Printed Editions of Andre Campra's L'Europe Galante

Printed Editions of Andre Campra's "L'Europe Galante"
Author(s): James R. Anthony

Source: The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 56, No. 1 (Jan., 1970), pp. 54-73
Published by: Oxford University Press
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PRINTED EDITIONS OF
ANDRE CAMPRA'S L'EUROPE GALANTE
By JAMES
R. ANTHONY
T
HE
recent
publication
of a facsimile of the 1724 full score
(parti-
tion
ge'ndrale)
of Andre
Campra's opera-ballet
L'Europe galante
1
is a welcome addition to the flood of
manuscripts, printed editions,
and
treatises now available to student and scholar in facsimile. This hand-
some,
folio-size score cannot be numbered
among
Robert
Donington's
"murky
flow of
reprints
. . . better left in the natural oblivion to which
their demerits
brought them,"
2
for it
helps
to rescue from unnatural
oblivion a musical score of considerable charm.3 In
addition,
it is now
possible
for the student of French classical
opera
to own a
copy
of an
edition which was
reprinted many
times
during
the 18th
century
and
which must be ranked
among
the most detailed scores of the
prdramiste
period.
It is evident from certain details to be described later that
Jean
Baptiste Christophe
Ballard,
"Seul
Imprimeur
du
Roy pour
la
Musique,"
devoted much time to the
preparation
and execution of this
printing
in
spite
of an earlier
history
of
legal entanglements
with the
composer.
To
1
L'Europe galante, partition generale (Paris: Jean Baptiste Christophe Ballard,
1724; Reprinted
in 1967
by Gregg
Press
Limited).
There is a
19th-century
edition
of
L'Europe galante printed by
Michaelis and edited
by
Theodore
Lajarte
as
part
of
the
Chefs
d'Oeuvres
classiques
de
l'opira
franfais.
This
edition, published
in
1879,
is
a reduction for
piano
and voice. In
spite
of
Lajarte's
statement on the title
page,
viz., "conforming
to the
copies
and
manuscripts
in the
Bibliothdque
du
Th6eatre
de
l'Opera,"
this
publication,
when
compared
with the
partition
gnd'rale,
is far from
complete. Occasionally
the editor
acknowledges
his
deletions; many
of those left
unacknowledged
occur in critical
places
and often result in a distortion of the com-
poser's
intent.
2Notes,
2nd
series,
XXV
(1968-69),
46.
3
For a discussion of the musical features of
L'Europe galante
see Lionel de La
Laurencie,
"Notes sur la
jeunesse
d'Andre
Campra,"
Sammelbdinde der internation-
alen
Musikgesellschaft,
X
(1908-1909),
199-220, 247-58;
Maurice Barthelemy,
Andrd
Campra (Paris, 1957), pp. 46-55;
and the
present
author's "Thematic
Repetition
in the
Opira-Ballets
of Andr6
Campra,"
The Musical
Quarterly,
LII
(1966),
209-220.
54
Printed Editions of Andr6
Campra's L'Europe galante
55
be
sure,
the Ballard
printing monopoly
had little to risk in 1724 in
choosing L'Europe galante
for an edition de luxe. This
op&ra-ballet,
the
first
clearly representative
of the new
genre,4
had been
consistently pop-
ular since its initial
performance
at the Acad6mie
Royale
de
Musique
on
October
24,
1697. It had
enjoyed
successful revivals in 1706 and
1715,
and it was
performed again, beginning June 20,
1724.'
Lecerf de La Vieville
carefully exempted L'Europe galante
from his
deprecatory
remarks
concerning post-Lully operas:
"M. du Francine
[the
administrative director of the
opera],
who knows it
well,
will tell
you
that no
opera,
not even of
Lully,
'
, had more of a
following
than
L'Europe galante." 6
After the
performance
of the summer and fall of
1724 the Mercure de
France,
its official ear to the
ground,
wrote that
"Ce ballet est extremement
gocite" (December, page 2624).
At this time
Campra
was at the
apogee
of his success as a
stage composer.
He had
overcome the failures of his continuous-action ballet Arethuse
(1701)
and his
trag6die-lyrique Tilephe (1717).
His final
opera-ballet,
Les
Ages,
had held the
stage
with no rivals in the fall of 1718
(October
9
to December
6)
and had been revived in
October,
1724. The
popular
op6ra-ballet
Les Fetes venitiennes
(first performed
on
June 17, 1710)
had
already enjoyed
its third revival in 1721.
An accurate
gauge
of the "official"
approbation
accorded
Campra
during
the
years
of the
Regency
of
Philippe
d'Orlians
may
be estab-
lished
through
a
reading
of the
pages
of the Mercure de France. This
journal, although
directed
by
litte'rateurs,
remained
essentially
a mirror
of court
opinion
as well as an official
organ
of honn'tes hommes.' There
are about 120 volumes devoted to the
Regency (1715-1724). Signifi-
cantly,
there is no mention of
Couperin
in
spite
of the fact that the first
three books of his Pieces de Clavecin and a collection of Concerts
Royaux
had
appeared by
1722. In
contrast, Campra
is mentioned eleven
times,
a
recognition
which
surpasses
that of the sacrosanct
Lully.
Four
4
The French
opera-ballet,
it will be
remembered,
is characterized
by
an inde-
pendent
dramatic action for each entree
(act)
with some reference to a collective
idea
expressed
in the title. See
my
article "The French
Opera-Ballet
in the
Early
18th
Century:
Problems of Definition and
Classification," Journal of
the American
Musicological Society,
XVIII
(1965),
197-206.
5
Six
subsequent
revivals at the Acad6mie
Royale
de
Musique
are recorded
up
to
1775.
