Louis Théodore Gouvy

Louis Théodore Gouvy (July 3, 1819–April 21, 1898) was a French composer born in Goffontaine, France (now Saarbrücken-Schafbrücke, Germany).

Biography

Because the Sarre, a region on the France-Prussia border where Gouvy was born, fell under Prussian control shortly before his birth, Théodore Gouvy could not attain French citizenship until the age of 32. Thus, unable to pursue music instruction at the Conservatoire de Paris, he took up private courses.

Gouvy was a man of two cultures, divided between France and Germany, from which he drew his inspiration, his characteristics and his force. While to a certain extent he was known and recognized in his lifetime, he fell into obscurity following his death.

Although his work comprises more than two hundred compositions, including 90 opuses published in his lifetime, it largely remains ignored. In particular, he wrote twenty-four compositions for a full orchestra, including nine symphonies, as well as openings and variations. Chamber music comprises a large portion of Gouvy's work and accounts in particular for four sonatas in duet form, five trios, eleven quartets, seven quintets, an enormous piano repertoire — for two and four hands — and for two pianos, several scores for wind instrument ensembles, as well as many melodies and Lieder. We also know of five great dramatic cantatas ("Aslega", "Œdipe à Colone", "Iphigénie en Tauride", "Électre", and "Polyxène"), two operas ("Le Cid" and "Mateo Falcone") as well as some large religious works, including a "Requiem", a "Stabat Mater", a "Messe brève", and the cantata "Golgotha".

Hector Berlioz wrote in the "Journal des Débats" of April 13, 1851: " [t] hat a musician of the importance of Mr. Gouvy is still not very well-known in Paris, and that so many midges bother the public with their tenacious buzzing, it is enough to confuse and inflame the naive spirits that still believe in the reason and the justice of our musical manners".

Berlioz's favorable reviews, however, changed nothing, and Gouvy remained unknown until the end of the 20th century. It is the recent action undertaken in Lorraine and the rediscovery of his "Requiem", with its vigorous "Dies iræ", which allowed Gouvy's work to come to light once more in 1994. "Requiem" has been championed by the Lorraine Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Jacques Houtmann; these artists have issued a compact disc of the piece for the K617 label. Stylistically the composition owes something to Mendelssohn, something to Gounod, and something to Verdi, but remains quietly original despite these influences.

External links

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