A Brief Biography of

Louis Edouard Bernard Destenay


A Supplement to the Program Notes

for the 2012 Red Lodge Musical Festival Chamber Music Series


by Gerald T. Davidson, PhD.

April, 2012

 


Introduction


Edouard Destenay is known as a French composer of music, active in the early years of the twentieth century. His compositions were mostly of chamber music, with opus numbers ranging into the 40s. There is, however, a surprising dearth of biographical information to be found on Destenay. One source exclaims incredulously that “He doesn’t even have a Wikipedia article!” This might be understandable for a young present-day composer who hasn’t yet made his reputation, but it seems quite baffling for someone who lived 100 years ago, and whose music is widely circulated and performed.


That Louis Edouard Bernard Destenay has been an enigma is almost certainly due to the fact that he was one of a handful of composers whose primary career was in another, unrelated field. Destenay was a career officer in the French Army for most of his life, except for period from 1903 to 1914 when he retired to devote time to his music. He attained considerable distinction for his military service, and was a member of the Legion of Honor (the full title in French is Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), which makes the neglect even more astonishing.


We can speculate that Destenay’s biographical information might have been a sensistive issue for an army officer, and that the Army Command in Paris might have discouraged any form of publicity for individual officers. There were strong socio-political forces still active in the first part of the twentieth century that might have inhibited an officer who was not a member of the General Staff. Even at that late date, promotion to the highest ranks in the armies of Europe was dependent on social standing; Destenay came from a family of career military men with no connection to the aristocracy or “upper classes.” Perhaps the most penetrating depiction of the social class issues that pervaded the armies of the time is in the great film of Jean Renoir: La Grande Illusion. Destenay was not in the class of the aristocratic de Boildieu’s of the film; he might more appropriately be identified with the working-class Marechal’s.


So, if Destenay had attained the rank of a General Officer we might have copious published biographical information; but he never reached a rank higher than the equivalent of Major in the modern army.






Other Notable Part-Time Composers

 

 

In music history we have numerous composers who pursued another career, for whom music occupied only a part of their lives. In earlier times there were many noblemen–Frederick the Great comes to mind–who dabbled in music, sometimes with quite worthy results. But the most famous of the part-time composers are Alexander Borodin (1833—1887) and Charles Ives (1874—1954). Alexander Borodin was a chemist, and attained considerable distinction in that field. A reaction, often known in Russia and Eastern Europe as Borodin’s Reaction, is still of interest to present-day organic chemists. Charles Ives was almost unknown as a composer in his own lifetime; he was talked about by music scholars, but mostly on the basis of copies of scores rather than actual performances. Ives’ musical reputation changed literally overnight with the famous 1951 performance of his Second Symphony by Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic. Up to that time Ives was regarded as one of the most successful insurance brokers in America. For 30 or more years his books on the practice of insurance and estate planning were the standards of the field. Even today Ives is regarded by many as the originator of the modern practice of Estate Planning.

 

Perhaps we should note another contemporary of Edouard Destenay who achieved distinction in several unrelated fields. Although Camille Saint-Saëns (1835—1921) is almost universally known as a musical composer, the breadth of his interests is astonishing. He was one of the most intellectual composers of all time and worked in every musical genre. He was a composer, organist, conductor, and music critic. During his long life he witnessed the development of musical styles from Schumannesque Romanticism to Wagner to Impressionism to Stravinsky. He was in the audience of the Theatre des Champs-Elysées at the first performance May 29, 1913, of the Rite of Spring, though he is said to have objected to the use of the “wrong” high register for the opening bassoon solo. (I personally doubt that Saint-Saëns was among the rioters who disrupted that performance; though a musical conservative, he would have had too much respect for the inventiveness of Stranvinsky’s score to have objected violently.) But alongside the musical interests, Saint-Saëns was an expert mathematician, and was actively interested in geology, archaeology, botany, lepidoptery (the study of butterflies), acoustics, and ancient musical instruments. Saint-Saëns was a member of the French Astronomical Society.




 


The Search for Destenay

 

My interest in Edouard Destenay arose from my work with the Red Lodge Musical Festival in Montana. Associated with the Festival is a prestigious chamber music series, and I was given a list of works on which to base the program notes for the 2012 Festival. Most of the composers were either well-known or just making their reputations. But among the pieces was Destenay’s Tarentelle. It was easy to find a copy of the score, and even some performances on YouTube, but of the composer I found almost no documentation. There was nothing whatever in the standard sources such as the Groves and Harvard dictionaries of music. And searches on the Internet turned up only a few bits of second-hand information.

