Ernest Fanelli
Encyclopedia
Ernest Fanelli was a French composer of Italian descent who is best known for sparking a controversy about the origins of Impressionist music
when his composition Tableaux Symphoniques was first performed in 1912. George Antheil
asserted that Fanelli was "one of the greatest inventors and musical iconoclasts of all time", but he remains an obscure figure.
. He studied music at the Paris Conservatoire for a few years from 1876, but was expelled because of his disputes with the teaching staff. The claim that he studied there with Charles-Valentin Alkan
is mistaken, as Alkan quit the Conservatoire in 1848, but he may have studied with Alkan's brother, Napoléon, who was the Conservatoire professor of solfège
at the time. Fanelli worked as a timpanist before returning to musical studies under Léo Delibes
. Again he failed to complete his studies, this time for lack of funds, and returned to work as a jobbing percussionist. He continued in self-taught studies of composition and began to create his own works.
In 1912 Fanelli was seeking work as a musical copyist, and submitted a manuscript to Gabriel Pierné
as an example of his neat handwriting. Pierné was intrigued by the music itself, which Fanelli told him was one of his own compositions, Tableaux Symphoniques, written nearly 30 years earlier. Pierné found evidence of radical musical innovations anticipating the recent work of Claude Debussy
. He arranged for Thebes, the first part of the Tableaux, to be performed, creating a sensation in the musical press. Pierné later performed several other works by Fanelli. Debussy himself reviewed the work, taking a sceptical view that Fanelli had "an acute sense of musical ornamentation" but that it "dragged [him] towards such an extreme need of minute description" that it made him "lose his sense of direction.".
Fanelli himself was unable to capitalise on his new fame. He had given up composing in 1894, several years before he became well known, and could not or would not resume creative work. He continued to work as a performer to support his wife and children and died a few years later.
and Debussy there was speculation that either or both of them had seen the score in manuscript form. Ravel himself stated "now we know where his [Debussy’s] impressionism comes from". Debussy is said to have been so sensitive to these claims that he tried to avoid being seen listening to Fanelli's work. Ezra Pound
recalls an episode in which he was sitting in a restaurant listening to Fanelli play a composition on the piano when Debussy walked in. As soon as Debussy saw Fanelli, he walked out again.
After his death his widow is supposed to have claimed that Erik Satie
, Ravel and Debussy had all visited Fanelli's home and studied his unpublished scores before writing their own works. This alleged claim was published by George Antheil
. Antheil states that Constantine von Sternberg had told him of Fanelli's innovations, and that he visited Fanelli's widow, who allowed him to peruse her husband's scores. Antheil wrote,
However there are dissenting opinions. The writer and critic Michel Dimitri Calvocoressi
, who heard the first performance of Thebes, commented "I should not say that in idiom and technical treatment it is as far in advance of its time as well-meaning journalists would have it". He also describes the composer's L'effroi du soleil, perhaps implying an anticipation of cheap film music, as follows: "A severed head bounces from the scaffold, rolls over hills and dales, the executioner vainly pursuing it [....] whilst torrents of blood cover the whole landscape".
in a series of "tableaux" illustrating the novel The Romance of the Mummy by Théophile Gautier
. The first part, Thebes, is supposed to represent the Egyptian capital city. The second part, Fete dans le palais du Pharaon, depicting royal festivities, was never published, but was performed in 1913. Other scores were also performed, and are known from reviews and comments.
Known compositions by Fanelli are:
Impressionist music
Impressionism in music was a tendency in European classical music, mainly in France, which appeared in the late nineteenth century and continued into the middle of the twentieth century. Similarly to its precursor in the visual arts, musical impressionism focuses on a suggestion and an atmosphere...
when his composition Tableaux Symphoniques was first performed in 1912. George Antheil
George Antheil
George Antheil was an American avant-garde composer, pianist, author and inventor. A self-described "Bad Boy of Music", his modernist compositions amazed and appalled listeners in Europe and the US during the 1920s with their cacophonous celebration of mechanical devices.Returning permanently to...
asserted that Fanelli was "one of the greatest inventors and musical iconoclasts of all time", but he remains an obscure figure.
Life
Fanelli was born in Paris on 29 June 1860, his family having emigrated to France from BolognaBologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
. He studied music at the Paris Conservatoire for a few years from 1876, but was expelled because of his disputes with the teaching staff. The claim that he studied there with Charles-Valentin Alkan
Charles-Valentin Alkan
Charles-Valentin Alkan was a French composer and one of the greatest virtuoso pianists of his day. His attachment to his Jewish origins is displayed both in his life and his work. He entered the Paris Conservatoire at the age of six, earning many awards, and as an adult became a famous virtuoso...
is mistaken, as Alkan quit the Conservatoire in 1848, but he may have studied with Alkan's brother, Napoléon, who was the Conservatoire professor of solfège
Solfege
In music, solfège is a pedagogical solmization technique for the teaching of sight-singing in which each note of the score is sung to a special syllable, called a solfège syllable...
at the time. Fanelli worked as a timpanist before returning to musical studies under Léo Delibes
Léo Delibes
Clément Philibert Léo Delibes was a French composer of ballets, operas, and other works for the stage...
. Again he failed to complete his studies, this time for lack of funds, and returned to work as a jobbing percussionist. He continued in self-taught studies of composition and began to create his own works.
