Claire Delbos
Encyclopedia
Claire Delbos was a French
violin
ist and composer
, and first wife of the composer Olivier Messiaen
.
professor, Victor Delbos. Although she was usually known after her marriage as Claire or as Claire-Louise, she was baptized Louise Justine Delbos. She was a pupil at the Schola Cantorum
, a private music school in Paris, and later studied violin
and composition
at the Paris Conservatoire.
Her skill on the violin brought her to the attention of the young Messiaen. They gave recitals together in Paris
in the early 1930s, and were married on 22 June 1932. The composer Claude Arrieu
was Delbos's bridesmaid. Messiaen wrote the Thème et variations
for violin and piano as a wedding gift for his wife; they performed it together on 22 November 1932.
During that summer, the Messiaens moved into an apartment at 77 rue des Plantes, on the Left Bank in the 14th arrondissement of Paris. This was to be their home for the next six years, and was the venue of occasional musical gatherings of select friends; it was where they first met the Jolivets
. Some of Messiaen's works were written to celebrate the happiness of the young couple, an example being the song cycle
Poèmes pour Mi for soprano and piano in 1936, which he arranged for soprano and orchestra in 1937, and which was based on his own poems about the joy of marriage. Mi was Messiaen's affectionate nickname for Delbos. Delbos also composed several organ works, including Paraphrase sur le jugement dernier and L'offrande à Marie, for Messiaen.
In the early years of their marriage, several of the Messiaens' holidays were spent at the Château St Benoît, in Neussargues-Moissac
- a château, owned by the Delbos family, which Messiaen found conducive to composing, and where much of L'Ascension
was written. The successful Thème et variations was followed by another violin work written by Messiaen for his wife - Fantaisie, though this was not published until 2007 or 2008, and it is not clear if it was ever performed in public during Messiaen's lifetime.
Delbos suffered a series of miscarriage
s in the early years of her marriage, but in 1937 their son Pascal was born, and Messiaen produced another song cycle, Chants de terre et de ciel (1938), in which all three members of the family were portrayed. The Messiaens moved into 13 villa du Danube in the 19th arrondissement. Towards the end of the war
, Delbos had an operation
, after which she began to suffer from loss of memory. She entered a sanatorium, and remained institutionalized, with steadily declining health, for the rest of her life. She died in 1959, in Hauts-de-Seine
.
Other vocal
Organ
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
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....
ist and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, and first wife of the composer Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen was a French composer, organist and ornithologist, one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex ; harmonically and melodically it is based on modes of limited transposition, which he abstracted from his early compositions and improvisations...
.
Biography
Delbos was born in Paris, the daughter of a SorbonneSorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
professor, Victor Delbos. Although she was usually known after her marriage as Claire or as Claire-Louise, she was baptized Louise Justine Delbos. She was a pupil at the Schola Cantorum
Schola Cantorum
The Schola Cantorum de Paris is a private music school in Paris. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Bordes, Alexandre Guilmant and Vincent d'Indy as a counterbalance to the Paris Conservatoire's emphasis on opera...
, a private music school in Paris, and later studied 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....
and composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
at the Paris Conservatoire.
Her skill on the violin brought her to the attention of the young Messiaen. They gave recitals together 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...
in the early 1930s, and were married on 22 June 1932. The composer Claude Arrieu
Claude Arrieu
Claude Arrieu was a prolific French composer.-Biography:Claude Arrieu was a classically trained musician from an early age. She became particularly interested in works by Bach and Mozart, and later, Igor Stravinsky...
was Delbos's bridesmaid. Messiaen wrote the Thème et variations
Thème et variations
Thème et variations is a composition by Olivier Messiaen for solo violin and piano, and lasts around ten minutes. It is considered as equally characteristic as his Quatuor pour la fin du temps and is as immediately accessible as that work...
for violin and piano as a wedding gift for his wife; they performed it together on 22 November 1932.
During that summer, the Messiaens moved into an apartment at 77 rue des Plantes, on the Left Bank in the 14th arrondissement of Paris. This was to be their home for the next six years, and was the venue of occasional musical gatherings of select friends; it was where they first met the Jolivets
André Jolivet
André Jolivet was a French composer. Known for his devotion to French culture and musical thought, Jolivet's music draws on his interest in acoustics and atonality as well as both ancient and modern influences in music, particularly on instruments used in ancient times...
