Alexis de Castillon

Marie-Alexis de Castillon de Saint-Victor (13 December 1838 – 5 March 1873) was a French composer.

Alexis de Castillon

Life and career

Son of an old family of the Languedoc nobility, he was born in Chartres and was initially intended by his parents for a military career. But Castillon gave up plans for professional soldiering in favour of music, which he learned first in his birthplace and then in Paris, studying piano and composition, initially with Charles Delioux. In this second capacity he went to the Paris Conservatoire where he attended the classes of Victor Massé and, from 1869, of César Franck. Before his studies with Franck, he had completed his Opus 1, a piano quintet, probably inspired by the earlier example of his friend Camille Saint-Saëns.[1] Both the quintet and the later piano quartet Op. 7 follow Schumann's model.[2] He disavowed earlier efforts, including a symphony in F major, which he had written in 1865.

In fragile health at the best of times (volunteering during the War of 1870, he fell ill and was demobilized in 1871), he died of complications from fever in 1873, before reaching the age of 35. He nevertheless composed several impressively Romantic works. These include pieces for piano, chamber music, mélodies, a piano concerto, and other orchestral music. He was also active in Parisian musical life, in particular helping to create, in 1871, the Société Nationale de Musique, of which he was the first secretary.

List of compositions

Piano solo
  • Fugue in G minor
  • Fugues dans le style libre, Op. 2 (1869)[3]
  • Suite No. 1, Op. 5 (1867?-69)
I. Canon
II. Scherzo
III. Thème et Variations
IV. Gavotte
V. Marche
  • 5 Pièces dans le style ancien, Op. 9 (1870)
I. Prélude
II. Sicilienne
III. Sarabande
IV. Air (D major)
V. Fughette
  • Suite No. 2, Op. 10 (1870)[4]
I. Ballade
II. Ronde
III. Adagietto (F major)
IV. Fantaisie (D minor)
V. Saltarelle
I. (Liberamente) (E major)
II. (Non troppo vivo) (A major)
III. (Con fantasia) (C♯ minor)
IV. (Comodo) (F♯ major)
V. (Energico) (B major)
VI. (Vivo assai) (E major)
  • 24 Pensées fugitives (1873)
I. Aveu
II. Minuetto
III. Au bois
IV. Carillon
V. Compliment
VI. Première Mazurka
VII. Causerie
VIII. Fanfare
IX. Scherzo-Valse
X. Regrets
XI. Deuxième Mazurka
XII. Toccata
XIII. Marche des Français
XIV. Au revoir
XV. Feu follet
XVI. Bayadère
XVII. Chanson du cavalier
XVIII. Extase
XIX. Colombine
XX. Les Dragons
XXI. Scherzettino
XXII. Appel du soir
XXIII. Troisième Mazurka
XXIV. Aubade

Chamber
  • Piano Quintet, Op. 1 (1863–64)[5][6]
I. Allegro
II. Scherzo
III. Adagio et final
  • String Quartet No. 1, Op. 3, No. 1 (1867) (ded. to Henri Poencet)
I. (Allegro)
II. (Adagio molto lento - Allegro scherzando)
III. (Molto grave - Molto allegro)
  • String Quartet No. 2, Op. 3, No. 2 (1867) (unfinished, only Cavatina published)
  • Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 4 (1865)
I. Prélude et Andante
II. Scherzo
III. Romance
IV. Finale
  • Sonata for violin and piano, Op. 6 (1868) (ded. to Elie-Miriam Delaborde)
I. (Allegro moderato)
II. (Allegro scherzando)
III. (Andante)
IV. (Allegro molto)
I. (Larghetto - Allegro deciso - Allegro)
II. (Scherzando)
III. (Larghetto, quasi marcia religiosa)
IV. Finale (Allegro)
  • Piano Trio No. 2, Op. 17 (1870-73?)[8][9]
I. (Allegro moderato)
II. (Allegretto non vivo) (B♭ major)
III. (Scherzando vivace) (G minor)
IV. (Adagio - Allegro con fuoco - Molto expressivo senza rigore)

Concertante
I. (Allegro moderato)
II. (Molto lento)
III. (Allegro con fuoco)

Orchestra
  • Robert Schumann: Trois morceaux, arr. for orchestra (unpublished)
  • Marche Scandinave (ded. to Georges Bizet) (unpublished)
  • Symphony No. 1 (1865) (unpublished)
  • 5 Airs de Danse, suite for orchestra (1870) (unpublished)
I. Introduction et Ronde
II. Tempo di Walzer
III. Sicilienne
IV. Menuet
V. Danse guerrière
  • Esquisses symphoniques, Op. 15 (1872)
I. Prélude
II. Gavotte
III. Allegretto
IV. Retour du Prélude et Finale
  • Symphony No. 2 (1872) (unfinished)
  • Franz Schubert: Impromptu, Op. 90, No. 1, arr. for orchestra (1872) (unpublished)
  • 3 Pièces dans le style ancien (1873) (orchestration of Nos. 3, 4, and 5 of Op. 9) (unpublished)
I. Sarabande
II. Air
III. Fughette
  • Torquato Tasso, Ouverture (unfinished)

Songs
I. Le Bûcher
II. Le Semeur
III. Sonnet mélancolique
IV. La Mer
V. Renouveau
VI. Vendange

Choral
  • Paraphrase du Psaume 84, for soloists, choir, and orchestra, on a text by Louis Gallet, Op. 16 (1872)[4][11]
  • Mass (1872) (unfinished)

References

Notes
  1. Fauquet (1997), p. 304.
  2. Fauquet (1997), p. 302.
  3. OCLC 37008839.
  4. Warszawski, 2005.
  5. "Elibron republication of Piano Quintet". Paris: Flaxland. 1867. OCLC 228493431. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2009..
  6. Fauquet (1997), p. 302.
  7. "Review of Recording of Castillon, Saint-Saëns, Lekeu, Chausson Piano Quartets". March 2005. Archived from the original on 8 January 2009. Retrieved 31 December 2008.
  8. OCLC 17166404.
  9. Duchesneau (1997), L'avant-garde musicale et ses sociétés à Paris de 1871 à 1939 at Google Books, Editions Mardaga. p. 18. ISBN 2-87009-634-8.
  10. OCLC 153885807.
  11. OCLC 301431358

Sources
  • Fauquet, Joël-Marie (1997). "Chamber Music in France from Luigi Cherubini to Claude Debussy". In Hefling, Stephen E. (ed.). Nineteenth-Century Chamber Music. New York. pp. 287–314.
  • Warszawski, Jean-Marc (2005). "Biographical Notice for de Castillon" (in French). Retrieved 10 February 2009.
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