Jean-François Le Sueur (or
Lesueur) (15 February 1760 – 6 October 1837) was a French
composerA composer is a person who creates music, usually by musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of...
, best known for his
oratorioAn oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. The oratorio was somewhat modeled after the opera. Their similarities include the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
s and
operaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s.
He was born at Plessiel, a hamlet of
DrucatDrucat is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Drucat is situated on the D82e road, some northeast of Abbeville.-Population:-History:...
near
AbbevilleAbbeville is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Location:Abbeville is located on the Somme River, 20 kilometres from its modern mouth in the English Channel, and 45 kilometres northwest of Amiens...
, to a long-established family of
PicardyThis article is about the historical French province. For other uses, see Picardy .Picardy is a historical province of France, in the north of France. The historical capital and largest city is Amiens....
, the great-nephew of the painter
Eustache Le SueurEustache Le Sueur or Lesueur , one of the founders of the French Academy of painting, was born in Paris, where he passed his whole life....
. Beginning as a chorister at the collegial church of Abbeville, then at the
cathedral of AmiensAmiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardie.-History:The Paleolithic culture named Acheulean was named for its first identified site, in Saint-Acheul, a suburb of Amiens...
, where he pursued his music studies, Le Sueur was named chorus master at the cathedral of
SéesSées is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France.It lies on the Orne River from its source and north-by-northeast of Alençon.-Name:...
.
Jean-François Le Sueur (or
Lesueur) (15 February 1760 – 6 October 1837) was a French
composerA composer is a person who creates music, usually by musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of...
, best known for his
oratorioAn oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. The oratorio was somewhat modeled after the opera. Their similarities include the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
s and
operaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s.
Life
He was born at Plessiel, a hamlet of
DrucatDrucat is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Drucat is situated on the D82e road, some northeast of Abbeville.-Population:-History:...
near
AbbevilleAbbeville is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Location:Abbeville is located on the Somme River, 20 kilometres from its modern mouth in the English Channel, and 45 kilometres northwest of Amiens...
, to a long-established family of
PicardyThis article is about the historical French province. For other uses, see Picardy .Picardy is a historical province of France, in the north of France. The historical capital and largest city is Amiens....
, the great-nephew of the painter
Eustache Le SueurEustache Le Sueur or Lesueur , one of the founders of the French Academy of painting, was born in Paris, where he passed his whole life....
. Beginning as a chorister at the collegial church of Abbeville, then at the
cathedral of AmiensAmiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardie.-History:The Paleolithic culture named Acheulean was named for its first identified site, in Saint-Acheul, a suburb of Amiens...
, where he pursued his music studies, Le Sueur was named chorus master at the cathedral of
SéesSées is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France.It lies on the Orne River from its source and north-by-northeast of Alençon.-Name:...
. He went to Paris to study harmony with the Abbé Nicolas Roze, chorus master at the Saints-Innocents. Le Sueur was named to positions at
DijonDijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Bourgogne region. Dijon is the historical capital of the province of Burgundy. Population : 150,800 for the commune; 236,953 for the greater Dijon area....
(1779),
Le MansLe Mans is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans....
(1782), then at
ToursTours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...
(1783) before he succeeded Roze at the Saints-Innocents at Paris. Finally in 1786, after a competition, he was made music director at Notre-Dame de Paris.
For the Feast of the Assumption, he innovated by introducing an orchestra, with great success, and his sacred concerts at the main feasts of the Church filled the cathedral to overflowing but incurred resistance in ecclesiastical circles. He replied by publishing a pamphlet
Exposé d'une musique imitative et particulière à chaque solennité (1787). The cathedral chapter decided to reduce its musical budget in a time of financial crisis for France, which constrained Le Sueur to give up the important musical Masses that he specialised in, and to give up his position.
He spent some time in London, 1788-92, then returned to revolutionary Paris and gave three successful operas at the
Théâtre FeydeauThe Théâtre Feydeau was a theatre located on 19, rue Feydeau of the IIe arrondissement of Paris. Opened in 1791, it principally put on Italian or French operas and comedies, such as "pastiches"...