6
Comparaison
de la
musique
italienne et de la
musique fran?oise,
2nd ed.
(Brus-
sels, 1705), p.
97.
7
For the statistical information found in the
text,
I wish to
acknowledge
Nicole
Wild's informative
thesis,
La Vie musicale en France sous le
Re'gence d'apris
le
Mercure
(1961), copy
in the
Bibliotheque
de
l'Op'ra (B. 778).
56 The Musical
Quarterly
years
after the death of the
Regent
the Mercure continued to comment
on the
"great reputation
which he
[Campra]
has
acquired
over a
long
period
of time of
being
one of the
greatest
masters of his Art"
(March,
1727,
page 566).
By
1724
L'Europe galante
had
already
been
through
four
printed
editions. The first
three,
those of
1697, 1698,
and
1699,
had been
printed
in Paris
by
Ballard and are hereafter referred to as Ballard
I, II,
and III.
They
were
printed
in
quarto
and in the reduced score
(parti-
tion
re'duite)
so
typical
of the
period.8
The title
page
of these editions
may
be found in Lionel de La Laurencie's
pioneering
article in the Sam-
melbdinde der internationalen
Musikgesellschaft (X, 207).
This redoubt-
able French
scholar,
so
important
for his contributions to an under-
standing
of French music of this
period,
was in error in his title
page
for Ballard III and therefore in his comment that the "first two editions
of
L'Europe galante
are
anonymous;
the
third,
that of
1699,
carries the
indication
'par
Mr.
Campra'
"
(page 205).
The title
page
of this edition
(B.N.
Vm2
146)
reads as follows:
L'EUROPE
/
GALANTE,
/ Ballet
/
En
Musique
/
Troisieme
6dition,
Reviie et
corrig6e
/
[Printer's mark]
/
A
Paris,
/
Chez
Christophe Ballard,
seul
Imprimeur
du
Roy pour
la
Musique,
/
Rue, Jean
de
Beauvais,
au Mont-Parnasse /
M DC XCIX. / Avec
Privilege
de Sa
Majest6.
It will be noted that this edition also is
anonymous.
La Laurencie mentioned an undated fourth edition
published
in
Amsterdam
by
Le
Cane,
which he
conjectured
to have been
printed
"about 1700"
(page 207).
This is the fourth edition found at the Biblio-
theque
de
l'Opera (A.45c)
whose title
page
follows:
8
In preparing
a reduced
score, the general practice
seems to have been to elim-
inate the inner voices
(parties
de
remplissage). However,
this
principle
was far from
universally applied.
Vocal and instrumental extracts written in trio texture were
usually printed
in full. Thus the
ubiquitous
"trio des hautbois"
(two
oboes and
bassoon)
contained three
printed parts,
whereas the dance it served as a "trio" was
printed
with
only melody
and bass. There is considerable variation not
only
from one
reduced score to another but even within the same score. The 1716 Ballard reduced
score of Monteclair's Les Festes de l'te' includes a
magnificent
double choir "As-
semblons-nous"
(3rd entree,
scene
6, pp. 108-117),
which
happily
was
printed
with
all choral and instrumental
parts intact;
the chorus
"Que
l'Astre
qui
donne le
jour,"
which concludes the
prologue
of the same
work,
was
printed
with
melody
and bass
only.
Printed Editions of
Andrd
57
L'EUROPE /
GALANTE,
/
Ballet,
/
Mis en
Musique
/
Par Monsieur
Campra
/
Quatrieme
Edition
Revile, Corrig6e,
&
Augmentee
de Plusieurs Airs Italiens /
[Printer's mark]
/
A Amsterdam /
Chez Michel Charles Le
Cene, Librairie,
chez
qui
l'on trouve /
un assortiment
g6ndral
de Livres de
Musique
Vocale & Instrumentale.
Michel Charles Le Cene
(died 1743)
was the son-in-law of the famous
Amsterdam music
printer
Estienne
Roger.
His name
appeared together
with
Roger's
on editions
printed
from 1717 to 1721. It
appeared
alone
for the first time at the end of 1722 after the death of
Roger
the same
year.
Therefore,
the fourth edition of
L'Europe galante
could not have
appeared
before this
date.9
To
complicate
matters
further,
there is another fourth edition
appar-
ently
unknown to La Laurencie
(B.N. X.95)
which does
carry
a date
closer to the one he
prognosticated.
The title
page
follows:
L'EUROPE / GALANTE / Ballet /
Mis en
Musique
/ Par Monsieur xxxxxx
/
Quatrieme
Edition
Revile,
Corrigee,
&
Augmentee
de Plusieurs Airs Italiens /
[Printer's mark]
/ A Amsterdam / Chez Pierre Mortier
Librairie,/
qui
vend toutes sortes de
Musique,
les
plus
belles & Correctes
qu'il y
/
ait du Monde. Et il donnera toutes les
Operas
de Mr.
Lully,
/
de la
mlne
Grandeur & Beaut6
que
cet
Ouvrage.
/ M DCC IX.
This
printer
was none other than the Pierre Mortier whose
technique
apparently
was to counterfeit the editions of
Roger
and sell them at a
reduced
price,'0 Judging
from the dedication to his niece
Agata
Amelia
Cocquis,
the edition of
L'Europe galante appears
to be one of his first
efforts: "I dedicate this work to
you.
It is the first that I have
brought
out which is
worthy
of
your study...
I
hope
to
publish
all the most
beautiful
pieces
of music and
principally
those
by
Monsieur de
Lully.
I will
present
these to
you
after
they
are
printed."