In 1912 Fanelli was seeking work as a musical copyist, and submitted a manuscript to Gabriel Pierné
Gabriel Pierné
Henri Constant Gabriel Pierné was a French composer, conductor, and organist.-Biography:Gabriel Pierné was born in Metz in 1863. His family moved to Paris to escape the Franco-Prussian War. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, gaining first prizes for solfège, piano, organ, counterpoint and fugue...
as an example of his neat handwriting. Pierné was intrigued by the music itself, which Fanelli told him was one of his own compositions, Tableaux Symphoniques, written nearly 30 years earlier. Pierné found evidence of radical musical innovations anticipating the recent work of Claude Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
. He arranged for Thebes, the first part of the Tableaux, to be performed, creating a sensation in the musical press. Pierné later performed several other works by Fanelli. Debussy himself reviewed the work, taking a sceptical view that Fanelli had "an acute sense of musical ornamentation" but that it "dragged [him] towards such an extreme need of minute description" that it made him "lose his sense of direction.".
Fanelli himself was unable to capitalise on his new fame. He had given up composing in 1894, several years before he became well known, and could not or would not resume creative work. He continued to work as a performer to support his wife and children and died a few years later.
Rumours
Because the work predated the innovations of Maurice RavelMaurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
and Debussy there was speculation that either or both of them had seen the score in manuscript form. Ravel himself stated "now we know where his [Debussy’s] impressionism comes from". Debussy is said to have been so sensitive to these claims that he tried to avoid being seen listening to Fanelli's work. Ezra Pound
Ezra Pound
Ezra Weston Loomis Pound was an American expatriate poet and critic and a major figure in the early modernist movement in poetry...
recalls an episode in which he was sitting in a restaurant listening to Fanelli play a composition on the piano when Debussy walked in. As soon as Debussy saw Fanelli, he walked out again.
After his death his widow is supposed to have claimed that Erik Satie
Erik Satie
Éric Alfred Leslie Satie was a French composer and pianist. Satie was a colourful figure in the early 20th century Parisian avant-garde...
, Ravel and Debussy had all visited Fanelli's home and studied his unpublished scores before writing their own works. This alleged claim was published by George Antheil
George Antheil
George Antheil was an American avant-garde composer, pianist, author and inventor. A self-described "Bad Boy of Music", his modernist compositions amazed and appalled listeners in Europe and the US during the 1920s with their cacophonous celebration of mechanical devices.Returning permanently to...
. Antheil states that Constantine von Sternberg had told him of Fanelli's innovations, and that he visited Fanelli's widow, who allowed him to peruse her husband's scores. Antheil wrote,
I soon discovered that Constantine von Sternberg had been right, at least in one regard: the works of Fanelli were pure "Afternoon of a Faun" or "Daphnis and Chloe", at least in technique, and they predated the Debussy-Ravel-Satie works by many years. But, as I also soon discovered, they were not as talented as the works of the two slightly younger men although they had had the advantage of being "firsts" ... Debussy was the genius who had distilled Fanelli into immortality!.
However there are dissenting opinions. The writer and critic Michel Dimitri Calvocoressi
Michel Dimitri Calvocoressi
Michel Dimitri Calvocoressi was a music writer and music critic of Greek descent....
, who heard the first performance of Thebes, commented "I should not say that in idiom and technical treatment it is as far in advance of its time as well-meaning journalists would have it". He also describes the composer's L'effroi du soleil, perhaps implying an anticipation of cheap film music, as follows: "A severed head bounces from the scaffold, rolls over hills and dales, the executioner vainly pursuing it [....] whilst torrents of blood cover the whole landscape".
Compositions
Fanelli's most notable composition, Tableaux Symphoniques d'apres le Roman de la Momie was a symphonic poemSymphonic poem
A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music in a single continuous section in which the content of a poem, a story or novel, a painting, a landscape or another source is illustrated or evoked. The term was first applied by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt to his 13 works in this vein...
in a series of "tableaux" illustrating the novel The Romance of the Mummy by Théophile Gautier
Théophile Gautier
Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, art critic and literary critic....
. The first part, Thebes, is supposed to represent the Egyptian capital city. The second part, Fete dans le palais du Pharaon, depicting royal festivities, was never published, but was performed in 1913. Other scores were also performed, and are known from reviews and comments.
Known compositions by Fanelli are:
- Stage
- The Two Casques (Les deux tonneaux) (1879), three acts, after VoltaireVoltaireFrançois-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...
.
- The Two Casques (Les deux tonneaux) (1879), three acts, after Voltaire
- Orchestral
- Saint Preux of Clarens (St Preux à Clarens) (1881)
- Symphonic Poem 'Thebes (nymphs)' (1883)
- Masquarade (Mascarade) (1889)
- Rabelaisian Suite (Suite Rabelaisienne) (1889)
- Carnival (Carnaval) (1890)
- Symphonic Pictures: Romance of the Mummy' (Tableaux symphoniques 'Le roman de la momie') (1883/1886)
- Pastoral Impressions (Impressions pastorales) (1890)
- In the Escorial Palace (Au palais de l'escorial) (1890)
- Heroic march (Marche héroïque) (1891)
- Fear of the Sun (L'Effroi du soleil) (undated).
- Piano and Chamber
- Remembrance of Youthful Days (Souvenirs de jeunesse) (1872–1878)
- Poetic Recollections (Souvenirs poètiques) (1872–1878)
- A Night in Sophor (Une nuit chez Sophor) (1891)
- 32 Songs (32 chansons) (1880–1892)
- Humoresques (1892–1894)
- String Quintet 'The Donkey' (quintette à cordes 'L'Aneau') (1894)