Félicien-César David (13 April 1810 – 29 August 1876) was a French composer.
Félicien David was born inCadenet, and began to study music at the age of five under his father, whose death when the boy was six left him an impoverished orphan. His good voice enabled him to study as a choirboy at the Cathedral of Saint-Sauveur inAix-en-Provence, which he left at the age of 15 with a sound knowledge of music, and a scholarship which enabled him to study literature at aJesuit college. However, after three years, he abandoned these studies to pursue a musical career.
He first obtained a position in the orchestra of the theatre at Aix. In 1829, he becamemaître de chapelle atSaint-Sauveur, but realised that to complete his musical education he needed to study at Paris. An allowance of 50 francs per month from a rich uncle made this possible.
In Paris in 1830 he convincedLuigi Cherubini, the director of theConservatoire, to enroll him as a pupil: despite his reservations, Cherubini recognised the talent shown by David's choral setting ofBeatus vir. Despite the sudden withdrawal of his uncle's subsidy, David's studies, withFétis and others, continued successfully.
On leaving the Conservatoire, David was caught up in theSaint-Simonian movement, for which he became a great enthusiast. The Saint-Simonians held music to be an important art, and David wrote much music for them, including a number of hymns. After the suppression of the movement in 1832, David joined with a number of adepts who visited the Middle East. This also proved a source of strong inspiration, leading eventually to his greatest success, the symphonic odeLe désert of 1844.
Returning to Paris in 1833, he wrote a number ofromances, and instrumental music including threesymphonies (in F major, E♭ major and C minor, composed in 1837, 1838 and 1849);[1] by 1838/39 he was successful enough to be able to arrange public performances of his works. WithLe désert he was acknowledged by the public and the critics as a significant force. TheRevue et gazette musicale announced, the morning after its premiere, "A great composer has been born amongst us". To relieve his substantial debts, however, the composer sold the rights to his masterpiece for a relatively small sum.
David wrote a number of operas, of which the most notable areChristophe Colomb (1847),La perle du Brésil (1851),Herculanum (1859), andLalla-Roukh (1862). Amongst his oratorios areMoïse au Sinaï ('Moses on Sinai') (1846), andEden (1848).
David became a member of theLégion d'honneur in 1862 and was given a civil pension. On the death ofBerlioz in 1869, he took his place in theInstitut de France. He died inLe Pecq (nowSaint-Germain-en-Laye) in the départementYvelines, close to Paris, in 1876.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
