Charles Gounod

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Charles Gounod in 1859, the year of the premiere of Faust.
Charles Gounod in 1859, the year of the premiere of Faust.

Charles-François Gounod (June 17[1], 1818 – October 18[2], 1893) was a French composer, best known for his Ave Maria as well as his operas Faust and Roméo et Juliette.

Contents

[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.

Caricature from Punch, 1882.
Caricature from Punch, 1882.

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 on religious music of the sixteenth century.

Gounod eventually returned to Paris and composed the "Messe Solennelle", also known as the "Saint Cecilia Mass". This work was first performed in London during 1851 and began his reputation as a noteworthy composer.

He wrote two symphonies in 1855. His Symphony No.1 in D major was the inspiration for the Symphony No. 1 in C, composed later that same year by Georges Bizet, who was then Gounod's 17 year old student. Despite their charm and brilliance, Gounod's symphonies are seldom performed. One of the few recordings of the symphonies was one made by Sir Neville Marriner with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields for Philips Records.

Gounod wrote his first opera, Sapho, 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 critic to a duel. The critic withdrew his statement.[citation needed]

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.

Fanny Mendelssohn introduced the keyboard music of J.S. Bach to Gounod, who came to worship the composer as a god. For him, The Well-Tempered Clavier was "the law to pianoforte study ... the unquestioned textbook of musical composition".

Later in his life, Gounod returned to his early religious impulses, writing much religious music. These included an improvisation of a melody over the C major Prelude (BWV 846) from The Well-Tempered Clavier, to which Gounod set the words of Ave Maria, a setting that became world-famous.[3]. He also wrote Inno e Marcia Pontificale, now the official national anthem of the Vatican City.

He died in 1893 in Saint-Cloud, France, as he put the finishing touches to a requiem "Le Grand Requiem" inspired by the death of his grandson, a major work which he was never to hear performed.

One of his short pieces, Funeral March for a Marionette, became well known as the theme to Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

[edit] Compositions

Charles Gounod.
Charles Gounod.

[edit] Operas

[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)
  • Requiem (1893)
Charles Gounod's burial site (Auteuil, Paris, France)
Charles Gounod's burial site (Auteuil, Paris, France)

[edit] Symphonies

  • Symphony No. 1 in D major (1855) (probably begun around 1843)[4]
  • Symphony No. 2 in E flat major (1855)
  • Symphony No. 3 in B flat major (Little Symphony for Wind Instruments, see below under "Chamber music")

[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 for Winds (Petite Symphonie pour instruments à vent, Symphony No. 3 in B flat major)

[edit] Instrumental

[edit] Sources

  • Sadie, S. (ed.) (1980) The New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians, [vol. # 7].

[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.
  1. ^ Baker's 7th ed.; also Template:Groveonline
  2. ^ ibid, James Harding's Gounod (Stein & Day, 1973) gives October 17 as does [1]
  3. ^ [2]
  4. ^ Steinberg, Michael (2008). Program Notes for a Performance of Bizet's Symphony. San Francisco Symphony. Retrieved on 2008-04-12.
  5. ^ Richard K. Fitzgerald (July 25, 2006). Gounod’s "Roméo et Juliette" at Wolf Trap.

[edit] External links