In
partial
vindication
of
Mortier,
I can find no
Roger
edition of
L'Europe galante
of which
this is a counterfeit
copy.
In
fact,
it is the most
beautifully printed
of all
9
For information on
Roger
and Le Cene see Marc
Pincherle,
"Notes sur Estienne
Roger
et Michel-Charles Le
Cene,"
Revue
belge
de
musicologie,
I
(1946-47),
82-92.
Also Arend Koole's article in Die Musik in Geschichte und
Gegenwart,
Vol.
XI,
cols.
630-32. These sources correct the "fort
peu
exacte" information
(Pincherle)
found
in
Alphonse Goovaerts,
Histoire et
biographie
de la
typographie
musicale dans les
Pays-Bas (Anvers, 1880), p.
169.
10
See
Francois
Lesure,
"Estienne
Roger
et Pierre Mortier. Un
episode
de la
guerre
des
contrefagons
'
Amsterdam,"
Revue de
musicologie,
XXXVIII
(1956),
35-48.
58 The Musical
Quarterly
the editions of this
opera-ballet,
thus
illustrating
the
printer's pompous
intentions found on the title
page. Unfortunately,
the
copy
in the Biblio-
thique
Nationale is mutilated with
pages
253-254
(the beginning
of
scene 4 of the final
entrie) missing.
After a careful examination and
collation of the Mortier edition with Ballard
I, II,
and
III,
I conclude
that the former most
closely
resembles Ballard III.
Mortier,
if indeed he
was
responsible
for the
preparation
of the
edition,
took
pains
to correct
some of the errors found in Ballard III."
Curiously,
he retained from
Ballard I the "Par Monsieur xxxxxx" of the title
page
as well as certain
textual variants found
only
in that edition. In
determining
who "bor-
rowed" from
whom,
it is worth
noting
that the Le Cane fourth edition
seems to be based
closely
on that of Mortier.
In order to
appreciate
the
scope
and
uniqueness
of the 1724 full
score of
L'Europe galante
it is
important
to summarize
briefly
the earlier
Ballard editions 12 and to
explore
the often
stormy relationship
of
pub-
lisher and
composer
in the
twenty-five years
that
separate
Ballard III
from the full score. The
question
of the Ballard
anonymous
editions of
L'Europe galante
and the
contiguous problem
of the fake attribution of
Campra's early stage
works to his brother
Joseph
must be clarified.
Simply stated,
none of the Ballard editions anterior to the full score of
1724
carry
the name of the
composer
on the title
page; indeed,
it is not
until the
publication
of the
tragedie-lyrique
Hesione
(1700)
that the
somewhat
equivocal
"Par Monsieur
Campra" appears.
The score of the
divertissement
Venus,
feste galante, published by
Ballard in
1698,
is
anonymous,
anrid
the continuous-action ballet Le Carnaval de
Venise,
published by
Ballard in
1699,
carries the
legend "par
M.
Campra
le
Cadet" on its title
page.13
11
But there is some evidence of
carelessness,
not uncommon at this
time,
in
Mortier's
figuring
of the continuo.
12
In addition to the
Ballard, Mortier,
and Le Cane editions there are also extant
two
manuscript copies
of
L'Europe galante dating
from the
early
18th
century.
The
B.N.
(MS frg.
Vm2
145)
in reduced score seems based on Ballard
III,
and that of
the Bibl. de
l'Opera (A.45e)
on the 1724 full score.
13
The
myth
that two
operas by Campra
bore the name of his
younger
brother
as
composer may
be traced back at least to the brothers Parfaict and to La Borde.
The latter
wrote,
"... il donna ses deux
premiers operas
sous le nom de son frere"
(Essai
sur la
musique
ancienne et moderne
[Paris, 1780], III, 401);
it was
perpetu-
ated
by
Fitis
who insisted that
L'Europe galante appeared
"sous le nom de son
frre"
(Biographie
universelle des musiciens
[Paris, 1861], II, 170)
and sustained
by
Slo-
nimsky,
".. . the
production
of two
operas
under his brother's name"
(Baker's
Bio-
graphical Dictionary of Musicians,
5th ed.
[New York, 1958], p. 248).
Andr6's
brother, Joseph Campra (1662-1744),
was
not,
as described
by
the
brothers
Parfaict,
a "fort honnete homme" who never knew a note of music
(His-
Printed Editions of Andre
59
Campra
in 1694 had
replaced Jean Mignon
as
"maitre
de
musique"
at Notre
Dame,
and in 1696 he had been
appointed
a canon at Saint
Jean
le Rond. Given the
repressive
climate of the court at
Versailles,
which under the
puritanical aegis
of Mme. de Maintenon took on the
"demeanor of a
convent,""14
and
given
the
opposition
to
opera
on moral
grounds expressed by Boileau,1"
the conservative
clergy,
and the Sor-
bonne,
it is not
surprising
that
Campra
would
try
to mask
any
success
as a
stage composer. However,
as evidenced
by
the
following
extract
from a 1697
chanson,
the
anonymity
of the
composer
of
L'Europe
galante
was a
poorly guarded
secret:
Quand
notre
Archeveque sgaura
L'Auteur du nouvel
Opera,
De sa Cathedrale
Campra
D
campera.16
Campra
left Notre Dame on October
13, 1700,
and the Ballard score
of Hisione
carrying
the
composer's
name
appeared
in time for the first
performance
of this
tragedie-lyrique
in December of the same
year.
The three Ballard editions of
L'Europe galante
show
composer
and
publisher obviously working closely together.
Each edition
subsequent
to
that of 1697
corrects, refines,
and
supplements
the work in the
light
of
actual
performances.
