Louis Aubert

Louis François Marie Aubert (born Paramé (Ille-et-Vilaine), 19 February, 1877, - died Paris, 9 January, 1968) was a French composer.

Biography

Louis Aubert was a child prodigy. His parents, recognizing their son's musical talent, sent him to Paris to receive an education at an early age. He became recognized for his voice, primarily for his renditions of the "Pie Jesu" from Gabriel Fauré's Requiem at the Église de la Madeleine. The young Aubert met Fauré at the Paris Conservatoire, and he regularly attended at his composition classes, which greatly influenced his development.

Aubert became an excellent pianist, and in fact, Maurice Ravel wrote for and dedicated his "Valses nobles et sentimentales" to him.

He composed music for the church, several ballets, mélodies, and incidental music for the stage. Although Breton by birth, he was little inspired by his home region. Aubert wrote popular songs, notably for Marie Dubas. He also was a contributing journalist to the magazines "Chantecler", "Paris-soir", "Le journal" and "Opéra".

Aubert wrote one opera in three acts based on classic fairy tales by Charles Perrault to a libretto by J. Chenevière entitled "Le fôret bleu" ("The Blue Forest"). The work was composed in 1904 to 1911 and individual acts were performed while the work was in progress. The first complete staged performance appeared in Geneva on 7 January 1913. The enchanting characters and delightful plot enabled the work to achieve popular success in other theaters, including Boston. The work did not appear in Paris until 1924, where it was staged at the Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart).

Aubert died in near-oblivion in Paris at age 90.

Publications

* "L'Orchestre", Paris, PUF, 1951.
* "Notice sur la vie et les travaux de Gustave Charpentier," Paris, Firmin-Didot, 1956.

Bibliography

*Sadie, Stanley (Ed.) [1992] (1994). The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, vol. 1, A-D, chpt: "Aubert, Louis(-François-Marie)" by Richard Langham Smith, New York: MacMillan. ISBN 0-935859-92-6.
* Louis Vuillemin, "L. Aubert et son œuvre", Paris, Durand, 1921.
* R. Bernard, « L. Aubert » in "La revue musicale", VIII", 1927.
* Article dans le mensuel "La Bretagne à Paris", June 1956.
*Citation
last = Jankélévitch
first = Vladimir
author-link = Vladimir Jankélévitch
year = 1995
title = Ravel
edition = nouv.
series = Solfèges
place = Paris
publisher = Seuil
isbn = 2020234904
oclc = 33209653 LCC|ML410.R23 J2 1995
* H. Corbes, « Louis Aubert compositeur malouin » in "Bulletin de la société d'histoire et d'archéologie de Saint-Malo", 1981.