#charpentier

[Baroque Composers Ampersand - 1 - White Text]

La servante paresseuse (1810s) By Constance Marie Charpentier, French

Portrait of Marie Thérèse Louise of Savoy, Princesse de Lamballe (1749-1792), seated full-length, in a lilac dress, Jean-Baptiste Charpentier the Elder, c. 1769-70.

OTD in Music History: Composer Gustav Charpentier (1860 - 1956) is born in France. Charpentier's family was of modest means, and it was only thanks to the assistance of a wealthy benefactor that he was able to study violin privately for several years before entering the Paris Conservatoire in 1881. At the Conservatoire, Charpentier took composition lessons from Jules Massenet (1842 - 1912), and ultimately won the coveted "Prix de Rome" in 1887. It was during his time in Rome that he began working on what would become his lasting compositional calling card: "Louise" (1900). A realistic portrait of 19th Century Parisian working-class life, "Louise" is often cited as a prime French example of "verismo" opera. "Louise" proved to be an enduring hit -- it racked up 100 performances within a single year, 500 by the early 1920s, 1000 by the early 1950s, and it still continues to hold the stage nearly 125 years after its premiere. The third-act aria "Depuis le jour..." ("Since the day...") also remains a popular stand-alone concert piece that has been frequently recorded. In 1902, Charpentier founded the "Conservatoire Populaire Mimi Pinson," through which he sought to provide a free artistic education to Paris's working girls. As administrative work at the school took up more and more of his time, however, Charpentier found less and less time to compose; he slowly eked out an operatic sequel to "Louise,” entitled "Julien," but when it was was received tepidly at its premiere in 1913, Charpentier became deeply disillusioned and wrote almost nothing else in his final 40 years. (“Julien” has long since fallen into obscurity.) PICTURED: A photograph of the elderly Charpentier, which he signed and inscribed to a fan -- also including a nice musical quotation from "Louise.”

"Portrait of Marie Thérèse Louise of Savoy, Princesse de Lamballe" by Jean-Baptiste Charpentier, 18th Century.

Via @DrDougGreen: https://www.drdouggreen.com/2023/robots-plus-humans-siphon-physics/

L’installation de JR dans les rues de la Belle-de-Mai :