Thus
pieces
found
only
in the
Supplement
of Bal-
lard I are
carefully integrated
into the score in Ballard II. In Ballard II
and III "Dom Pedro" and "Dom Carlos"
replace
the "Premier Cava-
lier" and "Second Cavalier"
(Entree II, "L'Espagne")
of Ballard I and
the latter's
"Seigneur
Venitien" and "Dame Ve'nitienne" are identified
in the later editions as "Octavio" and
"Olimpia."
Both Ballard II and
III add an
alphabetical
"Table des Airs
qui peuvent
se
detacher," which,
although
not
all-inclusive,
is
handy
for
quick
reference. Ballard
III,
toire de l'Acade'mie
Royale
de
Musique,
B.N. MS
fr?.
n.a.
6532, p. 115).
At the time
of the first
performance
of
L'Europe galante Joseph
was a violist in the
opera
or-
chestra. See Ren'e
Girardon,
"Andre
Campra,"
Die Musik in Geschichte und
Gegen-
wart,
Vol.
II,
col. 740.
14
See Etienne
Gros, Philippe Quinault (Paris, 1926), p.
142.
15
Boileau's famous Satire X with its attack
against
the
operas
of
Lully
-
"Et
tous ces lieux communs de Morale
lubrique,/Que Lully
rechauffa des sons de sa Mu-
sique?"
-
appeared
first in 1694
(Paris,
chez D.
Thierry).
16
Found in a collection of
songs
from the
year
1697
(Vol.
IX of the Chanson-
nier de
Maurepas,
B.N. MS
frc. 12624)
with the
following
remark: "Sur
l'oplra
de
L'Europe galante auquel
le Sr.
Campra, Provencal,
Maistre de la
Musique
de Notre
Dame de Paris avoit travaill&."
60 The Musical
Quarterly
although
it commits one bad error
(in
the bass line of the air "El es-
perar"),
corrects a few
shoddy examples
of
part-writing
found in the
two earlier editions. Ex. 1 shows two such
corrections,
the first from
"L'Italie,"
scene
1,
the second from "La
Turquie,"
scene 1.
Ex. la.
L'Italie,
Scene I
Octavio
A +
som
-
mes-nous seuls en des lieux
Ballard I and
II
'
_ _
__'
Ballard III _
Ex. lb. La
Turquie,
Scene I
A
ZaYde
+ +
op
IRI
(Souve)
rain
que ja
-
dore au
-
jour d'huy;
Ballard I and
II
l
Ballard III _ _ _ _ _
After Ballard
III,
Campra
and Ballard entered a contractual rela-
tionship
which soon led to an
open
break between
composer
and
pub-
lisher. This
rupture, although
healed
long
before the full score of
1724,
is worth a brief
recounting,
if
only
because of the
light
it throws on the
often tenuous and difficult relations between
early 18th-century
com-
posers
and the Ballard
printing monopoly. "7
On November
27, 1700,
twenty-four days
before the first
performance
of his
He'sione,
Campra
signed
a contract with
Ballard,
which stated in
part
that the
composer
17
There are many lacunae in the general history
of
music-printing
in France and
on the critical role of the Ballard
family
in
particular.
It has been more than
sixty
years
since Michel Brenet observed that the "histoire de la
dynastie
des Ballard n'a
pas
encore 'te
crite;
elle serait d'une
grande
utilit6
pour
l'histoire de la
musique
frangaise" ("La
Librairie musicale en France de 1653 a
1790,"
Sammelbainde
der
internationalen
Musikgesellschaft,
VIII
[1906-1907], p. 405, note).
It has been
twenty years
since Vladimir Fedorov
promised
us his Histoire de
l'imprimerie
musi-
cale en France
("Ballard,"
Die Musik in Geschichte und
Gegenwart,
Vol.
I,
col.
1157).
It has been fourteen
years
since Cecil
Hopkinson
avoided
any
discussion con-
cerning
"this most
important family (Ballard)
in view of the fact that a
history
and
bibliography
of their
publications
is now
being completed
in France"
(A Dictionary
of
Parisian Music
Publishers,
1700-1950
[London, 1954], p. 6).
61
would cede all claims to the
opera Hisione."8
In
return,
Ballard would
print, sell,
and distribute the
opera
as
many
times as he
thought
fit
("autant
de fois
que
bon
luy sembleroit"). Campra agreed
to examine
the
proofs
of this and all
subsequent operas
in order to be sure that the
score conformed to the actual
performance.
Ballard insisted that he be
given
the
manuscript
in time to have it
printed
and
ready
for sale "seven
or
eight days
before the first
performance."
He
agreed
to
pay Campra
the sum of 2000 livres for each
opera printed.
Ballard
I, II,
and III had been the
happy
results of a close
working
arrangement
between
Campra
and his
publisher.
This
arrangement,
now
given legal sanction,
was strained to a
breaking point
in 1703. The
opera-ballet
Les Muses was first
performed
on October 20 of this
year.
According
to the contract the music had been
printed
and made available
to the
public
before the first
performance.
After the fifth
performance
the work was
withdrawn,
and several critical
changes
were made
by
the
composer
and the
librettist,
Antoine de
Clement
Danchet,
before it was
returned to the
stage
on November 15.1 Ballard insisted that
Campra
had
neglected
to furnish him with the alterations as
stipulated
in their
contract. He refused to
pay
the
composer, claiming
with
justification
that
the
public
could
hardly
be
expected
to
buy
a score that no
longer
con-
formed to the
performance.
Yet
Barthelemy
was not accurate to claim that Ballard "ceased all
business with
Campra
until 1708."
