Albéric Magnard
Albéric Magnard | |
|---|---|
 Albéric Magnard | |
| Born | Lucien Denis Gabriel Albéric Magnard 9 June 1865 |
| Died | 3 September 1914(aged 49) "Manoir de Fontaines" atBaron |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupation | composer |
| Notable work | Guercoeur,opera (1897–1900), Op. 12 |
| Spouse | Julie Creton |
| Signature | |
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Lucien Denis Gabriel Albéric Magnard(French pronunciation:[lysjɛ̃dəniɡabʁijɛlalbeʁikmaɲaʁ];9 June 1865 – 3 September 1914) was a French composer, somewhat influenced byCésar FranckandVincent d'Indy.Magnard became a national hero in 1914 when he refused to surrender his property to German invaders and died defending it.
Biography
[edit]Magnard was born in Paris, the son ofFrancis Magnard,a bestselling author and editor ofLe Figaro.Albéric could have chosen to live the comfortable life that his family's wealth afforded him, but he disliked being called"fils du Figaro"and decided to make a career for himself in music, based entirely on his own talent and without any help from family connections.[1]After military service and graduating from law school, he entered theParis Conservatoire,where he studied counterpoint withThéodore Duboisand went to the classes ofJules Massenet.There he metVincent d'Indy,with whom he studied fugue and orchestration for four years, writing his first two Symphonies under d'Indy's tutelage. Magnard dedicated his Symphony No. 1 to d'Indy; and the two men always respected each other, despite their marked political differences (Magnard was pro-Dreyfus).
Francis Magnard did what he could to support Albéric's career while trying to respect his son's wish to make it on his own. This included publicity inLe Figaro.With the death of his father in 1894, Albéric Magnard's grief was complicated by his simultaneous gratitude to and annoyance with his father.
In 1896, Magnard married Julie Creton, became a counterpoint tutor at theSchola Cantorum(recently founded by d'Indy) and wrote his Symphony No. 3 in B-flat minor.
Death
[edit]
In 1914, at the beginning ofWorld War I,Magnard sent his wife and two daughters to a safe hiding place while he stayed behind to guard the estate of "Manoir de Fontaines" atBaron,Oise.When German soldiers trespassed on the property, Magnard fired at them, killing one soldier, and they fired back before setting the house on fire. It is believed that Magnard died in the fire, although his body could not be identified in the ruins.[2]The fire destroyed all of Magnard's unpublished scores, including the orchestral score of his early operaYolande,the orchestral score ofGuercoeur(the piano reduction had been published, and the orchestral score of the second act was extant), and a more recent song cycle.Guy Ropartz,who had led a concert performance of the third act ofGuercoeuratNancyin February 1908, would subsequently reconstruct from memory the orchestration of the acts that had been lost in the fire, and the Paris Opéra gave the work a belated world premiere in 1931.
Music
[edit]Magnard's primary musical influences were contemporary French composers, particularlyCésar Franck.Although he devoted much of his compositional efforts towards opera, nowadays he is probably best known for his four symphonies, certain passages of which demonstrate a more Germanic influence.[citation needed]His use of fugue and incorporation ofchorale,together with the grandeur of expression in his mature orchestral works, have caused him to be called a "French Bruckner"[by whom?].[2]Although Bruckner used cyclical forms long before d'Indy "trademarked" the concept toCésar Franck's name, Magnard's handling of cyclical form is more Franckian than Brucknerian. In his operas, Magnard usedRichard Wagner's leitmotiv technique.[citation needed]
Magnard's whole musical output numbers a total of just 22 opus numbers. Along with the symphonies and operas are a handful of chamber works including a singlestring quartet,a quintet for piano and winds, apiano trio,aviolin sonata(in G,opus13), and acello sonata(in A, opus 20). A few more were published posthumously, including theQuatre poèmes en musique,four songs for baritone and piano.[3]
