Gambara (short story)
Encyclopedia
Gambara is a short story by Honoré de Balzac
, first published in 1837 in the Revue et gazette musicale de Paris
at the request of its editor Maurice Schlesinger
.
in Milan
and at the shows in Venice
. The text was edited into a single volume with le Cabinet des Antiques
, published by éditions Souverain in 1839, before being published by édition Furne in 1846 in the Études philosophiques, following Massimilla Doni
, a short story also written by Balzac shortly after returning from Italy, highly impressed by what he called the "mother of the arts".
This work shows the formidable artistic intuition Balzac had already developed in le Chef-d'œuvre inconnu
, la Bourse
, his habit of taking on the guise of a painter and of searching the soul and meandering thoughts of a sculptor in Sarrasine
. With Gambara, Balzac addressed the musical world with the character of an instrument-maker who becomes a composer of mad music, as a substitute for himself as an author composing a work - he has Gambara say:
Misunderstood on its first publication, this short story has since been recognised as a major work. (Musicologists have demonstrated very few errors in Balzac's research, which he passionately documented.) Balzac was so knowledgeable about music that he impressed George Sand
with his ideas about opera during a conversation on music, and she advised him to write down what they had been discussing.
Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of short stories and novels collectively entitled La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of French life in the years after the 1815 fall of Napoleon....
, first published in 1837 in the Revue et gazette musicale de Paris
Revue et gazette musicale de Paris
La Revue musicale was a weekly musical review founded in 1827 by the Belgian musicologist, teacher and composer François-Joseph Fétis, then working as professor of counterpoint and fugue at the Conservatoire de Paris...
at the request of its editor Maurice Schlesinger
Maurice Schlesinger
Moritz Adolf Schlesinger , generally known during his French career as Maurice Schlesinger, was a German music editor. He is perhaps best remembered for inspiring the character of M...
.
History
At the time of its publication, Balzac was going every week to the Théâtre des Italiens, watching the shows from the box of the Guidoboni-Visconti, Italian friends of his who had first met him in the ScalaLa Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
and at the shows in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
. The text was edited into a single volume with le Cabinet des Antiques
Le Cabinet des Antiques
Le Cabinet des Antiques is a French novel published by Honoré de Balzac in 1838 under the title les Rivalités en province in le Constitutionnel, then published as a work in its own right in 1838 by the Souverain publishing house.With la Vieille Fille, the work fits into les Rivalités, an...
, published by éditions Souverain in 1839, before being published by édition Furne in 1846 in the Études philosophiques, following Massimilla Doni
Massimilla Doni
-History:Its first chapter was published in 1837 in the Études philosophiques of la Comédie humaine alongside Gambara, les Proscrits and Séraphîta...
, a short story also written by Balzac shortly after returning from Italy, highly impressed by what he called the "mother of the arts".
This work shows the formidable artistic intuition Balzac had already developed in le Chef-d'œuvre inconnu
Le Chef-d'œuvre inconnu
Le Chef-d’œuvre inconnu is a short story by Honoré de Balzac. It was first published in the newspaper L'Artiste with the title "Maître Frenhofer" in August 1831...
, la Bourse
La Bourse
La Bourse is a short story by the French novelist Honoré de Balzac. It was published in 1832 by Mame-Delaunay as one of the Scènes de la vie privée in La Comédie humaine...
, his habit of taking on the guise of a painter and of searching the soul and meandering thoughts of a sculptor in Sarrasine
Sarrasine
Sarrasine is a novella written by Honoré de Balzac. It was published in 1830 , and is part of his Comédie Humaine.-Commentary:...
. With Gambara, Balzac addressed the musical world with the character of an instrument-maker who becomes a composer of mad music, as a substitute for himself as an author composing a work - he has Gambara say:
Misunderstood on its first publication, this short story has since been recognised as a major work. (Musicologists have demonstrated very few errors in Balzac's research, which he passionately documented.) Balzac was so knowledgeable about music that he impressed George Sand
George Sand
Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, later Baroness Dudevant , best known by her pseudonym George Sand , was a French novelist and memoirist.-Life:...
with his ideas about opera during a conversation on music, and she advised him to write down what they had been discussing.