 

One item appeared to be potentially useful: a report that Destenay had been a Knight of the Legion of Honor. So I searched his name among Chevaliers of the Legion of Honor, and turned up nothing. Serendipity came to the rescue. Perhaps, I thought, I should search among other categories of members. There are five ranks Knights, Officers (Officiers), Commanders, Grand Officers, and Grand Cross. When I searched the next higher rank, I found that Destenay had been an Officier of the Legion of Honor, an honor usually awarded to those of great distinction, generals, statesmen, and important public figures. The other reports had been wrong in assigning Destenay to the lowest rank of the Legion of Honor. This, of course, set off some mental alarm bells, for Destenay certainly didn’t become an Officier for his music. That was the key that led to the discovery of an extensive collection of documents pertaining to his service in the French Army, and the military records of his father, brother, and perhaps several uncles.







Background and Early Life



Louis Edouard Bernard Destenay was born in Algiers on April 6, 1850 (there is some uncertainty for his birth certificate is dated April 8). His father, Louis Léon Théodore Destenay was a military adjutant (a non-commissioned aid to an officer of higher grade) stationed in Algeria. His mother had been Laure Louise Lechine, and had apparently married Louis Léon in Metz (Alsace) prior to his transfer to Algiers in 1846. Edouard’s brother Charles Ferdinand Marie Albert Destenay was born on May 30, 1855, and was also to pursue a military career. We don’t know his preferred name so he will be referred to as Charles.


In the Legion of Honor we find four Destenays from the Haute Garonne district, including Edouard’s father who originally came from Toulouse. Whether the others were related we don’t know, but it seems likely that several of them could have been uncles or cousins. And in the generation after the mid nineteenth century, we find both Edouard Destenay and his brother in the lists of members of the Legion of Honor. This suggests that Edouard, his father, and his brother were all possessed of a high degree of ambition, dedication, and ability. It also pins down their social status, as career military officers of moderate rank.


Biographical details of Edouard’s life are very sparse, as might be expected of a career military officer who never rose to the highest ranks. He never wrote any memoirs nor is any biographical information known to have been passed on by anyone else; all we know of his life is what can be pieced together from official documents and occasional remarks by others who encountered him outside his military duties. We know nothing of his early interest in music, though it can be supposed that a family stationed in a quiet, far- away post would need some sort of amusement. Edouard’s compositions suggest his beginnings as a highly talented amateur pianist who delighted in showing off with brilliant improvisations.







Military Careers of the Destenay Brothers


Edouard entered the army on December 19, 1870, shortly after the disastrous French defeat at Sedan in the brief Franco-Prussian War. He must have shown special aptitude for he was elevated to the rank of sergeant just five days after being inducted. By January 9, 1871 he was a sous lieutenant, a rank equivalent to second lieutenant. By July 1 of the same year he was assigned to a “Special Military School.” The purpose was not specified and could imply something vaguely sinister, but it is more likely that the army was considering him for some sort of management or “desk” job that required special knowledge or skills.


Charles Destenay began his military career on October 26, 1875, and he was immediately assigned to a “Special Military School.” It does not seem likely that this was the same attended by Edouard, for the trajectory of Charles’ career was quite different. This may have been just special training to elevate him to an officer’s rank; he was promoted to sous lieutenant on October 1, 1877. The Franco-Prussian War and its aftermath had passed, but the military situation in North Africa was heating up. Charles was assigned to the African Campaign from August 4, 1879 to February 18, 1881, and served with active combat regiments. Charles was promoted again to full lieutenant on March 25, 1883.


Edouard was apparently assigned to administrative work and did not participate in the African Campaign. On July 31, 1880 he married Claire Helène Delacroix, whose home was given as Paris. Though Edouard was assigned to regiments in North Africa, the marriage suggests that his duties took him temporarily to Paris. We also know that sometime in the late 1870‘s or 1880’s Edouard undertook formal musical studies with Claudius Blanc in Paris. Blanc had been born in 1854 (he was several years younger than Destenay), and did not complete his studies at the Paris Conservatory until 1877 or 1878.


