Henri Rabaud
Henri Benjamin Rabaud(10 November 1873 – 11 September 1949)[1]was a Frenchconductor,composerand pedagogue, who held important posts in the French musical establishment and upheld mainly conservative trends in French music in the first half of the twentieth century.[2][3]
Life and career[edit]
Rabaud came from a musical background. He was the son of acellistHippolyte Rabaud (1839–1900), professor of cello at theParis Conservatoire,while his mother was a singer who almost created the role ofMarguériteat the request ofCharles Gounod.[3]His maternal grandfather was a well-known flautist,[3]while his great aunt wasJulie Dorus-Gras.[2]
Henri studied at the Conservatoire withAndré GedalgeandJules Massenet.In 1908, he became aconductorat the ParisOpéra-Comiquewhere he later conducted the 100th performance of his operaMârouf, savetier du Caire,[4]and from 1914 to 1918 he directed the ParisOpéra.In 1918 he became musical director of theBoston Symphony Orchestrafor only one season before returning to Paris. While in Boston, he was elected to membership in the Alpha chapter ofPhi Mu Alpha Sinfoniafraternity, the national fraternity for men in music.
Following the resignation ofGabriel Fauréin 1922, Rabaud was his successor as director of the Conservatoire, where he remained until his retirement in 1941. Notable students during those years wereOlivier Messiaen,Jean Langlais,andJehan Alain.Staff includedPaul DukasandJean Roger-Ducassefor composition,Marcel Dupréfor organ,Marcel Moysefor flute, andClaire Croizafor singing.[5]
In October 1940, he helped compile a dossier describing in detail the racial make-up of all Conservatoire students for theoccupying forces.[6]
Compositions[edit]
Rabaud'scantataDaphnéwon the PremierGrand Prix de Romein 1894. Hisopéra comiqueMârouf, savetier du Cairecombines theWagnerianand the exotic. He wrote other operas, includingL'appel de la merbased onJ. M. Synge'sRiders to the Sea,as well asincidental musicandfilm scores,such as the 1925 score forJoueur d'échecs(Chess Player).
Orchestral music by Rabaud includes aDivertissementon Russian songs, anEglogue,a Virgilian poem for orchestra, as well as thesymphonic poemLa procession nocturne,his best known orchestral work, still occasionally revived and recorded. He also wrote music forchorusand orchestra and twosymphonies.
Hischamber musicincludes several works for cello andpianoas well as aSolo de concoursforclarinetand piano — a virtuosic competition piece written in 1901 for Conservatoire contests.
Conservative as a composer, he was known for his mantra, "modernismis the enemy. "
Selected list of works[edit]
Stage
- La Fille de Roland.Opera (1904)
- Mârouf, savetier du CaireOp. 14. Opera (1914)
- L'Appel de la mer.Opera, 1924 (based onRiders to the SeabyJohn Millington Synge)[4]
- Rolande et le mauvais garçon.Opéra en 5 actes (1934)
Voice with orchestra
- JobOp. 9. Oratorio (1900)
Orchestra
- Divertissement sur des chansons russesOp. 2 (1899)
- Procession nocturne."Symphonic poem afterNicolas Lenau"Op. 6 (1899)
- Eglogue.Poème virgilien Op. 7 (1899)
- Orchestration of Fauré'sDolly Suite(1906)
- Prélude et Toccatafor piano and orchestra
- Symphony No. 1 in D minor Op. 1 (1893)[7]
- Symphony No. 2 in E minor Op. 5 (1899)[8]
Chamber music
- String Quartet Op. 3 (1898)
- Andante et Scherzo for flute, violin and piano Op. 8 (1899)
- Solo de Concours pour Clarinet et PianoOp. 10 (1901)
Other
- Incidental music for 'The Merchant of Venice', 1917 based on works byWilliam Byrd,Giles Farnabyand others
- Film scores forLe Miracle des Loups(1924) andJoueur d'échecs(1926)
See also[edit]
- Le Miracle des loups(1924 film)
References[edit]
- ^The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music.
- ^abGirardot A. Henri Rabaud. In:The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.Macmillan, London and New York, 1997.
- ^abcLandormy P.La Musique Française après Debussy.Gallimard, Paris, 1943.
- ^abWolff S.Un Demi-siècle d'Opéra-Comique (1900-1950).André Bonne, Paris, 1953.
- ^Simeone, Nigel (2000).Paris – A Musical Gazetteer.New Haven: Yale University Press.ISBN9780300080537.
- ^Jean Gribenski, in Myriam Chimènes (ed.):La vie musicale sous Vichy,Paris, 2001, p. 147.
- ^BNF Autograph Orchestral Score of Symphony 1dated May 1893
- ^BNF Autograph Orchestral Score of Symphony 2dated April 1899
External links[edit]
- Solo de Concoursfor clarinet & piano – Duo “Istria”onYouTube
- Free scores by Henri Rabaudat theInternational Music Score Library Project(IMSLP)
- Henri RabaudatIMDb
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- 1873 births
- 1949 deaths
- Musicians from Paris
- Lycée Condorcet alumni
- French classical composers
- French male conductors (music)
- French conductors (music)
- French opera composers
- French male opera composers
- French film score composers
- French male film score composers
- Prix de Rome for composition
- Conservatoire de Paris alumni
- Members of the Académie des beaux-arts
- Knights of the Legion of Honour
- Directors of the Conservatoire de Paris