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 was the chief assistant to François-Joseph Gossec at the orchestra of the National Guard in 1790. A member of the Institute, he jointly composed pieces of military music for official state ceremonies, including ''L'Hymne à la Victoire'' (Victory Hymn), with words by Ponce-Denis Écouchard-Lebrun. He was appointed inaugural professor of harmony at the Conservatoire de Paris, but was destitute in 1814. Amongst his students were the Prix de Rome winning composers

Joseph Daussoigne-Méhul Joseph Daussoigne-Méhul (10 June 1790 – 10 March 1875) was a French composer and music educator. He served as the first director of the Royal Conservatory of Liège from 1826–1862; having been appointed to that post by William I of the Nethe ...

and

Victor Dourlen < Victor Dourlen by Ingres 1

Victor Charles Paul Dourlen (3 N ...

, the Belgian composer

Martin-Joseph Mengal Martin-Joseph Mengal (27 January 1784 - 4 July 1851) was a Belgian composer and teacher. Mengal came from a musical family and received horn and violin lessons as a child, and by the age of 13 played first horn at the Ghent opera. From 1804 Meng ...

, and the famous, if eccentric, harpist Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. Catel died in Paris. His works include a ''Treatise on Harmony'' (1802), which was used by the young Berlioz, several concert band works, several dramatic compositions at the Opéra National de Paris: '' Sémiramis'', ''

Les bayadères ''Les bayadères'' is an opera in three acts by the composer Charles-Simon Catel. The French-language libretto, by Victor-Joseph Étienne de Jouy, is based on Voltaire's story ''L'education d'un prince''. It was first performed on 8 August 1810 ...

''; at the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...

: ''Artistes par occasion'', ''L'Auberge de Bagnères'' (1807); ''Wallace'' (1817); symphonies, quartets etc.

Works

Lyrical works

* '' Sémiramis'', lyric tragedy in three acts, libretto by Philippe Desriaux based on Voltaire, performed by the Opéra de Paris on 4 May 1802. * ''Les artistes par occasion'', farcical opera in one act, libretto by Alexandre Duval, performed at the

in 1807. * ''L'auberge de Bagnères'', farcical opera in 3 acts, libretto by C. Jalabert, performed by the Opéra-Comique in 1807. * ''

'', opera in 3 acts, libretto by Victor-Joseph-Étienne de Jouy based on Voltaire, performed at Opéra de Paris on 8 August 1810. * ''Les aubergistes de qualité'', comedy in 3 acts, libretto by Victor-Joseph-Étienne de Jouy, performed at Opéra-Comique on 17 June 1812 * ''Bayard à Mézières'', comedy in one act, libretto by Alisvan de Chazet and Louis Emmanuel Mercier Dupaty, performed at Opéra-Comique in 1814. * ''Le premier en date'', comedy in one act, libretto by Marc-Antoine Désaugiers and Pessey, performed at Opéra-Comique in 1814. * ''Wallace ou Le ménestrel écossais'', epic opera in 3 acts, libretto by L. Ch. J. Fontanes de Saint-Marcellin, performed at Opéra-Comique in 1817. * ''Zirphile et fleur de myrte ou cent ans en un jour'', "opéra-féerie" in 2 acts, libretto by Victor-Joseph-Étienne de Jouy and Nicolas Lefebvre, performed at Opéra de Paris in 1818. * ''L'officier enlevé'', comedy in one act, libretto by Alexandre Duval, performed at Opéra-Comique in 1819.

Vocal and choral works

* ''Chant triomphal'', 1807. * ''Ode sur le Vaisseau Le Vengeur'', words by Ponce-Denis Écouchard-Lebrun, for euphonium and orchestra. * ''Hymne sur la reconquête de Toulon'', for male choir and orchestra.

Sources

*Bouillet's ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie'' (1842), Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Academic staff of the Conservatoire de Paris French male classical composers French opera composers 1773 births 1830 deaths French male non-fiction writers French music theorists Male opera composers Military music composers People from Orne {{music-theory-stub