Adrien-Francois Servais
Encyclopedia
Adrien-François Servais was one of the most influential cellists of the nineteenth century. He was born and died in Halle
, Belgium
.
Servais was originally trained as a violinist before switching to the cello
. Known by his contemporaries for his virtuosity and excessive vibrato
, he was given the gift of a Stradivarius
cello from 1701, which today bears his name
. He is also known as the first cellist to adopt the bassists' use of an endpin
because of the large size of his Stradivarius. (The use of the endpin was, however, not generally adopted by most cellists until the early 20th century. For instance, Carlo Alfredo Piatti
never used an endpin.) He composed numerous works for his instrument, including four concerti and nearly twenty duos
for two cellos or for cello and violin
. Hector Berlioz
later referred to Servais as "the Niccolò Paganini
of the cello".
He is one of the founders of the Modern Cellistic Schools of Paris
and Madrid
, which began with his friend Auguste Franchomme
and his disciple Víctor Mirecki Larramat
.
Some years after his death in 1866, Servais was honored by his home town of Halle, where a statue of him was placed on its central market square by his son-in-law, Professor Cyprian Godebski
.
His compositions are still being studied, performed and recorded all over the world.
Servais & Joseph Ghys
Servais & Henri Vieuxtemps
Servais & Hubert Léonard
Servais & Jacques Gregoir
Transcriptions of works by other composers
Unpublished compositions
Not yet located compositions
Halle, Belgium
Halle , is a Belgian city and municipality in the district Halle-Vilvoorde of the province Flemish Brabant. The city is located on the Brussels-Charleroi Canal and on the Flemish side of the language border that separates Flanders and Wallonia...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.
Servais was originally trained as a violinist before switching to the cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
. Known by his contemporaries for his virtuosity and excessive vibrato
Vibrato
Vibrato is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. Vibrato is typically characterised in terms of two factors: the amount of pitch variation and the speed with which the pitch is varied .-Vibrato and...
, he was given the gift of a Stradivarius
Stradivarius
The name Stradivarius is associated with violins built by members of the Stradivari family, particularly Antonio Stradivari. According to their reputation, the quality of their sound has defied attempts to explain or reproduce, though this belief is controversial...
cello from 1701, which today bears his name
Servais Stradivarius
The Servais Stradivarius is an antique cello crafted in 1701 by Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari of Cremona . It is one of only sixty-three extant cellos attributed to his handicraft...
. He is also known as the first cellist to adopt the bassists' use of an endpin
Endpin
The endpin or spike is the component of a cello or double bass that makes contact with the floor to support the instrument's weight. It is made of metal, or in some cases wood or carbon fiber, and is extensible from the bottom of the instrument, and secured with a thumbscrew...
because of the large size of his Stradivarius. (The use of the endpin was, however, not generally adopted by most cellists until the early 20th century. For instance, Carlo Alfredo Piatti
Carlo Alfredo Piatti
Carlo Alfredo Piatti was an Italian cellist. He was born at via Borgo Canale, in Bergamo and died in Mozzo, 4 miles from Bergamo....
never used an endpin.) He composed numerous works for his instrument, including four concerti and nearly twenty duos
Duet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
for two cellos or for cello and violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
. Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts . Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a...
later referred to Servais as "the Niccolò Paganini
Niccolò Paganini
Niccolò Paganini was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer. He was one of the most celebrated violin virtuosi of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique...
of the cello".
He is one of the founders of the Modern Cellistic Schools of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, which began with his friend Auguste Franchomme
Auguste Franchomme
Auguste-Joseph Franchomme was a French cellist and composer.Born in Lille, Franchomme studied at the local conservatoire with M...
and his disciple Víctor Mirecki Larramat
Víctor Mirecki Larramat
Víctor Alexander Marie Mirecki Larramat was a Spanish cellist and music teacher of Franco-Polish origin. He was born in Tarbes, France and died in Madrid, Spain.-Introduction:...
.
Some years after his death in 1866, Servais was honored by his home town of Halle, where a statue of him was placed on its central market square by his son-in-law, Professor Cyprian Godebski
Cyprian Godebski (sculptor)
Cyprian Godebski was a Polish sculptor and from 1870 a professor at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg...
.
His compositions are still being studied, performed and recorded all over the world.
