Jacques Chailley (24 March 1910 – 21 January 1999) was a French

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some m ...

and composer. Alain Lompech, "Jacques Chailley, musicologue-praticien et infatigable chercheur", ''Consociatio internationalis musicæ sacræ, Musicæ sacræ ministerium'', Anno XXXIV-XXXVI (1997 - 1999), Rome, p. 146 - 147

Biography

His mother was the pianist Céliny Chailley-Richez (1884–1973), his father the

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D ...

Marcel Chailley (1881–1936). Adolescent, he was a boarder at the Fontgombault Abbey (Indre) where he learned to play the

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

and learned about choir directing. At the age of 14, he composed a four-voice ''Domine non sum dignus''. He received a classical and musical teaching of high quality, studying

harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. Howeve ...

with

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

counterpoint In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tra ...

and

fugue In music, a fugue () is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the co ...

with Claude Delvincourt,

musicology Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some m ...

with Yvonne Rokseth who gave him insight into

medieval music Medieval music encompasses the sacred and secular music of Western Europe during the Middle Ages, from approximately the 6th to 15th centuries. It is the first and longest major era of Western classical music and followed by the Renaissanc ...

. At the

Conservatoire de Paris 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 ...

, he followed

Maurice Emmanuel Marie François Maurice Emmanuel (2 May 1862 – 14 December 1938) was a French composer of European classical music, classical music and musicologist born in Bar-sur-Aube, a small town in the Champagne-Ardenne region of northeastern France. It wa ...

's class of music history and studied music composition with Henri Büsser (himself a disciple of

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 ...

). At the Sorbonne, he studied music history with

André Pirro André Gabriel Edmée Pirro (12 February 1869 – 11 November 1943) was a French musicologist and an organist. Born in Saint-Dizier, Pirro learned to play the organ from his father Jean Pirro. In Paris where he became and organist and a choirma ...

, with whom he presented his first musicological work in 1935 (DES, "Diplôme d'Études Supérieures"). He also took classes of

conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary dutie ...

with

Pierre Monteux Pierre Benjamin Monteux (; 4 April 18751 July 1964) was a French (later American) conductor. After violin and viola studies, and a decade as an orchestral player and occasional conductor, he began to receive regular conducting engagements in ...

, Willem Mengelberg and

Bruno Walter Bruno Walter (born Bruno Schlesinger, September 15, 1876February 17, 1962) was a German-born conductor, pianist and composer. Born in Berlin, he escaped Nazi Germany in 1933, was naturalised as a French citizen in 1938, and settled in the U ...

in Amsterdam, while resident in the Descartes House (1935-1936). There, he also studied musicology with Albert Smijers. Passionate about

Medieval music Medieval music encompasses the sacred and secular music of Western Europe during the Middle Ages, from approximately the 6th to 15th centuries. It is the first and longest major era of Western classical music and followed by the Renaissanc ...

for which he devoted much of his musicological activity, he founded in 1934 the choir ''Psalette Notre-Dame'' in order to revive it. In the same way, he founded at the Sorbonne under the direction of Gustave Cohen, the theater group the ''Théophiliens''. Finally, he was actively involved in the founding of the ''Groupe de Théâtre antique de la Sorbonne'' (In particular with Jacques Veil and

Roland Barthes Roland Gérard Barthes (; ; 12 November 1915 – 26 March 1980) was a French literary theorist, essayist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. His work engaged in the analysis of a variety of sign systems, mainly derived from Western pop ...

). In this university, he completed his two theses on music, within the framework of the curriculum of

Medieval French literature Medieval French literature is, for the purpose of this article, Medieval literature written in Oïl languages (particularly Old French and early Middle French) during the period from the eleventh century to the end of the fifteenth century. Th ...

: ''L'École musicale de Saint-Martial de Limoges jusqu'à la fin du XIe'' as well as ''Chansons de Gautier du Coinci''. It was from this period that his intense musicological production began with works devoted to Medieval music and musical theory and to the evolution of musical languages, to musical notation, as well as to several composers, including

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

, Schubert, Berlioz, Schumann,

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

. At the same time, he did not neglect the teaching and popularization works (music history, method of piano reading, guide for young pianists, etc.). Jacques Chailley was a member of a resistance movement gathered around the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European ...

