A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Dalayrac, Nicolas
DALAYRAC, Nicolas, a celebrated French composer, was born at Muret (Languedoc) in 1753 [App. p.604 "June 13"]. His father occupied a high civil appointment in his province, and in spite of his son's early passion for music destined him for the bar. His studies of the violin were put a stop to, and it is said that the young enthusiast, in order to play without interruption, used every night to ascend the roof of the house. This however interfered with the nocturnal exercises of a neighbouring nunnery. But the complaints of the pious damsels addressed to his father ultimately led to the fulfilment of young Dalayrac's dearest wish. His aversion to the law was considered conclusive, and he was sent in 1774 to Paris, where a commission in the guards of the Count of Artois had been obtained for him. But the love of his art was proof against the attraction of a military career. Immediately on his arrival in the capital he took lessons in harmony from Langlé, and soon made his début as a dramatic composer with a comic opera called 'Le petit Souper,' first performed at the French court in 1781. Encouraged by this success, he produced in the following year an opera, 'L' Eclipse totale,' at the Opera Comique. This also was successful, and secured Dalayrac's position amongst the best and most fertile composers of his time. He continued for the remainder of his life producing operas at the rate of one or two a year. Not even the Reign of Terror interrupted or in any way influenced the inexhaustible productiveness of his pen. Two of his most charming operas, 'L'actrice chez elle' and 'Ambroise, ou Voilà ma journée,' bear the terrible date of 1793. In 1790 he lost much of his property, but in spite of this misfortune he refused to avail himself of his father's will, which excluded his younger brother from a share in the family property. At the beginning of the century he was made a chevalier of the Legion of Honour by Napoleon, and he died in 1809 [App. p.604 "Nov. 27"] at Paris. Of the numerous works of Dalayrac none have survived. The titles of the more important ones may be cited:—'Le Corsaire' (1783), 'L'Amant Statue' (1785), 'Nina' (1786), 'Azeinia' (one of his best works, first performed on May 3, 1787), 'Raoul de Créqui' (1789), 'Fanchette' (same year), 'Adèle et Dorsan' (1794), 'Adolphe et Clara' (1799), 'Maison à vendre' (1800), 'Une Heure de Marriage' (1804), 'Le Poète et le Musicien' (first performed in 1811, two years after the composer's death), and many others.
Amongst the earlier composers of the modern French school of dramatic music Dalayrac takes a high position. To us his means of expression appear primitive, but considering the date of his earlier works, his skill in orchestral treatment, and his keen perception of dramatic effects and proprieties, are by no means of a despicable order. The opéra comique, consisting of simple airs and short ensembles, was his favourite mode of production. Such a work as the one-act operetta 'Maison à vendre' is not deprived of a certain archaic charm even at the present day. Lise's song 'Fiez vous,' with which it opens, a piece of music much affected by our great-grand-mothers, is a charming specimen of the French romance, and the finale of the same work is remarkable for the skilful and fluent treatment of the vocal parts. The same feature is noticeable in his more elaborate compositions, as for instance in the finale of 'Azémia,' which winds up with a charming bit of choral writing. It may briefly be said that Dalayrac's style contains, although in a somewhat embryonic stage, all the qualities which have made the French school justly popular in Europe. He is a unit amongst a galaxy of brilliant stars. His claim to remembrance lies perhaps less in his individual merits than in the fact that without him and other composers of his type and epoch there would have been no Grétry, no Auber, and no Boieldieu.