Ferdinand Hérold

Biography

Rondo Vivace - Symphony No in 1 C major

Louis Joseph Ferdinand Hérold (1791 – 1833)

French composer his most famous works were operas and ballets, although he also made piano works, chamber music and concerts.

Ferdinand Herold compositions include 21 operas, 6 ballets, 2 symphonies, 3 concerts, 6 sonatas and 57 piano works.

His most famous compositions are:

Overture to the opera “Zampa” or “La fiancée de marbre”.The Ballet “La fille mal gardée ».His opera “Le pré aux clercs”.Symphony No.2 in D major.

He won the prestigious “Grand Prix de Rome” in 1812 when he was a student at the Paris National Conservatory.

On November 1828 he was awarded the order of Knight of the French Legion of Honor.

After Jean Baptiste Lully and Jean Philippe Rameau, Hérold is considered one of the founders of the french opera.

Chronology of the French Classical Composers

Jean Baptiste Lully (1632 - 1687)Marc Antoine Charpentier (1643 - 1704)Jean Joseph Mouret (1682 - 1738)Jean Philippe Rameau (1683 - 1764)Louis Joseph Ferdinand Hérold (1791 - 1833)Adolphe Charles Adam (1803 - 1856)Louis Héctor Berlioz (1803 - 1869)Charles Gounod (1818 - 1893)Jaques Offenbach (1819 - 1880)Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921)Leo Delibes (1836 - 1891)Emile Waldteufel (1837 - 1915)Georges Bizet (1838 - 1875) Jules Massenet (1842 - 1912)Emmanuel Chabrier (1841 - 1894)Charles Marie Widor (1844 - 1937)Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918)Paul Dukas (1865 - 1935)Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937)

Biography

Louis Joseph Ferdinand Hérold was born in Paris on January 28, 1791. He was the only child of François-Joseph Hérold, a pianist and composer, and Jeanne-Gabrielle Pascal. He was the grandson of Nicolas Hérold, an organist.

At the age of six, he attended the Hix Institute and excelled in his studies. While there, he also took musical theory with François-Joseph Fétis who later edited the periodical “La Revue Musicale”.

At the age of seven, he played piano and composed some piano pieces.

Hérold's father did not intend for him to follow a musical career, but after his father's death in 1802, he could finally pursue this avenue.

He enrolled in the Conservatoire in 1806 and was schooled in piano by Louis Adam, father of the composer Adolphe Adam. He also was instructed by Charles Simon Catel in harmony, Rodolphe Kreutzer in violin, and Étienne Méhul in composition. Hérold during these times at the Conservatoire became a virtuoso on piano and violin.

Allegro Vals - Symphony No 2 in D major

Opéra National de Paris – (Le Palais Garnier)

In 1810 he won first prize in a piano competition with one of his own compositions, which had never been done before.

He progressed so far in his studies that in 1812 he won the Prix de Rome, with his work “La duchesse de La Vallière”.

His main compositions

In Rome, during the spring of 1813 he composed his first symphony, which all Prix de Rome winners were required to do in order to show their progression in studies.

In 1815 he moved from Rome to Naples for health reasons. While there he composed several pieces including his second symphony and three string quartets. His first opera, La gioventù di Enrico Quinto, was presented at San Carlo under the pseudonym Landriani, and it was received favorably by the public but not by the composers of the area.

Overture to “Zampa” opera

He was also paid 5,000 liras to teach Joachim Murat's daughters. But after the king of Napoles and brother in law of Napoleon was executed, Hérold was forced to leave Italy and went to Austria, where he stayed in Vienna for two months under the employ of Prince Metternich. He returned to Paris via Munich and Switzerland

In 1816, Hérold collaborated with François Adrien Boieldieu in the opera Charles de France; this work put his name before the public.

In the same year he composed the successful opera Les Rosières which he dedicated to his friend and former teacher Méhul.

In 1817 his opera La clochette premiered and was a vast improvement over Les rosières. After struggling to find a libretto, he composed music for Premier Venu. However, this did not have the qualities to be an opera and it met with little success. Les troqueurs (1819) also failed.

Hérold's desire to compose forced him to choose any libretto that came his way since many librettists did not trust him with their works.

