Daniel Jean-Yves Lesur (19 November 1908 – 2 July 2002) was a French organist and composer. He was the son of the composer Alice Lesur.

Biography

Born in Paris, he entered 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 ...

at age 11, studying solfège with Emile Schwartz,

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 ...

with

Jean Gallon Jean Charles Claude Gallon (25 June 1878 – 23 June 1959) was a French composer, choir conductor, and music educator. His compositional output consists of six antiphons for strings and organ, one mass, one ballet, and several art songs. Biograph ...

, and composition with

Georges Caussade Georges Paul Alphonse Emilien Caussade (20 November 1873 – 5 August 1936) was a French composer, music theorist, and music educator. Biography Born in Port Louis, Mauritius, he joined the faculty of the Conservatoire de Paris in 1905 as a teac ...

. He also took private lessons in piano with Armand Ferté and composition with

Charles Tournemire Charles Arnould Tournemire (22 January 1870 – 3 or 4 November 1939) was a French composer and organist, notable partly for his improvisations, which were often rooted in the music of Gregorian chant. His compositions include eight symphon ...

. From 1935 to 1964, he was professor of counterpoint at the

Schola Cantorum The Schola Cantorum de Paris ( being ) 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 The Schol ...

under director Nestor Lejeune, becoming director himself in 1957. In 1936, he co-founded the group '' La Jeune France'' along with composers

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithology, ornithologist. One of the major composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th century, he was also an ou ...

(with whom he would remain a lifelong friend),

André Jolivet André Jolivet (; 8 August 1905 – 20 December 1974) was a French composer. Known for his devotion to French culture and musical thought, Jolivet drew on his interest in acoustics and atonality, as well as both ancient and modern musical influ ...

and Yves Baudrier, who were attempting to re-establish a more human and less abstract form of composition. ''La Jeune France'' developed from the avant-garde chamber music society ''La spirale'', formed by Jolivet, Messiaen, and Daniel-Lesur the previous year. That same year he, together with

Jean Langlais Jean François-Hyacinthe Langlais III (15 February 1907 – 8 May 1991) was a French composer of modern classical music, organist, and improviser. He described himself as "" ("Breton, of Catholic faith"). Biography Langlais was born in La ...

and

Jean-Jacques Grunenwald Jean-Jacques Charles Grunenwald, also known by his pseudonym Jean Dalve (2 February 1911 – 19 December 1982), was a French organist, composer, architect, and pedagogue. Life and work Grunenwald was born in 1911 in Cran-Gevrier (now part of A ...

, gave the first performance of

's ''

La Nativité du Seigneur ''La Nativité du Seigneur, neuf méditations pour orgue'' (''The Birth of the Lord, nine meditations for organ'') is an important work for organ, written by the French composer Olivier Messiaen in 1935 in Grenoble. It is a testament to Messiaen ...

''. Between 1927 and 1937 he seconded Tournemire at the organ of Ste. Clotilde, Paris, and was organist of the Benedictine Abbey of Paris, 1937–44. Daniel-Lesur also served as director of the

Opéra National de Paris 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 kn ...

from 1971 to 1973. His opera ''Andrea del Sarto'' (196

received the composition prize of the City of Paris in 1969. In 1973, he received the Prix Samuel Rousseau of the

Académie des Beaux Arts An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

. In 1982, he was elected member of the

Institut de France The ; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the . 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 institute manages approximately ...

. He died in Paris.

Selected compositions

Stage *''Andrea del Sarto'' (libretto after

Alfred de Musset Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay (; 11 December 1810 – 2 May 1857) was a French dramatist, poet, and novelist.His names are often reversed "Louis Charles Alfred de Musset": see "(Louis Charles) Alfred de Musset" (bio), Biography.com, 2007 ...

), opera in 2 acts (1949) *''Ondine'' (libretto after Jean Gireaudoux), opera in 3 acts (1981) *''La Reine morte'' (libretto after Henry de Montherland), not dated Orchestral works *''Suite française'' (1935) *''Passacaille'' (1938) for piano and orchestra *''Pastorale'' (1938) for chamber orchestra *''Variations'' (1943) for piano and string orchestra *''Ouverture pour un festival'' (1951) *''Concerto da camera'' (1953) for piano and chamber orchestra *''Sérénade'' (1954) for string orchestra *''Intermezzo'' (1956; his contribution to '' Variations sur le nom de Marguerite Long'') *''Symphonie de danses'' (1958) *''Symphonie 'd'ombre et de lumière'' (1974) *''Nocturne'' (1974) for oboe and string orchestra *''Fantaisie concertante'' (1992) for cello and orchestra Chamber music *''Suite'' (1939) for oboe, clarinet, and bassoon *''Suite'' (1940) for string quartet *''Suite en trio'' (1943) for violin, viola, cello and piano *''Suite médiévale'' (1945) for flute, harp, violin, viola, cello *''Sextuor'' (1948) for flute, oboe, violin, viola, cello, harpsichord *''Élégie'' (1956) for two guitars *''Nocturne'' (1974) for oboe and piano *''Novelette'' (1977) for flute and piano *''Marine'' (1978) for harp *''Lamento'' (1983) for violin and piano *''Stèle à la mémoire d'un héros'' (1991) for flute and string quartet Piano music *''Soirs'' (1929) *Bagatelle (1934) *Pavane (1938) *''Le Bouquet de Béatrice'' (1946) for piano 4-hands *''Pastorale varié'' (1947) *Ballade (1948) *Nocturne (1952) *''Le Bal'' (1954) *3 Études (1962) *Fantaisie (1962) for 2 pianos *''L'Armoricaine'' (1964) *''Contre-fugue'' (1974) for 2 pianos *''Berceuse sur le nom de Schostakovitch'' (1975) *''Chanson à danser'' (1980) Organ works *''Scène de la passion'' (1931) *''La Vie intérieure'' (1932) *''In paradisium'' (1933) *''Hymnes'' (1935) *''Quatre Hymnes'' (1939) Choral works (with poets) *''Annonciation'' (Loÿs Masson), cantata for speaker, tenor, mixed chorus and chamber orchestra (1951) *''Le Cantique des cantiques'' (biblical) for 12 voices and chorus (1952) *''Cantique des colonnes'' (

