Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy, usually known as Fromental Halévy (French: [fʁɔmɑ̃tal alevi]; 27 May 1799 – 17 March 1862), was a French composer. He is known today largely for his operaLa Juive.
Halévy was born in Paris, son of the cantorÉlie Halfon Halévy, who was the secretary of the Jewish community of Paris and a writer and teacher of Hebrew, and a French Jewish mother. The name Fromental (meaning 'oat grass'), by which he was generally known, reflects his birth on the day dedicated to that plant: 7 Prairial in the French Revolutionary calendar,[1] which was still operative at that time. He entered the Conservatoire de Paris at the age of nine or ten (accounts differ), in 1809, becoming a pupil and later protégé of Cherubini. After two second-place attempts, he won the Prix de Rome in 1819: his cantata subject was Herminie.
As he had to delay his departure to Rome because of the death of his mother, he was able to accept the first commission that brought him to public attention: a Marche Funèbre et De Profundis en Hébreu for three part choir, tenor and orchestra, which was commissioned by the Consistoire Israélite du Département de la Seine, for a public service in memory of the assassinated duc de Berry, performed on 24 March 1820.[2] Later, his brother Léon recalled that the De Profundis, "infused with religious fervor, created a sensation, and attracted interest to the young laureate of the institute".
Halévy was chorus master at the Théâtre Italien, while he struggled to get an opera performed. Despite the mediocre reception of L'artisan, at the Opéra-Comique in 1827, Halévy moved on to be chorus master at the Opéra. The same year he became professor of harmony and accompaniment at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he was professor of counterpoint and fugue in 1833 and of composition in 1840. He had many notable students. See: List of music students by teacher: G to J#Fromental Halévy.
La Juive
With his opera La Juive, in 1835, Halévy attained not only his first major triumph, but gave the world a work that was to be one of the cornerstones of the French repertory for a century, with the role of Eléazar one of the great favorites of tenors such as Enrico Caruso. The opera's most famous aria is Eléazar's "Rachel, quand du Seigneur". Its orchestral ritornello is the one quotation from Halévy that Berlioz included in his Treatise on Instrumentation, for its unusual duet for two cors anglais. It is probable, however, that this aria was inserted only at the request of the great tenor Adolphe Nourrit, who premiered the role and may have suggested the aria's text. La Juive is one of the grandest of grand operas, with major choruses, a spectacular procession in Act I and impressive celebrations in Act III. It culminates with the heroine plunging into a vat of boiling water in Act V. Mahler admired it greatly, stating: "I am absolutely overwhelmed by this wonderful, majestic work. I regard it as one of the greatest operas ever created". Other admirers included Wagner, who wrote an enthusiastic review of Halévy's grand operas for the German press in 1841 (Wagner never showed towards Halévy the anti-Jewish animus that was so notorious a feature of his writings on Meyerbeer and Mendelssohn).
Later career
Halévy was elected to the Institut de France in 1836, but after La Juive, his real successes were relatively few, although at least three operas, L'Éclair, La reine de Chypre and Charles VI received some critical and popular acclaim. Heine commented that Halévy was an artist, but "without the slightest spark of genius". He became, however, a leading bureaucrat of the arts, becoming Secretary of the Académie des Beaux-Arts and presiding over committees to determine the standard pitch of orchestral A, to award prizes for operettas, etc. The artist Eugène Delacroix described Halévy's decline in his diaries (5 February 1855):
I went on to Halévy’s house, where the heat from his stove was suffocating. His wretched wife has crammed his house with bric-a-brac and old furniture, and this new craze will end by driving him to a lunatic asylum. He has changed and looks much older, like a man who is being dragged on against his will. How can he possibly do serious work in this confusion? His new position at the Academy must take up a great deal of his time and make it more and more difficult for him to find the peace and quiet he needs for his work. Left that inferno as quickly as possible. The breath of the streets seemed positively delicious.[3]
Halévy's cantata Prométhée enchaîné was premiered in 1849 at the Paris Conservatoire and is generally considered the first mainstream western orchestral composition to use quarter tones.
Halévy died in retirement at Nice in 1862, aged 62, leaving his last opera Noé unfinished. It was completed by his former student Georges Bizet, but was not performed until ten years after Bizet's own death.
Noé (1858–1862), uncompleted at Halévy's death, completed by Georges Bizet
Halévy also wrote for the ballet, provided incidental music for a French version of Aeschylus's Prometheus Bound, and wrote cantatas.
