Scan 22
Groves Dictionary Of Music And Musicians,vol.5 L-m, 1900
31 lines. Read by computer on 18 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1to Paris and published the 'Manuel complet de musique vocale et instrumentale' (1836-38), the first chapters of which had been prepared by Choron, 'Séméiologie musicale' (1837), 'De la chanson considérée sous le rapport musical' (1840), 'Miscellanées musicales' (1844), 'Histoire générale de la musique' (1844) and many biographical and critical articles collected from periodicals. He again visited Italy after the Revolution of 1848, and during this trip took copies of manuscripts never before consulted. He also visited Germany and Spain, and during the London Exhibition of 1851 made a short excursion to England. He then settled finally in Paris and published the works which place him in the first rank of "musicians"—to use a favourite word of his own—of his time. In 1853 he published three books on ancient music—'Nicolai Capuani presbyteri compendium musicale', 'De la reproduction des livres de plain-chant romain' and 'Lettre écrite à l'occasion d'un mémoire pour servir à la restauration du chant romain en France, par l'abbé Céleste Alix'—and in 1859 he brought out 'De l'unité tonique et de la fixation d'un diapason universel'. Overwork as an author and as editor-in-chief of 'Le Plain-chant', a periodical which he founded in 1859, brought on a nervous affection, which ultimately led to his removal to the asylum for the insane at Charenton.
3La Fage composed much music of many kinds, both vocal and instrumental, sacred and secular, but it is as an historian and didactic writer that he is remembered. His 'Cours complet de plain-chant' (Paris, 1855-56, two vols. 8vo) is a book of the first order and fully justifies its title. It was succeeded in 1859 by the 'Nouveau Traité de plain-chant romain', with questions, an indispensable supplement to the former. His 'Histoire générale de la musique et de la danse' (Paris, 1844) is incomplete, treating only of Chinese, Indian, Egyptian and Hebrew music, but it is a careful and conscientious work. His learning and method appear conspicuously in his 'Extraits du catalogue critique et raisonné d'une petite bibliothèque musicale' (Rennes, n.d., pp. 120, 8vo, 100 copies only), and in his 'Essais de dipthérographie musicale' (Paris, 1864, two vols. 8vo, one containing very curious musical examples). He left a valuable library (the catalogue was published, Paris, 1862, 8vo), afterwards dispersed by auction; but his unpublished works and materials are in the Paris Bibliothèque Nationale, to which he bequeathed all his papers, with the manuscripts of Choron and Baini in his possession. one of two readings
4La Fage composed much music of many kinds, both vocal and instrumental, sacred and secular, but it is as an historian and didactic writer that he is remembered. His 'Cours complet de plain-chant' (Paris, 1855-56, two vols. 8vo) is a book of the first order and fully justifies its title. It was succeeded in 1859 by the 'Nouveau Traité de plain-chant romain', with questions, an indispensable supplement to the former. His 'Histoire générale de la musique et de la danse' (Paris, 1844) is incomplete, treating only of Chinese, Indian, Egyptian and Hebrew music, but it is a careful and conscientious work. His learning and method appear conspicuously in his 'Extraits du catalogue critique et raisonné d'une petite bibliothèque musicale' (Rennes, n.d., pp. 120, 8vo, 100 copies only), and in his 'Essais de diphtérographie musicale' (Paris, 1864, two vols. 8vo, one containing very curious musical examples). He left a valuable library (the catalogue was published, Paris, 1862, 8vo), afterwards dispersed by auction; but his unpublished works and materials are in the Paris Bibliothèque Nationale, to which he bequeathed all his papers, with the manuscripts of Choron and Baini in his possession. one of two readings
6G. C., adds.
8BIBL.—DENNE-BARON, DIEUDONNÉ, 'Adrien de La Fage' (Paris, 1863).
10LA FAGE, Guillaume. See FAUGUES.
12LAFONT
14LA FAYA, (Don) Aurelio (b. ?; d. ?).
15Spanish 16th-century composer. He was a priest and maestro di cappella at Lanciano, Naples. He wrote 2 books of madrigals for 5 voices (1564 and 1579). He was dead before the latter year.
16E. v. d. s.
17La Fayette, General. See 'Ça ira'.
18LA FERTÉ, DE. See PAPILLON.
19L'AFFILARD, Michel (b. ?; d. ?).
20French 17th–18th-century tenor singer and composer. He was appointed to the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris on 24 Mar. 1679 and to the royal chapel on 11 Mar. 1696. He remained there till 1708. His work on singing at sight, 'Principes très faciles, pour bien apprendre la musique' (Paris, 1691, Amsterdam, 1717), in which the time of the airs is regulated by a pendulum—precursor of the metronome—passed through seven editions. Airs by him are in the collections printed by Ballard and in MS 1040 of the Versailles Library.
21M. L. P.
22BIBL.—BRENET, M., 'Les Musiciens de la Sainte-Chapelle du Palais' (Paris, 1910).
23(no line here) one of two readings
25LAFONT, Charles Philippe (b. Paris, 1 Dec. 1781; d. Tarbes, 23 Aug. 1839).
26French violinist and composer. He had his first instruction on the violin from his mother, a sister of Berthaume, a well-known violinist of that period, whom he also accompanied on his travels through Germany, performing successfully, when only eleven years of age, at Hamburg, Oldenburg and other towns. On his return to Paris he continued his studies under Kreutzer and soon appeared at the Théâtre Feydeau, though not as a violinist, but as a singer of French ballads. After some time he again took up the violin, this time under the tuition of Rode, and soon proved himself a player of exceptional merit.
27From 1801 to 1808 Lafont travelled and played with great success in France, Belgium, Holland, Germany and Russia. In 1808 he was appointed Rode's successor as solo violinist to the tsar at St. Petersburg, a position in which he remained for six years. In 1815 he returned to Paris and was appointed solo violinist to Louis XVIII. In 1816 he had a public contest with Paganini at Milan.1 In 1831 he made a long tour with Henri Herz, the pianist, which occupied him till 1839, when his career was suddenly ended by a carriage accident in the south of France, through which he lost his life.
28Spohr, in his autobiography, praises Lafont's fine tone, perfect intonation, energy and gracefulness, but deplores the absence of deep feeling and accuses him of mannerism in phrasing. He also relates that Lafont's repertory was confined to a very few pieces, and that he would practise a concerto for
301 See PAGANINI for that artist's comment on the occasion.
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