Duparc, Henri (EN)

Duparc Henri, actually Marie Eugene Henri Fouques-Duparc, *21 January 1848 Paris, †12 February 1933 Mont-de-Marsan (Landes), French composer. He started his musical education at the Jesuit Collége de Vaugirard in Paris, where C. Franck was his piano teacher. In 1872–75, Duparc also studied harmony and composition with him and learnt the works of Bach and Gluck; Franck was the only Duparc’s teacher and significantly influenced the development of his musical personality. Duparc’s first composition – Rêveries for piano – was published by his family in 1863; his first songs, Chanson triste, Galop and probably Soupir come from 1868, and during a few following years, his works from that period started to be published in print by, among others, Fauxland. In 1869, Duparc visited Liszt in Weimar, and in 1870, interested in Wagner’s music, he went to Munich for the premiere of The Valkyrie. In the following years, he got in touch with literates and composers, including Fauré, Chausson, Castillon, Saint-Saëns, Benoit and Chabrier. He founded Societé Nationale de Musique in 1871 together with Saint-Saëns and Bussin and became its secretary. He married Ellen Mac Swiney in the same year. In 1878, under the direction of Duparc and V. d’Indy, Concerts de Musique Moderne were created, established to promote the contemporary work of French and foreign composers. In 1879, Duparc went again to Munich to see Tristan, then made another trip to Germany, accompanied by Chabrier. The Parisian concert society included Duparc’s symphonic works (Laendler and the symphonic poem Lénore) in its repertoire. From 1885, the development of the disease (a type of nerve palsy) caused Duparc’s permanent mental depression; the composer also gradually lost his eyesight. Approx. 1900, he barely completed the instrumentation of the song Testament. Through the poet Ch. de Bordau, he met the writer F. Jammes, with whom he formed a cordial friendship. Until 1897, he lived in Money (Pyrenees), then in Paris until 1906 (in 1902 he went to Lourdes), in La Tour de Peilz (Vevey) until 1913 and in 1913–19 in Tarbes. From 1919, he did not leave Mont-de-Marsan until his death. In 1924, he underwent cataract surgery; despite his illness lasting almost 50 years, he tried to compose; he also painted. He created a plan for the lyrical drama Roussalka to his own libretto based on Pushkin and tried to write it for 10 years (only 2 fragments have survived: La vie antérieure and Danse lente). Duparc made numerous corrections to his works and created new versions. After a severe revision, only in 1894 did he publish 8 songs selected from his entire output, and in 1902 – the last 4 songs. Very critical of his own work, he destroyed many of his compositions.

Duparc was an important and influential person in the musical life of France in the last quarter of the 19^th century, although a nervous illness that had been developing since 1885 caused the composer to withdraw from active work. During his life, he was known as a composer of symphonic works, but Duparc’s significance was determined by his songs (16 in the contemporary repertoire), which constituted a priceless contribution to French vocal lyric poetry. These are original songs, imbued with deep personal expression, reflecting the composer’s confession: “I long for emotion” (“Je veux être ému”). Economical means, but with a subjective, intense expression, using developed chromaticism, dense alternations and modulation sequences, the richness of vocal texture, basing the melos on a pedal point, conciseness of preludes and piano ritornellos – give them the features of a modern song. Together with G. Fauré, Duparc shared an interest in the poetry of the French Parnassians and Symbolists. He gave French songs a power of expression and previously unattainable categories of lyricism. He is considered a precursor of the vocal poetry of Debussy, Fauré and Messiaen.

Literature: Lettre à Chausson, “La Revue Musicale”, December 1925; Une amitié mystique, d’après ses lettres à Francis Jammes, ed. G. Ferchaut, Paris 1944; Lettres de Henri Duparc à Ernest Chausson, ed. Y. Gerard, “Revue de Musicologie” XXXVIII, 1956; Lettres à Auguste Sérieyx, in: Vincent d’Indy, Henri Duparc, Albert Roussel. Lettres à Auguste Sérieyx, ed. M.L. Sérieyx, Lausanne 1961 

H. Fellot Lieder français: Henri Duparc, “La Revue Musicale de Lyon”, 30 March 1904; J. Chantavoine Henri Duparc, “La Revue Hebdomadaire”, Paris 5 May 1906; G.J. Aubry Henri Duparc, “La vie musicale de Lausanne”, 1 February 1908; Ch. Malherbe Henri Duparc, “Revue musicale de la Sociótć Internationale de Musiąue”, August-September 1910; G. Fauré Opinions musicales, Paris 1930; M. Imbert Henri Duparc, “La petite Maîtrise”, Paris, April 1933; F. Merle Psychologie et pathologie d’un artiste: Henri Duparc, Bordeaux 1933; P. de Breville Henri Fouques Duparc (1848–1923), “La Musique Française”, Paris, May 1933; Ch. Oulmont Henri Duparc. La musique de l’amour, 2 volumes, Paris 1935; Ch. Oulmont Un Duparc Inconnu, “La Revue Musicale” XVI, July-August 1935; Ch. Oulmont Henri Duparc, ou de l’invitation au voyage à la vie éternelle, Paris 1935; G. Samazeuilh Musiciens de mon temps, Paris 1947; S. Northcote The songs of Henri Duparc, London 1949; H. Schouten Drie franse liedercomponisten: Duparc, Fauré, Debussy, Amsterdam 1950; F. Noske La melodie française de Berlioz à Duparc, Paris 1954; N. van der Elst Henri Duparc. L’homme et son oeuvre, Lille 1972 (contains a list of Duparc’s works); A. Dommel-Diény Les rapports musique et poésie dans „La vie antérieure”de Duparc-Baudelaire, “Revue musicale de Suisse Romande” 1977 No. 5; P.-G. Langevin Musiciens de France, la génération des grands symphonistes, “La Revue Musicale”, Paris 1979; F. Besingrand, K. Jaźwińska-Dobosz Westchnienie…: Henri Duparc i jego pieśni, Warsaw 2007; D. Porębska-Kwaśnik Polska symbolika muzyczna XX-ego wiek, źródła, formy, przekazy, znaczenie w kulturze europejskiej. Analiza porównawcza utworów Karola Szymanowskiego i Henryka Duparc’a, in: Istoriko-filologičeskie issledovaniâ: tradicii i sovremennye tendencii, Siedlce 2014; F. Besingrand Henri Duparc, Paris, “Horizons” 2019 No. 69.