Selected works
[edit]- Trois Pièces pour piano,Op. 1
- Suite dans le style ancien,Op. 2, for orchestra
- Six Poèmes,Op. 3, for voice and piano: 1. "À elle"; 2. "Invocation"; 3. "Le Rhin allemand"; 4. "Nocturne"; 5. "Ad fontem"; 6. "Au poète"
- Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 4 (1890)
- Yolande,Op. 5, opera (1888–1891)
- Symphony No. 2 in E, Op. 6 (1893)
- Promenades,Op. 7, for piano (1894)
- Quintet in D minor, Op. 8, for piano, flute, oboe, clarinet & bassoon
- Chant funèbre,Op. 9 (1895)
- Overture, Op. 10 (1895)
- Symphony No. 3 in B-flat minor, Op. 11 (1896)
- Guercoeur,Op. 12, opera (1897–1900)
- Sonata in G, Op. 13, for violin and piano (1903)
- Hymne à la justice,Op. 14 (1903)
- Quatre Poèmes,for baritone and piano, Op. 15 (1903)
- String Quartet in E minor, Op. 16 (1904)
- Hymne a Venus,Op. 17 (1906)
- Trio in F minor, Op. 18, for piano trio (1905)
- Bérénice,Op. 19, opera (1905–1909)
- Sonata in A major, Op. 20, for cello and piano (1912)
- Symphony No. 4 in C-sharp minor, Op. 21 (1913)
- Douze Poèmes,Op. 22
- En Dieu mon espérance
- À Henriette
Selected recordings
[edit]Albéric Magnard,La Musique de chambre,Timpani Records, 4 CDs (Oct. 2014)
- CD 1: Violin Sonata in G major, Cello Sonata in A major
- CD 2: Piano Trio in F minor, Piano Quintet in D minor (for piano and wind instruments)
- CD 3: String Quartet in E minor
- CD 4: (spoken word; discussion in French of works with music excerpts between Harry Halbreich and Stéphane Topakian)
The four symphonies have been recorded by:
- TheOrchestre du Capitole de Toulouse,conducted byMichel Plasson(EMI Classics,1983/1987/1989)
- TheBBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra,conducted by Jean-Ives Ossonce (Hyperion,1997)
- TheMalmö Symphony Orchestra,conducted byThomas Sanderling(BIS Records,2000)
- The Freiburg Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted byFabrice Bollon(Naxos Records,2019/2020)
The shorter orchestral works (Suite d'orchestre, op. 2, Chant funèbre, op. 9, Ouverture, op. 10, Hymne à la justice, op. 14, Hymne à Vénus, op. 17) are on Timpani 1C1171 (2010, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Mark Stringer) and on Naxos 8.574084 (2020, Philharmonisches Orchester Freiburg, Fabrice Bollon).
A complete recording ofGuercœurwas released by EMI Angel/Pathé Marconi in 1990. It featuresHildegard Behrens,Nadine Denize,José van Dam,andGary Lakes,with theOrchestre du Capitole de Toulouseconducted byMichel Plasson.
References
[edit]- ^M.-D. Calvocoressi, "Albéric Magnard"The Musical TimesOctober 1, 1921, p. 683. "To all appearances, Albéric Magnard was born with the traditional silver spoon in his mouth. The only son of the wealthy influential editor of a leading Paris daily paper, it seemed as though none of the difficulties with which earnest-minded composers generally have to contend were to exist for him. Indeed, his first works were welcomed with an eagerness whose real motives he was not long in suspecting."
- ^abMalcolm MacDonald, "Magnard, (Lucien Denis Gabriel) Albéric",The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians,second edition, edited byStanley SadieandJohn Tyrrell(London: Macmillan Publishers, 2001).
- ^Andrew Thomson, CD review,The Musical TimesSeptember 1992, p. 458
External links
[edit]
- Free scores by Albéric Magnardat theInternational Music Score Library Project(IMSLP)
- Magnard String Quartet Op.16Soundbites and discussion of work
- timpani-records.com
- 1865 births
- 1914 deaths
- 19th-century French classical composers
- 19th-century French male musicians
- 20th-century French classical composers
- 20th-century French male musicians
- Burials at Passy Cemetery
- Civilians killed in World War I
- French opera composers
- French Romantic composers
- French male opera composers
- Composers from Paris
- Pupils of Vincent d'Indy
- Academic staff of the Schola Cantorum de Paris
- French casualties of World War I