20
In 1704 he
printed
in reduced
score an Extrait de
l'ope'ra d'Iphiginie,21
which includes an
oblique
ref-
erence to the
legal
difficulties
perhaps only recently resolved,
it is as-
sumed,
in Ballard's favor. Pertinent extracts from its Avis follow:
By stimulating
the
partisans
of
good music,
the success of the
opera Iphiginie
has
18
Extracts from this contract and from the
legal records
pertinent
to the Ballard-
Campra
confrontation are found in an article
by
Constant
Pierre,
"L'Editeur Ballard
contre
Campra,"
L'Art
musicale,
December, 1893, pp. 105-6,
113-14. The
quotations
found in the text above are taken from this article.
19
According
to Ballard's
lawyer,
"The
Prologue
had
displeased
the
public; they
substituted a new one. 'La Pastorale'
(1st entree)
had
failed; they replaced
it with
another one. 'La Comedie'
(4th entree)
was
attacked;
it was almost
completely
redone."
20
Andre Campra, p.
25.
21
This first opera to be based on the
Euripides tragedy
was left unfinished
by
Henri Desmarets and his
librettist, J.
F. Duch6. This most talented of
Lully's
students
had been exiled from France for the abduction of Mlle. de
Saint-Gobert, daughter
of
the director of taxation for the Senlis district.
Campra
and Danchet took on the task
of
completing
and
revising
the
trag6die-lyrique,
which was first
performed
on
May 6,
1704.
62 The Musical
Quarterly
also renewed the zeal I have
always
had to
satisfy
their
curiosity.
I would have
willingly
taken the
necessary
measures to
print
this work in its
entirety,
as I have
others,
if I could have
predicted
its
success;
but I was
apprehensive,
on this
occasion,
to take the risk that one
ordinarily
runs when he
prints
an
opera
too
soon or too late
[italics added].
By 1708,
their
legal
difficulties at an
end, Campra
and Ballard re-
sumed full
cooperation,
and
Campra
no
longer
felt that he must
try
to
circumvent the
publisher's monopoly by making
use of the
engraving
plates
of Henri De
Baussen,
a former Ballard
employee.22
In
examining
Ballard's
printed
scores of
stage
works from Ballard
III to his 1724 full score of
L'Europe galante,
one is struck
by
the
pau-
city
of full scores in folio editions. There
are,
to be
sure,
the ten
printed
editions in full score and the nine
engraved
editions in reduced score of
the
stage
works of
Lully.
Seven of the
engraved
scores use the
original
plates
of De Baussen
engravings
made between 1708 and 1711 of
Lully's
operas."
Ballard
printed only
reduced scores in
quarto
of such
popular
opera-ballets
as
Campra's
Les Fe^tes venitienne
(1710)
and Mouret's Les
Fetes de Thalie
(1714).
In
contrast,
two of the works that were
printed
in full score folio editions were artistic and financial
disasters;
the choice
of such a format can
only
be
explained by
the information found on the
title
pages
of both editions:
"Imprimee
aux
d6pens
de l'Academie
Royale
de
Musique."24
In
considering
the 1724 full score of
L'Europe galante,
there are two
questions
to
pose: first, why
was such an elaborate and
expensive
edition
printed, and, second,
is it
unique
or are there other editions of similar
quality?
In answer to the first
question,
it is
quite possible
that
Ballard,
despite
his
monopoly,
wished to counter the
growing opposition
to his
stubborn refusal to
adopt
new and
improved
methods of music
printing.
The same movable
type
invented in the 1550s
by
Guillaume Le
Be,
father-in-law of the firm's
founder,
Robert
Ballard,
was still
being
used
22
After the rupture
with
Ballard, Campra
had turned to De Baussen for the
engraving
of his Alcine
(trag6die-lyrique,
De Baussen
engraving, 1705).
In order to
assure the dissemination of his
opera
he
carefully
included his
privilege
of
May 4,
1704,
which
permitted
him to
"engrave, print,
sell and distribute
anywhere
in our
Realm,
all
pieces
of Music of his
composition
in one or several volumes." This
.priv-
ilege
was renewed
Sept. 7,
1720 and Nov.
23,
1736. See
Brenet, op.
cit., p.
419.
23
It must be
emphasized
that these Ballard editions are the
original
De Baussen
engravings.
The score of Phaeton
(De Baussen, 1709; Ballard, 1721)
reveals
very
clearly
the note "De Baussen
sculptait"
on the final
page
of both editions.
24
These works are Collasse's
trag6die-lyrique Polyxene
et
Pyrrhus,
fir.st
performed
on Oct.
21, 1706,
and never
revived,
and Bouvard's and Bertin
dr
La Doue's tra-
g'die-lyrique
Cassandre, performed only
twelve times in the summer of 1706.
63
by
the Ballard
family
in the 18th
century.
The weakness of this kind of
printing
with its
diamond-shaped
notes and short stems
lay
in its "clum-
siness and lack of
flexibility
when used for
printing
chords and florid
music." 25 It had
already
been
superseded by
the use of
engraved copper
plates,
which in addition to
using
the round note heads of the
period
were also
particularly
well
adapted
to a clear
reproduction
of a more
rhythmically complex
and more
highly
ornamented music.26
If the title
page
of the 1724 full score is examined
(see
Plate
4),
a
clue to the answer to the second
question posed
above
may
be found.
In small
print directly
under "Partition Generale" we are informed that
this edition of
L'Europe galante
is "semblable a la derniere Edition
d'Isse,"
which was
published
the same
year. Turning
to Andre Cardinal
Destouches's
pastorale heroique
IssJ,
we find
many striking parallels
with
the edition of
L'Europe galante.
