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Théodore Dubois, ca. 1890, Bibliothèque nationale de France.

Église de la Madeleine in Paris.

François-Clément Théodore Dubois (24 August 1837 – 11 June 1924) was a French composer, organist and music teacher.

Biography

Théodore Dubois was born in Rosnay in Marne. He studied first under Louis Fanart (the choirmaster at Reims cathedral) and later at the Paris Conservatoire under Ambroise Thomas. He won the Prix de Rome in 1861. In 1868, he became choirmaster at the Church of the Madeleine, and in 1871 took over from César Franck as choirmaster at the Basilica of Sainte-Clotilde. In 1877, Dubois returned to the Church of the Madeleine, succeeding Camille Saint-Saëns as organist there. From 1871 he taught at the Paris Conservatoire, with the eminent composers Paul Dukas and Florent Schmitt among his pupils.

Dubois was director of the Conservatoire from 1896 (succeeding Thomas upon the latter's death) to 1905. He resigned two months before the refusal to award the Prix de Rome to Maurice Ravel, this created nonetheless a substantial public outcry, which was increased by an open letter from the novelist and musicologist Romain Rolland. Gabriel Fauré took over from Dubois as director.

Although he wrote many religious works, Dubois had considerable hopes for a successful career on the operatic stage. His fascination with Near-Eastern subjects lead to the composition to his first staged work, La guzla de l'émir, and his first four-act opera, Aben-Hamet, which broke no new ground. His other large-scale opera, Xavière, has a wildly dramatic tale set in the rural Auvergne. The story revolves around a widowed mother who plots to kills her daughter, Xavière, with the help of her fiancé's father to gain the daughter's inheritance. However, Xavière survives the attack with the help of a priest, and the opera finishes with a conventional happy ending.

The music of Dubois also includes ballets, oratorios and three symphonies. His best known work is the oratorio Les sept paroles du Christ ("The Seven Last Words of Christ"-1867), which continues to get an occasional airing; his Toccata (1889) for the organ is also heard now and then. The rest of his large output has almost entirely disappeared from view. He has had a more lasting influence in teaching, with his theoretical works Traité de contrepoint et de fugue (on counterpoint and fugue) and Traité d'harmonie théorique et pratique (on harmony) still being sometimes used today.

Selected works

Operas

• La prova di un'opera seria, (unpublished, composed in Rome, 1863).
• La guzla de l'émir, opéra comique (1 act, J. Barbier & M. Carré), f.p. 30 April 1873, Théâtre Athénée, Paris.
• Le pain bis, opéra comique (1 act, A. Brunswick & A.R. de Beauplan), f.p. 26/27 February 1879, Opéra Comique (Théâtre Favart), Paris.
• L'enlèvement de Proserpine, scène lyrique (1 act, P. Collin), f.p. 1879.
• Aben-Hamet, opéra (4 acts, L. Détroyat & A. de Lauzières), f.p. 16 December 1884, Théâtre Châtelet, Paris.
• Xavière, idylle dramatique (3 acts, L. Gallet, after F. Fabre), f.p. 26 November 1895, Opéra Comique (Théâtre Lyrique), Paris.
• Miguela, opéra (3 acts) (Originally unperformed, except prélude and second act tableau from Act 3, concert perf. 23 February 1896, Paris.) f.p. 18 May 1916, Opéra, Paris.
• La fiancée d'Abydos (unperformed)
• Le florentin (unperformed)

Ballets

• La Korrigane, (ballet by Louis Mérante), f.p. 12 January 1880, Opéra, Paris.
• La Farandole, (ballet by Louis Mérante), f.p. 14 December 1883, Opéra-Comique, Paris.

Vocal works

• Les Sept Paroles du Christ, (1867) oratorio dedicated to Abbot Jean-Gaspard (1797-1871) curé of La Madeleine.
• Le Paradis Perdu, oratorio (1878 - Prix de la ville de Paris)
• Numerous cantatas, including: L'enlèvement de Proserpine, Hylas, Bergerette; Les Vivants et les Morts
• Masses and religious compositions

Orchestral works

• Marche héroïque de Jeanne d'Arc
• Fantaisie triomphale for organ & orchestra
• Hymne nuptial
• Méditation, Prières for strings, oboe, harp, & organ
• Concerto-Cappricio for piano & orchestra
• Concerto pour piano n° 2
• Concerto pour violon
• Notre-Dame de la Mer, poème symphonique
• Adomis, poème symphonique
• Symphonie française (1908)
• Fantasietta (1917)

Other compositions

• Piano works : Chœur et Danse des Lutins, six poèmes sylvestres, etc.
• Des pièces pour orgue et pour harmonium.
• Douze Pièces pour orgue ou piano-pédalier (1889), with the famous Toccata in G (no. 3)
• Douze Pièces Nouvelles pour orgue ou piano-pédalier (1893), with In Paradisum (no. 9)
• Deux Petites Pièces pour orgue ou harmonium (1910), with Petite pastorale champenoise et Prélude

Writings

• Dubois, Théodore (1901). Traité de contrepoint et de fugue. Paris: Heugel.
• Dubois, Théodore (1921). Notes et études d'harmonie pour servir de supplément au Traité d'harmonie. Paris: Conservatoire de Paris.
• Dubois, Théodore (n.d., 1921?). Traité d'harmonie théorique et pratique. Paris: Heugel. (Note: The copyright reads: Réalisations des basses et chants du Traité d'harmonie par Théodore Dubois).

Media

References

• Sadie, Stanley (Ed.) (1994) [1992]. The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. vol. 1, A–D, chpt: "Dubois, (François-Clément) Théodore" by Richard Langham Smith. New York: MacMillan. ISBN 0-935859-92-6.  
• Imbert, I. (1892). Nouveaux profils de musiciens. Paris.  
• Tiersot, J. (1918). Un demi-siècle de musique française. Paris.  
• Widor, M. (1924). Notice sur la vie et les travaux de Théodore Dubois. Paris.  
• Landormy, P. (1943, 1948). La musique française de Franck à Debussy. Paris.  

External links

• Free scores by Théodore Dubois in the International Music Score Library Project
• Theodore Dubois Chamber Music sound-bites from several works and short biography
• Free scores by Théodore Dubois in the Werner Icking Music Archive (WIMA)
• Free scores by Théodore Dubois in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)