Émile Wesly

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Michel Émile Wesly (born November 1, 1858 in Maastricht ; † March 26, 1926 , probably in Paris ) was a composer and journalist who worked in Brussels and later in Paris. One of his compositions formed the basis for the settings of Bertolt Brecht's ballad of the pirates and the song of mother courage .

Life

Wesly was born into a Jewish family that had lived in Maastricht since the late 18th century. His father was the watchmaker Henri Wesly (* 1819), his mother Caroline Amelie Hollender; he had three older siblings. The family moved to Brussels in 1884; Émile Wesly has lived there since 1882. He lived there one after the other in different communities in what is now the Brussels-Capital Region : Brussels itself, Schaerbeek and Saint-Josse-ten-Noode .

Advertisement from Gaudet music publisher. From: Bibliographie musicale française , vol. 29, no. 130, Avril – Juin 1903, p. 24

Wesly began composing early on. As early as 1879, the Momus theater company in Maastricht performed a “one-act opera bouffe in three pictures” by Wesly, as Harry Schillings writes in a history of amateur theater in Limburg . A Marche Portugaise for orchestra dates from 1886 and , according to contemporary reports, was performed with great success in the summer concerts of the “Waux-Hall”, the pavilion of the Brussels Théâtre royal du Parc ; a piano reduction was printed the following year by the Hamburg music publisher Cranz, which had a branch in Brussels. In the years that followed, Wesly wrote a number of smaller pieces: marches , chansons , dances , nocturnes , suites and male choirs . As far as vocal music was concerned, he usually set French texts to music . These included various poems by the Belgian writer André Henri Constant van Hasselt . Since 1897 his compositions have been printed by the Parisian music publisher E. Gaudet.

In 1886 Wesly is mentioned as an editor at the Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant , in 1890 he was a correspondent for the French news agency Havas in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode. The following year he transferred the comedy The sample arrow of Oscar Blumenthal for a performance of the Théâtre Royal du Parc from German into French ( La Fleche d'Essai ). In addition, he regularly worked on the renowned cultural magazine Elsevier's Geïllustreerd Maandschrift in the next few years ; Wesly published a series of articles in Dutch on contemporary Belgian artists: David Oijens , Pieter Oijens , Carel Storm van 's Gravesande , Henriëtte Ronner-Knip and Alexander Struys . At the Brussels World's Fair of 1897 he was secretary of the Dutch Department of Fine Arts.

After Wesly 1899 in Ixelles had married Marie-Anne-Léopoldine-Renée Maxant Beaubœuf (* 1880), he wrote his most famous and most successful piece of music, the "sung waltz " Fiançailles ( "honeymoon"), which in many outdoor concerts listed and repeatedly on record was recorded, including in German. The fact that Paulette Darty , the “Queen of the Slow Waltz ”, added it to her repertoire certainly contributed to the success of the piece . The waltz can still be heard occasionally today. A number of similarly successful compositions followed. Wesly's pieces have also been used in films, such as his Festa Napoletana in the 1931 melodrama Svengali .

Wesly probably moved to Paris in the first decade of the 20th century. During the First World War, he established a number of national anthems of the Allies for various occupations , a new. They appeared in sequels from 1915 to 1918 at his Paris music publisher E. Gaudet. Wesly later moved into a pension from the French collecting society SACEM . On May 26, 1925, he received French citizenship.

Submission by Brecht: The Standard of Compassion

Printed music for L'Etendard de la Pitié by E. Gaudet, Paris (1905)

In 1905 Wesly composed a chanson à voix based on a text by the Breton chanson writer Léon Durocher under the title L'Étendard de la Pitié ( The Standard of Compassion ). It was a hymn to the Red Cross and its flag . The sheet music was published by E. Gaudet, the Breton chansonnier Yvonneck sang the song, and in the same year the Belgian opera singer Jean Noté recorded it on record. Another sound recording with the chansonnier Marcelly followed three years later . In contrast to other compositions by Wesly, the chanson was not particularly well known, and no other performances have come down to us.

