Delalande (also de La Lande, Lalande, etc.), Michel-Richard

Delalande (also de La Lande, Lalande , etc.), Michel-Richard , noted French organist, harpsichordist, and composer; b. Paris, Dec. 15,1657; d. Versailles, June 18, 1726. He was the 15th child of a Paris tailor. He joined the choir of the royal church of St.-Germain-l’Auxerrois about 1666 and sang there until his voice broke at age 15. He became a distinguished organist and harpsichordist, giving instruction on the latter to 2 of the daughters of Louis XIV by his mistress Mme. de Montespan. He was also active as a church organist in Paris. In 1683 he became one of the 4 sous-maitres of the Royal Chapel; he was in sole charge from 1714 until 1723, when Louis XV restored the other 3 positions. He then was joined by Campra, Bernier, and Gervais. In 1685 he was named compositeur de la musique de la chambre, a title he solely held from 1709 to 1718. He also was surintendant de la musique de la chambre from 1689 to 1719. He was made a Chevalier of the Order of St. Michel by Louis XV in 1722. Delalande’s grand motets are outstanding, being notable for their mastery of the Versailles style. He is also distinguished by his music for the stage. He deftly used music from his ballets and divertissements in his Sinfonies pour les soupers du Roi, which were played at the dinners of Louis XIV and Louis XV.

Works

DRAMATICOpéra B a 1 1 e t : Les Elements (Tuileries Palace, Paris, Dec. 31, 1721; major portion by Destouches; ed. by dlndy, 1883). B a l l e t P a s t o r a l e s , D i v e r t i s s e m e n t s : La Serenade (Fontainebleau, 1682); L’Amour berger (Paris, 1683); Les Fontaines de Versailles (Versailles, April 5, 1683); Epithalame (Versailles, june 25,1685; music not extant); Le Ballet de lajeunesse (Versailles, Jan. 28, 1686); Le Palais de Flore (Versailles, Jan. 5,1689); Ballet de M. de La Lande (Versailles, Aug. 25, 1691); Adonis (1696); L’Amour, flechy par la Constance (Fontainebleau, 1697); La Noce de village (Sceaux, Feb. 21,1700); L’Hymen champestre (Marly, 1700); Ode a la louange du Roy (Sceaux, Oct. 24,1704; music not extant); Ballet de la paix (Marly, July 1713); L’Inconnu (Paris, Feb. 1720); Les Folies de Cardenio (Paris, Dec. 30, 1720); etc. INSTRUMENTAL: Sinfonies pour les soupers du Roi (Suite No. 1 ed. by R. Desormiere, Paris, 1947; Suite No. 4 ed. by Clerisse, Paris, 1954; 2 Caprices ed. by Paillard, Paris, 1965); Symphonies des Noels (more than 20 in all; Nos. 1–4 ed. by A. Cellier, Paris, 1937); 18 suites, etc. OTHER: His grand motets number more than 70; Philidor prepared a manuscript copy of 27 motets (1689–90), Hue publ. 40 motets (Paris, 1729–33), and the so-called Cauvin manuscript of the mid-18thth century contains 41 motets. A number of these have appeared in modern eds.

Bibliography

J. Richards, The “Grand Motet” of the Late Baroque in France as Exemplified by M.-R. d.L. (diss., Univ. of Southern Calif., 1950).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire