Félicien-César David (13 April 1810 – 29 August 1876) was a French composer.

Biography

Félicien David was born in

Cadenet Cadenet () is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Cadenétiens'' in French. Geography Cadenet is a village located on the southern slopes of the L ...

, and began to study music at the age of five under his father, whose death when the boy was six left him an impoverished orphan. His good voice enabled him to study as a choirboy at the Church of Saint-Sauveur in

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille ...

, which he left at the age of 15 with a sound knowledge of music, and a scholarship which enabled him to study literature at a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

college. However, after three years, he abandoned these studies to pursue a musical career. He first obtained a position in the orchestra of the theatre at Aix. In 1829, he became ''

maître de chapelle (, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...

'' at Saint-Sauveur, but realised that to complete his musical education he needed to study at Paris. An allowance of 50 francs per month from a rich uncle made this possible. In Paris in 1830 he convinced

Luigi Cherubini Luigi Cherubini ( ; ; 8 or 14 SeptemberWillis, in Sadie (Ed.), p. 833 1760 – 15 March 1842) was an Italian Classical and Romantic composer. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music. Beethoven regarded Cherubini as the gre ...

, the director of the Conservatoire, to enroll him as a pupil: despite his reservations, Cherubini recognised the talent shown by David's choral setting of ''

Beatus vir Beatus vir (; "Blessed is the man...") are the first words in the Latin Vulgate Bible of both Psalm 1 and Psalm 112 (in the general modern numbering; it is Psalm 111 in the Greek Septuagint and the Vulgate). In each case, the words are used to ...

''. Despite the sudden withdrawal of his uncle's subsidy, David's studies, with Fétis and others, continued successfully. On leaving the Conservatoire, David was caught up in the

Saint-Simonian Saint-Simonianism was a French political, religious and social movement of the first half of the 19th century, inspired by the ideas of Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon (1760–1825). Saint-Simon's ideas, expressed largely through a ...

movement, for which he became a great enthusiast. The Saint-Simonians held music to be an important art, and David wrote much music for them, including a number of hymns. After the suppression of the movement in 1832, David joined with a number of adepts who visited the Middle East. This also proved a source of strong inspiration, leading eventually to his greatest success, the symphonic ode ''Le désert'' of 1844. Returning to Paris in 1833, he wrote a number of '' romances'', and instrumental music including three

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning co ...

(in F major, E major and C minor, composed in 1837, 1838 and 1849); by 1838/39 he was successful enough to be able to arrange public performances of his works. With ''Le désert'' he was acknowledged by the public and the critics as a significant force. The '' Revue et gazette musicale'' announced, the morning after its premiere, "A great composer has been born amongst us". To relieve his substantial debts, however, the composer sold the rights to his masterpiece for a relatively small sum. David wrote a number of operas, of which the most notable are ''Christophe Colomb'' (1847), ''La perle du Brésil'' (1851), ''

Herculanum Herculaneum (; Neapolitan and it, Ercolano) was an ancient town, located in the modern-day ''comune'' of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. Herculaneum was buried under volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. Like the n ...

'' (1859), and ''

Lalla-Roukh ''Lalla-Roukh'' is an ''opéra comique'' in two acts composed by Félicien David. The libretto by Michel Carré and Hippolyte Lucas was based on Thomas Moore's 1817 narrative poem ''Lalla Rookh''. It was first performed on 12 May 1862 by the Op� ...

'' (1862). Amongst his oratorios are ''Moïse au Sinaï'' ('Moses on Sinai') (1846), and ''Eden'' (1848). David became a member of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

in 1862 and was given a civil pension. On the death of Berlioz in 1869, he took his place in the

Institut de France The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. 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 institut ...

. He died in Le Pecq (now Saint-Germain-en-Laye) in the département

Yvelines Yvelines () is a Departments of France, department in the western part of the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207.Musicologie.org
lists no.3 in E as being in E, but there is substantial evidence elsewhere that their key is wrong. No.3 is in E major, was published in 1846 by Meissonnier, can be seen in partial manuscript at the Morgan Library & Museum, New York, and was recorded in 2017 by Ediciones Singulares.

Vocal

* '' Le désert'' (Ode-symphonie) * ''Christoph Colomb'' (Ode-symphonie) * ''Moïse au Sinaï'',

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...

* ''Eden'', oratorio * '' La Perle du Brésil'',

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 Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent (and to a l ...

in three acts (22 November 1851, Paris) * ''

'', opéra in four acts (4 March 1859, Paris) * ''

'', opéra comique in two acts (12 May 1862, Paris) * ''Le Saphir'', opéra comique in three acts (8 March 1865, Paris) on a libretto by Michel Carré, Adolphe de Leuven and Térence Hadot (18..-18..) * ''La Captive'', opéra comique in three acts (1883, Paris) * Motets ''Pie Jesu'' / ''Miseremini'' / ''Alma redemptoris Mater'' (for Aix cathedral choir), ''O salutaris''

References

''David, Félicien-César, 1810-1876''
Biography and list of compositions from Musicology.org (in French). *This article is based on the article on Félicien David in French Wikipedia.

External links

* * *
David's Piano Trio in E-flat Major
Score and Parts from Sibley Music Library Digital Scores Collection

* ttp://www.lamaisondelalirique.com Maison de la lirique cds and DVDs lyric opera collection {{DEFAULTSORT:David, Felicien-Cesar 1810 births 1876 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century French composers Conservatoire de Paris alumni French male classical composers French opera composers Male opera composers French Romantic composers Recipients of the Legion of Honour Members of the Académie des beaux-arts People from Aix-en-Provence People from Vaucluse Saint-Simonists 19th-century French male musicians