1.12.10

"Classical music" - Montmartre cemetery

So, after the preceding “general post” I thought I could now and then revert to more details about some of the Montmartre Cemetery tombs. Let’s start with “classical music”.
I can hardly make any complete articles about these different musicians here, so I will (try to) make it short and ask you to go for further information on Wikipedia or elsewhere.


Let’s start with Hector Berlioz (1803-69) (see Wikipedia), composer and conductor, who liked huge orchestral forces. Among his most famous works: Symphonie Fantastique (when it was performed in Paris for the first time, Chopin, Liszt, Paganini, Alexandre Dumas père, Heinrich Heine, Victor Hugo, George Sand… were in the audiance), "Requiem", "Roméo et Juliette", "Benvenuto Cellini", "La damnation de Faust"…

We know that also Berlioz has walked around the cemetery, visiting the tomb of Amélie, a young woman he loved.

We can listen to the "Hungarian March" (from "La damnation de Faust").




Let’s continue with Victor Massé (1822-84) (see Wikipedia). He was quite successful “then”, his opera "Les Noces de Jeanette" was played at least a thousand times, but he's a bit forgotten.

His tomb has been decorated by Charles Garnier (see top photo), architect of the Opera Garnier (see previous post), the Casino, Opera and the Grand Hotel de Paris at Monaco….

We can listen to en extract of le "Noces de Jeanette".




The name of Fernando Sor (1778-1839) (see Wikipedia) tells something especially for those of us who have tried the classical guitar; his Method for the Spanish Guitar was published in 1832 and is still very much in use. He gave guitar concerts all over Europe and also composed. He spent much time in Paris, especially his last years, as a guitar teacher.

It’s not quite confirmed, but it seems that he among many other works and adaptations also has composed the "Jeux Interdits" ("Romance").




Jacques Offenbach (1819-80) (see Wikipedia) moved to Paris when he was fourteen. He started as a cello virtuose and played with Anton Rubinstein, Franz Liszt, Felix Mendelssohn… He wrote the music to some 100 operettas – "Orpheus in the Underworld", "La Belle Hélène", "La Vie Parisienne", "The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein"… Also Offenbach’s tomb is decorated by Charles Garnier (see top photo).

So a little bit of Can Can music.



Among the more famous composers, we can also find the tomb of Léo Delibes (1836-91) (see Wikipedia). He influenced a lot of later composers like Tchaikovsky, Saint-Saëns, Debussy…

He’s of course famous for ballet music like "Coppelia" and "Sylvia" (with the "Pizzicato"), but also for his opera "Lakmé" with the famous "Bell Song" and the "Flower Duet".

Here you can listen to the "Pizzicato"…


… to the "Flower Duet"…


… and I suggest that you use this link to listen to the "Bell Song".

If you would like to make a real visit, I thought it may be of help to have this little map. (I had to make one, as they did not any more have one available at the cemetery entrance.)
I have "stolen" some photos from different sources (mainly Wikipedia), but if there is a copyright problem I will immediately withdraw.

30 comments:

Mrs A said...

Very interesting facts, our lovely Dame Joan passed away just recently in switzerland as im sure you know,
Thanks again Peter, your posts are always very good

Anonymous said...

In his painting "Music in the Tuileries", Manet inmortalized his brother Eugene and many of his friends. Among them are M. et Mme. Offenbach. Maybe because of this, that painting is one of my favorites. I envy those people that lived in Delibes and Offenbach's time. For a musician like me this post is such a treat! Thank you, Peter. Maria O. Russell

Studio at the Farm said...

Peter, I absolutely LOVE this post, as I am [or was, before I became so involved with horses] a devotee of classical music. Your selection of Narciso Yepes playing "Jeux Interdits" is the best! Thank you so much.

caterpillar said...

I'm not a follower of classical music, but the details and the pictures were interesting.

joanna said...

