Dubois François Clément Théodore, *24 August 1837 Rosnay (Marne), †11 June 1924 Paris, French composer and organist. He began his music studies with L. Fanart, the chapel master of the Reims Cathedral. He entered the Paris Conservatory in 1854, where he was a student of A.F. Marmontel (piano), F.E.J. Bazin (harmony), F. Benoist (organ) and A. Thomas (composition). During his studies, he was an organist at the church of St-Louis des Invalides. He received the Grand Prix de Rome in 1861 for the cantata Atala. After returning from Italy in 1863, he became chapel master at the church of Ste-Clotilde, and from 1869, conductor of the choir in Ste-Madeleine, where he held the position of organist after Saint-Saëns in 1877–96. He was appointed professor of harmony at the Paris Conservatory in 1871, and then took over the composition class after L. Delibes (alongside Massenet’s class). He received the Legion of Honour in 1883, and was elected to replace Gounod as a member of the Académie des Beaux Arts (Institut de France) in 1894. From 1896 to 1905, as Thomas’s successor, he served as director of the Paris Conservatory.
Dubois cultivated large vocal-instrumental and choral forms as well as opera, being an eclectic and academic composer. He developed his talent most fully in the field of religious music, creating the basic repertoire of religious choral music commonly performed in Parisian churches. Alongside C. Franck and C. Saint-Saëns, he was one of the most outstanding organists of the second half of the 19th century. In music teaching, he represented the traditional French school, and his pedagogical works did not lose their value, constituting a lasting basis for learning the craft of composition; Dubois’s students included P. de Bréville, G. Caussade, P. Dukas, M. Emmanuel and G. Ropartz. The high appreciation of Dubois’s extensive output (over 500 opuses in the C. Collette-Kléo’s catalogue (Paul-Valéey University in Montpelier) was expressed by the fact that most of his works were published during the composer’s lifetime, mainly by the Parisian company Heugel.
Literature: A. Pougin Supplément…, in: F. Fétis Biographie universelle, 2 volumes, ed. H. Vougin, Paris 1878–81; H. Imbert Nouveaux profils de musiciens, Paris 1892; M. Widor Notice sur la vie et les travaux de François Théodore Dubois, Paris 1924; J. Tiersot Un demi-siécle de musique française, Paris 1918; H. Rabaud Funérailles de M. Théodore Dubois, Paris 1924.
Compositions
Instrumental:
for orchestra:
Trois petites piéces 1874
Trois petites piéces 1891
Hymne nuptial 1893
Adonis, symphonic poem, 1907
Symphony No. 1 “Françoise” 1908
Esquisses orchestrales 1911
Symphony No. 2 1913
Evocation 1915
Symphony No. 3 1924
5 suites, including Suite villageoise 1877
3 overtures, including Frithioff 1881
for instrument solo and orchestra:
Concerto capriccio for piano and orchestra, 1876
Fantaisie triomphale for organ and orchestra, 1889
Mélodie religieuse for violin and orchestra, 1891
Piano Concerto No. 2 1897
Violin Concerto 1898
Fantaisie for harp and orchestra, 1903
Fantasie-Stück for cello and orchestra, 1912
chamber:
2 suites for wind instruments, 1898
Dixtuor for string quintet and wind quintet
Nonet
2 piano quintets, 1904, 1905
2 string quartets, 1908, 1924
Piano Trio 1904
Sonata for violin and piano, 1900
Sonata for cello and piano, 1906
Suite for flute and piano, 1906
for instrument solo:
Poèmes virgiliens for piano, 1898
numerous miniatures, waltzes, etudes for piano, including Six etudes de concert, 1906
Sonata for piano, 1908
ca. 90 pieces for organ, including Messe de Mariage 1891
L’oeuvre d’orgue, vol. 1–5, ed. H. Schauerte-Maubouet, new ed. Kassel 2005–13
Les oeuvres pour grand-orgue: ou harmonium dans leur version pour grand-orgue, introduction T. Adhumeau, red. Y. Merlin, Sampzon, 2007
Les oeuvres pour harmonium, introduction T. Adhumeau, ed. Y. Merlin, Sampzon, 2007
Vocal and vocal-instrumental:
ca. 80 solo songs, including Recueil de 40 mélodies 1887
pieces for choir a cappella
numerous motets and other religious pieces for choir accompanied by organ or piano
Les sept dernières paroles du Christ, oratorio for soprano, tenor, baritone, mixed choir and orchestra, version from 1867, revised A. Vigneron, Béziers 2019
10 masses, including Messe breve 1875, Messe de Requiem for voice solo, choir and orchestra, Messe solennelle de Saint-Remi 1900, Messe dans le style Palestrinien,
Messe de la Délivrance, 1921, new ed. 2017
Trois mélodies for voice and piano, words by G.-E. Bertin, 1924
vocal-orchestra:
numerous cantatas, including Atala 1861
oratorios: Les sept paroles du Christ 1867; Le paradis perdu, after J. Milton, 1878; Notre-Dame de la Mer 1897
Le baptême de Clovis, ode, words by Pope Leo XIII, 1899
Scenic:
Farandole, ballet, 1883
comic operas (staged in Paris):
La Guzla de l’Emir, libretto J. Barbier and M. Carré, 1873
Le pain bis, libretto A. Brunswick and V.A.R. Beauplan, 1879
Aben-Hamet, libretto L. Detroyat, 1884; new premiere: Théâtre municipal in Tourcoing 2014
Miguela, libretto J. Barbier, 1891 (manuscript)
Xavière, libretto L. Gallet, 1895
Works (published in Paris):
Accompagnement pratique du plainchant, 1884
Notes et études d’harmonie pour servir de supplément au Traité d’harmonie de Henri Reber, 1889
Leçons d’harmonie
Esquisses, ed. G.K. Hodorowskij, ed. L. Idzikowski, Kiev 1890
Traité d’harmonie théorique et pratique, 1891
Traité de contrepoint et de fugue, 1901
Leçons de solfége, 1905
Traité d’harmonie, 1921.
introduction to: A. Dandelot La Vie et l’oeuvre de Saint-Saëns, Paris, 1930
Souvenirs de ma vie, ed. C. Collette-Kléo, introduction A. Dratwicki, Lyon 2009
Journal, ed. Ch. Segond-Genovesi, A. Dratwicki, Lyon 2012