In 2012 it turned out that Bertolt Brecht had used this melody as a template for the vocal sheet music, which he published in 1927 in the pocket postille and house postille for his ballad of the pirates . In his introduction to the house postil , the instructions for using the individual lessons , Brecht even gave the title of the piece, but not the name of the composer: "The melody is that of L'Étendard de la Pitié." He only took a few relatively minor ones Changes before (also the versions in the pocket and in the house postille differ slightly).

From 1939 he made use of the melody again, namely while working on his piece Mother Courage and Her Children . He used it as a template for Mother Courage's song during the writing process and also recommended it to his composers Simon Parmet , Paul Burkhard and finally Paul Dessau , who actually used it. Here, however, he no longer gave any information about the origin.

reception

Since 2012 there have been occasional performances of Wesly's works again. For example, the duo Burkhard Sondermeier & Ulrich Raue performed a piano version by Wesly's L'Étendard de la Pitié in 2014 as part of the program A World War will 100 , while Claudia Couwenbergh sang with piano accompaniment from Frans at the Batta & Co. Festival in Maastricht in November 2015 van Ruth the chansons Fiançailles , Le secret and L'amour veille , and Wesly's Rêverie d'Automne can be heard on the 2015 CD by the duo Doris Hochscheid & Frans van Ruth .

Fonts (selection)

  • David and Pieter Oijens . In: Elsevier's Geïllustreerd Maandschrift, Volume 2 (1892), Part 3, pp. 537–555. On-line
  • Carel Storm van 's Gravesande . In: Elsevier's Geïllustreerd Maandschrift, Volume 2 (1892), Part 4, pp. 329–344. On-line
  • Henriëtte Ronner. In: Elsevier's Geïllustreerd Maandschrift, Volume 3 (1893), Part 5, pp. 349–364. Online . This article can also be found in an edited form in Max Rooses (Ed.): Het Schildersboek. Nederlandsche schilders der negentiende eeuw in monographieën door tijdgenoten (German for example: Das Malerbuch. Dutch painters of the 19th century in monographs of their contemporaries), Elsevier, Amsterdam 1898, pp. 103–119, there with Wesly's signature in facsimile. Online . The book has also been translated into English ( Dutch painters of the nineteenth century , online ) and French ( online ).
  • Alexander Struys. In: Elsevier's Geïllustreerd Maandschrift, Volume 4 (1894), Part 7, pp. 1–20. On-line

Compositions (selection)