It too is a
large
folio-size
partition
ge'nrale
and
obviously
served as a model for the later score. In both
scores considerable care was taken to render
accurately
the musical
text,
to
space
the notes
carefully
on the
page,
and to observe a
fairly
con-
sistent vertical
alignment.
Both scores
carry
more indications of
tempo
and
expression
than was
typical
of the
period,
and
perhaps by
virtue of
the choice of musical
material,
neither score suffers
excessively
from the
limitations of all Ballard
printed
editions described above.
When we read Ballard's "Avis de
l'Imprimeur
sur cette Edition"
carefully placed
at the
beginning
of the score to
Isse',
it is clear that the
printer
wanted to call
particular
attention to this edition. It is also clear
that the similarities between this edition and that of
L'Europe galante
are not fortuitous.
I have wanted for several
years
to be able to
give
to the
public
those
operas
which
have received their
approbation
in the form in which I am
presenting
this new
edition. It differs from its
predecessors only
in the
augmentation
of
parts
which
results in a Partition
gindrale following
the
plan
which we used for the works of
Lully...
If the
public
whom I wish to
please
is satisfied with the exactitude of
this
edition,
I will do
my
best to
give
the same attention to other
operas
similar
to those described
above,
when
they
are to be
reprinted.
25
A. Hyatt King, Four Hundred Years of Music
Printing (London, 1964), p.
20. The
strongest printed
condemnation of the
repressive
and
reactionary
Ballard
monopoly
remains that of Simon-Pierre
Fournier,
who wrote in 1765: "One can
only
look with scorn on such a
narrow-minded, simple man, ignorant
of the main
prin-
ciples
of his
Art,
who
deprives
the entire
body
of French
printers
of an area of their
Art which has
always
been
open
to
them,
and who
prevents progress
in a
profession
to which he contributes
nothing"
(Traitd historique
et
critique
sur
l'origine
et les
progres
des caracteres de
fonte pour l'impression
de
Ia musique [Paris, 1763], p. 13).
26
The earliest
example
of musical
engraving
in France is the Livre
d'orgue
of
G. G.
Nivers, engraved by
Luders in 1667.
64 The Musical
Quarterly
This document is not without interest. It reveals Ballard
soliciting
the
approbation
of the
public,
and
yet,
in
offering
to
employ
this format
only
for a
"reprinting"
of works of
proven popularity,
he remained es-
sentially
cautious and
unwilling
to risk
publishing
adventures similar to
those which marked his earlier associations with
Campra.
A
systematic
investigation
of all Ballard editions
subsequent
to those of 1724 would
have to be made in order to determine whether or not the
publisher
realized his
expressed
intentions to
reprint
other
operas using
the same
format. It is
my suspicion,
based on a
cursory
examination of these
sources,
that there are no other editions "semblable" to those of Issi and
L'Europe galante.
As was true of the earlier Ballard editions of
L'Europe galante,
the
1724 full score is
cumulative;
that
is,
it corrects and refines Ballard
I,
II,
and III. For convenience we can divide these
changes
into musical
and extramusical alterations. The musical
changes,
in
every
instance,
show an increased awareness on the
part
of the
composer
of the dra-
matic and
expressive potentialities
of his score. In the
magnificent
"Som-
meil
qui chaque
nuit"
"L'Espagne,"
scene
1, pages 109-119)
the sub-
stitution of a D for an
F-sharp,
which results in a
descending
minor 6th
(see
Ex.
2a, below),
breaks
up
the
prevailing conjunct
motion of the
melodic line and
gives
musical
emphasis
to the
meaning
of the text.
Ex. 2b
(from
"La
Turquie,"
scene
2)
illustrates how the
simple
addi-
tion of a rest and the concomitant
change
in
rhythmic
values can mirror
musically
the
agitation
of the sultana
Roxane,
who has
just
been in-
formed that she is no
longer
the favorite of the sultan.
Ex. 2a.
L'Espagne,
Scene I
("Sommeil qui chaque
nuit")
Dom Pedro
(Ballard,
1724 full score)
*0
Op, - -
De sou - la -
ger
mon a -mou
- reux- tour
-
ment,
MA
riIL-
W- ;E L L I
(Ballard I,
II, III)
I
A
'
_r
etc.
De sou
-
la
-
ger
mon a- mou-reux...
Ex. 2b. La
Turquie,
Scene II
A
Roxane
(Ballard,
1724 full score)
al
-
lar
-
mes; Mais,
le
re-spect
me force
(Ballard I, II, III)
a
1051
1
1
140
I
,N
val - lar - mes; Mais, le re - spect me for - ce
al- lar -mes; Mats, le re- spect me for
-
ce
Printed Editions of Andr6
65
Similarily,
the sudden
jump
into the
"Prelude
pour
la Discorde"
(Pro-
logue,
scene
2) by
means of the
suppression
of the two
modulatory
measures, euphemistically
called a
"Prelude
des Basses" in Ballard
I, II,
and
III, may
also have served a dramatic end.
Although
one must be
constantly
on
guard against
an indiscriminate
application
of dramatur-
gical principles
of later
18th-century opera
to a work written in
1697,
it is true that
Campra
did make use of some
original
musico-dramatic
techniques
in his
op6ra-ballets.
It is
equally
true
that, judging
from
copies
of the 1724 score that served as editions for actual
performances,
some of these innovations were lost on the audiences and
impresarios
of
the later 18th
century.27
Not
only
did
they
restore the
dramatically
weak
"Pr6lude des Basses" mentioned above but
they
excized the entire final
scene of the
opera,
in which
Campra
had
brought
back
fragments
of the
exciting
music associated with the confrontation between Venus and
Discord first heard in the
Prologue.