Works by Servais
Own Compositions- Fantaisie sur un thème favori, Op. 1
-
- for cello and piano - also for cello and harp
- Souvenir de Spa, fantaisie, Op. 2
- cello and piano - also cello and quartet
- Le Comte Ory. Caprice, Op. 3
- cello and piano - also for two cellos
- Fantaisie et Variations brillantes sur la Valse de Schubert, intitulée Le Désir, Op. 4
- for cello and piano - also for cello and orchestra
- Concerto (en Si mineur) Op. 5
- for cello and piano - also for cello and orchestra
- Le Barbier de Séville, grande fantaisie, Op. 6
- for cello and piano - also for cello and quartet - also for cello and orchestra
- Andante cantabile et Rondo à la Mazurka sur un Air de Balfe, Op. 7
- for cello and piano - also for cello and orchestra
- Fantaisie Characteristique sur deux célèbres Romances de Lafont, Op. 8
- for cello and piano - also for cello and quartet - also for cello and orchestra
- Fantaisie burlesque (ou le Carnaval de Venise), Op. 9
- for cello and piano - also for cello and quartet - also for cello and orchestra
- Souvenir de la Suisse. Caprice, Op. 10
- for cello and piano - also for cello and quartet - also for cello and orchestra
- 6 Caprices pour Violoncelle, Op. 11
- for 2 cellos
- Grande fantaisie sur des motifs de l’opera Lestocq, Op. 12
- for cello and piano - also for cello and quartet - also for cello and orchestra
- Fantaisie sur 2 Airs russes, Op. 13
- for cello and piano - also for cello and quartet
- Morceau de Concert, Op. 14
- for cello and piano - also for cello and quartet - also for cello and orchestra
- Souvenir de St. Petersburg. Fantaisie, Op. 15
- for cello and piano - also for cello and orchestra
- La Fille du Régiment. Fantaisie et Variations, Op. 16
- for cello and piano - also for cello and quartet - also for cello and orchestra
- O cara memoria: Fantaisie et Variations, Op. 17
- for cello and piano - also for cello and orchestra
- Concerto Militaire, Op. 18
- for cello and piano - also for cello and orchestra
- Grande Fantaisie polonaise sur des Airs du ballet ‘La Noce de Cracovie’, Op. 19
- for cello and piano - also for cello and orchestra
- Souvenir de Bade. Grande Fantaisie, Op. 20
- for cello and piano - also for cello and orchestra
- Souvenir de Czernowitz. Morceau de Salon sur des Airs Roumains, Op. 21
- for cello and piano
- for cello and piano - also for cello and harp
Servais & Joseph Ghys
-
- (cello & violin)
- Variations brillantes et concertantes sur l’air “God Save the King”
- (cello & violin)
Servais & Henri Vieuxtemps
-
- (cello & violin)
- Grand Duo sur des motifs de l’Opéra Les Huguenots de G. Meyerbeer
- (cello & violin)
Servais & Hubert Léonard
-
- (cello & violin)
- Grand Duo de Concert sur deux airs nationaux anglais
- 2me Grand duo de Concert sur des thèmes de Beethoven
- 3me Duo de Concert
- 4e Duo de Concert sur des motifs de l’opéra L’Africaine de Meyerbeer
- (cello & violin)
Servais & Jacques Gregoir
-
- (cello & piano)
- (cello & piano)
Transcriptions of works by other composers
- Elégie en ut pour l'Alto, J. F. Mazas, op. 73
- La Romanesca, fameux air de danse de la fin du XVIme siècle
- Le Lac de Côme. Barcarolle composée par Mr. G. Alari
- Souvenirs élégiaques de A. Bessems
- Regrets, Pensée musicale à la mémoire de la Reine des Belges, par J. Grégoir
- La Veillée, Pastorale de B. Damcke
- Etudes de Rhythme par L. J. Meerts. Transcrites pour deux Violoncelles
- 6 Morceaux caractéristiques composés par H. Ferd. Kufferath, Op. 30
- 2 Mazurkas de Chopin [Mazurka in F sharp Minor Op. 6 No 1 en Mazurka in F Minor Op. 7 No 3]
- Nocturne de F. Chopin [Nocturne in E flat Major Op. 9 No 2]
Unpublished compositions
- Fantaisie intitulée concertino
- Fantaisie La Romantique
- Souvenir d’Anvers
- Fantasia sur la folle
- Fantaisie élégante
- Fantaisie et Variations n° 18
- Fantaisie Caprice pour 2 Violoncelles
- Fantaisie pour violoncelle
- Maître Corbeau
- Fantaisie sur l’hymne national/Fantaisie belge pour violoncelle
- Air varié pour contrebasse
- Deux célèbres mélodies de Glinka
- Grand Duo de Guillaume Tell (Servais & Jules Godefroid)
- Duo sur Lucie de Lammermoor (Servais & Félix Godefroid)
Not yet located compositions
- Le Chant des Alpes
- Grande Fantaisie, Souvenir de Naples
- Fantaisie slave
- Caprice ‘Hommage à Rossini’
- Souvenir de Haydn
- Cinquième Concerto
- Souvenir de Kiev
- Variations on the Russian Anthem theme
- Souvenirs du Mont-d'Or
- Larghetto - W. A. Mozart (arranged by Servais for cello, organ-harmonium and piano)
- Melodie for voice and cello (Servais & Willem Pasques de Chavonnes Vrugt )
- Grand Duo de piano et violoncelle (with Jules Déjazet )