Victor Charles Paul Dourlen (3 November 1780 – 8 January 1864) was a French composer and music teacher at 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 ...

during the first half of the nineteenth century. He is primarily known as a theorist on account of his treatises on

harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

, based on the methods of

Charles Simon Catel Charles-Simon Catel (; 10 June 1773 – 29 November 1830) was a French composer and educator born at L'Aigle, Orne. Biography Catel studied at the Royal School of Singing in Paris. He studied composition with François-Joseph Gossec and by t ...

, which were widely used as reference works, especially his ''Traité d'harmonie'' (c. 1838), the '' Traité d'accompagnement pratique'' (c. 1840), and his ''Méthode élémentaire pour le pianoforte'' (c. 1820).

Biography

Victor Dourlen was born in

Dunkerque Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

. He entered the Paris Conservatory in 1799 at the age of 19, becoming a pupil of

Charles-Simon Catel Charles-Simon Catel (; 10 June 1773 – 29 November 1830) was a French composer and educator born at L'Aigle, Orne. Biography Catel studied at the Royal School of Singing in Paris. He studied composition with François-Joseph Gossec and by t ...

(harmony),

François-Joseph Gossec François-Joseph Gossec (; 17 January 1734 – 16 February 1829) was a French composer of operas, string quartets, symphonies, and choral works. Life and work The son of a small farmer, Gossec was born at the village of Vergnies, then a French ...

(counterpoint), and

Benoit Mozin Benoit François Mozin called ''le jeune'' (the younger) (21 March 1769 – 1 December 1857) was a French composer. Life Born in Paris, Mozin was first a pupil of François-Joseph Gossec, and then became a professor at the Conservatoire de Paris ...

(piano). He became a teacher of elementary singing at the institution in 1800. In 1805, he won 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 ...

for musical composition with his cantata ''Cupidon pleurant Psyché''. Although he was prevented by war from going to Rome immediately, his opera ''Philoclès'' was performed at the Opéra-Comique in October 1806. However, with only four performances, the opera was not successful. Dourlen then went to Rome in 1807, and on July 14 his ''Te Deum'' for the

Battle of Friedland The Battle of Friedland (14 June 1807) was a major engagement of the Napoleonic Wars between the armies of the French Empire commanded by Napoleon I and the armies of the Russian Empire led by General Levin August von Bennigsen. Napoleon and t ...

was performed, followed in 1808 by the ''Dies irae'', another large-scale cantata. On his return to Paris, Dourlen produced several comic operas, all public failures, including ''Linnée'' (1808), ''La Dupe de son Art'' (1809), and ''Cagliostro'' (1810). In 1816, he was appointed full professor of harmony and counterpoint, a position he held until 1842. Among his pupils were

Charles-Valentin Alkan Charles-Valentin Alkan (; 30 November 1813 – 29 March 1888) was a French composer and virtuoso pianist. At the height of his fame in the 1830s and 1840s he was, alongside his friends and colleagues Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt, amon ...

, François Bazin,

Louis Désiré Besozzi Louis-Désiré Besozzi (3 April 1814 – 11 November 1879) was a French pianist, organist and composer. Bezozzi, the fourth generation of this traditional family of wind instrument musicians, composed mainly piano and choral works as well as a four ...

Alexandre Goria Alexandre Édouard Goria (21 January 1823 – 6 July 1860) was a French virtuoso pianist and composer of salon pieces. Biography Alexandre Goria was born in Paris and admitted as a student at the age of seven to the Conservatoire de Paris on 15 ...

Henri Herz Henri Herz (6 January 1803 – 5 January 1888) was a virtuoso pianist, composer and piano manufacturer, Austrian by birth and French by nationality and domicile. He was a professor in the Paris Conservatoire for more than thirty years. Among his ...

, Félix Le Couppey,

Antoine François Marmontel Antoine François Marmontel (; 18 July 1816 – 16 January 1898) was a French pianist, composer, teacher and musicographer. He is mainly known today as an influential teacher at the Paris Conservatory, where he taught many musicians who became l ...

Joseph O'Kelly Joseph O'Kelly (29 January 1828 – 9 January 1885), composer, pianist and choral conductor, was the most prominent member of a family of Irish musicians in 19th- and early 20th-century France. He wrote nine operas, four cantatas, numerous piano ...

, 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 (opera), Hamlet'' (1868). Born into a musical family, Thomas was a student at the C ...

. His only operatic success was ''Le Frère Philippe'' (1818) after a libretto by

Auguste Duport Auguste Duport, full name François Auguste Duport, (22 January 1777 – 5 September 1843) was a French playwright. Originally a carpenter, he embraced literature and his plays were performed at the Théâtre du Gymnase dramatique, at the Th� ...