Splendid --
A wonderful collection of superb talent in such a small area -- it just amazes me the rich diversity and beautiful art & music that thrives in the region of Paris

Thank you for the brief excerpts & lovely photographs --

Loved all the music -- the Offenbach's Can Can -- even without the ladies dancing is quite superb listening pleasure, and the video with the classic guitar was fun comedic and enjoyable -- all in all fantastic.

merci
joanny

hpy said...

VU!

Jose Manuel Iglesias Riveiro said...

Magnifico reportaje, perfectamente documentado y los videos musicales perfectos.
Como amante de la música clásica he pasado un rato muy agradable escuchando y leyéndolo. Gracias.
Te sigo.

Catherine said...

Le cimetière en musique.....
Sentons-nous sous nos pas dans les allées les vibrations du tempo ? Ah ! non, j'suis bête, c'est le métro qui passe.

Le plan, pourtant....il me semblait bien que.....Enfin, bref !

Ruth said...

You are so good to us! I am listening to and enjoying (!) the Narciso Yepes "Romance" recording. How lovely, and I drift away into romance ...

Louise said...

Fascinating post Peter, yet again. Thanks so much

Anonymous said...

Article magnifique, merci!
Hana de Prague

Amanda said...

Peter, Thank you so much for including all the information and music about those talented artists.
I visited this cemetery 3 years ago; it is just an amazing place.

arabesque said...

i doubt it if i'd have a chance to visit Montmarte soon so thanks again for this informative post you have.
you're really a master when it comes to guiding us along Paris, you even provided us a detailed map of it. ^0^
i think Paris is the only city where cemeteries are less likely to be eerie, where you could actually learn something from it.

Unknown said...

Hi, Peter! It's always great to hear from you.
What great details you are showing us in this wonderful post! Well done.

Bagman and Butler said...

Absolutely fascinating. And I love your new multimedia approach. You know, sometimes I walk through the travel sections of bookstores and ignore anything about Paris since I know you've covered it all and much much better.

Shionge said...

Oh Wow!! Although I don't know most of the artists here it is interesting to note that they are all 'together' here in this cemetery.

Thanks for the photo.

Hey Peter, thanks for the wishes too :D

krystyna said...

A real musical feast
for lovers of classical music.
You wonderfully revived this beautiful cemetery.
Really great post, Peter!!!
Love it!
Thank you sooo much!

Catherine said...

I love to wander round cemeteries and photograph what I find - this one is a real gem - fascinating post...

Scheherazade said...

This was a great romp. Fascinating. Not into classical music but this was fun. Thanks.

Virginia said...

P,
Well I"ll be visiting this post for a while. What grand photos but I love the musique so very much. Merci!
Montmartre is a cemetery I've visited once or twice but alas, never seen these. I did not have my expert guide!

Now to enjoy the music for a bit. You don't mind if I hang around do you?
V

Alain said...

Quelle concentration de compositeurs, en voila qui n'ont pas fini comme Mozart.

Cezar and Léia said...

Amazing homage for these music genius!
Beautiful and very important post!*** Now I will enjoy the videos, thanks a lot!
Léia :)

Hans said...

Thank you for your blog post, I loved it.

Jeanette said...

Ahhhhhhhh la cuite que j'ai prise quand j'ai fait la noce.... :-))))))

Mozart said...

je suis jaloux...

Berlioz said...

C'est fantastique ici. On pourrait en faire une symphonie.

Starman said...

This is probably your best post ever.

Cergie said...

Offenbach... Son arrière petit fils était un ami de mon fils.
St Saens est enterré à Montparnasse...
Chopin et Rossini...

(Je vois que tu as du beau monde qui t'a rendu visite. Tu es content, einh ?)

Simony said...

Wonderful post! Thanks for so much information!
When I was in college I loved to visit, photograph and make movies in cemeteries in Rio de Janeiro.

Trotter said...

Wow! What a collection! That karayan is probably the best Hungarian March performance ever recorded...