Victorin de Joncières

Félix-Ludger Rossignol, known as Victorin de Joncières (12 April 1839 – 26 October 1903), was a French composer and music critic.

Son of a political writer and editor of La Patrie and Constitutionel, he was born at Paris, and his first musical lessons were from aunts. Leaving the Lycée Bonaparte at 16, he decided to study to be a painter, entering the studio of Picot. However, Joncières kept up his musical interest and had a short opéra comique performed by students of the Conservatoire de Paris, and was advised to abandon art and take up music. He entered the Conservatoire and followed the classes of Simon Leborne in fugue and counterpoint. However, after hearing one of Richard Wagner's first concerts in the French capital, he had a disagreement with the professors and in 1860 abandoned his studies to devote himself to composition.

He composed some incidental music for Hamlet (performed both in Paris and Nantes), but found little success with two operas produced at the Théâtre Lyrique: Sardanapale (based on Byron, with Christina Nilsson, 1867) and Les Derniers jours de Pompéi (from the novel by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1869).

His violin concerto was played at the Conservatoire in 1870 by Jules Danbé, and a Symphonie romantique at the Concert national in 1873. His opera Dimitri (after Schiller's play Demetrius) had more success in 1876 and was revived in 1890 at the Opéra-Comique.

From 1871 to 1900, he wrote on music for La Liberté (using the pseudonym "Jennius"), penning biting criticisms of earlier opéra comique composers and of Berlioz.

Although Joncières presented his candidature for the Institut de France he was refused. He died in his native city of Paris.

Stage

Orchestral music

Deshoulières, Nicolas, L’Œuvre critique et musicale de Victorin Joncières (1839-1903), thèse de doctorat sous la direction de J.-P. Bartoli, Paris-Sorbonne, 1151 p., 2018.