d’Erlanger, Baron François Rodolphe
d’Erlanger, Baron François Rodolphe
d’Erlanger, Baron François Rodolphe, French ethnomusicologist; b. Boulonge-sur-Seine, June 7, 1872; d. Sidi bou Said, Tunisia, Oct. 29, 1932. He settled in Tunis in 1910 and, from 1924, assisted by Arab scholars and musicians, he made intensive study of Arabic music, translating many major theoretical treatises. His most important work, the source collection La Musique arabe (6 vols., Paris, 1930–59), was intended to spark a Renaissance of Arab music and its study. The first 4 vols. contain translations of writings from the 10th to 16th centuries, and the last two vols. codify contemporary theory. Most of his books were publ. after his death. They became primary sources on Arab music, as they include trs., transcriptions, and extended analytic studies. His own compositions were written according to Arab theoretical principles.
Writings
La Musique arabe (6 vols., Paris, 1930–59); Chants populaires de I’Afrique du nord (Paris, 1931); Melodies tunisiennes, hispano-arabes, arabo-berberes, juives, negres (Paris, 1937).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire