Jacques Leguerney (19 November 1906 – 10 September 1997) was a French composer especially noted for his

art song An art song is a Western vocal music composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is used to refer to the collective genre of such son ...

Biography

Jacques Leguerney was born in

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, ver ...

. He has been referred to as "the latest – perhaps the last – great exponent of the mélodie".Richard Miller, CHOICE (publication of the Association of College and Research Libraries), June 2002. He was largely self-taught, but studied 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 ...

for a short period. He was also influenced by

Albert Roussel Albert Charles Paul Marie Roussel (; 5 April 1869 – 23 August 1937) was a French composer. He spent seven years as a midshipman, turned to music as an adult, and became one of the most prominent French composers of the interwar period. His ...

and

Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kn ...

, who was a close friend through his life. His art songs were championed by such singers as

Gérard Souzay Gérard Souzay (8 December 1918 – 17 August 2004) was a French baritone, regarded as one of the very finest interpreters of mélodie (French art song) in the generation after Charles Panzéra and Pierre Bernac. Background and education He w ...

, his sister the soprano Geneviève Touraine and

Pierre Bernac Pierre Louis Bernac (né Bertin; 12 January 1899 – 17 October 1979) was a French singer, a baryton-martin, known as an interpreter of the French mélodie. He had a close artistic association with Francis Poulenc, with whom he performed i ...

, and more recently by American baritone

Kurt Ollmann Kurt Ollmann (born January 19, 1957 in Racine, Wisconsin), is an American operatic baritone, known for his frequent musical association with composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein from 1982 until Bernstein's death in 1990. He has performed extens ...

and pianist Mary Dibbern. In addition to his art songs, he also wrote

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small num ...

and

orchestral music An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

, including the ballet ''Endymion'', followed by the ballet ''La Vénus noire'', which was a commission from the

Paris Opéra 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 k ...

. After the Paris Opéra did not produce this ballet, which he considered his masterpiece, Leguerney stopped composing."Jacques Legeurney Biography"
''Classical Music Now'' Accessed September 6, 2012.

Chronological works list

* 1928 "D'une fontaine"

Philippe Desportes Philippe Desportes or Desports (1546 – 5 October 1606) was a French poet.Jean Balsamo. Philippe Desports (1546-1606) Volume 62 of Actes et colloques. Editor, Contributor, Jean Balsamo. Publisher, Klincksieck, 2000 Biography Philippe Desp ...

, in "Poèmes de la Pléiade, 8ème Recueil," Editions

Max Eschig Max Eschig (27 May 1872 – 3 September 1927) was a Czech-born French music publisher who published many of the leading French composers of the twentieth century, later also including many East European and Latin American composers. Life Eschig wa ...

, 1988. * 1928 "Le Tombeau de Ronsard"

Pierre de Ronsard Pierre de Ronsard (; 11 September 1524 – 27 December 1585) was a French poet or, as his own generation in France called him, a " prince of poets". Early life Pierre de Ronsard was born at the Manoir de la Possonnière, in the village of ...

,in "Poèmes de la Pléiade, 8ème Recueil," Editions Max Eschig, 1988. * 1928 "Sur la mort de Diane"

, in "Poèmes de la Pléiade, 8ème Recueil," Editions Max Eschig, 1988. * 1929 "Avril"

Rémy Belleau Remy (or Rémi) Belleau (1528 – 6 March 1577) was a poet of the French Renaissance. He is most known for his paradoxical poems of praise for simple things and his poems about precious stones. Life Remy was born in Nogent-le-Rotrou. A noblem ...

, in "Poèmes de la Pléiade, 8ème Recueil," Editions Max Eschig, 1988. * 1930 "Nuit d'été"

Albert Samain Albert Victor Samain (3 April 185818 August 1900) was a French poet and writer of the Symbolist school. Life and works Born in Lille, his family were Flemish and had long lived in the town or its suburbs. At the time of the poet's birth, his fat ...

, in "Quatre Mélodies," Editions Max Eschig, 1988. * 1942 "Ma douce jouvence est passée"

," in "Poèmes de la Pléiade, 2ème Recueil," Editions Salabert, 1950 and 1989. * 1942 "Nous ne tenons"

, in "Poèmes de la Pléiade, 7ème Recueil," Editions Max Eschig, 1989. * 1943 "Au sommeil"

, in "Poèmes dela Pléiade, 1er Recueil," Editions Salabert, 1950 and 1989. * 1943 "Genièvres hérissés"

, in "Poèmes de la Pléiade, 1er Recueil," Editions Salabert, 1950 and 1989. * 1943 "Je me lamente"

, in "Poèmes de la Pléiade, 1er Recueil," Editions Salabert, 1950 and 1989. * 1943 "Je vous envoie"

, in "Poèmes de la Pléiade, 1er Recueil," Editions Salabert, 1950 and 1989. * 1943-1947 "Poèmes de la Pléiade", song cycle to texts by

(1524–1585) * 1948 String Quartet in D * 1951 "La Solitude", four songs to texts by

Théophile de Viau Théophile de Viau (159025 September 1626) was a French Baroque poet and dramatist. Life Born at Clairac, near Agen in the Lot-et-Garonne and raised as a Huguenot, Théophile de Viau participated in the Huguenot rebellions in Guyenne from 1 ...

(1590–1626) * 1952 "Le Carnaval", three songs to texts by

Antoine Girard de Saint-Amant Antoine Girard, sieur de Saint-Amant (September 30, 1594December 29, 1661) was a French poet. Saint-Amant was born near Rouen. His father was a merchant who had, according to his son's account, been a sailor and had commanded for 22 years "''une ...

(1594–1661)

Principal source

*Mary Dibbern, Carol Kimball and Patrick Choukroun: ''The Songs of Jacques Leguerney: A Guide for Study and Performance'' (New York: Pendragon Press, 2002), .

Selected discography

*''Jacques Leguerney: Mélodies de la Renaissance''. Mary Dibbern at the piano with Lisa Bonenfant, soprano and Kurt Ollmann, baritone. Harmonia Mundi France —Action Musicale Seita. (HMC 1171, stereo.) Recording made in collaboration with the composer. *''Jacques Leguerney: Mélodies'', vol. 2. Mary Dibbern with Deborah Massell, soprano and Kurt Ollmann, baritone. Harmonia Mundi France—Action Musicale Seita. (HMC 1172, stereo.) Recording made in collaboration with the composer. *''28 Mélodies of Jacques Leguerney''. Claves and Radio Suisse Romande-Espace 2 (Claves CD 50-9618). Mary Dibbern with Danielle Borst, soprano:

Brigitte Balleys Brigitte Balleys (born 18 June 1959) is a Swiss mezzo-soprano in opera and concert. Biography Born in the canton of Vaud, Brigitte Balleys studied at Sion, then at the Conservatory of Bern where she graduated from the singing class of Jakob St ...

, mezzo-soprano, and Philippe Huttenlocher, baritone.

References

External links

Information about Leguerney
1906 births 1997 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century French composers 20th-century French male musicians French classical composers French male classical composers Musicians from Le Havre {{France-composer-stub