Adrien-François Servais Explained

Adrien-François Servais
Birth Date:6 June 1807
Birth Place:Halle, First French Empire
Death Place:Halle, Belgium
Instrument:Violoncello
Genre:Classical
Occupation:Cellist, composer

Adrien-François Servais (6 June 180726 November 1866) was one of the most influential cellists of the nineteenth century. He was born and died in what is now Halle, Belgium. He is one of the founders of the Modern Cellistic Schools of Paris and Madrid, which began through collaboration with his friend Auguste Franchomme and his disciple Víctor Mirecki Larramat. His compositions are still studied, performed and recorded all over the world.[1] Two of his sons also had musical careers and performed his music.

Biography

Servais was originally trained as a violinist before switching to cello. Known by his contemporaries for his virtuosity and excessive vibrato, he was given the gift of a Stradivarius cello from 1701, which today bears his name. He is also known as the first cellist to adopt the bassists' use of an endpin because of the large size of his Stradivarius.[2]

(The use of the endpin was, however, not generally adopted by most cellists until the early 20th century. For instance, Carlo Alfredo Piatti never used an endpin, though Lisa Cristiani's use of it in the 1840s and 1850s popularized the practice for female cellists.)[2]

Servais composed numerous works for his instrument, including four concerti and nearly twenty duos for two cellos or for cello and violin. Hector Berlioz referred to Servais as "the Niccolò Paganini of the cello".

In addition, Servais worked with French cellist and friend Auguste Franchomme and Spanish cellist Víctor Mirecki Larramat to found the Modern Cellistic Schools of Paris and Madrid. They influenced the development of future noted cellists, such as Pablo Casals and others from Spain.

Family and legacy

Servais and his wife, who had Russian ancestry, had several children, including two sons who also pursued musical careers.

Their daughter Zofia Servais married Cyprian Godebski, a Polish sculptor in the Russian Empire, who became a professor at the Imperial Institute of Arts in St. Petersburg. Zofia died in a nearby town shortly after the birth in March 1872 of daughter Maria Zofia Olga Zenajda Godebska, known as Misia. Godebski sent his daughter to Belgium to be cared for by her Servais family for several years. She was given early musical tranining and had precocious gifts. She became a pianist.

Later Godebski remarried and reclaimed his daughter; he enrolled her in a convent boarding school in Paris for eight years. Known best as Misia Sert, she was an important patron of Paris's early 20th century artistic community, which she encouraged through hosting numerous artists, writers and musicians at her salons.

Some years after his death in 1866, Servais was honored by his home town of Halle. His sculptor son-in-law, Professor Cyprian Godebski, created and installed a statue of him in front of the town hall on its central market square.

The South-West Brabant Museum in Halle has a collection on his life and work. It also holds material about his granddaughter Misia Sert and her father Cyprian Godebski.[3]

Works

  1. French: Duo brillant sur un Thème de Donizetti
  2. French: Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Fra Diavolo
  3. French: Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Le Prophète
  4. French: Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Norma
  5. French: Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Le Juif errant
  6. French: Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra L’Etoile du Nord
  7. French: Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Martha
  8. French: Grand Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Il Trovatore
  9. French: Grand Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra Le Pardon de Ploërmel
  10. French: Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Tannhaüser
  11. French: Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Der Freischütz (Robin des bois)
  12. French: Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Obéron
  13. French: Grand Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Lohengrin
  14. French: Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Don Juan
  15. French: Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Euryanthe
  16. French: Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra L’Africaine
  17. French: Duo sur des airs espagnols
  18. French: Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Preciosa
  19. French: Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra Les Huguenots
  20. French: Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra Les Puritains
  21. French: Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra La Traviata
  22. French: Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra Luisa Miller
  23. French: Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra Rienzi
  24. French: Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra Der fliegende Holländer (Le vaisseau fantôme)
  25. French: Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra Aïda [Gregoir & Joseph Servais?]
  26. French: Thèmes bohémiens
  27. French: Thèmes russes
  28. French: Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra La Somnambule
  29. French: Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra Faust de Gounod [Gregoir & Joseph Servais]

Bibliography

References

  1. Web site: The Servais Society. François Servais. 4 December 2011.
  2. Ozan Tunca . The Most Commonly Used Cello Etude Books . Florida State University . 15 . 2002 . 2008-03-24 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070705113102/http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/available/etd-08262003-184343/unrestricted/02oettext.pdf . 2007-07-05 .
  3. Openbaar Kunstbezit Vlaanderen, Zuidwestbrabants Museum

External links

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