Doret, Gustave
Doret, Gustave
Doret, Gustave, Swiss composer and conductor; b. Aigle, Sept. 20, 1866; d. Lausanne, April 19, 1943. He received his first instruction at Lausanne; studied violin with Joachim in Berlin (1885–87); then entered the Paris Cons, as a pupil of Mar sick (violin) and Dubois and Massenet (composition). He was conductor of the Concerts d’Harcourt and of the Societe Nationale de Musique in Paris (1893–95); at the Opéra-Comique (1907–09); also appeared as a visiting conductor in Rome, London, and Amsterdam. In his music, Doret cultivated the spirit of Swiss folk songs; his vocal writing is distinguished by its natural flow of melody. He publ. Musique et musiciens (1915), Lettres a ma niece sur la musique en Suisse (1919), Pour noire independance musicale (1920), and Temps et contretemps (1942).
Works
DRAMATIC Opera : Maedeli (1901); Les Armaillis (Paris, Oct. 23, 1906; rev. version, Paris, May 5, 1930); Le Nain du Hash (Geneva, Feb. 6, 1908); Loi/s, dramatic legend (Vevey, 1912); La Tisseuse d’Orties (Paris, 1926); incidental music. OTHER: Voix de la Patrie, cantata (1891); Les Sept Paroles du Christ, oratorio (1895); La Fete des vignerons (1905); String Quartet; Piano Quintet; about 150 songs.
Bibliography
J. Duperier, G. D. (Paris, 1932).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire