La Bande à Franck, Chapter 3

Samuel Rousseau (1853-1904)

It's shocking to see just how many people died so young during the 19th century. Here is Mr. Samuel Rousseau, who passed away at the age of 51. In our day, we would consider this a real tragedy, but for a man born in 1853, this was somewhat normal because the medical profession had little to no ability to cure many diseases that we now consider largely extinct.

He was born in Neuve-Maison, the son of an organ builder. Laurence Davies considers Rousseau to have been Franck's most precocious pupil, having entered the Conservatoire at age 14. The teacher and student were to become intimate friends; Franck himself appointed Rousseau to be his choir master and general assistant at Sainte-Clotilde. Rousseau went on to win first prize in the Prix de Rome at the age of 25, for his cantata La fille de Jephté. As he was leaving for his 4-year Roman tuition, his opera, Dianorah, was accepted for production at the Opéra-Comique, an almost unprecedented success for such a young man. Among his other works are many pieces for organ and chorus, a few orchestral works, and the operas Merowig, La Cloche du Rhin, and a comedy titled Milia.

Organist and composer, Samuel Rousseau

Among Rousseau's chamber works is his Sonata for cello and piano in a minor from 1903. There is no record of it ever having been performed, though it must have been done at some point--there are no recordings at all, according to my research. It is notable for its cyclical form; indeed, all three movements are based on a single motive, comprising the notes C, A, C, B natural, and A. Such a simple and seemingly dry group of tones is reminiscent of Beethoven's (and also Franck's) monothematic works.

A composer's card sponsored by a chocolate company featuring Rousseau's opera, La Cloche du Rhin

Paul de Wailly (1854-1933)

Paul de Wailly

De Wailly was born at Amiens, initially studying law but switching to music, just as Chausson had done. According to Davies, Wailly was the most loyal and devoted disciple of Franck's, never deviating from the master's teaching. He was moderately successful as an operatic composer and also wrote a considerable amount of chamber music, most of which still remains in manuscript form at the French National Library. One exception is a massive piano quintet (80 Pages), which still awaits a first recording. Another is a charming Serenade for flute and string trio.

Ernest Chausson (1855-1899)

The most famous student of Franck's in our time is undoubtedly Chausson, that magnificently gifted musician who died so tragically young. He was born in Paris; his father, Prosper Chausson, was one of Baron Haussmann's building contractors. This meant that Ernest was raised in an affluent household, and as a result of the death of his two younger siblings, he was raised so protectively that he was tutored at home and forbidden to play outside with other children. As a probable result, Chausson became a melancholic child; this was carried through into adulthood, and as a composer he suffered from depression. He matriculated in law school at the University of Paris, graduating in 1877, and was appointed a barrister for the Court of Appeals, but never enjoyed this work. In 1879 he attended the Bayreuth Festival and took in Parsifal; as with most of his contemporaries, he was overwhelmed with Wagner's intoxicating score--while at the same time, Chausson began his formal musical studies with Massenet at the Conservatoire. While writing his early Piano Trio in g minor, op. 3, Chausson switched composition teachers and left Massenet to begin his studies with Franck. His first successful orchestral work is a symphonic poem called Viviane; this revealed his mastery of orchestration and his absorption of Wagnerian harmony.

After his marriage to the dedicatee of Viviane, Jeanne Escudier, the couple had five children. Chausson began laboring on music dramas, two of which he left incomplete at the time of his death. Chausson started working on his one major operatic success, Le Roi Arthus, in 1886, and it took him nine years to finish it. Other significant works include the unique Concert for solo violin, piano, and string quartet; the Poème for violin and orchestra, which has been a staple in the concert hall since its composition and is often paired with Ravel's Tzigane; and the great Symphony in B-flat.

Chausson's sole work for cello is his Pièce, op. 39, for cello and piano, and was among the last pieces of music the composer wrote. The entire 7-minute piece is tinged with his signature bittersweet melancholy. I'm surprised it hasn't become a staple of cello recitalists everywhere, but that is particularly due to many American cello professors who seem to lack the curiosity needed to expand the repertoire for cello and piano. I believe that this expansion is essential for the future of classical music. I will pose this question: Who really wants to hear another performance of Schubert's Arpeggione Sonata? When I was an undergraduate at the Peabody Institute, the only French cello works one ever heard were those by Debussy and Fauré. I find it promising that some women composers are finally receiving their due; the Sonata of 1905 by Franck's pupil Mélanie Bonis (1858-1937) is outstanding.

Ernest Chausson with his wife, Jeanne Escudier

It is interesting to note that Chausson was a close friend of the great Eugène Ysaÿe (1858-1931). Ysaÿe requested a violin concerto from Chausson, resulting in the Poème; below is a plaque placed on the exterior of the Nancy Conservatoire, where one of Franck's best students, Guy Ropartz, served as director.