Halévy's family
Halévy's wife, Léonie (sister of Eugénie Foa) who had experienced serious mental problems during their marriage, underwent a remarkable recovery after his death and became a talented sculptress (she was 20 years younger than he.) In 1869, their daughter Geneviève married the composer Georges Bizet, who had been one of Halévy's pupils at the Conservatoire. After Bizet's death and an alliance with Élie-Miriam Delaborde, the son of Charles-Valentin Alkan, Geneviève married a banker with Rothschild connections and became a leading Parisian salonnière. Amongst the guests at her soirées was the young Marcel Proust, who used her as one of the models for the Duchesse de Guermantes in his epic In Search of Lost Time.
Bureau des Longitudes (ed.): Le Calendrier républicain (Paris: Bureau des Longitudes, 1989).
Conway, David: Jewry in Music: Entry to the Profession from the Enlightenment to Richard Wagner (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011); ISBN978-1-107-01538-8.
Delacroix, Eugène (trans. Lucy Norton): The Journal of Eugène Delacroix: A Selection, ed. and introd. Hubert Wellington (3rd edn., London: Phaidon, 1995).
Further reading
Halévy, Léon: F. Halévy, sa vie et ses oeuvres (Paris, 1863).
Jordan, Ruth: Fromental Halévy – His Life and Music, 1799–1862 (New York: Limelight Editions, 1996; and London: Kahn & Averill, 2006); ISBN1-871-08251-X.
fromental, halévy, jacques, françois, fromental, Élie, halévy, usually, known, french, fʁɔmɑ, alevi, 1799, march, 1862, french, composer, known, today, largely, opera, juive, 1860, Étienne, carjat, contents, early, career, juive, later, career, works, halévy, . Jacques Francois Fromental Elie Halevy usually known as Fromental Halevy French fʁɔmɑ tal alevi 27 May 1799 17 March 1862 was a French composer He is known today largely for his opera La Juive Fromental Halevy c 1860 62 by Etienne Carjat Contents 1 Early career 2 La Juive 3 Later career 4 Works 5 Halevy s family 6 References 6 1 Sources 7 Further reading 8 External linksEarly career EditHalevy was born in Paris son of the cantor Elie Halfon Halevy who was the secretary of the Jewish community of Paris and a writer and teacher of Hebrew and a French Jewish mother The name Fromental meaning oat grass by which he was generally known reflects his birth on the day dedicated to that plant 7 Prairial in the French Revolutionary calendar 1 which was still operative at that time He entered the Conservatoire de Paris at the age of nine or ten accounts differ in 1809 becoming a pupil and later protege of Cherubini After two second place attempts he won the Prix de Rome in 1819 his cantata subject was Herminie As he had to delay his departure to Rome because of the death of his mother he was able to accept the first commission that brought him to public attention a Marche Funebre et De Profundis en Hebreu for three part choir tenor and orchestra which was commissioned by the Consistoire Israelite du Departement de la Seine for a public service in memory of the assassinated duc de Berry performed on 24 March 1820 2 Later his brother Leon recalled that the De Profundis infused with religious fervor created a sensation and attracted interest to the young laureate of the institute Halevy was chorus master at the Theatre Italien while he struggled to get an opera performed Despite the mediocre reception of L artisan at the Opera Comique in 1827 Halevy moved on to be chorus master at the Opera The same year he became professor of harmony and accompaniment at the Conservatoire de Paris where he was professor of counterpoint and fugue in 1833 and of composition in 1840 He had many notable students See List of music students by teacher G to J Fromental Halevy La Juive EditWith his opera La Juive in 1835 Halevy attained not only his first major triumph but gave the world a work that was to be one of the cornerstones of the French repertory for a century with the role of Eleazar one of the great favorites of tenors such as Enrico Caruso The opera s most famous aria is Eleazar s Rachel quand du Seigneur Its orchestral ritornello is the one quotation from Halevy that Berlioz included in his Treatise on Instrumentation for its unusual duet for two cors anglais It is probable however that this aria was inserted only at the request of the great tenor Adolphe Nourrit who premiered the role and may have suggested the aria s text La Juive is one of the grandest of grand operas with major choruses a spectacular procession in Act I and impressive celebrations in Act III It culminates with the heroine plunging into a vat of boiling water in Act V Mahler admired it greatly stating I am absolutely overwhelmed by this wonderful majestic work I regard it as one of the greatest operas ever created Other admirers included Wagner who wrote an enthusiastic review of Halevy s grand operas for the German press in 1841 Wagner never showed towards Halevy the anti Jewish animus that was so notorious a feature of his writings on Meyerbeer and Mendelssohn Later career EditHalevy was elected to the Institut de France in 1836 but after La Juive his real successes were relatively few although at least three operas L Eclair La reine de Chypre and Charles VI received some critical and