Théâtre Royal Italien - Paris 1829

Therefore, his next few operas L'amour platonique and L'auteur mort et vivant were failures. This discouraged Hérold, so he did not produce any operas for three years.

In 1821 he became an assistant at the Théâtre-Italien and traveled to Italy to recruit singers. This renewed his inspiration and his health.

In 1823 he returned to the stage with the success Le muletier. His next opera, Lasthénie, was a moderate success.

Hérold collaborated with Daniel Auber on Vendôme en Espagne (1823) which capitalized on the fad for Spanish atmosphere, following the French victory at Trocadero in Spain.

In 1824 the Opéra Comique commissioned him to write Le roi René. In the same year he became accompanist at the Théâtre Italien, and two years later became chorus-master. In 1825 he wrote Le lapin blanc which failed; Hérold himself was not inspired by its libretto to compose good music.

Andante - Symphony No 2 in D major

His last years

His next opera Marie (1826) was a great success, but his duties at Théâtre Italien hindered his freedom to exploit this and further his talent, and for the next three years was reduced to writing ballet music.

In 1827, he became the chief replacement at the Paris Opera.

On November 3rd, 1828 he received the order of Knight of the Legion of Honor. Napoleon Bonaparte founded the Legion of Honor in 1802 to recognize unusual military and government services. There are five levels: grand croix (grand cross), grand officier (grand officer), commandeur (commander), officier (officer) and chevalier (knight).

His next opera L’illusion (1829) was successful while Emmeline (1830) was not.

On May 3, 1831, one of his most famous operas, Zampa, premiered. This opera enjoyed much success in France and Germany where it is still staged today.

He followed up his success with Zampa with contributions to La marquise de Brinvilliers, a collaborative effort of many composers including François-Adrien Boïeldieu, Luigi Cherubini and Daniel Auber.

He wrote La médecine sans médecin in 1832 and Le Pré aux Clercs later in the same year.

Le Pré aux Clercs is another of Hérold’s most famous works. This opera enjoyed its thousandth performance in Paris in 1871.

A month after its premier, Hérold died on January 19, 1833 at Thernes, of tuberculosis from which he had long suffered.

Hérold’s opera Ludovic which had not been completed was finished by Jaques Fromental Halévy (1799-1862).

Hérold was buried at the Cimetière du Père Lachaise in Paris.

The house at 10 rue Hérold is Hérold’s birthplace. The street was named in his honor in 1881

Overture to “Le pre aux clercs” opera

Building of the Paris National Conservatory until 1911

Operas1815 - La gioventù di Enrico quinto.1816 - Charles de France ou Amour et gloire (with Boïeldieu).1816 - Corinne au Capitole.1817 - Les rosières.1817 - La clochette ou Le diable page.1818 - Le premier venu ou Six lieues de chemin.1819 - Les troqueurs.1819 - L'amour platonique.1820 - L'auteur mort et vivant.1823 - Le muletier.1823 - Vendôme en Espagne (with Auber).1825 - Le lapin blanc.1826 - Almédon ou le monde renversé, renamed Marie.1829 - L'Illusion.1829 - Emmeline.1830 - L'auberge d'Auray.1831 - Zampa or La fiancée de marbre.1831 - La marquise de Brinvilliers (with Auber, Boïeldieu, Cherubini)1832 - La médecine sans médecin.1832 - Le pré aux clercs.1833 - Ludovic (finished by Fromental Halévy).

Ballets

1827 - Astolphe et Joconde ou Les Coureurs d'aventures.1827 - La Somnambule ou L'Arrivée d'un nouveau seigneur.1828 - La fille mal gardée.1828 - Lydie.1829 - La Belle au bois dormant.1830 - La Noce de village.

Other Works

1812 - La duchesse de La Vallière ou Madame de Lavallière, ( with this work he won the Prix de Rome).1813 - Symphony N° 1 in C major.1814 - Trois quatuors pour instruments à cordes.1815 - Symphony N° 2 in D major.

Ferdinand Herold compositions also include 3 concerts, 6 sonatas and 57 piano works.

Rondo - Symphony No 2 in D major

New building of the Paris National Conservatory of Music and Dance

inaugurated in 1990

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AVM 060310