Séverac, (Marie-Joseph-Alexandre) Déodat de

Séverac, (Marie-Joseph-Alexandre) Déo-dat de, French composer; b. Saint Félix de Caraman en Lauragais, Haute-Garonne, July 20, 1872; d. Céret, Pyrénées- Orientales, March 24, 1921. He studied piano with his father, a painter and music lover, then in Toulouse at the Dominican Coll. of Sorèze, at the Univ. (law), and at the Cons. (1893–96); also took courses with d’Indy and Magnard (composition), Blanche Selva and Albéniz (piano), Guilmant (organ), and Bordes (choral conducting) at the Paris Schola Cantorum. After completing his training (1907), he divided his time between Paris and his native town, devoting himself mainly to composition. His works are notable for their Gallic refinement. P. Guillot ed. his Ecrits sur la musique (Liège, 1996; includes catalog of works).

Works

dramaticm : Opera: Le Coeur du moulin (1903–08; Paris, Dec. 8, 1909); Héliogabale (Béziers, Aug. 21, 1910); La Fille de la terre (Coursan, July 1913); Le Roi pinard (1919). Incidental Music To:L. Damard’s Le Mirage (1905); M. Navarre’s Muguetto (Tarn, Aug. 13, 1911); E. Verhaeren’s Hélène de Sparthe (Paris, May 5, 1912). ORCH.: 4 symphonie poems: L’Automne for Voice and Orch. (1900), L’Hiver for Voice and Orch. (1900), Nymphes au crépuscule (1901), and Les Grenouilles qui demandent un roi (1909–21); Didon et Enée, suite (1903); Tryptique (1903–04). CHAMBER: Sérénade au clair de lune for Flute or Oboe, Piano, Harp, and String Quintet (1890; rev. 1919); Piano Quintet (1898); Les Muses sylvestres, suite for 5 Woodwinds and String Quartet (1908); Le Parc aux cerfs for Oboe, String Quintet, and Piano (1909); piano pieces; organ music. VOCAL : Choral works; arrangements of early folk songs.

Bibliography

B. Selva, D. d.S. (Paris, 1930); E. Brody, The Piano Works of D. d.S.: A Stylistic Analysis (diss., N.Y.U., 1964); Centenaire D. d.S. (Paris, 1972).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire