Charles Gounod
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Charles-François Gounod (June 17, 1818 – October 18, 1893) was a French composer, best known for his operas Faust and Roméo et Juliette.
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[edit] Biography
Gounod was born in Paris, the son of a pianist mother and a draftsman father. His mother was his first piano teacher. Under her tutelage Gounod first showed his musical talents. He entered the Paris Conservatoire where he studied under Fromental Halévy. He won the Prix de Rome in 1839 for his cantata Ferdinand. He subsequently went to Italy where he studied the music of Palestrina. He concentrated in religous music of the sixteenth century.
Gounod eventually returned to Paris and composed the "Messe Sollennelle", also known as the "Saint Cecilia Mass". This work was first performed in London during 1851 and began his reputation as a noteworthy composer.
Gounod wrote his first opera, Sappho, in 1851, but had no great success until Faust (1859), based on the play by Goethe. This remains his best-known work. The romantic and highly melodious Roméo et Juliette (based on the Shakespeare play), premiered in 1867, is also performed and recorded regularly. The charming and highly individual Mireille of 1864 is admired by connoisseurs.
There is some controversy surrounding "Faust". Many critics believed it was a far advancement over Gounod's prior works. One critic stated his doubt that Gounod composed it, which prompted Gounod to challenge the crtic to a duel. The critic withdrew his statement.
From 1870 to 1875 Gounod lived in England, becoming the first conductor of what is now the Royal Choral Society. Much of Gounod's music from this time is vocal or choral in nature.
Later in his life, Gounod wrote much religious music, including a musical setting of Ave Maria based on the first prelude from Book I of the Well-Tempered Clavier by J.S. Bach. He also devoted himself to chamber music composing four string quartets.
Gounod died in 1893 in Saint-Cloud, France.
Gounod's Funeral March of a Marionette (1873) was used as the theme music for the television program Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955-1962) and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962-1965).
[edit] Works
[edit] Operas
- Sappho (1851)
- La Nonne Sanglante (1854)
- Le Médecin malgré lui (1858)
- Faust (1859)
- Philémon et Baucis (1860)
- La Colombe (1860)
- La Reine de Saba (1862)
- Mireille (1864)
- Roméo et Juliette (1867)
- Cinq-Mars (1877)
- Polyeucte (1878)
- Le Tribut de Zamora (1881)
[edit] Oratorios
- Tobie (c. 1866)
- Gallia (1871)
- Jésus sur le lac de Tibériade (1878)
- La Rédemption (1882) (commissioned for, and premiered at the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival)
- Christus factus est (1883)
- Mors et Vita (1884)
[edit] Chamber Music
- String Quartet in a minor (Old No.3)
- String Quartet No.1 in C minor "Le petit quatuor"
- String Quartet No.2 in A Major
- String Quartet No.3 in F Major
- Petite Symphonie
[edit] References
Charles Gounod: Works. Charles GOUNOD: The Website !. Retrieved on March 31, 2005.
Scholes, The Oxford Companion to Music, 10th ed., pp. 416-417.
[edit] External links
- Free Mp3 file of the Fantasie elegante on Gounod's "Faust" by Ignace Leybach, played by John Kersey
- Gounod cylinder recordings, from the Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara Library.
- Free scores by Charles Gounod in the Werner Icking Music Archive
- Sound-bites from String Quartet in a minor & short bio
- Catholic Encyclopedia article
- Public Domain Sheet Music by Gounod at IMSLPca:Charles Gounod
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