United States or San Marino ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
This was the situation when Seghers left the Société des Concerts and founded the Société St. Cécile. He led the orchestra himself. The new society took its name from the St. Cécile hall which was then in the Rue de la Chaussée d'Antin. It was a large square hall and was excellent in spite of the prejudice in favor of halls with curved lines for music.
While Delsarte was preparing the way for the old French opera and above all for Gluck's works, another pioneer of musical evolution was working to form the taste of the Parisian public, but with an entirely different power and another effect. Seghers was the man. He played a great rôle and his memory should be honored. As his name indicates, Seghers was a Belgian.
Liszt had shown the greatest zeal in obtaining and forwarding the orchestral parts; but Herr Seghers informed me that as far as his own orchestra was concerned, he found himself in a republican democracy where each instrument had an equal right to voice its opinion, and it had been unanimously decided that for the remainder of the winter season, which was now drawing to a close, my overture could be dispensed with.
But Seghers, who afterwards founded the Société St. Cécile, was a power in the affairs of the orchestra. He detested Stamaty and told him that the Société was not organized to play children's accompaniments. My mother felt hurt and wanted to hear nothing more of it.
No one who did not hear him at the height of his powers can have any idea of his performance. Seghers was a member of the Société des Concerts at the Conservatoire. This reached only a restricted public and there was no other symphony concert worthy of the name in Paris at the time. And if the public was limited, the repertoire was even more so.
He died in 1693 and was buried with honors in the church of St. Jean. His son Pierre, born in 1606, became pupil of Gérard Seghers of Antwerp, where he resided for some time. Afterward he lived in Paris, where his works were eagerly sought and appreciated. He never married, but always surrounded himself with young pupils to the time of his death in 1654. His younger brother, Luc, was born 1616.
S. Zenobius Piero della Francesca Federigo da Montefeltro Melozzo da Forli The Tribuna Raphael Re-arrangement The gems The self-painted portraits A northern room Hugo van der Goes Tommaso Portinari The sympathetic Memling Rubens riotous Vittoria della Rovere Baroccio Honthorst Giovanni the indiscreet The Medusa Medici miniatures Hercules Seghers The Sala di Niobe Beautiful antiques.
But I can say in all sincerity that Seghers's execution was even better. Unfortunately for him I was his only listener. Madame Seghers was a woman of great beauty, unusually intelligent and distinguished. She had been one of Liszt's pupils and was a pianist of first rank. But she was even more timid than her husband a single listener was sufficient to paralyze her.
Perhaps to the English enthusiast for painting the fine landscape by Hercules Seghers will, in view of the recent agitation over Lord Lansdowne's Rembrandt, "The Mill," ascribed in some quarters to Seghers be the most interesting picture of all. It is a sombre, powerful scene of rugged coast which any artist would have been proud to sign; but it in no way recalls "The Mill's" serene strength.
Besides, Seghers would have worked for the development of the French school whom Pasdeloup, with but few exceptions, kept under a bushel until 1870. Among these exceptions were a symphony by Gounod, one by Gouvy and the overture to Berlioz's Frances-Juges.
Word Of The Day