: the

Front National des Musiciens The Front national des musiciens was an organization of musicians in Nazi occupied France that was part of the French Resistance. Active from the Spring of 1941 through the Autumn of 1944, the group's most prominent members were composers Elsa Ba ...

, created in May 1941, during the Second World War, after the invasion of the USSR by the German armies. It was a specific resistance organization for music professionals, created by

Elsa Barraine Elsa Jacqueline Barraine (13 February 1910, in Paris – 20 March 1999, in Strasbourg) was a composer of French music in the time after the Neoclassicism#In music, neoclassicist movement of Les Six, Ravel, and Stravinsky. Despite being considered ...

, Roger Désormière,

Louis Durey Louis Edmond Durey (; 27 May 18883 July 1979)Randel, Don Michael (1996)The Harvard biographical dictionary of music, p. 232. Harvard University Press. . was a French composer. Life Louis Durey was born in Paris, the son of a local businessman. It ...

(all three close to the French Communist Party), Roland-Manuel (himself a Jew, former student of

Vincent d'Indy Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy (; 27 March 18512 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher. His influence as a teacher, in particular, was considerable. He was a co-founder of the Schola Cantorum de Paris and also taught at the P ...

at the

Schola Cantorum The Schola Cantorum de Paris is a private conservatory in Paris. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Bordes, Alexandre Guilmant and Vincent d'Indy as a counterbalance to the Paris Conservatoire's emphasis on opera. History La Schola was founded ...

), and Claude Delvincourt.Henry Barraud, ''Un compositeur aux commandes de la Radio : Essai autobiographique'', édité sous la direction de Myriam Chimènes et Karine Le Bail, Paris:

Fayard Fayard (complete name: ''Librairie Arthème Fayard'') is a French Paris-based publishing house established in 1857. Fayard is controlled by Hachette Livre. In 1999, Éditions Pauvert became part of Fayard. Claude Durand was director of Fayar ...

/ Bibliothèque nationale de France, 2010, , note 1. From 1946 to 1961, he directed the choir "L'Alauda". In 1969, he was also appointed the second president of the ''Consociatio internationalis musicæ sacræ'', created in 1963 by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

. Jacques Chailley remained in this position until 1974. In 1952, following the defense of his PhD on ''L’école musicale de Saint Martial de Limoges'' and his election as professor at the Sorbonne in the chair of History of music left vacant by

Paul-Marie Masson Paul-Marie Masson (9 September 1882 – 27 January 1954) was a French musicologist, music teacher and composer. A specialist of the lyrical work of Jean-Philippe Rameau, in 1930 he published his thesis on ''L’Opéra de Rameau'', which is st ...

, Jacques Chailley took over the Institute of Musicology of the University of Paris, which he transformed in 1969-1970 in the UER (''Unité d'enseignement et de recherche'', later UFR, ''Unité de formation et de recherche'') of music and musicology of the new Paris-Sorbonne University>. He directed this UER until 1973. He directed the doctoral theses of many recognized musicologists (including Barry S. Brook,

Trần Văn Khê Trần Văn Khê (24 July 1921 - 24 June 2015) was a Vietnamese musicologist, academic, writer, teacher and performer of traditional music. He was father of the musician ethnomusicologist . His ''La musique viêtnamienne traditionnelle'' (Paris, ...

