Literature, Music and Painting

XVIIth century

Sébastien de Brossard (1655 -1730), a true native of Normandy, was born in Dompierre (Orne) and died in Meaux, near Paris, after imposing his talents as Master of the Chapel for the Bishop of Meaux, Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, the great preacher and writer. De Brossard was one of the finest French composers of the XVIIth century, a period of great musical freedom and creativity. He introduced Italian chamber music to France, and is often considered to be one of the founding fathers of musicological research. 

XVIIIth century

François Adrien-Boieldieu (1775-1834), born in Rouen, was taught music by the Master of the Chapel and the organist at Rouen Cathedral. Following the Revolution, Rouen was one of the few towns to retain any musical activity during the period of the Terror, and he made a name for himself with his compositions before leaving for Paris, where after earning a living as a piano tuner he achieve great succes with his comic operas, a genre which was then very popular after the difficult post-revolutionary years. In 1800 his growing renown led to his appointment as Court Composer to the Tsar of Russia. He stayed in St Petersburg until 1810 when he returned to France, where he renewed his success with new operas, and in 1825 he published his chef-d'oeuvre, La Dame Blanche, based, unusually for the period, on Sir Walter Scott.

XIXth century

Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921) was born in Paris, but was Norman by his father. One of the great French composers of the romantic period, he showed early talent as a pianist, and gave his first public recital at the age of 11. He entered the Paris Conservatoire at 13, where he obtained the Organ Prize. When only 18 he was appointed organist at the St-Merry church in Paris. He composed his first symphony at that time, and attracted the attention of Berlioz and Liszt. Subsequently he became organist at the church of La Madeleine, in Paris, a position he held for 20 years, while his fame and reputation grew, and led Liszt to describe him as "the greatest organist in the world".  He continued to compose, and also to teach, before exiling himself to England during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, where as well as giving recitals for Queen Victoria, he studied the Handel manuscripts at Buckingham Palace. After his return to France, he enjoyed increasing fame as a composer, and began to travel widely, taking inspiration from countries such as Egypt and Algeria to introduce more exotic ideas in his music. He finally settled in Normandy - in Dieppe - but continued to travel and compose, including the music for the film "L'Assassinat du Duc de Guise" in 1913. By this time his reputation was even greater in Britain and the USA than in France, and his tour of America in 1915 was a great success. He died in Algiers in 1921 a short time after giving a concert in Dieppe to celebrate the 75th anniversary of his first public recital.

XXth century

Arthur Honegger (1892-1955) was born in Le Havre of Swiss parents. The diversity of his work, which ranges through tonal, polytonal and atonal music, and from quartets to operas, makes it difficult to summarise in a few lines. He began composing when at the Paris Conservatoire, where he was greatly influenced by Stravinski, and saw his music as a means of expressing humanist, philosophic ideals. He constantly explored new styles and techniques, influenced both by Germanic composers such as Beethoven and Schönberg, and French (notably Debussy). He was made a member of the French Academy in 1953, and received the Légion d'Honneur the following year. A great humanist, who refused to leave Paris during the Occupation, he encouraged promising young composers, including Olivier Messiaen, whom he recognised as "potentially one of the greatest composers of his day".

Erik Satie (1866-1925) was an eccentric composer and pianist, part of the early 20th century avant-garde movement. He was born in Honfleur, where he received his first music lessons from a local organist. In 1879 and 1885 he made unsuccessful attempts to study at the Paris Conservatoire, where his teachers declared him lacking in talent, and after a brief period in the army he moved to Montmartre and began composing pieces which his father published for him.  He got to know Debussy, and the artistic community, including the painter Suzanne Valadon, with whom he had a 6-month affair, and the young Maurice Ravel.  After a period of eccentric religiosity he moved to Arcueil, on the outskirts of Paris, and lived with his brother while working as a concert pianist. He continued to compose, and to make up for his lack of formal musical education enrolled at a school in Paris for five years. He corresponded with Stravinski, and in 1912 his short, humorous piano pieces brought success. His work began to achieve recognition from composers such as Ravel, and avant-garde figures such as Cocteau, with whom he worked on a number of plays, and the Dadaist movement, with which he became involved. When he died he left a collection of unpublished writings and compositions.

Singers

Normandy has also long been the birthplace of singers and poets, who have drawn on local sources to contribute to the rich heritage of French popular culture, including :

Frédéric BÉRAT (1801-1855)  - Gérard LENORMAN (1945) born in Bénouville (Calvados) -  
Daniel BALAVOINE (1952-1986) born in Alençon (Orne) - Vincent DELERM (1976) born in Évreux