Rabaud, Henri (10th November 1873-11th September 1949)

He was a composer and conductor born Henri Benjamin Rabaud into a highly thought of musical family in Paris, France where his father was the cellist and professor of cello at the Paris Conservatoire Hippolyte Rabaud, his mother was a singer who virtually created the role of Marguerite in the opera Faust at the request of the composer Charles Gounod and his maternal grandfather was a well-known flautist and his great aunt was the operatic soprano Julie Dorus-Gras.

He studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Jules Massenet and Andre Gedalge and became a conductor at the Opera-Comique in Paris in 1908. From 1914 to 1918 he was the conductor of the Paris Opera before taking on the role of music director with the Boston Symphony Orchestra for a season in 1918. While there he gained membership of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternity for men in music.

He returned to Paris after a year and in 1922 became director of the Conservatoire after Gabriel Faure resigned from the position. In 1940 he assisted in the compilation of the racial make-up of students at the Conservatoire for the occupying forces. He remained a director until he retired in 1941.

As a composer he won the Premier Grand Prix de Rome in 1894 for his cantata Daphne and wrote the composition piece Solo de concours for clarinet and piano for competitions at the Conservatoire in 1901.

He wrote the opera La Fille de Roland in 1904 and 10 years later in 1914 he saw success when his comic opera Marouf, savetier du Caire (Marouf, Cobbler of Cairo) was premiered at the Opera-Comique in Paris, with him later conducting it’s 100th performance there.

He also write other operas such as L’appel de la mer along with chamber music works, two symphonies and several orchestral works such as the symphonic poem La procession nocturne, an Eglogue Op.7, Prelude et Toccata and a Divertissement sur des chansons russes Op2.

For the film industry he wrote the soundtrack for the 1924 film Miracle of the Wolves and the 1927 film The Chess Player.

Recordings his work can be heard on include Gabriel Faure: Orchestral Works by the BBC Philharmonic, Airs D’Operas by Michael Dens, Ballet from the Opera Faust (Act V)/Marouf – Ballet from the Opera Savetier Du Caire by Orchestre National De L’Opera De Paris/Orchestre Des Concerts Lamoreux, La Procession Nocturne by Orchestre Symphonique, Henri Rabaud: Symphonie No. 2: La Procession Nocturne: Eglogue by Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra and Klarinet by Milenko Stefanovic along with many others.

He died in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France in 1949 when he was 75 years old.

Minnesota Orchestra recordings
Marouf, savetier du Caire: Dances (Henri Rabaud)
(CD: Exotic Dances from the Opera Reference Recordings RR-71CD)
Conductor: Eiji Oue

Sources:

Rabaud, Henri (10th November 1873-11th September 1949)

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