Lenormand, René
Lenormand, René
Lenormand, René, French composer; b. Elbeuf, Aug. 5, 1846; d. Paris, Dec. 3, 1932. He received music training from his mother, who was an excellent pianist, and in 1868 went to Paris, where he studied with Damcke. Lenormand’s main interest was in the creation of an international type of the German lied, and for that purpose he organized in Paris a society that he called Le Lied en Tous Pays. Besides his songs, he wrote an opera, Le Cachet rouge (Le Havre, 1925), Piano Concerto, Le Lahn de Mabed (on an old Arabian theme) for Violin and Orch., Le Voyage imaginaire, symphonic tableaux after Loti, 2 esquisses sur des thèmes malais for Orch., and piano pieces (Une Journée à la campagne, Le Nuage vivant, Valses sérieuses, Pièces exotiques, etc.; for 4-hands: Divertissement américain, La Nouba Medjenneba, etc.). He also publ. a valuable manual on harmony, Étude sur l’harmonie moderne (Paris, 1912; Eng. ed. as A Study of Modem Harmony, London, 1915).
Bibliography
H. Woollett, Un Mélodiste français: R.L. (Paris, 1930).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire