Adolphe Adam
See also: Adam (homonymy)
Adolphe Charles Adam is a French type-setter born with Paris the July 24th 1803 and died in Paris the May 3rd 1856.
Biography
A famous musicologist wrote that the hell for a musician, it would be to be condemned to listen to the music of Adolphe Adam for eternity. He must exist worse punishment well…His/her father, Johann Ludwig Adam, known under the name of Jean-Louis Adam (1758 - 1848), was a pianist and Alsatian type-setter, professor of Piano to the Conservatoire of Paris. Bad pupil, Adam deserted the courses with a dunce from the same scale, Eugene Sue. Adolphe Adam, after having started to study the music in hiding-place of his father, entered to the Academy of Paris in 1817, was pupil of Boïeldieu but did not hesitate to use of subterfuges to make known itself: he worked the evening with the orchestra of the Gymnasium, going until transferring his seals with those which agreed to be made replace and wrote songs and musics of circumstances for others. In spite of - thanks to? - these jokes, it acquired enough trade to become prize winner of the Prix of Rome in 1825.
Adolphe Adam chooses the career which led then most surely to re-elected and with fortune: that of lyric type-setter. Its Boïeldieu Master directed it towards the Op3era Comique, kind then in full change. Little by little, its fame increased. The critics eulogistic of the Brasseur of Preston arrived at the ears of the tsar and Adam gained Saint-Pétersbourg in 1839, where it was accommodated by his own ballet the girl of the Danube . He composed for the cavalry the Pirate (Morskoï Rasbonick) . Adam, considered as the worthy successor of Boïeldieu, which was choirmaster in Saint-Pétersbourg, saw himself proposing by the tsar the same function, but declined it.
In 1844, it was named member of the Académie. In 1847, following an argument with the direction of the Op3era Comique, he was the instigator of the creation of the National theater; the purpose of this theater was first, extremely creditable, to accommodate the young type-setters not managing to make play their works elsewhere. The first to be profited from it was Louis-Aime Maillart, (which one remembers still a little for his " Dragons of Villars"), of which the opera (also forgotten) " Gastibelza" the first curtain of this new lyric scene opened. Unfortunately, the revolution ruined these beautiful attempts: the National theater was closed in 1848 and, in order to audit the debts, Adam had to find other sources of revenue and started to write articles. The following year, it succeeded his father as piano teacher to the Academy. Although Adam was not involved in debt any more in 1853, it continued to exert these tasks until its death, a few days after creation with Puff out-Parisian of sound Opérette, the Puppets of Violet .
Its works
The majority of works of Adam had only one success transitory, in particular its many Chanson S and parts for piano, some arrangements and orchestrations of works of other type-setters, some scenic Cantate S, and other profane and crowned vocal works.The Canticle of Christmas , on words of Cappeau de Roquemaure, remains however famous today under the name of Minuit, Chrétiens . Nevertheless Adam does not seem to have attached a great importance there, because he does not say of it a word in his two volumes of memories.
Adam was success thanks to more than 70 lyric compositions, including 40 opera S, 14 Ballet S and many Opérette S and light comedies. For the Opera of Paris, it composed Richard in Palestine, the bouquetière and the Lamp , which did not gain a great success. The most famous operas are the King d' Yvetot , Giralda or the news Psyché , If I were king , the Country cottage - by the way whose Boieldieu wrote “I would like that this music was of me” and who was most popular in France -, and the postilion of Longjumeau , even more popular abroad, at the point to be often copied, for example in Italy, with it Postiglione di Longjumeau which was a furnace and had to be withdrawn as of the third evening! In Madrid, the zarzuela of Cristobal Oudrid, " El Postillon of Rioja" , did not obtain that a success of regard. Today, " The Postilion of Longjumeau" is not practically any more played in France, but preserves an undeniable strength in Germany, with a translated booklet, becoming " DER Postilion von Lonjumeau" !
Among its 14 Ballet S, most known are " Devil with quatre" , " the Pretty girl of Gand" , " The Goddaughter of the fées" , the corsair and, especially, Gisele or Willis (1841), who puts in scene the Amour between Gisele and Albrecht.
Principal works
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Ballet S:
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Operas:
Adolphe Adam left two volumes of memories, alive and agreeably written, published after his death: Memories of a musician , Paris, 1857; Last memories of a musician , Paris, posthumous edition of 1859. These two works were republished in 1871. Genevese editor MINKOFF also published about 1973 another work of Adolphe Adam, " Letters on the French music " , as well as a biography of the musician, written by Arthur Pougin in 1877 and entitled " Adolphe Adam, his life, his career, its memories artistic ".
DISCOGRAPHY: Gisele , ballet of 1841, selections: 1°) Orchestra of Cento Soli directed by Gianfranco Rivoli (+Massenet: Cid), at the International Guild of the Disc = extremely rare. 2°) Philharmonic orchestra of Vienna directed by Herbert von Karajan, at Decca, superb. 3°) Academy off St Martin in the Fields directed by John Eliot Gardiner, at Capriccio, version surprising by its tenderness and idiot side " chambriste". 4°) edition Büsser : Academy of Paris directed by Jean Martinon orchestrates, at Decca; this edition of Henri Büsser was a long time in vogue with the Opera of Paris in the years 1950.