In
fact,
in a libretto
printed
in
Brussels in 1726
(B.N.
Th.B
1063)
this scene had
already
been elim-
inated.
The 1724 edition adds
considerably
more ornamentation than is
found in Ballard
I, II,
or III. The
coule'd,
typically
found in chains of
descending thirds,
is
usually printed
in the manner of Ex.
3,
below. In
addition,
the
figuring
of the continuo is more
complete
than in the
earlier
editions,
where the
dances,
for
example,
were
rarely figured.
Ornamentation in 1724 full score of
L'Europa galante
Ex.3
L'Espagne,
Scene I("Sommeil
qui chaque nuit")
Dom Pedro
(Ballard,
1724 full
score)
mes ten -dres feux;
A i
(Ballard I,
II,
III)
__L__,_-
_
'"
S
mes__
ten -dres
feux;
Among
the extramusical
changes
found in the 1724 score there
was,
first of
all,
an obvious
attempt
on the
part
of the
composer
-
and also
the librettist?
-
to
tighten
the internal
organization
of his
op6ra-ballet.
27
The
copies
are those of the
Bibliotheque
de
l'Op'ra
A.45 dI and the Biblio-
thbque
de Versailles
MSD,78.
They
have some interest as
examples
of how
style
changes
of a later
period
were
superimposed
over scores
composed fifty
or
sixty years
earlier. The Bibl. de
l'Opera score,
which was
probably
used for the revival of
1755,
reduces the
prevailing five-part
texture of
Campra's oplra-ballet
to
four,
and
many
of the dances and other
"symphonies"
were re-orchestrated
by adding
horn and
bassoon
parts.
66 The Musical
Quarterly
Thus,
the
Prologue
28 for the first time is divided into two
scenes,
with
the
important "Pr6lude pour
la Discorde" used as the structural center.
The sense of balance and
symmetry present
in the format of the earlier
entr6es 2" undoubtedly
motivated the
composer
to create a new scene
(scene 4)
from the material
already
found in the final
entr&e,
"La
Turquie."
As a result of this
restructuring,
scenes 4 and 2 are
balanced,
with the sultan Zuliman as central
figure
in both scenes
joined
in scene 2
by
the sultana Roxane and in scene 4
by
the sultana
Zayde.
This edition of
L'Europe galante
is
perhaps unique
in the amount of
stage
directions it contains
-
information
normally found,
if at
all,
in
the
published
librettos or in such a collection as the
Recueil
general
des
operas (1703-1745)
edited
by
Francini. At the end of the
Prologue
(page 68)
there is even an Avis which
gives,
in
summary,
La Motte's
motivation for
supplying Campra
with a
plan
based on the inhabitants
of four
European
nations.
We have chosen those Nations of
Europe
which are the most
contrasting
and
which offer the
greatest potential
for
stage
treatment:
France, Spain, Italy
&
Turkey:
We have followed what is
normally
considered to be characteristic be-
havior of their Inhabitants.
THE FRENCHMAN is
portrayed
as
fickle,
indiscreet & amorous.
THE SPANIARD as faithful and romantic.
THE ITALIAN as
jealous,
shrewd & violent.
FINALLY,
we have
expressed,
within the limitations of the
stage,
the
haughtiness
and
supreme authority
of the SULTAN and the
passionate
nature of the SUL-
TANAS.
In the divertissement
(scene 2)
of "L'Italie" there are critical
stage
directions that link this divertissement
dramatically
with the rest of the
entr6e
in a manner
rarely
found in the
oplra-ballet,
where the divertisse-
ment serves
normally
as
playful
agrmrnent
of little or no dramatic
significance.
Because of this
printed
information,
we know that at this
point
in the act
Octavio,
the
"jealous,
shrewd & violent"
suitor,
learns
the
identity
of his rival who
during
the
f~te
dances with
Olimpia
and
displays "beaucoup d'empressement pour
elle." There are similar
stage
directions found in "La
Turquie"
that make it
possible
to reconstruct
28
Curiously,
the
composer
chose in this edition to label his
prologue "Prologue,
ou
premiere
entrme," thereby changing
the total number of entrees from four to five.
2
See, e.g.,
the
organization
of "La
France,"
in which scenes 1 and 4 in-
clude the same two main characters
(Silvandre
and
C6phise),
scenes 2 and 5 are
reserved for the two main female leads
(Cephise
in scene 2 and Doris in scene
5),
and the divertissement occurs
exactly
in the center of the
entree
in scene 3. A sim-
ilar structural
organization
is found in "L'Italie."
67
the violent conflict between
Zayde
and
Roxane,
the two sultanas com-
peting
for the love of the sultan Zuliman.
As an aid to
understanding
the texts of those
songs
of the divertisse-
ment
sung
in
Spanish, Italian,
and
Lingua Franca,
the score includes
fairly complete
and often
quite
literal translations into French. For
quick
reference there is also a table of "Airs
'
Jouer"
as well as the
typical
table of "Airs
'
Chanter,"
which adds the airs
missing
from the similar
table in Ballard II and III.
Even in such a
scrupulously prepared
edition,
there are some obvious
errors
and,
in common with
many
scores of the
period,
some musical
problems
difficult to resolve. An
example
of the former is the occasional
carelessness in the use of accidentals and the curious textual error found
only
in this edition that converts Discord's scornful "Et ne me force
pas
a m'entendre louer un
Roy [Louis XIV] qui
me deteste"
(page 38)
to
".. . un
Roy qui
te deteste." 30 A musical
problem
related to
performance
is found in Dom Pedro's air "Sommeil
qui chaque
nuit"
("L'Espagne,"
scene
1, pages 109-119).
