A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Chabrier, Alexis
CHABRIER, Alexis Emmanuel, born at Ambert (Puy de Dôme) Jan. 18, 1841,[1] at first took up music as an amateur, while he was studying law at Paris, and was employed at the Ministere de l'Intérieur. While at the Lycée St. Louis he had been taught the piano by Edouard Wolff, and he afterwards studied harmony and counterpoint with Aristide Hignard; but in reality he was self-taught. His first works of any importance were two operettas, more worthy of notice than most compositions of their kind: 'L'Étoile' (Bouffes Parisiens, Nov. 28, 1877), and 'L'Éducation manquée' (Cercle de la Presse, May 1, 1879). Two years later, having devoted himself entirely to music, he published 'Dix Pièces pittoresques' for piano; and in Nov. 1883, a Rhapsody on original Spanish airs, entitled 'España,' was very successful at the concerts of the Château d'Eau, where he was for two years (1884–5) chorus master, and where he helped Lamoureux to produce the first two acts of 'Tristan und Isolde.' While there he produced a scena for mezzo-soprano and female chorus, 'La Sulamite' (March 15, 1885), also selections from his opera 'Gwendoline,' which was given in its entirety at the Théâtre de la Monnaie, Brussels, April 10, 1886; finally he produced, at the Opéra Comique in Paris, a more extensive work, 'Le Roi malgré lui' (May 18, 1887), which, after three performances, was stopped by the fire of May 25; it was reproduced at the temporary establishment on Nov. 16, 1887. M. Chabrier's works show a rare power of combining all the musical materials at his disposal, and his 'España' is a model in this respect; but in his original compositions a lack of spontaneity is apparent, and his orchestration, though not deficient in variety of colouring, is noisy and too thick. He is a gifted composer, but his attachment to various schools shows him to be without settled artistic convictions.
[ A. J. ]
- ↑ Date verified by the registrar of birth.