Adrien-François Servais

Adrien-François Servais
Background information
Born 6 June 1807(1807-06-06)
Halle, Belgium
Died 26 November 1866(1866-11-26) (aged 59)
Halle, Belgium
Genres Classical
Occupations Cellist, composer
Instruments Violoncello
Notable instruments
Violoncello
Servais c.1680 Giovanni Grancino
Servais 1701 Stradivari

Adrien-François Servais (6 June 1807 – 26 November 1866) was one of the most influential cellists of the nineteenth century. He was born and died in Halle, Belgium. He is one of the founders of the Modern Cellistic Schools of Paris and Madrid, which began with his friend Auguste Franchomme and his disciple Víctor Mirecki Larramat. His compositions are still being studied, performed and recorded all over the world.[1]

Contents

Biography

Servais was originally trained as a violinist before switching to the cello. Known by his contemporaries for his virtuosity and excessive vibrato, he was given the gift of a Stradivarius cello from 1701, which today bears his name. He is also known as the first cellist to adopt the bassists' use of an endpin because of the large size of his Stradivarius.[2] (The use of the endpin was, however, not generally adopted by most cellists until the early 20th century. For instance, Carlo Alfredo Piatti never used an endpin.) He composed numerous works for his instrument, including four concerti and nearly twenty duos for two cellos or for cello and violin. Hector Berlioz later referred to Servais as "the Niccolò Paganini of the cello".

Some years after his death in 1866, Servais was honored by his home town of Halle, where a statue of him was placed on its central market square by his son-in-law, Professor Cyprian Godebski.

Works by Servais

  1. Duo brillant sur un Thème de Donizetti
  2. Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Fra Diavolo
  3. Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Le Prophète
  4. Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Norma
  5. Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Le Juif errant
  6. Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra L’Etoile du Nord
  7. Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Martha
  8. Grand Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Il Trovatore
  9. Grand Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra Le Pardon de Ploërmel
  10. Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Tannhaüser
  11. Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Der Freischütz (Robin des bois)
  12. Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Obéron
  13. Grand Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Lohengrin
  14. Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Don Juan
  15. Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Euryanthe
  16. Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra L’Africaine
  17. Duo sur des airs espagnols
  18. Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Preciosa
  19. Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra Les Huguenots
  20. Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra Les Puritains
  21. Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra La Traviata
  22. Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra Luisa Miller
  23. Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra Rienzi
  24. Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra Der fliegende Holländer (Le vaisseau fantôme)
  25. Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra Aïda [Gregoir & Joseph Servais?]
  26. Thèmes bohémiens
  27. Thèmes russes
  28. Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra La Somnambule
  29. Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra Faust de Gounod [Gregoir & Joseph Servais]

Bibliography

References

  1. ^ The Servais Society. "François Servais". http://www.servais-vzw.org/index.php?en. Retrieved 4 December 2011. 
  2. ^ Ozan Tunca (2002). The Most Commonly Used Cello Etude Books. Florida State University. pp. 15. http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/available/etd-08262003-184343/unrestricted/02oettext.pdf. Retrieved 2008-03-24. 

External links