, Simha Arom, Amnon Shiloah, Mireille Helffer, Jacques Viret, Michel Hugo, Jean-Rémy Julien, Annie Labussière, Danièle Pistone...). Between 1973 and 1975, he obtained the creation of the CAPES and the

Agrégation In France, the ''agrégation'' () is a competitive examination for civil service in the French public education system. Candidates for the examination, or ''agrégatifs'', become ''agrégés'' once they are admitted to the position of ''profe ...

in musical education and choral singing. He thus facilitated the recognition of musicology at the university as an autonomous discipline and enabled many musicians to find a more stable professional situation. He was also Inspector General of Music at the Ministry of National Education and director of the

in Paris from 1962 until c. 1982. His erudition and eclecticism, but also his distinct character and marked opinions, made him one of the principal figures in the post-war French musical life. Always remained in the post-Debussy French tradition with a modal language close to Ravel, Roussel and

Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. A member of Les Six, his best known work is probably ''Antigone'', composed between 1924 and 1927 to ...

and firmly opposed the

atonality Atonality in its broadest sense is music that lacks a tonal center, or key. ''Atonality'', in this sense, usually describes compositions written from about the early 20th-century to the present day, where a hierarchy of harmonies focusing on a ...

and

serialism In music, serialism is a method of composition using series of pitches, rhythms, dynamics, timbres or other musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, though some of his contemporaries were al ...

"avant-gardes" (very much in vogue in the post-war years). He leaves a work of 129 opus numbers.

Controversy

Jacques Chailley was Secretary-General (1937), then Assistant Director (1941) of the Conservatoire de Paris. His role during the war has been subject of controverse. Jean Gribenski, who taught at the Sorbonne under the orders of Jacques Chailley, mentions in a chapter of the collective book ''La vie musicale sous Vichy'', that in collaboration with Henri Rabaud in 1940, he drew up a list of the Jewish students of the Conservatory of Paris: Jean Gribenski further specifies that the list drawn up by Rabaud and Chailley was not communicated to the Germans, and that the exclusion of Jewish students took place only two years later, under duress, while the Conservatoire was led by Claude Delvincourt. That a list was used for the exclusion of Jewish students from the Conservatory was challenged by contemporary Jewish witnesses during the symposium where Gribenski first presented the results of his research in 1999. The controversy reappeared in 2011, after the Sorbonne decided to give Chailley's name to an amphitheater (polemic triggered by an article in the weekly '' Le Canard enchaîné'' and furthered in a note in ''

Le Nouvel Observateur (), previously known as (1964–2014), is a weekly French news magazine. Based in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, it is the most prominent French general information magazine in terms of audience and circulation. Its current editor is Cécil ...

''.) Michèle Alten has since published an article based on an in-depth study of the archives, which sheds light on the events of 1940. She writes: It is to this inquiry that Jean Gribenski's article seems to refer. Alten further writes that Jewish students of the Conservatoire were excluded from participating in the final examinations in 1942, under pressure from the Vichy Government.

Publications

Jacques Chailley has published many outstanding works, both on Greek and medieval music, on the

Passions ''Passions'' is an American television soap opera that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1999, to September 7, 2007, and on DirecTV's The 101 Network from September 17, 2007, to August 7, 2008. Created by screenwriter James E. Reilly and ...

, the

chorale Chorale is the name of several related musical forms originating in the music genre of the Lutheran chorale: * Hymn tune of a Lutheran hymn (e.g. the melody of "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme"), or a tune in a similar format (e.g. one of the th ...

s for

and '' The Art of Fugue'' by J. S. Bach, the ''

Carnaval Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival ty ...

'' by Schumann, ''

Tristan Tristan ( Latin/Brythonic: ''Drustanus''; cy, Trystan), also known as Tristram or Tristain and similar names, is the hero of the legend of Tristan and Iseult. In the legend, he is tasked with escorting the Irish princess Iseult to wed ...

'' by Wagner. Worth noting is his interest in the exegesis of the Masonic aspects of ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a '' Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that in ...

'' by Mozart, the ''

Winterreise ''Winterreise'' (, ''Winter Journey'') is a song cycle for voice and piano by Franz Schubert ( D. 911, published as Op. 89 in 1828), a setting of 24 poems by German poet Wilhelm Müller. It is the second of Schubert's two song cycles on Müller' ...

