Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 02.djvu/268

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AUBIGNE.

advocate of the torpedo system. He was a voluminous writer, some of his more important works being: De la marine française (1873); La guerre navale et les ports militaires de la France (1879); Italie et Levant (1884); Marine et colonies (1885). Most of his writings have been collected under the titles: Entre deux campagnes and A terre et à bord.


AUBE, Jean Paul (1837—). A French sculptor. He was born at Longwy (Meurthe-et-Moselle), and was educated at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Among the numerous statues and other works executed by him are the following: "Dante Alighieri" (1880), at Paris; "Général Joubert à Rivoli," at Bourges; "Gambetta," at Paris.


AUBER, 6'bar', Daniel François Esprit (1782-1871). A famous French operatic composer. He was born at Caen, Normandy, and died in Paris. His father, an amateur painter and violinist of some note, was a dealer in prints, and sent him to England to learn the trade. But his love for music soon asserted itself, and in 1804 he returned to Paris, where his musical compositions soon attracted attention. His concertos for the cello and violin were performed with great success by Lamare and Mazas respectively. In 1811, a resetting of an old libretto, Julie, to the accompaniment of six stringed-instruments, won the admiration of Cherubini at a performance by amateurs. Cherubini then gave Auber instruction in composition, and a part of a mass written about this time is preserved as the prayer in La muette de Portici. Auber's one-act opera, Le séjour militaire (1813), was a dismal failure, and the discouraged composer did not again tempt fortune until his father's death left him without means of livelihood. His next work, Le testament et les billets-doux (1819), was not successful, but La bergère châtelaine (1820), a comic opera in the Rossinian style, was enthusiastically received, and the composer's fame increased with subsequent works, which followed in rapid succession (over forty in all) until his very death. Le maçon was produced at the Paris Opéra Comique (1825) and is one of the stock pieces of the German opera-houses today. La muette de Portici (or Masaniello, also Fénella), 1828, is his most serious opera. The author of sparkling music of the light order here sounded broader and deeper emotions and produced strongly dramatic contrasts. Fra Diavolo was performed in 1830, and has remained his most popular work. Other operas still retained in the modern repertoire are: Le philtre (1831); Le cheval de bronze (1835); Le domino noir (1837); Le lac des fées (1839), and Les diamants de la couronne (1841). He was chosen to succeed Gossee at the Academy in 1829, became director of the Conservatoire in 1842, and was appointed court chapel master by Napoleon III. in 1857. Auber is deemed the founder of what the French call grand opéra; Rossini's Guillaume Tell (1829), Halévy's La juive (1835), and Meyerbeer's Robert le diable (1831) and Les Huguenots (1836) show the influence spread by La muette de Portici. The formal structure, the musical individualization of conflicting ethnographical or religious elements, the stirring mass-effects, the local color in the orchestra brought to a high state of perfection, and the pageantry of these works, are all derived from Auber. In opéra comique, too, Auber occupies a prominent place. For external polish, captivating melody, brilliant orchestration, dash and Parisian chic, his music remains unexcelled. Consult G. T. Ferris, Great Musical Composers (New York, 1887).


AUBERGE ROUGE, L', lr/l)arzh'ri3ozh ('The Red Inn'). A striking psychical romance by Balzac (1837), based on the psychic suggestion of ,a murder, for which the suggester is executed while the actual murderer enjoys the fruits of the crime. The story involves the questions of comparative guilt and innocence, atonement, and the proper use of the wealth gained by the wrongdoing.


AUBERLEN, ou'ljer-Irn. Karl August (1824-64). A German theologian. He was born at Fellbach, near Stuttgart, studied at Tübingen, and became professor of theology at Basel in 1851. As a youth he was influenced by Baur, but later he adopted the conservative views of Beck and Rothe. He is still remembered by his Prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation of Saint John, viewed in their Mutual Relation; with an exposition of the principal passages (Basel, 1854; 2d ed. 1857; Eng. trans. Edinburgh, 1856); The Divine Revelation, an essay in defense of the faith (Basel, 1862-64. 2 vols.; Eng. trans, of Vol. I., 1867); The Old Testament Dispensation and the Heathen World: The Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus Christ [lectures], in the volume entitled in English Foundations of Our Faith (1882; Eng. trans., 1863; 2d ed., 1868), and his commentary on Thessalonians in Lange (Bielefeld, 1864; Eng. trans., 1868). The English translation of the Divine Revelation contains a brief memoir.


AUBERT, 6'bar', Jean Louis (1731-1814). A French author. He was born at Paris, and first attracted attention by his Fables, which were published in the Mercure de France and favorably regarded by Voltaire. He was professor of French literature at the Collège Royal from 1773 to 1784, and from 1774 to 1786 editor of the Gazette de France. He was one of the leading journalists of his time. His works were collected as Fables et œvres diverses (1774).


AUBERVILLIERS, 6'bar've'ya'. One of the northern suburbs of Paris (Map: Paris and vicinity). There are manufactures of chemical products, glass, rubber, perfumes, and beer. Population, in 1896, 27,000.


AUBIGNAC, n'bp'ny;"ik', François, Abbé d' (1604-76). A French dramatist and critic, born in Paris. His real name was Hédelin, but he is better known as the Abbé d'Aubignac, from the abbey conferred on him by Richelieu. He was chosen by Richelieu to be the tutor of his nephew, but is described as having been excessively pedantic and conceited. Chief among his compositions are a prose tragedy, called Zénobie, and a tedious work on the Pratique du théâtre, based on Aristotle. He was one of the first to raise the modern question in regard to the authorship of the Homeric poems.


AUBIGNÉ, 6'be'nya', Théodore Agrirppa d' (c. 1550-1630) . A French Huguenot soldier, militant poet, historian, and statesman. He was born near the town of Pons in Saintonge. As a child he was a brilliant classical scholar. He early embraced the Huguenot cause, was captured, condenmed to death, escaped, and in 1564 was