La Bande à Franck, Chapter 2

Born in 1847, Augusta Mary Ann Holmès was probably the only female pupil in composition among Franck's circle. Wikipedia claims that Melanie Bonis was also a student of Franck's, but this cannot be corroborated. Besides, none of the biographies of Franck nor even of d'Indy make a single mention of her name. Holmès was Irish, the accent grave having been officially added to her name upon her naturalization as a French citizen. She was accepted as a private student of Franck's in 1876. Women were still not admitted to the Paris Conservatoire as composition majors in this period. Most of the books on this subject were written from the 1940s until the early 1980s, which means that casual misogyny is rife in these pages on the subject; for example, her works were and still are considered mainly too 'masculine' in style. And she was a real independent spirit, determined to make her way in that hyper-masculine world. The result is an aggressive, even martial quality in her writing. Nothing pleased her more than to compose her Triumphal Ode for the 1889 Paris World's Fair utilizing a 1,200-voice choir. Among her works are numerous tone poems for orchestra, many of which are very stirring, such as Irlande and Roland furieux, symphonies including Lutèce (1877), four operas, and over 100 songs. By 1890, she had essentially given up on serious composition due to numerous setbacks. She became an alcoholic and died in 1903, aged only 56.

Holmès never married but lived with the novelist, poet, and essayist Catulle Mendès, with whom she produced 3 daughters.

The Daughters of Catulle Mendès (1888) by Renoir. Metropolitan Museum, New York

Scene from La Montagne Noire, 1895, at the Opéra de Paris

I feel strongly that, even though Augusta never achieved the kind of world fame she set out for herself, just to have written an opera which was accepted for performance by none other than that august and intimidating institution, the Opéra de Paris, would have provided anyone else with more than sufficient cause for immense pride!

Augusta Holmès

Henri Dallier (1849-1934), was a student in Franck's organ class at the Conservatoire. He won 1st prizes in both organ and fugue in 1878. In 1905 he succeeded Gabriel Fauré as organiste titulaire at the huge church of La Madeleine.

Vincent d'Indy (1851-1931) requires far less of an introduction than most of the other Franckists. Still, despite his international fame, most of the music by this prolific composer remains unknown to 21st-century audiences. A member of an old aristocratic family from the southeastern region of France known as the Ardèche, Vincent could have stylized himself as Count d'Indy, but chose not to elevate his stature in that manner. Young Vincent was raised by his grandmother in a strict atmosphere of rigorous studies in all subjects, from dawn until sunset, including music, which Countess Rezia considered essential to a well-rounded individual. He was also raised to be a devout Catholic, fervently patriotic, and a supporter of the armed forces. At the age of 19, Vincent enlisted to fight in the Franco-Prussian War. The following year, he began his studies at the Paris Conservatoire with César Franck against the turbulent and frightening Paris Commune, during which there was a great deal of violence and even assassination.

As an independently wealthy man, d'Indy never had to worry about making a living, yet he decided early on to become a professional musician. He even went so far as to join the Colonne Orchestra as a percussionist to gain valuable experience. At the same time, Vincent made the nearly obligatory pilgrimage to Bayreuth, where he attended the entire Ring of the Nibelungs in 1876, instantly becoming a convert to Wagner's world. At the same time, d'Indy was a classicist and always maintained that Beethoven was the ultimate inspiration. In d'Indy's mind, it was Beethoven and Wagner who together formed a synthesis culminating in the great art of Franck, whose own models were Bach and Beethoven.

Music in France during the 2nd Empire of Napoleon III (1851-1870) was largely devoid of the predominance of instrumental composition. Opera was by far the favored genre, so it was left to Saint-Saens and d'Indy, among many others, to inject the classicism which had been dominant in Austria and Germany since Haydn. D'Indy made it his life's mission to create the conditions in which instrumental composition was to find its inspiration. The lasting effect of all his efforts was the founding of the Schola Cantorum de Paris, established as a rival to the prestigious Paris Conservatoire, which remains strong to the present day. It had long been a dream of d'Indy's to educate more well-rounded musicians; at the Schola, that included a rigorous course in 16th-century counterpoint, something that was never taught at the Conservatoire, an unimaginable prospect to us in the present day.

Another enormous contribution to French musical art was d'Indy's 1,050-page Cours de Composition Musicale, published in 1912. This work attempted to combine virtually everything a musician should know to embark on a music career. D'Indy decided to assign three main epochs in Western music:

1 Rhythmo-monodic period, from the 3rd to the 13th century.

2. Polyphonic period, from the 11th to the 18th century. (1) It is difficult to assign precise dates, a beginning, and an end to each of these great periods, because they naturally overlap with each other in terms of the manifestations that define their character; the demarcations we give here are therefore only approximate, taking as a starting point the oldest musical texts that are sufficiently known and reliable.

3. Metrical Era:

FOREWORD from the 17th century to the present day. Thus, in this first book, the student will be called upon to study successively: Rhythm, the primitive and primordial element of all art, and its special application to Music (chap. 1); Melody, derived from language through accent (chap. 11) B Graphic signs representing rhythm and melody (chap. m) and Musical forms limited to these two elements (Rhythmo-monodic period, chaps. 4, 5). He will then study: the origin and theory of Harmony (chap. v1), serving as a basis of Tonality (chap. vII) and contributing with it to Expression (chap. vii); Then the History of this theory of Harmony (chap. 19) and its Application in melodies.

