Dauvergne, Antoine
Dauvergne, Antoine
Dauvergne, Antoine , French composer, violinist, and conductor; b. Moulins, Oct. 3, 1713; d. Lyons, Feb. 11,1797. He received his first instruction from his father, then went for further study to Paris, where he was appointed a violinist in the chambre du roi (1739) and in the orch. of the Opera (1744). In 1755 he was appointed composer to the court and in 1762 became conductor and one of the directors of the Concerts Spirituels. He was one of the directors of the Opera (1769–76; 1780–82; 1785–90) before retiring to Lyons. He introduced into France the forms of the Italian intermezzo, substituting spoken dialogue for the recitative, and thus was the originator of a style that soon became typical of French dramatic composition. He composed 18 stage works, the first being Les Troqueurs (Paris, July 30, 1753), which is regarded as the first opéra-comique, as well as 2 books of syms. (1751), 12 sonatas for Violin and Basso Continuo (1739), 6 sonatas for 2 Violins and Basso Continuo (c. 1739), choral music, etc.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire