Charles-Édouard Lefebvre (19 June 1843 – 8 September 1917) was a French composer. Lefebvre was born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, the son of painter Charles Lefebvre, and studied with

Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

and

Ambroise Thomas Charles Louis Ambroise Thomas (; 5 August 1811 – 12 February 1896) was a French composer and teacher, best known for his operas ''Mignon'' (1866) and ''Hamlet'' (1868). Born into a musical family, Thomas was a student at the Conservatoire de ...

at the

Paris Conservatoire 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 ...

. In 1870, he 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 ...

together with Henri Maréchal (1842–1924) for the cantata ''Le Jugement de Dieu''. He was awarded the Prix Chartier for his compositions twice, in 1884 and 1891. In 1895 he succeeded

Benjamin Godard Benjamin Louis Paul Godard (18 August 184910 January 1895) was a French violinist and Romantic-era composer of Jewish extraction, best known for his opera ''Jocelyn''. Godard composed eight operas, five symphonies, two piano and two violin concer ...

as director of the Paris Conservatoire's chamber music class. According to Elaine Brody's entry on him in

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

(1980), "In his own words, he worked in pastels rather than oils." He died in

Aix-les-Bains Aix-les-Bains (, ; frp, Èx-los-Bens; la, Aquae Gratianae), locally simply Aix, is a commune in the southeastern French department of Savoie.

Savoie Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè'' or ''Savouè-d'Avâl''; English: ''Savoy'' ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. Located in the French Alps, its prefecture is Chambéry. In 2019, Savoie had a population of ...

, aged 74.

Works

*''Le Jugement de Dieu'' (1870) *''Le Chant du cavalier'' (Duo for Cello (or Bassoon) and Piano (or Organ), 1876) *op. 46: ''3 Pièces'' (Duos for Cello and Piano, 1877) *''Lucrèce'' (opera, 1878) *op. 53: ''Le Trésor'' (comic opera in 1 act, libretto by François Coppée, premiered 1883 in

Angers Angers (, , ) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the prov ...

) *op. 57: ''Suite'' (for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet in Bb, Bassoon and Horn) (1884) *op. 66: ''Zaïre'' (opera in 4 acts, libretto by P. Collin based on the homonymous play by

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...

, premiered 1887 in

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

) *op. 68: ''Méditation'' (for Organ and Orchestra, arranged for Harmonium, Piano, Violin and Cello in 1899 by A. Jeanbernat) *''Djelma'' (opera in 3 acts, libretto by Charles Lomon, premiered on May 25, 1894 at the

Théâtre de l'Opéra 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 k ...

in Paris) *''Andante'' (for 2 Celli, 1895) *op. 98: ''Sonate pour violoncelle et piano'' (in a minor, dedicated to Mme. Félix Guyon, 1896) *op.102: ''Dieu Pieces pour hatbois et piano'' (Andante et Allegro) *op. 118: ''Fantaisie Caprice'' (for Clarinet in Bb and Piano) *''Psalm'', for choir and orchestra *''Judith'', lyrical drama *''Dalila'', oratorium *''Melka'', oratorium *''Eloa'', oratorium *''Sainte-Cécile'', oratorium *''La Fille de Jephthe'', oratorium *''La Messe du Fantôme'', oratorium *''Toggenburg'', oratorium

External links

Charles Edouard Lefebvre
at www.operone.de in German *

Bibliography

*Bio in ''

Maîtres contemporains de l'orgue Maîtres contemporains de l'orgue is an eight-volume collection edited by abbot Joseph Joubert published by Éditions Maurice Senart; the first three volumes appeared in 1912. The first six volumes are "for organ or harmonium", so the pieces in th ...

'' by Joseph Joubert, 1911. 1843 births 1917 deaths Musicians from Paris French Romantic composers French male classical composers French opera composers Male opera composers Conservatoire de Paris alumni Academic staff of the Conservatoire de Paris Prix de Rome for composition Officiers of the Légion d'honneur 20th-century French male musicians 19th-century French male musicians {{France-composer-stub