Paul Valéry Ambroise Paul Toussaint Jules Valéry (; 30 October 1871 – 20 July 1945) was a French poet, essayist, and philosopher. In addition to his poetry and fiction (drama and dialogues), his interests included aphorisms on art, history, letters, m ...

) for female voices and orchestra (1957) *''Encore un instant de bonheur'' (Henry de Montherland) *numerous folksong arrangements Songs (for voice and piano) *''Les Harmonies intimes'' (Daniel-Lesur) (1931) *''La Mort des voiles'' (

Paul Fort Jules-Jean-Paul Fort (1 February 1872 – 20 April 1960) was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement. At the age of 18, reacting against the Naturalistic theatre, Fort founded the Théâtre d'Art (1890–93). He also founded and edi ...

) (1931) *''La Mouette / Les Yeux fermés'' (

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; ; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was an outstanding poet, writer, and literary criticism, literary critic of 19th-century German Romanticism. He is best known outside Germany for his ...

) (1932) *''Quatre Lieder'' (

Cécile Sauvage Cécile Anne Marie Antoinette Sauvage (; 20 July 1883 – 26 August 1927) was a French poet. She was the author of collections ''Tandis que la terre tourne'' (1910) and ''Le Vallon'' (1913). Her love poetry was posthumously collected and publishe ...

, Heine), several versions (1932–39) *''Trois Poèmes de Cécile Sauvage'' (1939) *''Deux Chansons de l'étoile de Seville'' ( Claude Roy) *''L'Enfance de l'art'' (Claude Roy) *''Chansons cambodgiennes'' (traditional) (1946) *''Berceuses à tenir éveillé'' (

René de Obaldia René de Obaldia (22 October 1918 – 27 January 2022) was a French playwright and poet. He was elected to the Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary ...

) (1947) *''Les Amants séparés'' (Claude Roy) (1950) *''Dialogues dans la nuit'' (Claude Roy) for mezzo-soprano, bass, and chamber orchestra (1987) *''À la lisière du temps / Le Voyage d'automne / Permis de séjour'' (Claude Roy) (1990)

''Le Cantique des cantiques''

Daniel-Lesur's best-known composition is the ''

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

'' choral work ''Le Cantique des cantiques,'' a setting for 12 voices of parts of the ''

Song of Songs The Song of Songs (), also called the Canticle of Canticles or the Song of Solomon, is a Biblical poetry, biblical poem, one of the five ("scrolls") in the ('writings'), the last section of the Tanakh. Unlike other books in the Hebrew Bible, i ...

,'' interspersed with Latin verses and

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

texts. The seventh and final movement, titled "Épithalame", utilizes "the combination of richly harmonised upper voices singing the famous words from Chapter 8 of the Song of Songs in French ("Pose-moi comme un sceau sur ton coeur, comme un sceau sur ton bras. Car l'amour est fort comme la mort') over an

ostinato In music, an ostinato (; derived from the Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces inc ...

set to Latin words ("Veni sponsa Christi")

hich Ij () is a village in Golabar Rural District of the Central District in Ijrud County, Zanjan province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq ...

has very great cumulative power, reaching a mighty twelve-part climax where all the voices sing a succession of Alleluias which initially emerge from the complex texture in a repeated motif coloured by the Lydian mode – an idea which seems to suggest the joyous pealing of bells." (From his obituary; see external links.) The ''Cantique des cantiques'' has been recorded by

Harry Christophers Richard Henry Tudor "Harry" Christophers CBE FRSCM (born 26 December 1953) is an English conductor. Life and career Richard Henry Tudor Christophers was born in Goudhurst, Kent. He was a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral under choirmaster Al ...

and

The Sixteen The Sixteen (previously known as the Symphony of Harmony and Invention) are a British choir and period instrument orchestra. Founded by Harry Christophers, they started as an unnamed group of sixteen friends in 1977, giving their first bille ...

, and is frequently performed internationally by such groups as Chanticleer and the Santa Fe Desert Chorale.

References

External links

Obituary in ''The Musical Times''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daniel Lesur 1908 births 2002 deaths 20th-century French classical composers 20th-century French organists 20th-century French male musicians Burials at Passy Cemetery Composers for harp Composers for piano Composers for the classical guitar Directors of the Paris Opera French ballet composers French classical organists French male classical composers Academic staff of the Schola Cantorum de Paris French male classical organists