Luigi Cherubini | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Cherubini with a bust of his mentorGiuseppe Sarti (1792) | |
| Born | Maria Luigi Carlo Zenobio Salvatore Cherubini (1760-09-08)8 September 1760 Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany |
| Died | 15 March 1842(1842-03-15) (aged 81) Paris, France |
| Era | Classical, Romantic |
Maria Luigi Carlo Zenobio Salvatore Cherubini (/ˌkɛrʊˈbiːni/KERR-uu-BEE-nee;Italian:[luˈiːdʒikeruˈbiːni]; 8 or 14 September[1] 1760 – 15 March 1842) was an ItalianClassical andRomantic[2][3] composer. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music.Beethoven regarded Cherubini as the greatest living composer of his era. Cherubini's operas were heavily praised and interpreted byRossini.[4]
Cherubini was bornMaria Luigi Carlo Zenobio Salvatore Cherubini inFlorence in 1760. There is uncertainty about his date of birth. Although 14 September is sometimes stated, evidence from baptismal records and Cherubini himself suggests the 8th is correct. Perhaps the strongest evidence is his first name, Maria, which is traditional for a child born on 8 September, the feast-day of the Nativity of the Virgin.[1] His instruction in music began at the age of six with his father, Bartolomeo,maestro al cembalo ("Master of theharpsichord", in other words, ensemble leader from the harpsichord). Considered achild prodigy, Cherubini studiedcounterpoint and dramatic style at an early age. By the time he was thirteen, he had composed several religious works.
In 1780, he was awarded a scholarship by theGrand Duke of Tuscany to study music inBologna andMilan.[1] Cherubini's earlyopere serie used libretti byApostolo Zeno,Metastasio (Pietro Trapassi), and others that adhered closely to standard dramatic conventions. His music was strongly influenced byNiccolò Jommelli,Tommaso Traetta, andAntonio Sacchini, who were the leading Italian composers of the day. The first of his two comic works,Lo sposo di tre e marito di nessuna, premiered at aVenetian theatre in November 1783.[1]
Feeling constrained by Italian traditions and eager to experiment, Cherubini travelled to London in 1785, where he produced twoopere serie and anopera buffa for theKing's Theatre. In the same year, he made an excursion to Paris with his friend, the violinistGiovanni Battista Viotti, who presented him toMarie Antoinette and Parisian society. Cherubini received an important commission to writeDémophoon to a French libretto byJean-François Marmontel that would be his firsttragédie en musique. Except for a brief return trip to London and toTurin for anopera seria commissioned by KingVictor Amadeus III, Cherubini spent the rest of his life in France[1] where he was initiated intoGrand Orient de France "Saint-Jean de Palestine" Masonic Lodge in 1784.
Cherubini adopted the French version of his name,Marie-Louis-Charles-Zénobi-Salvador Cherubini; this appears inall extant documents that show his full name after 1790,[1] though his Italian name is now favoured. Performances ofDémophoon were favourably received at the Académie Royale de Musique in 1788. With Viotti's help, theThéâtre de Monsieur in theTuileries appointed Cherubini as its director in 1789. Three years later, after a move to the rue Feydeau and the fall of the monarchy, the company became known as the Théâtre Feydeau. This position gave Cherubini the opportunity to read countless libretti and choose one that best suited his temperament.
Cherubini's music began to show more originality and daring. His first major success wasLodoïska (1791), which was admired for its realistic heroism. This was followed byElisa (1794), set in theSwiss Alps, andMédée (1797), Cherubini's best-known work.Les deux journées (1800), in which Cherubini simplified his style, was a popular success. These and other operas were premièred at the Théâtre Feydeau or the Opéra-Comique. Feeling financially secure, he married Anne Cécile Tourette in 1794 and began a family of three children.
The fallout from theFrench Revolution affected Cherubini until the end of his life. Politics forced him to hide his connections with the former aristocracy and seek governmental appointments. AlthoughNapoleon found him too complex, Cherubini wrote at least one patriotic work per year for more than a decade.[1] He was appointed Napoleon's director of music inVienna for part of 1805 and 1806, whereupon he conducted several of his works in that city.
In 1808 Cherubini was elected an associated member of theRoyal Institute of the Netherlands.[5]
AfterLes deux journées, Parisian audiences began to favour younger composers such asBoieldieu. Cherubini's opera-balletAnacréon was an outright failure and most stage works after it did not achieve success.Faniska, produced in 1806, was an exception, receiving an enthusiastic response, in particular byHaydn and Beethoven.Les Abencérages (1813), an heroic drama set in Spain during the last days of theMoorish kingdom ofGranada, was Cherubini's attempt to compete withSpontini'sLa vestale; it received critical praise but few performances.
Disappointed with his lack of acclaim in the theatre, Cherubini turned increasingly to church music, writing sevenmasses, tworequiems, and many shorter pieces. During this period (under therestored monarchy), he was appointedSurintendant de la Musique du Roi, a position he would hold until the fall ofCharles X (1830). In 1815, London'sRoyal Philharmonic Society commissioned him to write a symphony, an overture, and a composition for chorus and orchestra, the performances of which he went especially to London to conduct, increasing his fame.
Cherubini'sRequiem in C minor (1816), commemorating the anniversary of the execution of KingLouis XVI, was a huge success. The work was greatly admired by Beethoven,Schumann andBrahms. In 1836, Cherubini wrote a Requiem in D minor to be performed at his own funeral. It is for a male choir only, as the religious authorities had criticised his use of female voices in the earlier work.
In 1822, Cherubini became director of theConservatoire and completed his textbook,Cours de contrepoint et de fugue, in 1835.[6] His role at the Conservatoire brought him into conflict with the youngHector Berlioz, who portrayed the old composer in his memoirs as a crotchety pedant. Some critics, such as Basil Deane, maintain that Berlioz's depiction has distorted Cherubini's image in posterity.[7] There are many allusions to Cherubini's personal irritability among his contemporaries;Adolphe Adam wrote, "some maintain his temper was very even, because he was always angry". Nevertheless, Cherubini had many friends, includingSzymanowska,Rossini,Chopin and, above all, the artistIngres. The two had mutual interests: Cherubini was a keen amateur painter, and Ingres enjoyed practising the violin. In 1841, Ingres produced the most celebrated portrait of the old composer.[8]
Although chamber music does not make up a large portion of his output, what he did write was important.Wilhelm Altmann, writing in hisHandbuch für Streichquartettspieler (Handbook for String Quartet Players) about Cherubini's six string quartets, stated that they are first-rate and regarded Nos. 1 and 3 as masterworks. His String Quintet for two violins, viola and two cellos is also considered a first-rate work.
During his lifetime, Cherubini received France's highest and most prestigious honours. These included theChevalier de laLégion d'honneur (1814) andMembre de l'Académie des Beaux-Arts (1815).[9] In 1841, he was madeCommandeur de la Légion d'honneur, the first musician to receive that title.[10]
Cherubini died in Paris in 1842 at age 81 and is buried atPère Lachaise Cemetery, just four metres from his friend Chopin. His tomb was designed by the architectAchille Leclère and includes a figure by the sculptorAugustin-Alexandre Dumont representing "Music" crowning a bust of the composer with a wreath.
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