Félicien David facts for kids
Félicien-César David (born April 13, 1810 – died August 29, 1876) was a famous French composer. He wrote many different kinds of music, including operas and symphonies.
Contents
His Early Life and Music Studies
Félicien David was born in a town called Cadenet, France. He started learning music from his father when he was only five years old. Sadly, his father died when Félicien was six, leaving him without much money.
Because he had a good singing voice, he was able to study as a choirboy. This meant he sang in the choir at the Cathedral of Saint-Sauveur in Aix-en-Provence. By the time he was 15, he knew a lot about music. He even got a scholarship to study literature at a Jesuit college. But after three years, he decided to focus only on music.
He first got a job playing in the orchestra at a theater in Aix. In 1829, he became the maître de chapelle (which means music director) at Saint-Sauveur. He soon realized he needed to go to Paris to finish his music education. Luckily, a rich uncle gave him 50 francs each month, which helped him move there.
Studying in Paris and New Ideas
In 1830, Félicien David went to Paris. He managed to convince Luigi Cherubini, who was the director of the famous Conservatoire (a top music school), to let him join as a student. Cherubini saw how talented David was, especially after hearing his choral music. Even though his uncle stopped sending money, David kept studying successfully with teachers like Fétis.
After leaving the Conservatoire, David became very interested in a group called the Saint-Simonian movement. This group believed music was very important. David wrote a lot of music for them, including many hymns. When the movement was stopped in 1832, David traveled to the Middle East with some friends from the group. This trip gave him a lot of ideas and inspiration for his music.
His Big Success
When he returned to Paris in 1833, he wrote many romances (songs) and instrumental pieces. These included three symphonies (long pieces for orchestra). By 1838-1839, he was successful enough to have his music performed in public concerts.
His biggest success came in 1844 with a piece called Le désert (The Desert). It was an "ode-symphony," which is like a mix of a poem and a symphony. The public and critics loved it! The Revue et gazette musicale newspaper announced the day after its first performance, "A great composer has been born amongst us." Even though he was famous, David had a lot of debt. He sold the rights to his masterpiece for a small amount of money to pay off his debts.
David also wrote several operas, which are plays set to music. Some of his most famous operas include Christophe Colomb (1847), La perle du Brésil (1851), Herculanum (1859), and Lalla-Roukh (1862). He also wrote oratorios, which are large musical works for choir and orchestra, usually based on religious stories. These include Moïse au Sinaï (Moses on Sinai) (1846) and Eden (1848).
In 1862, David became a member of the Légion d'honneur, which is a very high award in France. He also received a special pension from the government. When the famous composer Berlioz died in 1869, Félicien David took his place in the Institut de France, a group of important French scholars and artists. He passed away in 1876 in Le Pecq, near Paris.
His Musical Works
Félicien David wrote many different types of music.
Instrumental Music
- Piano trios (music for piano, violin, and cello)
- Four string quartets (music for two violins, viola, and cello)
- Les Quatre Saisons (The Four Seasons): Pieces for string quintet (two violins, viola, cello, and double-bass)
- Nonet for brass instruments (4 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, tuba)
- Solo piano pieces like Pensée (Thought) and Rêverie (Daydream)
- 4 symphonies (large orchestral pieces)
Vocal Music
- Le désert (The Desert) – an ode-symphony
- Christoph Colomb – an ode-symphony
- Moïse au Sinaï (Moses on Sinai) – an oratorio
- Eden – an oratorio
- La Perle du Brésil (The Pearl of Brazil) – an opéra comique (a type of opera with spoken dialogue)
- Herculanum – an opera
- Lalla-Roukh – an opéra comique
- Le Saphir (The Sapphire) – an opéra comique
- La Captive (The Captive) – an opéra comique
- Motets (choral pieces for church) like Pie Jesu and O salutaris
See also
In Spanish: Félicien David para niños
