Charles Simon Catel was a French composer and educator born at L'Aigle

L'Aigle

L'Aigle is a commune in the Orne department in Basse-Normandie in north-western France.This commune used to be known as Laigle. According to Orderic Vitalis, the nest of an eagle was discovered during the construction of the castle....

, Orne

Orne

Orne is a department in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne.- History :Orne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution, on March 4, 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Normandy and Perche.- Geography :Orne is in the region of...

.

Biography

Catel studied at the Royal School of Singing in Paris. He was the chief assistant to François-Joseph Gossec at the orchestra of the National Guard in 1790. A member of the Institute, he jointly composed pieces of military music for official state ceremonies, including L'Hymne à la Victoire (Victory Hymn), with words by Ponce-Denis Écouchard-Lebrun). He was appointed inaugural professor of harmony at the Conservatoire de Paris

Conservatoire de Paris

The Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795, now situated in the avenue Jean Jaurès in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France...

, but was destitute in 1814. Amongst his students was the Prix de Rome

Prix de Rome

The Prix de Rome was a scholarship for arts students, principally of painting, sculpture, and architecture. It was created, initially for painters and sculptors, in 1663 in France during the reign of Louis XIV. It was an annual bursary for promising artists having proved their talents by...

 winning composer Joseph Daussoigne-Méhul

Joseph Daussoigne-Méhul

Joseph Daussoigne-Méhul was a French composer and music educator. He served as the first director of the Royal Conservatory of Liège from 1826-1862; having been appointed to that post by William I of the Netherlands. In addition to his duties as director, he also taught courses in harmony and...

, the Belgian composer Martin-Joseph Mengal

Martin-Joseph Mengal

Martin-Joseph Mengal , was a Belgian composer and instructor.Mengal came from a musical family and received horn and violin lessons as a child, and by the age of 13 played first horn at the Ghent opera...

, and the famous, if eccentric, harpist Nicolas Bochsa. Catel died in 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...

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His works include a "Treatise on Harmony" (1802), several dramatic compositions at the National Opera of Paris: Sémiramis, the Bayadères ; at the Opéra-Comique: Artistes par occasion, l'Auberge de Bagnères (1807) ; Wallace (1817); symphonies, quartets etc.

Lyrical works

• Sémiramis, lyric tragedy in three acts, libretto by Philippe Desriaux based on Voltaire
  Voltaire
  François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
  
  , performed by the Opéra de Paris on 4 May 1802.
• Les artistes par occasion, farcical opera in one act, libretto by Alexandre Duval, performed at the Opéra-Comique
  Opéra-Comique
  The Opéra-Comique is a Parisian opera company, which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with, and for a time took the name of its chief rival the Comédie-Italienne at the Hôtel de Bourgogne, and was also called the...
  
   in 1807.
• L'auberge de Bagnères, farcical opera in 3 acts, libretto by C. Jalabert, performed by the Opéra-Comique in 1807.
• Les bayadères, opera in 3 acts, libretto by Victor-Joseph-Étienne de Jouy based on Voltaire
  Voltaire
  François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
  
  , performed at Opéra de Paris on 8 August 1810.
• Les aubergistes de qualité, comedy in 3 acts, libretto by Victor-Joseph-Étienne de Jouy, performed at Opéra-Comique on 17 June 1812
• Bayard à Mézières, comedy in one act, libretto by Alisvan de Chazet and Louis Emmanuel Mercier Dupaty, performed at Opéra-Comique in 1814.
• Le premier en date, comedy in one act, libretto by Marc-Antoine Désaugiers and Pessey, performed at Opéra-Comique in 1814.
• Wallace ou Le ménestrel écossais, epic opera in 3 acts, libretto by L. Ch. J. Fontanes de Saint-Marcellin, performed at Opéra-Comique in 1817.
• Zirphile et fleur de myrte ou cent ans en un jour, "opéra-féerie" in 2 acts, libretto by Victor-Joseph-Étienne de Jouy and Nicolas Lefebvre, performed at Opéra de Paris in 1818.
• L'officier enlevé, comedy in one act, libretto by Alexandre Duval, performed at Opéra-Comique in 1819.

Vocal and choral works

• Chant triomphal, 1807.
• Ode sur le Vaisseau Le Vengeur, words by Ponce-Denis Écouchard-Lebrun, for euphonium and orchestra.
• Hymne sur la reconquête de Toulon, for male choir and orchestra.

Sources

• Bouillet's Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie (1842),