Reprint of the singing part for Fiançailles , ca.1920
  • L'Amour veille ("Love watches"). Text: Henry Moreau. 1908.
  • Bicyclette - Polka ("bicycle polka "). With singing. 1903. Title page . Sound recording with the Orchester Walter at Zonophone
  • Blondes et brunes ("blondes and brunettes"). Suite des Valses. 1904
  • Bluette . Melody. Text: André van Hasselt
  • Confidences . Gavotte with singing. Text: G. Millandy. 1902. Sheet music for piano four hands (PDF file; 370 kB)
  • Le Cortège de la Folie ("The Train of Fools"). Marching polka for orchestra. 1897
  • Une Drôle d'Envie (“A whim of lust”). Chansonnette. Text: Henri Desrosiers
  • En Pologne ("In Poland"). Mazurka . 1898. Title page
  • L'Étendard de la Pitié ("The Standard of Compassion"). Chanson à voix. Text: Léon Durocher. 1905
  • Festa Napoletana . Tarantella . 1912
  • Fiançailles ("Honeymoon"). Waltz with singing. Text: Fabrice Lémon . 1900. Sound recording at Odeon for the German-speaking market with Julius Schmidt (violin) and R. Tichy (piano) piano part on ismlp.org
  • Gloire à Silène ("Glory to the Silenus "). Male choir. Text: Léon Durocher
  • L'heure du rêve ("The hour of the dream"). Intermezzo - waltz. Text: Pierre d'Amor. 1905. Title page , score
  • Hyménée (" Hymenaios "). Waltz with singing
  • Hymnes des alliés ("Hymns of the Allies"). Album. 1915-1918. Among others: Marseillaise , Le Chant du Départ , God Save the King , Brabançonne , national anthems of Russia, Serbia, Japan and Montenegro, The Star-Spangled Banner
  • Ivresse d'amour ("love rush "). Waltz. 1903.
  • Joyeux ébats ("Teasing Games"). Polka. 1902. Title page
  • Joyeuse entrée du Prince Carnaval ( "Heiterer inauguration of the Prince Carnival "; the Joyeuse entrée is also the name of a famous 1356 dating guarantee the unity of Brabant ). Polka march. Title page
  • Lutèce (" Lutetia "). Overture . 1905
  • Marche Portugaise ("Portuguese March"). Listed in Friedrich Hofmeister's monthly reports in 1887
  • Marche solennelle ("Solemn March") for military music or orchestra. 1898
  • Néerlandia . Overture. 1912
  • Parisienne ("Parisian"). Waltz. Text: Léon Durocher. 1903. Title page
  • Le Régiment de la Jeunesse ("The Regiment of Youth"). March. Text: Léon Durocher. 1905
  • Rêverie d'automne ("Autumn Daydream"). Nocturne . 1905. Sheet music for piano and violoncello (PDF file; 369 kB), part for flute or oboe (PDF file; 168 kB)
  • Rose de Mai (" May rose "). Chansonnette. Text: V. Meusy
  • Salut au clocher! ("Greetings to the church tower"). Four-part male choir. Text: Léon Durocher. 1904
  • Le Secret ("The Secret"). Romance. Text: André van Hasselt. 1901.
  • Soir de Venise ("Evening in Venice"). Melody. Text: Léon Durocher
  • Songes roses ("Pink Dreams"). Intermezzo. 1898
  • Suite printanière ("Spring Suite "). Suite in five movements: Aubade - Impromptu - Fleurs et Papillons ("Flowers and Butterflies") - Nocturne - Ronde villageoise ("village dance "). 1903. Title page . Sound recording at Pathé with the Orchester Pathé Frères
  • Tormento de Amor . Habanera . 1911
  • Wilhelmine (" Wilhelmina "). March. 1901

literature

  • Mautpreller and Joachim Lucchesi : The standard of compassion - found. In: Dreigroschenheft , Volume 19, Issue 1, 2012, pp. 11–19. On-line
  • Mautpreller and Joachim Lucchesi: "The Standard of Compassion": An addendum. In: Dreigroschenheft, Volume 19, Issue 3, 2012, p. 32. Online