'' by Schubert and

Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is an opera or a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is loosely based on the 13th-century Middle High German epic poem ''Parzival ...

by Wagner. He was also the author of several books on harmony and its history, the question of

modality Modality may refer to: Humanities * Modality (theology), the organization and structure of the church, as distinct from sodality or parachurch organizations * Modality (music), in music, the subject concerning certain diatonic scales * Modaliti ...

, as well as an important history of multi-volume music and popular works. He also studied musicians of the Middle Ages such as Adam de la Halle,

Guillaume de Machaut Guillaume de Machaut (, ; also Machau and Machault; – April 1377) was a French composer and poet who was the central figure of the style in late medieval music. His dominance of the genre is such that modern musicologists use his death t ...

of whom he prepared the first published transcript of the ''

Messe de Nostre Dame ''Messe de Nostre Dame'' (''Mass of Our Lady'') is a polyphonic mass composed before 1365 by French poet and composer Guillaume de Machaut (c. 1300–1377). Widely regarded as one of the masterpieces of medieval music and of all religious mus ...

'' or

Gautier de Coincy Gautier de Coincy (1177–1236) was a French abbot, trouvère and musical arranger, chiefly known for his devotion to the Virgin Mary. While he served as prior of Vic-sur-Aisne he compiled ''Les Miracles de Nostre-Dame'' (known in English as '' ...

Works (selection)

Piano

* Suite en si majeur (1923) * Le Chant de l'Alauda (1932) * Suite Le Jardin nuptial (1947) * Sonata breve (1965) * Ballade romantique (1989) * numerous pieces for children (for two and four-hands)

Organ

* Triptyque (1984–87) * L'Annonciation (1984–87) * Prélude-Dédicace (1985)Played by Carson Coomans on hi
Youtube page
/ref> * Paraphrases liturgiques (1984–87)

Chamber music

* Minuetto scherzando, for violin and piano (1932) * Double cantabile for violin, viola and organ (or piano) (1935) * Albenga for violin and piano (1935) * Aria, for viola and piano (1936) * ''Deux sonneries en fanfare dans le style du XIIIe siecle'', for brass instruments (1936) * String quartet (1939) * Sonata for viola and piano (1939–41) * Suite Enfantine for wind quintet (1976) * Sonata for solo violin (1987) * ''Suite a l'ancienne'', for flute and harpsichord (1996)

Orchestra

* Suite sur des airs Scouts, for small orchestra (1929) * Symphony in G minor (1942–47) * ''Danses et Conduits - Suite du XIIIe siecle'' (1947) * 2nd Symphonie (1984) * Cantabile for strings (1971) * Mors est Rolanz for wind instruments (1975) * Solmisation for strings (1977)

Singing and piano

* Song cycle: ** Le pèlerin d'Assise (1932–42) ** A ma femme (1949–54) ** Poèmes sur la mort (1982) ** 7 Chansons légères (1983) ** Le Chien à la mandoline (1987) * numerous solo songs, including: ** Le Menuisier du Roi (1945, M. Fombeure) ** Plainte de Rachel * Cantique du soleil (with 4 Ondes Martenot, also for Orchester; 1934)

Choir a cappella

* L'Arbre de paradis (1933, L. Chancerel) * La Tentation de saint Antoine (1936; Instr. ad libitum) * Chant de la fidélité (1946) * Kyrie des gueux (1946) * Missa Solemnis (1947) * Aux Morts pour la patrie (1953, V. Hugo) * Messe brève ''de angelis'' (1955) * Messe ''Orbis factor'' (1959) * Demeure le secret (1962, M. Pol-Fouchet; Doublechoir) * Fables de mon jardin (1961, G. Duhamel) * numerous Motets, partially with organ * zahlreiche Volksliedbearbeitungen

Singing and instruments

* Exercices de style (1965,

Raymond Queneau Raymond Queneau (; 21 February 1903 – 25 October 1976) was a French novelist, poet, critic, editor and co-founder and president of Oulipo ('' Ouvroir de littérature potentielle''), notable for his wit and cynical humour. Biography Queneau w ...

