Conservatoire de Paris

“ In Paris, when sufficiently advanced, the students can make a short step from the Conservatoire to the Grand Opera; so it is hoped that English students will use the legitimate means now offered and afforded for the first time in this country of perfecting their general training, whether as singers, instrumentalists, or composers, according to their just claims. ”

“ Among the Paris artists I enjoy general esteem and friendship; men of reputation dedicate their compositions to me even before I have paid them the same compliment. Pupils from the Conservatoire—even private pupils of Moscheles, Herz and Kalkbrenner—come to me to take lessons. Really, if I were more silly than I am, I might imagine myself a finished artist; but I feel daily how much I have still to learn. ”

“ The daily intimacy gave each one such perfect insight into all the others' habits of thought, tastes, and preferences, that the conversation was like the celebrated music of the Conservatoire in Paris, a concert of perfectly chorded instruments taught by long habit of harmonious intercourse to keep exact time and tune together. ”

“ For himself, he, Ostrander, would much rather see that satin-faced Parisian girl who had got the prize smirking at the critics from the boards of the Grand Opera than his countrywoman! The Conservatoire settled things for Paris, but Paris wasn't the world! America would come to the fore yet in art of all kinds—there was a free academy there now—there should be a Conservatoire of its own. Of course, Paris schooling and Paris experience weren't to be despised in art ”

“ Cloud, he was not only thrown into contact with persons of influence, but had leisure at command for composition. The general refusal of the societies in Paris to perform his orchestral works had doubtless much to do with his resolve to found the 'Société des jeunes artistes du Conservatoire,' the first concert of which he conducted on February 20, 1851. ”

“ Des circulaires sont adressées à vingt, trente lieues de Paris. Des hommes d’un talent supérieur, qui n’auraient pas quitté leur dolce far niente à prix d’argent, se hâtent d’accourir, et la Société des Concerts, à l’exception de deux de ses membres qui sont maintenant en Italie, se trouve réunie à Paris comme un seul homme. La salle du Conservatoire est ouverte, tons les exécutants s’y rendent, et Spohr y est amené comme spectateur [Pg 259] unique ”

“ A Day At The Paris Conservatoire.
It was ten o'clock in the morning when we drove up to the door of the world-famous institution, but, early as it was, an animated throng already filled the wide marble-paved entrance-hall—former pupils in elegant attire; girl aspirants for future honors, accompanied by the inevitable mamma with the invariable little hand-bag; young men and old ”

“ While copying furiously I saved furiously too, and added some hundreds of francs to my store, wherewith to pay the chorus; for orchestra I knew I might count on the friendly help of the staff of the Odéon, with a sprinkling of assistants from the Opera and the Nouveautés.
My chief difficulty was the hall; it always is in Paris. For the only suitable one—the Conservatoire—I must have a permit from M. de Larochefoucauld and also the consent of Cherubini. ”

“ There is no lack of sincerity in the real French institutions, the Conservatoire, the schools of art, the Sorbonne—there are found concentration, competition, and keenness enough. But the foreign student of singing does not ordinarily come into contact with these institutions. In the Paris vocal studios, as I know them, there is a dissipation instead of a conservation of energy. The students expect to win the crown without running the race, and money and influence play too great a rôle. ”

“ It excels in works of a neo-classic character, like those of M. Saint-Saëns, which are stronger in style and taste than in life and passion. The Conservatoire concerts have also a relative superiority over other concerts in Paris in the performance of choral works, which up to the present have been very second-rate. But these concerts are not easy of access for the general public, as the number of seats for sale is very limited. And so the society is representative of a little public whose taste is, broadly speaking, conservative and official ”

“ The library, rich in works of science, art and industry, is always open. In the evening there are gratuitous lectures delivered by men of science on such subjects as geometry, mechanics and chemistry applied to the arts, industrial and agricultural chemistry, agriculture, spinning-looms, dyeing, etc. The Conservatoire turns out the best foremen and heads of workshops to be found in Paris. It occupies the fine old building once used as the abbey of St. ”

“ The classes of our great musical institutions will have to be reorganised entirely, from the curriculum of education to examinations. This is a crude statement of the case, the details can always be elaborated on the model of that fine nursery of artists, the Paris Conservatoire. We must not be deterred by the possible scarcity of native professors, able to impart the indispensable knowledge. Do not let us forget that the initial instructors of operatic art came from Italy to France, together with the introduction of their new art ”

“ At Paris the École Supérieure des Mines and the École des Ponts et Chaussées are controlled by the minister of public works, the École des Beaux-Arts, the École des Arts Décoratifs and the Conservatoire National de Musique et de Déclamation by the under-secretary for fine arts, and other schools mentioned elsewhere are attached to several of the ministries. In the provinces there are national schools of fine art and of music and other establishments and free subventioned schools. ”

“ In 1830 he temporarily interrupted his musical work to accept an 'appointment in the commissariat of the French army at Algiers, and on his return studied medicine in the military hospitals of Paris (art. in Musical Times, April 1905) . In 1840 he presented to the French Institut his 'Mémoire sur la voix humaine,' which was accepted as the best authority on the subject. Appointed to a professorship at the Paris Conservatoire, he attracted many distinguished pupils, including Jenny Lind, whom he instructed in Paris from 26 Aug. ”

“ This school used to occupy part of the old abbey of the Cambre, situated in a hollow near the bois and the avenue Louise, but owing to its insanitary position it has been removed to a new building near the Cinquantenaire. There is a university, to which admission is easy and where the fees are moderate, and the Conservatoire provides as good musical teaching as can be found in Europe. Music can be enjoyed every day in the year either out of doors or under cover. ”