:
La Caverne, ou le RepentirLa caverne, ou Le repentir is an opera in three acts by the French composer Jean-François Le Sueur. It was first performed at the Théâtre Feydeau, Paris on 16 February 1793. The libretto, by Alphonse François "Paul" Palat-Dercy, is based on an episode from Lesage's novel Gil Blas...
(1793),
Paul et Virginie, ou le Triomphe de la vertu (1794), which was inspired by the hugely popular novel by
Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-PierrePaul et Virginie is a novel by Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, first published in 1787. The novel's title characters are very good friends since birth who fall in love but sadly die when the ship "Le Saint-Geran" is shipwrecked...
, and the classical Télémaque dans l'île de Calypso, ou le Triomphe de la sagesse' (1796).
He was named professor at the Ecole de la Garde Nationale, 21 November 1793, then named Inspecteur at the newly-founded Conservatoire. In the company of Étienne Nicolas Méhul, Honoré Langlé, François-Joseph Gossec and
Charles Simon CatelCharles Simon Catel was a French composer and educator born at L'Aigle, Orne.-Biography:Catel studied at the Royal School of Singing in Paris. He was the chief assistant to François-Joseph Gossec at the orchestra of the National Guard in 1790...
, he was limited to teaching elementary principles and
solfègeIn music, solfège is a pedagogical solmization technique for the teaching of sight-singing in which each note of the score is sung to a special syllable, called a solfège syllable...
. Unable to get his operas
Ossian, ou Les bardesOssian, ou Les bardes is an opera in five acts by the French composer Jean-François Le Sueur. The libretto, by Alphonse François "Paul" Palat-Dercy and Jean-Marie Deschamps, is based on the Ossian poems of James Macpherson , which had been translated into French by Pierre-Prime-Félicien Le...
and La mort d'AdamLa mort d'Adam et son apothéose is a Biblical opera in 3 acts by composer Jean-François Le Sueur with a French libretto by Jean François Guillard. Le Sueur wrote the opera while working as an instructor at the Conservatoire de Musique in Paris. The opera was initially scheduled to be performed at...
mounted at the Paris OpéraThéâtre de l’Académie Royale de Musique was the official theatre of the French theatrical institution known as the Académie Royale de Musique from 1821 until 1873, and was principal venue of the Parisian opera and ballet companies until its...
Le Sueur published a violent pamphlet, Projet d'un plan général de l'instruction musicale en France
, attacking the Conservatoire, its methods and its director, and was discharged, 23 September 1802.
Without official appointments, Le Sueur was reduced to poverty when in 1804, Napoleon named him maître de la chapelle
at the Tuileries, to replace Giovanni PaisielloGiovanni Paisiello , was an Italian composer of the Classical era.-Life:Paisiello was born at Taranto and educated by the Jesuits there. He became known for his beautiful singing voice and in 1754 was sent to the Conservatorio di S...
. Now he was able to mount his most famous work, Ossian ou Les bardes
, with great success at the Opéra and with the Emperor, who accorded the composer of his favorite opera the cross of the Légion d'honneurThe Légion d'honneur or Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
. Le Sueur composed the Triumphal March for the coronation of Napoleon, directed a Mass by Paisiello and a Vivat by his former master abbé Roze. In 1813, he was named to the
Académie des Beaux-ArtsThe Académie des Beaux-Arts is a French learned society. It is one of the five academies of the Institut de France.It was created in 1795 as the merger of the:...
, replacing André Grétry.
At the
RestorationThe Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the restored Bourbon Kingdom of France which existed from 1814 until the July Revolution of 1830, with the interval of the "Hundred Days" from Napoleon Bonaparte's return from Elba to the Battle of Waterloo in 1814–15. The regime was a constitutional...
, he was named composer of the royal chapel and conductor of the orchestra of the Opéra. From the beginning of 1818, he taught composition at the Conservatoire, where over the years he had for pupils
Hector Berlioz Hector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande Messe des morts . Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation...
,
Ambroise Thomas Ambroise Thomas was a French opera composer, best-known for his operas Mignon and Hamlet and as Director of the Conservatoire de Paris from 1871-1896....