Gisele , ballet of 1841, integrals: 1°) Symphony orchestra of London directed by Anatole Fistoulari (+ Offenbach & Strauss), at Mercury (2 CD) 2°) National orchestra of the Opera of Monte Carlo directed by Richard Bonynge, at Decca (2CD) 3°) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden directed by Richard Bonynge, at Decca (2 CD). Precision: the recording of Fistoulari approaches more the EC what one can hear at the time of a representation of the ballet; sharp and very expressive, it profits from the clearness of the Mercury sound recordings. The two recordings of Bonynge present the complete partition of Adam with orchestration of origin; certain pieces are not played today any more, the such return of hunting to the second act, but are worth the discovery on the level pure music. Of the two recordings of Bonynge, that with Monte Carlo is most alive, sharpest, unfortunately, at the 11/15/07, it is a Japan importation. For much, it will be necessary to be satisfied with Covent Garden: the orchestra is certainly luxurious but a little soft there. 4°) Sony proposes an quasi-integral into 1 CD, extremely beautiful and expressive, by the Symphony orchestra of London directed by Michael Tilson Thomas. It's a pity that not to fill that CD one did not choose to record work in entirety… 5°) Another integral important apparently never left out of CD, that of the orchestra of Bolchoï of Moscow directed by a veteran of the ballet, Algis Jouraïtis. For which is interested in the work, it is to be known, because it presents a a little heavy but very expressive aspect and very dancing with excellent soloists (violin, toothing-stone…). The orchestration is not Adam, but of Boris Assafiev, musicologist and extremely average type-setter excel whom one hardly any more knows today. Moreover, the Russian choreographers added there some pages of Ludwig Minkus (which are integrated rather badly into the light music and sparkling of Adam), a such waltz and large not-of-two.
the Pretty Girl of Ghent , ballet of 1842, integral: Symphony orchestra of Queensland directed by Andrew Mogrelia, in Marco Polo
Devil with four , ballet of 1845, integral: Symphony orchestra of London directed by Richard Bonynge, at Decca
the Goddaughter of the fairies , ballet of 1849, integral: Symphony orchestra of Queensland directed by Andrew Mogrelia, in Marco Polo
the Corsair , ballet of 1856, integral (with additions of Léo Delibes): English Chamber Orchestrated directed by Richard Bonynge, at Decca
Châlet , Op3era Comique of 1834 & the Goblin , Op3era Comique of 1852: Boursin, Peyron, etc… directed by Albert Wolf (Châlet) and Robert Benedetti (Goblin, at Lyric Gaîté (removed). Precision: the recording of Châlet is poor, but to date, it is the only testimony recent discographic which survives. As for the Goblin, the service is largely higher and is worth the turning, if however you unearth a specimen of it…
the Postilion of Lonjumeau , Op3era Comique of 1836: 1°) German selection: Gedda, Pütz, Crass, Klarwein, directed by Fritz Lehan, at EMI French 2°) integral: To go, the Russet-red one, Lafont, Anderson, directed by Thomas Fulton, at EMI
the Toreador , comic opera of 1849: 1°) Mesplé, Amade, Clavensy, directed by Eugene Religious bigot, at Lyric Gaîté 2°) OJ, Outward journey, Trempont, directed by Richard Bonyge, at Decca 3°) Raphanel, Lécroart, Cassard, directed by Jean-Luc Tingaud, at Mandala 4°) extracted: variations on the air of Mozart " Ah! I will tell you Maman " = to see recitals of Mado Robin, Mady Mesplé, Edith Gruberova…
If I were king , Op3era Comique of 1856: 1°) integral: Berton, Mallabrera, Bianco, directed by Richard Blareau, at Agreement. 2°) opening: Symphony orchestra of Strait directed by Paul Paray, at Mercury
" the Headstock of Nuremberg " and " Giralda ", openings: New Philharmonia Orchestrated directed by Richard Bonynge, at Decca
" Midnight, Christian " , canticle of Christmas of 1847: to quote only one example among tens of others, more or less kitsch according to the cases, sung more or less well, " Midnight, Chrétiens" being a partition very often abused (as well on the rate/rhythm as on the accompaniment or the orchestration…) : Roberto Alagna, Choruses and Orchestra of Capitole of Toulouse, directed by Michel Plasson, at EMI (" Sacrés" songs;)
" Funeral March for the funeral of the Emperor Napoleon i " : extract of " Napoleon-Bonaparte" , by the Music of the Policemen, directed by Desired Dondeyne, on texts dAlain Decaux, Frederic Robert and André Castelot, with musics of Berlioz, Catel, Dalayrac, Gossec and Méhul, recorded in 1962 at Agreement; that, it is for the amateurs of curiosity!
" Song of the Canary " , extracted the Op3era Comique " Puppets of Violet " and great outdoors " Of your noble aïeux " extract of the Op3era Comique " If I were king " : Sumi OJ, soprano, English Chamber Orchestrated directed by Richard Bonynge, at Decca (CD " Carnaval")
" Mariquita ", melody, by Joan Sutherland, soprano and Richard Bonynge, piano, at Decca
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