Perne, François Louis
Perne, François Louis
Perne, Francois Louis, French singer, double-bass player, music historian, and composer; b. Paris, Oct. 4, 1772; d. Laon, Aisne, May 26, 1832. He studied with Abbé d’Haudimont at the maîtrise of St.-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie. He was a chorus singer at the Paris Opéra from 1792, and double-bass player in the orch. there (1799–1816). His profound skill in composition was illustrated by his writing a triple fugue, to be sung backward on reversing the page; his knowledge of early music was extraordinary. In 1813 he became a prof, of harmony at the Paris Cons., as successor to Catel; he became inspector–general of the Cons. in 1816, and librarian in 1819. In 1822 he went into retirement, at an estate near Laon, returning to Paris shortly before his death. He publ. Exposition de la séméiographie, ou Notation musicale des Grecs (1815), Cours d’harmonie et d’accompagnement (1822), Chansons du Châtelain de Coucy (1830), and a great number of articles on Greek and medieval music pubi, in vols. I-IX of the Revue Musicale, ed. by Fétis. He also wrote several pieces of sacred music.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire