Roussel, Albert

(1869-1937)

   composer

   one of the leading French composers of the post-woRLD war I era, Albert Roussel was born in Tourcoing and was a career naval officer when he began his pursuit of music. He studied in Paris with vincent d'indy and at the Scola Cantorum, where he later taught counterpoint (1902-14). In his first compositions, the influence of Indy, claude debussy, and césar franck, as well as of impressionism, is evident (Poème de la forêt, for orchestra, 1909). As a result of a long stay in the Far East (1909-11), he also brought to his music an intense color (Évocations, 1912; Le Festin de l'araignée, 1912, a ballet). Although disabled, he served during World War I and at that time began the composition of an opera-ballet, Padmavâti (1914), which reflects his fascination with oriental culture. After the war, Roussel found his way to a more classical form of music composition, and works from this period are also characterized by spontaneity, intensity of rhythm, and dynamism (Concerto pour piano, 1927; Suite en fa; 1927; Psaume LXXX, 1929). Other of Roussel's works include Troisième and Quatrième symphonies (1930-34), the ballets Bacchus et Ariadne (1931) and Aeneas (1935), and Trio pour alto, violon et violoncelle (1937).