popular acclaim Heine commented that Halevy was an artist but without the slightest spark of genius He became however a leading bureaucrat of the arts becoming Secretary of the Academie des Beaux Arts and presiding over committees to determine the standard pitch of orchestral A to award prizes for operettas etc The artist Eugene Delacroix described Halevy s decline in his diaries 5 February 1855 I went on to Halevy s house where the heat from his stove was suffocating His wretched wife has crammed his house with bric a brac and old furniture and this new craze will end by driving him to a lunatic asylum He has changed and looks much older like a man who is being dragged on against his will How can he possibly do serious work in this confusion His new position at the Academy must take up a great deal of his time and make it more and more difficult for him to find the peace and quiet he needs for his work Left that inferno as quickly as possible The breath of the streets seemed positively delicious 3 Halevy s cantata Promethee enchaine was premiered in 1849 at the Paris Conservatoire and is generally considered the first mainstream western orchestral composition to use quarter tones Halevy died in retirement at Nice in 1862 aged 62 leaving his last opera Noe unfinished It was completed by his former student Georges Bizet but was not performed until ten years after Bizet s own death Works EditHalevy wrote some forty operas in all including L Artisan 1827 Le Roi et le batelier 1827 Clari 1828 in Italian a modest success even with Maria Malibran in the starring role Le dilettante d Avignon 1829 Attendre et courir 1830 La Langue musicale 1830 La tentation 1832 Les Souvenirs de Lafleur 1833 Ludovic 1833 completion of an opera left unfinished by Herold La Juive 1835 his first success L eclair 1835 also a great success in the same season Guido et Ginevra 1838 Les Treize 1839 Le sherif 1839 which Hector Berlioz referred to as a delightful comic opera Le Drapier 1839 Le Guitarrero 1841 La reine de Chypre 1841 praised by Richard Wagner Charles VI 1843 revived at Compiegne in 2005 Le lazzarone ou Le bien vient en dormant 1844 Les Mousquetaires de la reine 1846 Les Premiers pas 1847 Le val d Andorre 1848 La Fee aux roses 1849 La Tempesta 1850 in Italian after Shakespeare s The Tempest La Dame de pique 1850 not after Prosper Merimee s adaptation of Alexander Pushkin s novella Le Juif errant 1852 after the novel by Eugene Sue Le nabab 1853 Jaguarita l Indienne 1855 L Inconsolable 1855 Valentine d Aubigny 1856 La magicienne 1858 Noe 1858 1862 uncompleted at Halevy s death completed by Georges Bizet Halevy also wrote for the ballet provided incidental music for a French version of Aeschylus s Prometheus Bound and wrote cantatas Halevy s family EditHalevy s wife Leonie sister of Eugenie Foa who had experienced serious mental problems during their marriage underwent a remarkable recovery after his death and became a talented sculptress she was 20 years younger than he In 1869 their daughter Genevieve married the composer Georges Bizet who had been one of Halevy s pupils at the Conservatoire After Bizet s death and an alliance with Elie Miriam Delaborde the son of Charles Valentin Alkan Genevieve married a banker with Rothschild connections and became a leading Parisian salonniere Amongst the guests at her soirees was the young Marcel Proust who used her as one of the models for the Duchesse de Guermantes in his epic In Search of Lost Time Halevy s brother was the writer and historian Leon Halevy who wrote an early biography of his brother and was the father of Ludovic Halevy librettist of many French operas including Bizet s Carmen and Jacques Offenbach s Orpheus in the Underworld Leon was also the father by his mistress Lucinde Paradol of the politician Lucien Anatole Prevost Paradol References Edit Bureau des Longitudes 1989 54 Conway 2011 213 Delacroix 1995 288 289 Sources Edit Bureau des Longitudes ed Le Calendrier republicain Paris Bureau des Longitudes 1989 Conway David Jewry in Music Entry to the Profession from the Enlightenment to Richard Wagner Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2011 ISBN 978 1 107 01538 8 Delacroix Eugene trans Lucy Norton The Journal of Eugene Delacroix A Selection ed and introd Hubert Wellington 3rd edn London Phaidon 1995 Further reading EditHalevy Leon F Halevy sa vie et ses oeuvres Paris 1863 Jordan Ruth Fromental Halevy His Life and Music 1799 1862 New York Limelight Editions 1996 and London Kahn amp Averill 2006 ISBN 1 871 08251 X Macdonald Hugh Halevy Fromental in Grove Music Online subscription access Oxford Music Online accessed 15 February 2010 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jacques Fromental Halevy Hector Berlioz relations with Halevy John Ericson The First Orchestral Use of the Valved Horn La Juive Halevy s background and family Singer Isidore et al eds 1901 1906 Halevy Jacques Francois Fromental Elie The Jewish Encyclopedia New York Funk amp Wagnalls Free scores by Fromental Halevy at the International Music Score Library Project IMSLP Portals Biography Opera Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fromental Halevy amp oldid 1151331251, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
