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Scan 745
A dictionary of music and musicians, 1926
10 lines. Read by computer on 11 September 2026. Printed page 683. See the scan on archive.org.
1arranged in order of difficulty, but are connected by the relation of their keys. In the case of Handel's 3 Leçons, the first consists of a Prelude and air with variations in B♭, the second of a Minuet in G minor, and the third of a Chaconne in G major; so they may be presumed to be intended for consecutive performance. The 'Suites de Pièces pour le Clavecin,' in two Books, were called 'Lessons' in the first edition, but in the later editions this name was discarded for that which they now bear. Instances of the use of the word to indicate a composition in three movements are to be found in the works of many 18th century composers. One such lesson by Nares is quoted in the Oxford History of Music, vol. iv.; The Age of Bach and Handel, pp. 329-338.
3An analogous word to this is 'Étude,' which from originally meaning a special form of exercise, has in many cases come to be applied to pieces in which the educational purpose is completely lost sight of. [See ÉTUDES.] Although in general the name was applied to pieces for the harpsichord alone, yet it was sometimes used for concerted chamber music, as in the 'Firste Booke of consort lessons, made by divers exquisite authors, for six Instruments to play together, viz. the Treble Lute, the Pandora, the Citterne, the Base Violl, the Flute and the Treble-Violl, collected by Thomas Morley, and now newly corrected and enlarged' (London, 1611), and in Mathias Vento's 'Lessons for the Harpsichord with accompaniment of Flute and Violin.'
5LESTOCQ. Opera in four acts; words by Scribe, music by Auber. Produced at the Opéra Comique, May 24, 1834. It was produced in English at Covent Garden, Feb. 21, 1835, as 'Lestocq, or the Fête of the Hermitage.' G.
7LESUEUR, JEAN FRANÇOIS, grandnephew of the celebrated painter Eustache Lesueur, born Feb. 15, 1760,1 in the village of Drucat-Plessiel, near Abbeville. He became a chorister at Abbeville at seven. At fourteen he went to the college at Amiens, but two years later, in 1779, broke off his studies to become, first, maître de musique at the cathedral of Séez, and then sous-maître at the church of the Innocents in Paris. Here he obtained some instruction in harmony from the Abbé Roze, but it was not any systematic course of study, so much as his thorough knowledge of Plain-song and deep study, that made him the profound and original musician he afterwards became. His imagination was too active, and his desire of distinction too keen, to allow him to remain long in a subordinate position; he therefore accepted in 1781 the appointment of maître de musique at the cathedral of Dijon, whence after two years he removed to Le Mans, and then to Tours. In 1784 he came to Paris to superintend the performance of some of his motets at the Concert Spirituel, and was reappointed to the Holy Innocents as headmaster of the choristers. He now mixed with the foremost musicians of the French school, and with Sacchini, who gave him good advice on the art of composition, and urged him to write for the stage. In 1786 he competed for the musical directorship of Notre Dame, which he obtained, and immediately entered upon his duties. He was allowed by the chapter to engage a full orchestra, and thus was able to give magnificent performances of motets and Messes Solennelles. His idea was to excite the imagination and produce devotional feeling by means of dramatic effects and a picturesque and imitative style, and he even went so far as to precede one of his masses by a regular overture, exactly as if it had been an opera. Crowds were attracted by this novel kind of sacred music, and his masses were nicknamed the 'Beggars' Opera' ('L'Opéra des Gueux'). This success soon aroused opposition, and a violent anonymous attack was made upon him, under pretext of a reply to his pamphlet Essai de musique sacrée, ou musique motivée et méthodique pour la fête de Noël (1786). Lesueur's rejoinder was another pamphlet, Exposé d'une musique une, imitative et particulière à chaque solennité (Paris, Hérissant, 1787), in which he gives a detailed sketch of an appropriate musical service for Christmas, and states expressly that his aim was to make sacred music 'dramatic and descriptive.' Meantime the chapter, finding that his projects had involved them in heavy expense, curtailed the orchestra, while at the same time strong pressure was put upon him by the Archbishop to take orders. He willingly assumed the title of Abbé, but declined the priesthood, especially as he was composing an opera, 'Télémaque,' which he was anxious to produce. Finding his reduced orchestra inadequate for his masses he resigned, upon which an infamous libel was issued, accusing him, the most upright of men, of having been dismissed for fraud. Completely worn out, he retired in the autumn of 1788 to the country house of a friend, and here he passed nearly four years of repose and happiness. On the death of his friend in 1792 he returned to Paris, invigorated and refreshed in mind, and composed a series of three-act operas—'La Caverne' (Feb. 15, 1793), 'Paul et Virginie' (Jan. 13, 1794), and 'Télémaque' (May 11, 1796), all produced at the Feydeau. The brilliant success of 'La Caverne' procured his appointment as professor in the 'École de la Garde Nationale' (Nov. 21, 1793), and he was also nominated one of the inspectors of instruction at the Conservatoire from its foundation in 1795. In this capacity he took part with Méhul, Gossec, Catel, and Langlé, in drawing up the Principes élémentaires de musique and the Solfèges du Conservatoire. He was then looking
91 See the Quellen-Lexikon for the evidence of this date.
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