As can be seen, this is a most amazing work!

As stated, the young d'Indy attended the first complete Ring cycle at Bayreuth in 1876 and was utterly under its considerable spell for many years. Among the first works of the 1870s was the well-known triptych, Wallenstein, op. 12. He composed a great deal of chamber music throughout his life, and among the works in the 1870s are the Trio for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano, and an early Piano Quartet, op. 7.

Other large orchestral works are the Poème des montagnes, op 15, and what became his most celebrated piece, the Symphonie Cévenole, op. 25. This is unusual in that it is not really a symphony in the usual sense, but a form of piano concerto in which the piano is an obligato instrument within the fabric of the orchestra.

poster for Fervaal

The composer's first major work for the stage is the grand Wagnerian opera, Fervaal, op. 40, written between 1889 and 1893. The libretto is by d'Indy himself, and its world premiere was given at the Théatre de la Monnaie on March 12, 1897. It then moved to Paris's Opéra-Comique in 1898. D'Indy based his libretto on a Scandinavian drama by the Swedish playwright Esaias Tegnér. The opera is heavily influenced by Parsifal, and much of the dramatic action revolves around the theme of paganism vs. Christianity. This opera was influential in showing the French public what a profound movement Wagnerism was. He wrote 4 operas in all, one called L'etranger and his last opera, La Légende de Saint-Christophe.

As for d'Indy's music for cello and piano, there is the charming, neoclassical Sonata in D Major, op. 84 (1924-25). During the last twenty years of his life, d'Indy somewhat withdrew from public life after the death of his wife. This left him with ample time for reflection, and he turned towards neoclassicism rather than the massive forces of Wagnerism. Among these works is one so unusual that, to my knowledge, no one has ever written another one like it: The Triple Concerto, op. 89 from 1926, scored for Flute, Cello, Piano, and String Orchestra. On the surface, it sounds like pages from a Baroque Concerto Grosso, but the complex chromatic harmonies and difficult rhythms are big surprises. The Concerto is very successful, if a tad dry, but d'Indy was usually more concerned with form and counterpoint rather than overwhelming passion.

There is one additional work, the Lied, op 19, for Cello and Orchestra, and I may perform this on one of my "Franck" recitals if time leaves me with no choice. Next up, organist and composer Samuel Rousseau.

Like baseball cards, in the 19th century, people collected cigarette cards or those of chocolate

La Bande à Franck, Chapter 1

It's been a very long 18 months since my last post and I am inspired to begin my blog writing again because of a project I am just beginning, which will involve three recitals (at least), each of which will feature music by the many talented pupils of the great Belgian composer and organist, César Franck (1822-1890).

In this blog I will discuss the works involved as well as the composers, at least wherever there is any information on them. Sometimes so little is known about them that a paragraph or two is all there is. Most people know about the most celebrated amongst them, such as Ernest Chausson, Henri Duparc, and possibly Vincent d'Indy. Paul Dukas is occasionally included in this assembly but he didn't really attend Franck's classes in any serious manner.

Since Franck was the main organ professor at the Conservatoire, he was not supposed to teach any form of composition. But he taught the organ students harmony and counterpoint anyway. Some of these organ majors developed into major compositional talents, such as Louis Vierne, Charles Tournemire, and Gabriel Pierné.

Here, then, are most of his students in chronological order of their birth years.

1. First up is Viscount Alexis de Castillon (1838-1873). Hailing from an aristocratic family in Chartres, Castillon was compelled to attend a military academy because this was what male family members of the aristocracy were expected to do. No 'gentleman' would seriously consider shirking this patriotic duty. But young Castillon was unhappy in this line of work, so he sought out composition lessons from Franck. He destroyed what he had written up to that point, and started over with a new opus no. 1, the Piano Quintet. Castillon contracted Tuberculosis during the Franco-Prussian war and died, tragically, at the age of 34. He wrote no cello music to my knowledge.

2. Albert Cahen d'Anvers (1846-1903). Cahen is most famous for the portrait of him painted by Renoir in 1881.

Cahen was the scion of a wealthy Antwerp banking family. He was generally ignored by most of the other Franck students for several reasons: he was Jewish, he was Belgian, and he was wealthy. Because of his wealth, he was never required to work for a living. He wrote mainly operas, such as Jean le précurseur, 1874. He composed many songs and a few works for orchestra such as Endymion: Pöeme mythologique. I have just discovered in the French National Library a Grande Sonata pour violoncelle et piano still in manuscript form and I am eagerly awaiting its digital photocopy later this summer.

Henri Duparc (1848-1933), is a very famous composer but only for 17 "melodies" (art songs), one symphonic poem, Lenore, some piano music, and a Sonata for cello and piano written when he was just 19. Everything else he had written up to the turn of the century he destroyed. He became blind soon after that, but was unable or unwilling to learn to compose in Braille.

To be continued!