, which was performed 91 times. His last opera, ''Le Petit souper'' (1822) became a public fiasco for the all too liberal depiction of the French king François I and was consequently banned by the French censors.Bara (2001), c. 1346. From then on, Dourlen did not write any further opera but concentrated on teaching and writing theoretical treatises. In 1838, Dourlen was made a chevalier of the

Legion 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. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

. He died in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Selected works

Operas

* ''Philoclès'' (text by Justin Gensoul), 2 acts (1806) * ''Linnée, ou Le Mines de Suède'' ( Jean-Élie Bédéno Dejaure), 3 acts (1808) * ''La Dupe de son Art, ou Les Deux amants'' ( Louis-Charles Sapey), 1 act (1809) * ''Cagliostro, ou La Séduction'' (

Emmanuel Dupaty Louis Emmanuel Dupaty (31 July 1775 – 30 July 1851) was a French playwright, naval officer, chansonnier, journalist and administrator of the Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal. His brother was the sculptor Louis Dupaty. Works ;Theatre * ''Figaro, ...

Jacques-Antoine de Révéroni Saint-Cyr Jacques-Antoine Révéroni, baron de Saint-Cyr (5 May 1767, Lyon – 19 March 1829, Paris) was a French soldier and man of letters. Career Révéroni de Saint-Cyr is remembered mostly for his novel, ''Pauliska, ou La Perversité moderne, mémoi ...

), 3 acts (act 1 by Dourlen, acts 2 and 3 by

Anton Reicha Anton (Antonín, Antoine) Joseph Reicha (Rejcha) (26 February 1770 – 28 May 1836) was a Czech-born, Bavarian-educated, later naturalization, naturalized French composer and music theorist. A contemporary and lifelong friend of Ludwig van Be ...

) (1810) * ''Plus heureux que sage'' ( Louis Mézières-Miot), 1 act (1816) * ''Le Frère Philippe'' (

), 1 act (1818) * ''Le Mariage en poste'' ( Pierre Adolphe Capelle) (1818, not performed) * ''À deux de jeu'' (Paul de Kock), 1 act (1818, not performed) * ''Marini, ou Le Muet de Venise'' (

Étienne Joseph Bernard Delrieu Étienne, a French analog of Stephen or Steven, is a masculine given name. An archaic variant of the name, prevalent up to the mid-17th century, is Estienne. Étienne, Etienne, Ettiene or Ettienne may refer to: People Artists and entertainers *E ...

), 3 acts (1819) * ''La Vente après décès'' (

Charles-Guillaume Étienne Charles-Guillaume Étienne (; 5 January 177813 March 1845) was a 19th-century French playwright. Biography He was born in Chamouilley, Haute-Marne. He held various municipal offices under the Revolution and came in 1793 to Paris, where he pr ...

), 1 act (1821) * ''Le Petit souper, ou La Belle féronnière'' ( Jean-Baptiste-Rose-Bonaventure Violet d'Épagny), 1 act (1822)

Cantatas

* ''Scène d'Alcyone'' (text by Antoine Vincent Arnault), for voices and orchestra (1804) * ''Psyché et l'amour'' (A. V. Arnault), for voices and orchestra (1805)

Sacred choral works

* ''Te Deum'', for choir and orchestra (1807) * ''Dies irae'', for choir and orchestra (1808)

Instrumental music

* ''La Bataille de Marengo. Sonate militaire'', for piano (1800) * ''Sonates'', Op. 1, for piano (n. d.) * Piano Concerto, Op. 3 * Piano Trio, Op. 4 * ''Trois Sonates'', Op. 5, for violin and piano * ''Sonates faciles'', Op. 6, for piano * ''Sonate à quatre mains'', Op. 10, for 2 pianists * ''Grande sonate à quatre mains'', Op. 12, for 2 pianists * ''Fantaisie sur "Bélisaire"'', for piano * ''Fantaisie en duo'', for harp and piano * ''Pot-pourri sur des airs de Jean de Paris'', for piano

Writings

* ''Méthode élémentaire pour le pianoforte'' (c. 1820) * ''Traité d'harmonie, contenant un cours complet tel qu'il est enseigné au Conservatoire de Paris'' (c. 1838) * ''Traité d'accompagnement'' (c. 1840) * ''Principes d'harmonie et tableau général de tous les accords, de leur origine, leur préparation, leur renversement'' (n. d.)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dourlen, Victor 1780 births 1864 deaths 19th-century French classical composers 19th-century French male musicians Academic staff of the Conservatoire de Paris Conservatoire de Paris alumni French music theorists French opera composers French Romantic composers French male opera composers Musicians from Dunkirk Prix de Rome for composition