Children of the Century

A generation

All these children were drops of a boiling blood that had inundated the land; they were born in the bosom of war, for war. For fifteen years they had dreamed of the snows of Moscow and of the sun of the Pyramids. They had not gone beyond their native towns; but they had been told that through each gateway of those towns lay the road to a capital of Europe. They had in their heads a whole world; they saw the earth, the sky, the streets, and the highways; but these were empty, and their parish bells alone rang out in the distance. (The Confession of a Child of the Century). 

Here are some of those children of the century: artists of that generation, born at the turn of the nineteenth century. 

A tea party for artists, attended by distinguished gentlemen
Drawing by Grandville, 1843
© Maison de Balzac

The rise of the concert

In the late 1820s, an ambitious artistic policy brought about a meteoric rise in musical activity in Paris. One type of event that stood out in particular during that golden era was the concert. Concerts had been quite rare at the time of the Bourbon Restoration, but they became increasingly popular throughout the 1830s, with composers such as Hector Berlioz and Louise Farrenc showing an unprecedented interest in symphonic works, and thus laying the foundation for enduring careers that were no longer chiefly reliant on the composition of operas. However, the increased interest in concerts was not matched by the provision of suitable venues. Symphonists had to make do with cramped performance spaces – the concert hall of the Paris Conservatoire or the Salle Herz – or resort to the capital’s equestrian theatres.

Berlioz conducting a concert in 1846.
Wiener Theaterzeitung

The emergence of grand-opéra

After half a century of following the aesthetic revolution spearheaded by Gluck, the Paris Opéra entered a new phase in the late 1820s with the emergence of grand-opéra. The genre is characterised by spectacular staging, historically inspired librettos, and scores rich in contrasts (especially between intimate moments and large-scale ensembles featuring ballet sequences, processions, splendid ceremonies, and so on). Virtuosic arias have pride of place. Works by Auber (La Muette de Portici, 1828), Rossini (Guillaume Tell, 1829), Halévy (La Juive, 1835) and, above all, Meyerbeer (Robert le Diable, 1831; Les Huguenots, 1836; and Le Prophète, 1849) epitomise the genre. The immense popularity of these works restored Paris to the centre of the European opera world.

Set design by Ciceri for Act III of Meyerbeer’s Robert le Diable.
Lithograph by Ciceri, Benoist and Bayot, 1831.
© Bibliothèque nationale de France

Opéra-comique reinvented

While grand-opéra was taking over the stage at the Paris Opéra at the turn of the 1830s, an important aesthetic change was also taking place at the Opéra-Comique. The influence of Rossini’s works, which had been performed to great acclaim at the Théâtre-Italien since 1817, is evident in the scores composed at that time by Boieldieu, Auber, Halévy and Adam. These feature more complex vocal lines for the soloists and larger orchestral forces, and their plots, like those of grand-opéra, explore great events of the past rather than the light, sentimental subjects of earlier opéras-comiques. Important milestones in the history of the genre include Boieldieu’s La Dame blanche (1825), Zampa (1831) and Le Pré aux clercs (1832) by Ferdinand Hérold, Fra Diavolo by Daniel Auber (1832), Adolphe Adam’s Le Chalet (1834) and Donizetti’s La Fille du régiment (1840). In partly abandoning the comic register, the genre paved the way for the opérette to emerge in the 1850s.

A scene from Angélique et Médor by Ambroise Thomas at the Opéra-Comique.
L’Illustration, 10 June 1843.

Instrumental virtuosity

Following the example of Paganini for the violin, Romantic composers set about exploring the virtuosic possibilities of the piano. Piano technique, bolstered by advancements in piano manufacturing and the Europe-wide circulation of music scores, moved – especially between 1810 and 1840 – towards greater power and velocity. Method-books supported that transformation, while countless pieces, by Liszt, Chopin, Alkan, Thalberg and others, tested the instrument’s newly acquired capabilities. As pianists succeeded in overcoming difficulties previously considered insurmountable, pianistic virtuosity proved to be the driving force behind a new creativity. Some, however, went a bit too far, which was not to everyone’s liking. In 1843 the poet Heinrich Heine lambasted the antics of virtuosos as a vulgar rationalisation of performance, in which he saw nothing but “the transformation of man into a sounding instrument”. In reaction to the ostentatious frivolity for which some such pieces were criticised, a school of “art sérieux” came into being, taking as its inspiration the works of the great Viennese masters. 

Franz Liszt. Sculptural caricature by Dantan. 1836.
© Musée Carnavalet

Instrument-making in Paris, a thriving trade

The fact that well over a hundred piano manufacturers had settled in Paris by the 1830s, mostly in the heart of the city, is a clear indication of the sound economic health of the instrument-making industry at that time. François-Joseph Fétis (“Sur l'industrie musicale”, 25 December 1830) estimated that around 8,000 pianos were built in France each year. The industry catered to the needs of both private individuals, looking for an instrument that would fit into their homes like a piece of furniture, and concert pianists, who were forever demanding greater volume. Numerous technical advances were made in consultation with virtuosos at that time. Other families of instruments also benefited from that wave of innovation. From the 1840s onwards, Adolphe Sax represented a revolution in the manufacture of wind instruments.

Hexagonal piano
Jean-Henri Pape
Circa 1837
© Musée de la musique

In the intimacy of the salons

The growing popularity of the piano among the upper classes affected the organisation of domestic spaces. Homes began to feature a room largely (but not exclusively) devoted to music, and every household was expected to have at least one person who could play the piano – a role that was usually taken by the mistress of the house or her daughters. Indeed, the piano was considered the most becoming instrument for a member of the fair sex, requiring a posture that best represented the poise and control expected of a lady. With the aid of an abundance of published works comprising transcriptions of opera arias and genre pieces, the salon became a venue for showcasing the latest musical trends.

A small family gathering
Henry Monnier
La Caricature, 7 July 1839.

Music in the open air

During the July Monarchy, the development of music in indoor spaces was matched by an increase in outdoor performances. Urban spaces were still heavily regulated, so large-scale artistic events had to be confined to private settings such as the gardens of the Champs-Élysées, where conductor Philippe Musard presented his summer promenade concerts under the name Concerts Musard. Nevertheless, innovations in the design of brass and woodwind instruments inspired some composers to aim for grandiose projects. Hector Berlioz, for instance, envisioned a Symphonie funèbre et triomphale resounding through the streets of Paris as a tribute to the victims of the July Revolution. Meanwhile, itinerant musicians brought a different type of music to the capital’s streets.

Concert Musard on the Champs-Élysées        
Lithograph by Provost, 1836
© Musée Carnavalet