. Some of Messiaen's works were written to celebrate the happiness of the young couple, an example being the song cycle
Song cycle
A song cycle is a group of songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a single entity. As a rule, all of the songs are by the same composer and often use words from the same poet or lyricist. Unification can be achieved by a narrative or a persona common to the songs, or even, as in Schumann's...
Poèmes pour Mi for soprano and piano in 1936, which he arranged for soprano and orchestra in 1937, and which was based on his own poems about the joy of marriage. Mi was Messiaen's affectionate nickname for Delbos. Delbos also composed several organ works, including Paraphrase sur le jugement dernier and L'offrande à Marie, for Messiaen.
In the early years of their marriage, several of the Messiaens' holidays were spent at the Château St Benoît, in Neussargues-Moissac
Neussargues-Moissac
Neussargues-Moissac is a commune in the Cantal department in south-central France.-Population:-Sights:* Château St Benoît: owned by the family of Olivier Messiaen's first wife, Claire Delbos...
- a château, owned by the Delbos family, which Messiaen found conducive to composing, and where much of L'Ascension
L'Ascension
L'ascension is a piece for orchestra, composed by Olivier Messiaen in 1932-33. Messiaen described it as "4 meditations for orchestra".The orchestral piece is in four brief sections:...
was written. The successful Thème et variations was followed by another violin work written by Messiaen for his wife - Fantaisie, though this was not published until 2007 or 2008, and it is not clear if it was ever performed in public during Messiaen's lifetime.
Delbos suffered a series of miscarriage
Miscarriage
Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the spontaneous end of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or fetus is incapable of surviving independently, generally defined in humans at prior to 20 weeks of gestation...
s in the early years of her marriage, but in 1937 their son Pascal was born, and Messiaen produced another song cycle, Chants de terre et de ciel (1938), in which all three members of the family were portrayed. The Messiaens moved into 13 villa du Danube in the 19th arrondissement. Towards the end of the war
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Delbos had an operation
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
, after which she began to suffer from loss of memory. She entered a sanatorium, and remained institutionalized, with steadily declining health, for the rest of her life. She died in 1959, in Hauts-de-Seine
Hauts-de-Seine
Hauts-de-Seine is designated number 92 of the 101 départements in France. It is part of the Île-de-France region, and covers the western inner suburbs of Paris...
.
Compositions
Songs (for voice and piano):- Primevère (1935) (five songs on poems by Cécile Sauvage, Messiaen's mother):
- Le long de mes genoux
- J'ai peur d'être laide
- Mais je suis belle d'être aimée
- Je suis née à l'amour
- Dans ma robe à bouquets bleus
- L'âme en bourgeon (1937) (eight songs on poems written by Cécile Sauvage on the birth of her son Olivier):
- Dors
- Mon coeur revient à son printemps
- Je suis là
- Te voilà hors de l'alvéole
- Je savais que ce serait toi
- Maintenant il est né
- Te voilà mon petit amant
- Ai-je pu t'appeler de l'ombre
- Trois aspects de la mort (first performed in 1947):
- Sans espérance (Cécile Sauvage)
- Lamentation et terreur (Book of Job)
- Vers elle, avec confiance (R. de Obaldia)
Other vocal
- Psalm 141, for soprano, female chorus, four ondes martenotOndes MartenotThe ondes Martenot , also known as the ondium Martenot, Martenot and ondes musicales, is an early electronic musical instrument invented in 1928 by Maurice Martenot. The original design was similar in sound to the theremin...
s, and piano. Unpublished.
Organ
- Deux pièces (1935)
- L'homme né de la femme vit peu de jours
- La Vierge berce l'enfant
- Paraphrase sur le jugement dernier (1939)
- L'offrande à Marie (1943)
- Voici la servante du Seigneur
- Vierge digne de louanges
- Mère des pauvres
- Mère toute-joyeuse
- Debout, la Mère des douleurs
- Secours des Chrétiens, reine de la paix
- Parce, Domine 'Pardonnez, Seigneur, à votre peuple', pour le temps de Carême (1952)
Sources
- Dingle, Christopher. The Life of Messiaen.
- Griffiths, Paul. "Messiaen, Olivier (Eugène Prosper Charles)". Grove Music Online (subscription access) Cambridge University Press, 2007 ISBN 052163220X ISBN 978-0521632201
- Hill, Peter, and Simeone, Nigel. Messiaen. Yale University Press, 2005. ISBN 0300109075, ISBN 9780300109078
- Simeone, Nigel. "Delbos [Messiaen], Claire". Grove Music Online (subscription access)