Henri Duparc (composer) facts for kids
Henri Duparc (born January 21, 1848, died February 12, 1933) was a French composer. He lived during the late Romantic period of music. He is especially known for his beautiful songs.
Biography
Henri Duparc was born in Paris, France. His parents were Charles Fouques-Duparc and Amélie de Guaita. He started learning piano with César Franck at a young age. Franck was also his first teacher for music composition.
After serving in the military during the Franco-Prussian War, Duparc married Ellen MacSwiney from Scotland in 1871. In the same year, he helped start the Société Nationale de Musique. This was a group that supported new French music. Other famous composers like Camille Saint-Saëns were also part of it.
Duparc is most famous for his 17 "mélodies." These are special songs for a singer and a piano. He used poems by famous writers like Charles Baudelaire and Théophile Gautier for his songs.
When he was 37 years old, in 1885, Duparc suddenly stopped composing music. He had a mental illness that made it very hard for him to continue. After this, he spent his time with his family and enjoyed drawing and painting. Later in his life, he started losing his eyesight and eventually became completely blind.
Sadly, he destroyed most of his own music. He left behind fewer than 40 pieces. In a letter to his friend, composer Jean Cras, Duparc explained why he destroyed his unfinished opera. He said that after living "in a splendid dream" for 25 years, the idea of performing music became "repugnant" to him. He also mentioned a big personal change that made his past life feel different. Because of this, his opera, Roussalka, no longer fit with his "new life," so he felt it should not exist.
Duparc spent most of his later life in La Tour-de-Peilz, Switzerland. He passed away in Mont-de-Marsan, France, when he was 85 years old.
He is buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. There is also a square in Paris named after him.
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Duparc at age 10,
in 1858 -
Duparc in uniform during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870
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Henri Duparc
in middle age
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Works
Even though Henri Duparc destroyed many of his works, the pieces he left behind are highly valued. His most famous works are his 17 "mélodies" (art songs). These include:
- Chanson triste (Sad Song)
- L'invitation au voyage (Invitation to a Journey)
- Phidylé
- Extase (Ecstasy)
- Le manoir de Rosemonde (Rosemonde's Manor)
- La vie antérieure (The Former Life)
He also wrote some pieces for piano, like Six rêveries and Feuilles volantes. For orchestra, he composed a symphonic poem called Lénore. This piece tells a story through music. He also made transcriptions (versions for different instruments) of works by other composers like Johann Sebastian Bach and his teacher, César Franck.
See also
In Spanish: Henri Duparc para niños
