Bachelet, Alfred

views updated

Bachelet, Alfred

Bachelet, Alfred, French composer; b. Paris, Feb. 26, 1864; d. Nancy, Feb. 10, 1944. He studied at the Paris Cons., receiving the Grand Prix de Rome for his cantata, Cléopâtre (1890). From his earliest works, Bachelet devoted himself mainly to opera. In his youth, he was influenced by Wagnerian ideas, but later adopted a more national French style. During World War I, he conducted at the Paris Opéra, in 1919 he became director of the Nancy Cons., and in 1939 he was elected a member of the Académie des Beaux Arts.

Works

DRAMATIC: Lyric Dramas: Scémo (Paris, May 6, 1914); Un Jardin sur VOronte (Paris, Nov. 3, 1932). Music Drama: Quand la cloche sonnera (Paris, Nov. 6, 1922). Ballet: La Fete chez la Poupliniere and Castor et Pollux by Rameau (adapted and rewritten). OTHER: Orch. works with voices: L’Amour des Ondines, Joie, Le Songe de la Sulamith, Noel; Surya for Tenor, Chorus, and Orch. (1940); Ballade for Violin and Orch.; songs.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire