Scan 47
Groves Dictionary Of Music And Musicians,vol.2, 1906
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1DAVICO
3Davenport's book on harmony has been widely used. His compositions include:
5Symphonies, No. 1 in D minor (1st prize at the Alexandra Palace Competition 1876), No. 2 in C; overture 'Twelfth Night,' Viard-Louis Concerts, 1879; Prelude and Fugue for Orchestra, Crystal Palace, Nov. 1, 1879; six pieces for piano and violoncello, some of which were given at the Popular Concert, Nov. 24, 1879; four pieces for same; a Trio in Bb, Popular Concerts, Jan. 31, 1881, and again in 1882. His books were: Elements of Music (1884), Elements of Harmony and Counterpoint (1886), and Guide for Pianoforte Students (with Percy Baker, 1891).
7A. C.
9DAVICO, VINCENZO (b. Monaco, Jan. 14, 1889), composer, of Italian parentage. He studied first at Turin, then at Leipzig with Max Reger, obtaining the final diploma at the Conservatorium of that city in 1911. His many compositions include the symphonic series, 'La Principessa Lontana,' chosen by the committee of the Augusteum in the competition of 1911, and 'Impressioni Romane' (performed at Monte Carlo); a 'Poema erotico' (performed at the Augusteum, 1913) and 'Polifemo' (Turin, 1920). A Requiem for four voices and an opera in one act, 'La Dogaressa,' were performed at Monaco. An oratorio on a poem of Gustave Flaubert, 'La Tentation de St. Antoine,' does not appear to have been performed up to the present.
11F. B.
13DAVID, FÉLICIEN CÉSAR (b. Cadenet, Vaucluse, May 13, 1810; d. St. Germain-en-Laye, Aug. 29, 1876), French composer.
15His father was an accomplished musical amateur. When Félicien was 6, Garnier, first oboe at the Paris Opéra, happened to hear the child sing, and strongly advised his mother to cultivate Félicien's talent. Soon afterwards the family removed to Aix, where David attended the Maîtrise (school) du Saint-Sauveur, and became a chorister at the cathedral. He is said to have composed hymns, motets and other works at this early period, and a quartet for strings, written at the age of 13, is still preserved at the maitrise. In 1825 he went to the Jesuit college at Aix to complete his studies. Here he continued his music, and acquired some skill on the violin. He also developed an astonishing memory for music. When he left the college, at the age of 18, want of means compelled him to enter the office of his sister's husband, a lawyer, but he soon afterwards accepted the appointment of second conductor at the Aix theatre, which he occupied till 1829, when the position of maître de chapelle at St. Sauveur was offered to him. During the one year he occupied this place he wrote several compositions for the choir of the church; one of these, a 'Beatus Vir,' afterwards excited the admiration of Cherubini.
17In 1830 David went to Paris to finish his musical education. Cherubini received him kindly, and under his auspices David entered the Conservatoire, and studied harmony under Millot. He also took private lessons from Réber, and thus accomplished his course of harmony within six months. He then entered the class of Fétis for counterpoint and fugue.
19VOL. II
21An 'Ave Verum' composed at this time proves his successful advance. On the withdrawal of his allowance David had to support himself by giving lessons.
23In 1831 he joined the St. Simonians. When, in 1833, the brotherhood was dissolved, David joined a small group of the dispersed members, who travelled south and were received with enthusiasm by their co-religionists at Lyons and Marscilles. The music fell to the composer's share, and several of his choruses were received with great applause.
25At Marseilles David embarked for the East (Mar. 22, 1833), where he remained for several years, at Constantinople, Smyrna, Egypt and the Holy Land. He managed wherever he went to take with him a piano, the gift of an admiring manufacturer at Lyons. Soon after his return, in 1835, he published a collection of 'Mélodies orientales' for piano. In spite of the melodious charm and exquisite workmanship of these pieces they met with total neglect, and the disappointed composer left Paris for several years and lived in the neighbourhood of Igny, rarely visiting the capital. Two symphonies, 'Les Quatre Saisons,' 24 quintets for strings, 2 nonets for wind, and numerous songs (one of which latter, 'Les Hirondelles,' was at one time very popular in England) belong to this period. One of his symphonies, in F, was in 1838 performed at the Valentino concerts, but without success. In 1841 David again settled in Paris, and his name began to become more familiar to the public, owing to the rendering of some of his songs by Walter, the tenor. But his chief fame is founded on a work of very different import and dimensions—his 'ode-symphonie' 'Le Désert' (words by Auguste Colin)—in which he embodied the impressions of his life in the East, and which was produced Dec. 8, 1844. The form of this composition is difficult to define. It consists of three parts subdivided into several vocal and orchestral movements, each introduced by some lines of descriptive recitation. The subject is the mighty desert itself, with all its gloom and grandeur. On this background is depicted a caravan in various situations, singing a hymn of fanatic devotion to Allah, battling with the simoom, and resting in the evening by the fountain of the oasis. Whatever one's abstract opinion of programme music may be, one cannot help recognising in the 'Désert' a highly remarkable work of its kind. The vast monotony of the sandy plain, indicated by the reiterated C in the introduction, the opening prayer to Allah, the 'Danse des Almées,' the chant of the Muezzin, founded on a genuine Arabic melody—are rendered with a vividness of descriptive power rarely equalled by much greater musicians.
27The 'Désert' was written in three months. It was the product of spontaneous inspiration.
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