) * 7 Fantaisies for equal voices and piano * Les Grandes Heures de Reims (1938; narrator, singing and orchester) * Jeanne devant Reims (1941; Choir and orchester) * Le Cimetière marin (1980; Choir and orchester)

Oratorium

* Casa Dei (1991, Y. Hucher) * Eloge de la Sagesse (1992)

Operas

* Pan et la Syrinx (1946) * Le Jeu de Robin et Marion (1950) * Thyl de Flandre (1949–54)

Ballet

* La Dame la licorne (1953)

Incidental music

* Les Perses (1936) * Antigone (1939), * Agamemnon (1947) * La Belle au bois (1951)

Writings

Jacques Chailley's musicological work comprises 53 books and 429 diverse articles. Among his main works are: * ''Petite histoire de la chanson populaire française''. Paris:

Presses Universitaires de France Presses universitaires de France (PUF, English: ''University Press of France''), founded in 1921 by Paul Angoulvent (1899–1976), is the largest French university publishing house. Recent company history The financial and legal structure of ...

, 1942. 16°, 64 p. *''Théorie complète de la musique 1er Cycle'' with Henri Challan, foreword by Claude Delvincourt. Paris: Alphonse Leduc. AL20444, 1947, 95 p. *''Théorie complète de la musique 2ème Cycle'' with Henri Challan, foreword by Claude Delvincourt. Paris: Alphonse Leduc. AL20631, 1951, 78 p. *''Abrégé de la Théorie de la Musique'' with Henri Challan, foreword by Claude Delvincourt. Paris: Alphonse Leduc. AL20551, 1948. * ''Histoire musicale du Moyen Âge''. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1950. 2nd edition: 1969, 336 p. * ''Les notations musicales nouvelles''. Paris: Alphonse Leduc, 1950. * ''La musique médiévale''. Paris: Éditions du Coudrier, 1951 * ''Précis de musicologie'', PUF, 1958, 1984. * ''Traité historique d’analyse musicale''. Paris: Alphonse Leduc, 1951, reissued in 1977 under the title ''Traité historique d'analyse harmonique''. * ''L'Imbroglio des modes''. Paris: Alphonse Leduc, 960 4°, 92 p. Reissued in 1977. * ''40000 ans de musique''. Paris: Plon, 961 326 p. Reissued in Paris:

L'Harmattan Éditions L'Harmattan, usually known simply as L'Harmattan (), is one of the largest French book publishers. It specialises in non-fiction books with a particular focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. It is named after the Harmattan, a trade wind in ...

, 2000, 328 p. * ''Les Passions de J.S. Bach''. Paris: Presses universitaires de France, 1963. 4°, 455 p. 2nd éd. 1984. * ''Cours d'histoire de la musique, préparation aux professorats d'enseignement musical et aux instituts de musicologie...'' Paris: Alphonse Leduc, 1967. 8°. Numerous reissues. * * ''Éléments de philologie musicale''. Paris : Alphonse Leduc, 1985.

References

Bibliography

* ''De la musique à la musicologie, étude analytique de l'œuvre de Jacques Chailley'', Tours, Van de Velde, 1980. * Jean-Pierre Bartoli, "Jacques Chailley (1910-1999)", ''Revue de musicologie'', 85 /1, 1999, p. 173-176. * Jean Gribenski, ''L’exclusion des juifs du conservatoire (1940-1942)''. in: * ''Jacques Chailley, musicologue et théoricien'', ''Musurgia'', XIX/1-2-3, 2012

External links

Jacques Chailley
on Encyclopedia Universalis

s biography, works and writings on musicologie.org

on Musimen
''À propos de Jacques Chailley''
on '' La Lettre du musicien''
Jacques Chailley (1910-1999): Symphonie n°1 (1945)
on YouTube
Jacques Chailley
on Encyclopédie Larousse
Jacques Chailley
on Diskogs {{DEFAULTSORT:Chailley, Jacques 20th-century French musicologists 20th-century French composers 20th-century French non-fiction writers 1910 births Writers from Paris 1999 deaths