François Devienne
François Devienne (born January 31, 1759 in Joinville , Haute-Marne , † September 5, 1803 in Charenton-Saint-Maurice ) was a French composer and flutist of the classical period.
Life
François Devienne was born the seventh of eight children from the second marriage of the saddler Pierre Devienne. His older brother taught him to play several instruments at an early age, and he received further lessons from the organist in his hometown and in the choir (maitrise) of the main church in Joinville. At the age of ten he was already composing a mass which the musicians of the royal cavalry regiment Royale-Cravate performed.
In 1776 he followed his older brother to the court orchestra of Charles II August in Zweibrücken ; he stayed there until 1778 and received further instruction. From the end of 1779 François Devienne played bassoon in the orchestra of the Paris Opera , where he probably stayed for a year. He took further lessons from Félix Rault (1736-1800). The music lover and patron Baron de Bagge provided for his living during this time.
From 1780 to 1785 he was a chamber musician with Cardinal Louis-René de Rohan . During this time he composed chamber music, a bassoon concerto and several flute concerts. He was a member of the Société Olympique , a Masonic concert society with its own large orchestra, for which Joseph Haydn wrote his Paris symphonies.
He made his solo debut at the Concert spirituel in 1782 with his own flute concerto, in 1784 he played one of his bassoon concerts there, and a year later his concertante symphony for horn, bassoon and orchestra and the concertante symphony for oboe and bassoon were performed there. These first concerts were so successful that Devienne had twenty more appearances at this institution by 1785. In 1791 Devienne became first flutist at the Paris Opera. In the early 1790s he composed his first work for the stage, “ Le marriage clandestin ”. His first major opera success was his fourth opéra-comique " Les Visitandines " from 1792, which made him famous with more than 200 performances. By the end of the century, other operas followed, which were more or less successfully recorded. Not until his last two stage works, Les Comédiens ambulants (1798) and Le Valet des deux maîtres (1799), were again great audiences.
François Devienne was an important music teacher, he was one of the teachers of the École gratuite de musique de la Garde nationale , a free music school for the children of the National Guard, which was renamed the Conservatoire de musique in 1795 . For teaching purposes he wrote his important flute school, Nouvelle Méthode théorique et pratique pour la flûte , which was adapted to the modern flute in the mid-19th century.
Affected by a nervous disease, Devienne came to the “Asile de Charenton” mental hospital (east of Paris) in 1803, where he died shortly afterwards.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the French flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal made a name for himself with the rediscovery of Devienne's music through numerous performances and recordings.
Works
- 12 operas
- 8 concert symphonies
- 14 flute concerts
- 5 bassoon concerts
- 25 quartets and quintets for various line-ups.
- 46 trios
- 147 duos
- 67 sonatas
- His flute school Méthode de Flûte Théorique et Pratique from 1793 is still used today to learn contemporary techniques.
Works for wind orchestra
- 1797 Le Chant du retour
- 1799–1800 Hymn pour l'éternité
- Overtures
Web links
- List of stage works by François Devienne based on the MGG at Operone
- Works by and about François Devienne in the catalog of the German National Library
- Sheet music and audio files by François Devienne in the International Music Score Library Project
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Devienne, François |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French composer and flautist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 31, 1759 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Joinville |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 5, 1803 |
| Place of death | Paris |