“ The Conservatoire itself suffers from want of room. In the Faubourg Poissonnière, No. 15, are the offices of the administration, the entrance to the small theatre, where not only the examinations, but the classes for choral singing and dramatic declamation, lessons on the organ, and lectures on the history of music are held. Two smaller theatres serve for solfeggio and opera classes. In the large theatre, which contains an organ of 32 feet, the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire has held its concerts since its creation ”

“ None of the great actors of our time have come from the Conservatoire; neither Talma, nor Mars, Firmin, Potier, Vernet, Bouffé, Rachel, Frédérick-Lemaître, Bocage, Dorval, Mélingue, Arnal, Numa, Bressant, Déjazet, Rose Chéri, Duprez, Masset, nor any prominent person whatsoever. What is to be said about a mill which goes round and says tic-tac but does not grind?
Ah! well, the same vice exists in the École of Rome as in the Conservatoire. If there is a changeable art it is that of painting. Each artist sees a colour which is not that of his neighbour ”

“ The number of music-schools has increased specially in the capital cities. In France the Parisian High School has a great repute; in Russia the Moscow and St Petersburg Conservatoriums; in Belgium the Brussels Conservatoire, under the guidance of Dupont, who is also distinguished as the editor of old piano-works; in London the Royal Academy of Music [and the Royal College of Music] . In Germany we have in Frankfort the Hoch Conservatorium under Bernhard Scholz, and the Raff under Max Schwarz ”

“ French voices, the women's particularly, are thin, as a rule. I think they sacrifice too much to the "diction,"—don't bring out the voices enough—but the style and training are perfect of their kind.
The Conservatoire is quite as much a social feature as a school of music. It was the thing to do on Sunday afternoon. No invitation was more appreciated, as it was almost impossible to have places unless one was invited by a friend. ”

“ I cannot let the old Conservatoire in the Rue Bergère go without paying it a last farewell, for I loved it deeply as we all love the things of our youth. I loved its antiquity, the utter absence of any modern note, and its atmosphere of other days. I loved that absurd court with the wailing notes of sopranos and tenors, the rattling of pianos, the blasts of trumpets and trombones, the arpeggios of clarinets, all uniting to form that ultra-polyphone which some of our composers have tried to attain—but without success. ”

“ But to have a seat at the Conservatoire denotes wealth, the prestige of fashion; and so they go to each concert more to see and be seen than to hear. In doing so they are conscious of being part of the chic world. In the loges around you, men and women talk of every mortal thing except the music heard; and the chief anxiety of both sexes, if I may judge by the testimony of my ears on repeated occasions, is to know what baron, count, marquis, marchioness, or duchess is present, with smart remarks upon their dress. The Conservatoire is a traditional school of music and of the drama ”

“ I think there is more value in the idea of a national conservatory than in the idea of nationality as regards violin playing. No matter what his birthplace, there is only one way in which a student can become an artist—and that is to have a teacher who can teach! In Europe the best teachers are to be found in the great national conservatories. Thibaud, Ysaye—artists of the highest type—are products of the conservatory system, with its splendid teachers. So is Kreisler, one of the greatest artists, who studied in Vienna and Paris. ”

“ The name Conservatoire is generally used not only of the French institutions to which it properly applies, but also of the Italian Conservatorio and the German Conservatorium, and even sometimes of English schools of music. In the United States, however, the anglicized form “Conservatory” is used, a form far more satisfactory from the point of view of linguistic purity, but difficult to establish in England owing to its common application to a particular kind of green-house (see Horticulture) . ”

“ In 1872 his nomination as professor of the organ at the Conservatoire in place of his master Benoist, who had retired after fifty years' service, gave him naturally more importance and enabled him to exercise considerable influence over music in France. He became the centre of a group of young composers who were anxious to study orchestral composition without passing through the Conservatoire, where no attention was paid to the symphonic style, care being only given to operatic composition. ”

“ The Conservatoire national de musique is now the great nursery of French musicians, but many a church has still its Maîtrise, where the choristers—boys and men—are trained by a maître de chapelle in everything necessary to insure a good execution of plain-song and sacred music. ”

“ The names of those seeking admission to the Conservatoire must be sent in to the committee of management at the beginning of October, and an examination before the Committee of Tuition must be successfully passed. The youngest pupils only are admitted into the preparatory solfeggio and piano classes; in the higher classes, for vocal music and declamation, the age is limited to 22. The pupils have to pass two examinations in each academic year, and take part in one or more public practices ”

“ The organisation of the Conservatoire was modified by Bonaparte in March 1800, after which the staff stood as follows:—A Director—Sarrette; five Inspectors of Tuition—Gossec, Méhul, Lesueur, Cherubini, and Monsigny; thirty first-class Professors—Louis Adam, Berton, Blasius, Catel, Devienne, Dugazon, Duvernoy, Garat, Gaviniés, Hugot, Kreutzer, Persuis, Plantade, Rode, Rodolphe, Sallentin, etc.; forty second-class Professors—Adrien, Baillot, Boieldieu, Domnich, Eler, Jadin, etc. The Conservatoire was again re-organised Oct. ”

“ Out of the sixty or seventy girls who attend my harmony lessons there are, at the utmost, five who will really turn out musicians. All the rest come to the Conservatoire simply for occupation, or from motives which have nothing to do with music. It cannot be said that these young ladies are less intelligent, or industrious, than the men. ”

“ In my position, as member of the faculty of the Conservatoire, a great many students pass before me. If I personally accept any pupils, they naturally must be talented and advanced, as I cannot give my time to the children. ”

“ The National Conservatory, because of certain philanthropic features, is deserving of special mention as a type of institution which is not wholly commercial in its ends, and which has prepared the way for a type that is purely artistic in its purposes. It offers musical instruction to every applicant without regard to race, sex, or creed, the sole condition being that he shall give proof of a natural talent for music ”