Armand Lunel (; 9 June 1892 – 3 November 1977) was a French writer of Provençal

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

background.

Biography

Lunel was born in

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...

, France, to a family that belonged to a Jewish subculture that had roots in the area for at least five centuries. After growing up in the region, Lunel taught law and philosophy in

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

. Lunel wrote extensively about the Jews of Provence. Though often referred to as the last known speaker of Judeo-Provençal, he did not actually speak it; at most, he learned a few words and sentences from his great-grandparents. He was a childhood friend of the composer

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (, ; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His composition ...

, and wrote the librettos of Milhaud's operas ''Esther de Carpentras'' ("Esther of

Carpentras Carpentras (, formerly ; Provençal dialect, Provençal Occitan language, Occitan: ''Carpentràs'' in classical norm or ''Carpentras'' in Mistralian norm; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the ...

," 1938, based on Judeo-Provençal folklore), ''Les malheurs d'Orphée'' ("The Misfortunes of Orpheus," 1924), and ''

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

'' (1954). He also provided the libretto for Henri Sauguet's '' La chartreuse de Parme'', premiered in 1939. He married Rachel Suzanne Messiah (1892–1981), a daughter of architect Aaron Messiah, in 1920. Most of the current knowledge about Lunel was collected by his son-in-law Georges Jessula.

Bibliography

*''L'Imagerie du cordier'',

La Nouvelle Revue Française LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

, Paris, 1924. *''Nicolo-Peccavi'' ou ''L' affaire Dreyfus à

'', Gallimard, Paris, 1926. *''Le Balai de sorcière'', Gallimard, Paris, 1935. *''Jérusalem à Carpentras'', Gallimard, 1937. *''Les Amandes d'Aix'', Gallimard, Paris, 1949. *''La Belle à la fontaine'', A. Fayard, Paris, 1959. *''J'ai vu vivre la Provence'', A. Fayard, Paris, 1962. *''Juifs du Languedoc, de la Provence et des États français du Pape'',

Albin Michel Albin may refer to: Places * Albin, Wyoming, US * Albin Township, Brown County, Minnesota, US * Albin, Virginia, US People * Albin (given name), origin of the name and people with the first name "Albin" * Albin (surname) ;Mononyms * Albin of ...

, Paris, 1975. Translated by Samuel N. Rosenberg as "The Jews of the South of France" (with a foreword by David A. Jessula), Cincinnati: Hebrew University College ''Annual'' 89 (2018), pp. 1–158. *''Les Chemins de mon judaïsme et divers inédits'', presented by Georges Jessula, L'Harmattan, Paris, 1993.

References

* .

External links

Armand Lunel
at Beit Hatefutsot, the Museum of the Jewish Diaspora in Ramat Aviv, Israel
"The Last Man Who Spoke Provence's Dead Jewish Language"
1977 deaths 1892 births 20th-century French Jews French opera librettists Jewish novelists Prix Renaudot winners Writers from Aix-en-Provence French male novelists French male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century French novelists 20th-century French dramatists and playwrights 20th-century French male writers {{opera-bio-stub