,
Charles GounodCharles-François Gounod was a French composer, best known for his Ave Maria as well as his operas Faust and Roméo et Juliette.-Biography:...
, Louis-Désiré Besozzi and
Antoine François MarmontelAntoine François Marmontel was a French pianist, teacher and musicographer.Marmontel entered the Paris Conservatory in 1827. His teachers were Pierre Zimmerman in pianoforte, Victor Dourlen in harmony, Jacques Fromental Halévy in fugue and Jean-François Le Sueur in composition...
.
He died in Paris.
Oratorios
- Ruth et Noëmi (written by 1811)
- Ruth et Booz (written by 1811)
- Debbora
- Rachel
- Oratorio de Noël (Christmas Oratorio)
- Three Passion
The Passion is the Christian theological term used for the events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion...
oratorios
- Coronation oratorios
Operas
| Completion |
Title |
Length |
Première |
Libretto |
| 1793 |
La caverne La caverne, ou Le repentir is an opera in three acts by the French composer Jean-François Le Sueur. It was first performed at the Théâtre Feydeau, Paris on 16 February 1793. The libretto, by Alphonse François "Paul" Palat-Dercy, is based on an episode from Lesage's novel Gil Blas...
|
3 acts |
16 February 1793, ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Théâtre Feydeau |
Paul Dercy, after Alain-René LesageAlain-René Lesage , also spelled Le Sage was a French novelist and playwright born at Sarzeau, in the peninsula of Rhuys, between the Morbihan and the sea, Brittany.-Youth and education:...
's Gil BlasGil Blas is a picaresque novel by Lesage from 1715 to 1735. It is considered to be the last masterpiece of the picaresque genre.-Plot summary:...
|
| 1794 |
Paul et Virginie ou Le Triomphe de la vertu |
3 acts |
13 January 1794, Paris, Théâtre Feydeau |
Alphonse du Congé Dubreuil, after the novel by Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre was a French writer and botanist...
|
| 1796 |
Télémaque dans l'île de Calypso ou Le triomphe de la sagesse |
? |
11 May 1796, Paris, Théâtre Feydeau |
Paul Dercy |
| 1804 |
Ossian, ou Les bardes Ossian, ou Les bardes is an opera in five acts by the French composer Jean-François Le Sueur. The libretto, by Alphonse François "Paul" Palat-Dercy and Jean-Marie Deschamps, is based on the Ossian poems of James Macpherson , which had been translated into French by Pierre-Prime-Félicien Le...
|
5 acts |
10 July 1804, Paris, Opéra Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
|
Paul Dercy and Jacques-Marie Deschamps |
| 1807 |
L'inauguration du temple de la victoire |
? |
2 January 1807, Paris, Opéra |
Pierre Baour-Lormian, |
| 1807 |
Le triomphe de Trajan |
3 acts |
23 October 1807, Paris, Opéra |
Joseph-Alphonse Esménard |
| 1809 |
La mort d'Adam et son apothéose La mort d'Adam et son apothéose is a Biblical opera in 3 acts by composer Jean-François Le Sueur with a French libretto by Jean François Guillard. Le Sueur wrote the opera while working as an instructor at the Conservatoire de Musique in Paris. The opera was initially scheduled to be performed at...
|
3 acts |
21 March 1809, Paris, Opéra |
Nicolas-François Guillard Nicolas-François Guillard was a French librettist. He was born in Chartres and died in Paris, the recipient of a government pension in recognition of his work writing librettos. He was also on Comité de Lecture of the Paris Opéra...
after Friedrich Gottlieb KlopstockFriedrich Gottlieb Klopstock was a German poet.-Biography:Klopstock was born at Quedlinburg, the eldest son of a lawyer....
|
| unperformed |
Alexandre à Babylone |
3 acts |
composed 1814-1825 |
Pierre Baour-Lormian |
Sources
- Catholic Encyclopedia article
- Howard E. Smither A History of the Oratorio, Volume 3: The Oratorio in the Classical Era (University of North Carolina Press, 1977)