By May 6, 1882, Edouard was promoted to captain, and assigned, apparently in a teaching role, to the Special Military School. On August 10, 1883 he was given the position of Adjoint Intendant Militaire. The Military Intendance was a special administrative unit which served to provide for the needs of the army stationed in France,. In this position Edouard would have had many opportunities to travel: ordering supplies, setting up housing for the troops, making travel arrangements for soldiers and officers, and all the logistic problems that resulted from a rapid modernization of the army after the Franco-Prussian War.


The Military Intendance should not be confused with the much better known Intendants, an office created by Henry IV and institutionalized by Richelieu. The function of the Intendants was to act as the King’s (and Richelieu’s) administrators in controlling the vast domains of France and its territories. The office may have had its sinister aspects, such as monitoring dissent, and was abolished by the Revolution. The Military Intendance was established in 1817, after the chaos of the Napoleonic Wars, and was not dissolved until 1984.


Charles was also rising rapidly in the combat army. On July 4, 1885 he was appointed lieutenant of the 4th Zouaves Regiment, a crack regiment made up largely of Africans. He participated actively in the Tunisian Campaign from that date to June 25, 1886, and in the African Campaign that lasted from June 26, 1886 to October 4, 1887. He received citations for combat service and for his command. He was awarded the very prestigious Tunisian Order of Glory (Nichan Iftikhan). After those campaigns Charles was promoted to Captain of the 113th Infantry Regiment on March 7, 1889. On July 20, 1892 he was assigned to the Recruitment Bureau of Bernay; a sign that this man of 37 was beginning to be considered a bit too old for combat service.


On March 12, 1894, after being nominated earlier in the year, Edouard was inducted as a Chevalier (usually translated as Knight) of the Legion of Honor. His father had receive the same award on July 17, 1871. Neither Edouard’s nomination nor the certificate of the award states specific achievements; rather it seems to have been for his administrative performance as Sous Intendant 3rd Class. He must have either had some special duties or shown some special aptitude, for the rank placed him near the bottom of about 256 officials. It is highly unlikely that it had anything to do with Edouard’s music achievements. It is also unlikely that he ever held a position of band or music master serving with the Military Intendance, for bands would have been directly under the commands of the individual regiments. But it might be reasonable to suppose that Edouard’s functions in a unit responsible for logistics and administration could have had something to do with furnishing the instruments, uniforms, and other materials necessary for the flashy bands that would have been expected to accompany any regiment. This, however, is just a guess that would be very difficult to substantiate without the orders, bills, receipts, and other paper work that must have been discarded long ago.


Charles was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor not long after Edouard. His award, on July 11, 1896, cites military achievements, citations, and his membership in a distinguished military order.


Both brothers received a modest pension of 1000 francs per year from the Legion of Honor. They were still based primarily in Africa, but near the end of the century Edouard began to transfer his place of residence several times. He appears to have stayed in Poitiers several years before retiring from the Army on May 5, 1903 and shortly afterward, moving to Paris. Retirement at such an early age can be taken as evidence the he had other interests in Paris, particularly his music.






 

A Brief Career in Music


We can assume that Edouard’s musical training had reached a relatively advanced level at the time of his move to Paris, for his only known teacher, Claudius Blanc died in 1900. This is the strangest aspect of his enigmatic career, for we have almost no information on what Edouard Destenay was doing between 1903 and 1914, except for the evidence of numerous musical compositions. What motivated him to take up a musical career in Paris?


The musical world of Paris in the beginning years of the twentieth century was still dominated by the conservatives such as Camille Saint-Saëns, and the inheritors of the German tradition of Schumann and Brahms, particularly Gabriel Fauré. When Destenay arrived, it was still a half-dozen years before the ruckus created by the Ballet Russe and Stravinsky’s music. If stylistic comparisons are valid, Destenay’s music most resembles that of Saint-Saëns. It is highly likely that the two would have been aware of each other and probably personally acquainted to some degree. In both we often find an interest in exotic places and the Orient. Their piano music also often displays a kind of recklessness, with blizzards of notes. But Saint-Saëns’ technical sophistication was far beyond Destenay, whose music sometimes has the awkward passages of a man who learned much of his technique at a late age.







