York: Oxford Universit ...

and

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 ...

. However, after hearing one of

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

's first concerts in the French capital, he had a disagreement with the professors, and in 1860, abandoned his studies to devote himself to composition. He composed some incidental music for ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'' (performed both in Paris and

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

), but found little success with two operas produced 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). ...

: ''Sardanapale'' (based on

Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

, with

Christina Nilsson Christina Nilsson, Countess de Casa Miranda, also called Christine Nilsson (20 August 1843 – 22 November 1921) was a Swedish operatic dramatic coloratura soprano. Possessed of a pure and brilliant voice (B3-F6), first three then two and a ha ...

, 1867) and ''Les Derniers jours de Pompéi'' (from the novel by

Edward Bulwer-Lytton Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (; 25 May 1803 – 18 January 1873) was an English writer and politician. He served as a Whig member of Parliament from 1831 to 1841 and a Conservative from 1851 to 1866. He was Secr ...

, 1869). His violin concerto was played at the Conservatoire in 1870 by

Jules Danbé Jules Danbé (16 November 1840 – 30 October 1905) was a French violinist, composer and conductor, mainly of opera. Biography Danbé was born in Caen, Calvados. Trained as a violinist, he was a pupil of Narcisse Girard and Marie Gabriel Aug ...

, and a ''Symphonie romantique'' at the Concert national in 1873. His opera ''

Dimitri Dimitri, Dimitry, Demetri or variations thereof may refer to: __NOTOC__ People Given name * Dimitri (clown), Swiss clown and mime Dimitri Jakob Muller (1935–2016) * Dimitri Atanasescu (1836–1907), Ottoman-born Aromanian teacher * Dimitri Ayo ...

'' (after

Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

's play ''

Demetrius Demetrius is the Latinization of names, Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male name, male Greek given names, given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, ...

'') had more success in 1876 and was revived in 1890 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 ...

. From 1871 to 1900, he wrote on music for ''La Liberté'' (using the pseudonym "Jennius""Jennius"
D'Heylli G. ''Dictionnaire des pseudonymes.'' New (3rd) edition. Dentu & Cie., Paris, 1887. Gallica.), penning biting criticisms of earlier opéra comique composers and of

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'' ...

. Although Joncières presented his candidature for the

Institut de France The ; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the . It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute manages approximately ...

he was refused. He died in his native city of Paris.

Works

Stage *Incidental music for ''Hamlet'', 1864 *''Sardanapale'' (words by Henry Becque after

, 8 February 1867 *''Les Derniers jours de Pompéi'', Théâtre Lyrique, 21 September 1869 *''

'' (words by de Bornier,

Silvestre Silvestre is a Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese given name or surname, or a French language, French surname. Notable people with the name include: Surname *Cindy Silvestre (born 1993), French kickboxer *Franck Silvestr ...

and

Carvalho Carvalho (), meaning 'oak', is a Portuguese surname. Origin: Celtic toponymic, from ''(s)kerb(h)''/''karb'' (hard, twisted). The surname is most common in Portugal, Brazil, Galicia (although in Galicia it may be spelled ' Carvallo' or ' Car ...

after

), Théâtre de la Gaîté, 5 May 1876 *''La Reine Berthe'' (words by

Jules Barbier Paul Jules Barbier (; 8 March 182516 January 1901) was a French poet, writer and opera librettist who often wrote in collaboration with Michel Carré.

Opéra de Paris The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

, 27 December 1878 * ''Le Chevalier Jean'', (words by Gallet and Blau),

, 11 March 1885 * ''Le Baron Frick'' (

Ernest Depré Ernest is a given name derived from the Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious", often shortened to Ernie. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People * Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilia ...

, Clairville), operetta in 1 act (1885), written in collaboration with

Georges Pfeiffer Georges Jean Pfeiffer (12 December 1835 – 14 February 1908) was a French composer, pianist, and music critic. He was a much sought-after chamber music partner in the second half of the nineteenth century in Paris. Life Pfeiffer was born in Ver ...

Ernest Guiraud Ernest Guiraud (; 23 June 18376 May 1892) was an American-born French composer and music teacher. He is best known for writing the traditional orchestral recitatives used for Bizet's opera '' Carmen'' and for Offenbach's opera '' Les contes d ...

, and

Francis Thomé Francis Thomé (18 October 1850 – 16 November 1909), was a French pianist and composer. He was born in Port Louis, Mauritius, and studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Jules Duprato and Ambroise Thomas. After leaving the Conservatoire, he bec ...

*''

Lancelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), alternatively written as Launcelot and other variants, is a popular character in the Matter of Britain, Arthurian legend's chivalric romance tradition. He is typically depicted as King Arthu ...

'', (words by Gallet and Blau), Paris Opéra, 7 February 1900 Orchestral music * Violin Concerto, Paris, 12 December 1869 *''Symphonie romantique'', Paris, 9 March 1873 *''La Mer'', ode symphonique, 1881

References

Deshoulières, Nicolas, ''L’Œuvre critique et musicale de Victorin Joncières (1839-1903)'', thèse de doctorat sous la direction de J.-P. Bartoli, Paris-Sorbonne, 1151 p., 2018. {{DEFAULTSORT:Joncieres, Victorin 1839 births 1903 deaths 19th-century French classical composers 19th-century French journalists 19th-century French male writers 19th-century French male musicians Conservatoire de Paris alumni French male journalists French male writers French music critics French opera composers French male opera composers Musicians from Paris Writers from Paris