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See PTR Mestrom: Limburgse klokken en hun makers , Ultima Hora, Maastricht 1997, p. 244. I am grateful to Eddy Fraiture for pointing this out. See also MCA Kessels-van der Heijde: Maastricht, Maestricht, Mestreech. De taalverhoudingen tussen Nederlands, Frans en Maastrichts in de negentiende eeuw , Hilversum 2002, where on p. 221 a French-language advertisement for watches by Henry Wesly from the Courier de la Meuse , a Maastricht daily newspaper, is printed. The legend gives November 30, 1890 as the date, which is obviously incorrect due to the dates on the page. The newspaper must have appeared in April 1882, shortly before White Sunday , to which various advertisements refer directly.
  2. ^ Harry Schillings: Toneel en theater in Limburg in de 19e en 20e eeuw , Van Gorcum, Assen / Amsterdam 1976, p. 421. Online .
  3. ↑ Le Guide musicale , Vol. 32, No. 28/29, 15./22. July 1886, p. 192. Online . L'Art Moderne , Vol. 7, No. 4, 1887, p. 31. Online .
  4. ↑ See André van Hasselt: Poésies choisies . Librairie Fischbacher, Paris, 1901, pp. 167, 224f.
  5. ↑ Le Guide musicale , Vol. 32, No. 28/29, 15./22. July 1886, p. 192. Online .
  6. ↑ See the newspaper Gil Blas , July 12, 1901, p. 4, online , as well as numerous prints by Fiançailles which advertised on the front page with the reference to Darty's repertoire.
  7. ^ For example, with the Düsseldorf Salon Orchestra Rêverie musicale : Repertoire .
  8. ↑ See http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022454/ under “Soundtracks”.
  9. ^ Journal officiel de la République Française , Vol. 57, No. 122, May 25 and May 26, 1925, p. 4910. Online .
  10. ↑ Mautpreller / Lucchesi: The Standard of Compassion - found ; see. also Jan Knopf : Bertolt Brecht. Art of living in dark times . Hanser, Munich 2012, pp. 484 and 503, and Jürgen Hillesheim : Bertolt Brecht's house postil. Introduction and analysis of all poems . Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 2013, p. 155.
  11. ↑ See, for example, the program of the guest performance in the Museum Kurhaus Kleve , 23 November 2014, and the report by Judith Glagow in the Neue Westfälische of 19 September 2014 about a guest performance in Sennestadt .
  12. ↑ See the announcement of the Batta & Co. festival on the Museum aan het Vrijthof website.
  13. ↑ See for example http://www.mdg.de/pdf/1910e.pdf .
  14. ↑ http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb43336022s entry in the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
  15. ↑ Bibliography musicale française , vol. 29, no. 130, Avril – Juin 1903, p. 24.
  16. ^ Hoffmeister, Musical monthly reports, May 1904, p. 236.
  17. ↑ Bibliography musicale française , vol. 28, no. 126, Avril – Juin 1902, p. 5.
  18. ↑ Bibliography musicale française , vol. 23, no. 107, Juillet – Septembre 1897, p. 13.
  19. ↑ Bibliography musicale française , vol. 24, no. 110, Avril – Juin 1897, p. 6.
  20. ↑ Bibliography musicale française , vol. 26, no. 118, Avril – Juin 1900, p. 8 (piano) and p. 15 (orchestra).
  21. ↑ See the entry in the German National Library .
  22. ↑ Bibliography musicale française , vol. 29, no. 130, Avril – Juin 1903, p. 24.
  23. ↑ Bibliography musicale française , vol. 28, no. 128, Octobre – Décembre 1902, p. 5.
  24. ↑ Bibliography musicale française , vol. 29, no. 139, Juillet – Septembre 1905, p. 12.
  25. ↑ Bibliography musicale française , Vol. 24, No. 111, Juillet – Septembre 1898, p. 10
  26. ↑ See e.g. B. Het Vaderland , June 26th 1913: Muziekuitvoeringen
  27. ↑ Bibliography musicale française , vol. 31, no. 138, Avril – Juin 1905, p. 13.
  28. ↑ Bibliography musicale française , vol. 29, no. 130, Avril – Juin 1903, p. 5.
  29. ↑ Bibliography musicale française , vol. 31, no. 139, Juillet – Septembre 1905, p. 12.
  30. ↑ Bibliography musicale française, vol. 30, no. 134, Avril – Juin 1904, p. 19.
  31. ↑ Hélène de Golesco: Van Hasselt et son oeuvre. In: La Jeune Fille. Revue Bi-Mensuel, No. 16, August 15, 1902, pp. 247-249; see. also André van Hasselt: Poésies choisies . Librairie Fischbacher, Paris, 1901, p. 224.
  32. ↑ Bibliography musicale française , vol. 24, no. 110, Avril – Juin 1898, p. 6 (piano sheet music) and no. 111, Juillet – September 1898, p. 10 (orchestral score).
  33. ↑ See the entry at Swissbib: https://www.swissbib.ch/Record/230070361 ; see also Bibliographie musicale française , vol. 29, no. 130, Avril – Juin 1903, p. 24.
  34. ↑ See the entry in the German National Library.
  35. ↑ Bibliography musicale française , vol. 27, no. 121, Janvier – Mars 1901, p. 5.
personal data
SURNAME Wesly, Émile
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wesly, Michel Émile (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Composer and journalist, working in Brussels and Paris
DATE OF BIRTH November 1, 1858
PLACE OF BIRTH Maastricht , the Netherlands
DATE OF DEATH March 26, 1926
Place of death uncertain: Paris