Return to Service in World War I


With the beginning of World War I Edouard returned to active service “for the duration of the war.” With the war the ranks of the Legion of Honor grew rapidly. There were many promotions in the Legion to the higher ranks, those of Officier and Commander. Charles became an Officier on July 12, 1916, and Edouard received the same honor on December 25, 1916. This elevation was perfectly understandable in Charles‘ case for he had served with great distinction as a combat officer. Though in more recent times the Officier rank has most often been bestowed upon generals, statesmen, and very notable public figures; it was not unusual in 1916 for the army to honor its own captains and others of moderate rank. But we might justifiably wonder why Edouard, an administrator of less than the highest rank, should receive the same honor. Of course there might have been a desire among higher officials to treat two brothers equally. Or perhaps it had something to do with the distinction Edouard achieved relatively late in life with his music; but this had to be tacit, for only the most celebrated musicians, such as Giocchino Rossini, had previously been elevated to the Legion of Honor. Even today only the the most famous musicians are elevated to Officier of the Legion of Honor.


Edouard died in 1925, Charles on September 29, 1929. Unfortunately Edouard’s death certificate has not been preserved, so there are many details of his life that are not known.


The dearth of biographical information on Louis Edouard Bernard Destenay might lead to suspicion that there has been a confusion of two separate people. It would be reasonable to wonder if perhaps it was Edouard’s son who took up music as an exclusive career. The son would have been of the right age to receive instruction in his late teens or early twenties from the short-lived Claudius Blanc. Unfortunately the lack of a death certificate leaves us uncertain whether Edouard had any children or left any survivors. Such a hypothetical son has not been located. Moreover, the dates of many of the compositions are consistent with Edouard’s well documented move to Paris in 1903.







Musical Works


Among the best known of Destenay’s compositions are

         Taraentelle, Op. 16, for piano-four hands

         Cello Sonata, Op. 46, for cello and piano

         Piano Quartet, Op. 38, for piano, violin, viola, and cello

         Toccata in A minor, Op. 45, for piano

         Trio for Piano Oboe and Clarinet, Op. 27, for piano, oboe, and clarinet


Destenay also wrote a Symphonie Romantique, for piano and orchestra and several Quartets and Quintets for piano and strings.







Appendix:

Other Musical Recipients of the Legion of Honor

 

Here is a partial list of musicians who have become members of the Legion of Honor. There is probably much that could be read from the conjunction of these names. How many do you recognize?

Claudio Abbado

Charles Aznavour

Thomas Beecham

Claude Bolling

Jean-Philippe Collard

Colin Davis

Miles Davis

Edouard Destenay

Céline Dion

Duke Ellington

Renée Fleming

Jean François LeSueur

Wynton Marsalis

Olivier Messiaen

Ennio Morricone

Riccardo Muti

Seiji Ozawa

Arvo Pärt

Luciano Pavarotti

Lily Pons

Giocchio Rossini

Ravi Shankar

Galina Vishnevskaya,


 





Sources

 

There exists practically no secondary source material on Edouard Destenay and his family. No compilation of biographical information is known to exist. We do not even have a photograph of Edouard Destenay. As for primary sources, no newspaper reports have yet been discovered, but they probably exist; the problem would be searching for material originating in Algeria or unknown places. The only primary source for this incomplete biography is in the French National Archives. The material on the Destenays is available online through the Leonore site, where many documents pertaining to Legion of Honor recipients are posted: http://www.culture.gouv.fr/documentation/leonore/leonore.htm

 

Other secondary material is referred mainly to Wikipedia articles; note that some of these sites are only in French.






Web Presentation

 

The principal aim of this work is to provide a framework on which others might contribute material pertinent to the Destenay family. Ultimately these pages should be posted to Wikipedia. However, because of the dearth of both primary and secondary material, perhaps it would be best to offer this first as the basis for a joint project. I would welcome any comments or new information, via e-mail gplains@onemain.com, or, for transmission of manuscripts and additional source material, via the U.S. Mail:

Gerald T. Davidson

P.O. Box 1466

Red Lodge, MT 59068

U.S.A.

 

Of course I would also welcome an accurate translation into French. I don’t feel my French is quite up to the translation into idiomatic or scholarly French.

 

Thank you for your participation. Perhaps, if there are sufficient responses, this can be developed into a proper web site to honor this remarkable composer, with supplementary materials from his era, such as photographs, musical scores, etc.





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