This
air, masterfully
constructed over a cha-
conne
bass,
is the musical
highpoint
of the entr6e." In the 1724 full score
the
upper
four
parts
are
clearly
labeled "flutes"
(recorders).
These
parts
alternate in concertate fashion with a
larger group
labeled "tous" and
defined as "violons & flutes." Yet Ballard
I, II,
and III as well as both
fourth editions
(all
are reduced
scores)
indicate "violons" for the lower
parts (see
Plates 1 and
2).
The
part-books
for "Second dessus de
flutes,
violons et hautbois" in the
Bibliotheque
de
l'Opera assign
the second
part
to "2' dessus de
violons,"
and the "Premier dessus de
flutes,
violons
et hautbois"
simply prints
the
upper
two
parts
of the air without
any
distinction between
instruments,
even without the tutti-solo distribution.
Although
there is is
something
to be said for
performing
the air with
solo recorders
(or flutes)
and
strings constituting
the
petit
choeur,
the
elegiac
mood of the
piece
is enhanced when four recorders
alternating
with
strings
are
employed
as
suggested by
the full score.
It is
disappointing
to have to conclude this discussion of the editions
of
L'Europe galante
with a minor criticism of a
20th-century
music
30
In contrast to the
prologues
of the
trag6die-lyrique,
the
opera-ballet pro-
logues, although retaining
some of the
mythological personages,
delete most of the
long panegyrics
to Louis "le
plus parfait
des Rois"
expressed
in the most routine
platitudes
of the
grand
si'cle. The
passage
in
question
is in fact the
only
reference to
the
king
in the
Prologue
to
L'Europe galante.
31
The Michaelis edition,
for no discernible
reason,
cuts measures 40-72 from this
air. This
totally
eliminates the last of three formal
subdivisions,
the one which is the
most
expressive melodically
and the most
complex harmonically.
VY
Ilo
.4 "Awl
4e
'6K
Z 'At
?J
7WO
Nu
I'ESPAGNE
SECONDE
ENTRE'E
Le
TheatNre
xrprefe.t
ue 1
Race
publiq.ue.
SCENE
PREMIERE.
DOM
CENRPR, WfteMIERt.'
?
.
.
M
E
.
.., . . . .
AT
-
BAS $ECONTINVE
0IL~
Plate 1.
The
opening
of Dom Pedro's air "Sommeil
qui chaque nuit"
as
given
in Ballard III.
C0
69
109
m
- 6
~~oil
f fgaore~
TROISIE'ME
ENTRE'E.
L'E
SPAGNE.
Le
Thc^tre
reprifence
une Place
publique,
que
l'on difcerne
a
peine
,
parce que l'a&ion
fe
paffe
dans la nuit.
SCENE PREMIERE.
DOM P ED R 0 , Chevalier
Efpagnol,
fous
lc
balcon
de
fa Maitreffe.
P
Z
'
L U D B.
t~mm.
_q
'% TOUS.
Y LUTI S. VIOLONS
FLUI IS.
I LUTES.
lIran.
DoM
Pao.o.
B
s a
i,C@
m milsu C..
i_ __--
---- .
..Et_..
. -"
The
opening
of Dom Pedro's air "Sommeil
qui chaque
nuit"
as
given
in the full score of 1724.
70
L'E
UROPE
GALANTE,
BALLE T,
I
1
REPR ES ENTE EN L'A N
1697.
PAR
LA
C
AVD
E
M I E ROT.ALE
DE
YC
U S I
Q
U
E.i
De
la
Compofition
de
MonGieur
C A M P R
A,
Maitre
de
Mufique
de la
Chapelle
du
Roy.
PARTITION GENERALE,
feblableI
&
14 derwim
Editio
D'I S
$
it.
Les Paroles de cette Piece font de Monfieur
de LA MO T T
E,
de rAcademie
Frangoife.
74
14.A
APA RIS, DE L'IMPRIMERIE
De
JtAii-BATIRST
E-CHlRtSTOPH
BALLAR.D, Scul
Imprinmeur
du
Roy
plour
a
Mufiquc,
& Notcur
de la
Chapelle
dc Sa
MajcIt.
.L
DCC XXI V.
AVUC PRIVILBG
'soE S$ SA
MAfSTre.
Plate 3.
The title
page
of the full score of
L'Europe galante
as found in all
except
two of the Paris
copies.
71
L'EUROPE.
GALANTE,
BAL
LET.,
I
I
REPRESENTE
ENVL'AN1697.
PAI
LVACADEMIE
ROTALE
DE MVSfOlE;
De
la
Compofition
de Monfieur
C A M
P R A,
Maitre de
Mufique
de la
Chapelle
du.
Roy.
PARTITION
GENERALE,
fewmblableI
1 A1 demite Edities oxI0ssR.
Les
Paroles
de cette Piece font de Monfieur
de LA
MOT
T E,
de I'Acadernie
Frangoifc.
/.~ ~
A PARISDE
L"IMPRIMERIE
De J-B-CRI
STOPHE B A L
I
A R D ,
Sel
Imprimeur
du R>y
pour
la
Mufique,
et
Noteut
de la
Chaplle
de Sa
Majeild.
M. DCC XXI V.
AV'EC PRIVILEGE
DE SA MA.ESTET.
Plate 4.
The title
page
of the full score of
L'Europe galante
as found in
Paris,
Bibliotheque
Nationale,
X.467.
72 The Musical
Quarterly
publisher.
It is evident from the information found above that the 1724
full score is an
unusually complete example
of a French
operatic
score
of the time. An oasis in a virtual wasteland of reduced
scores,
it was
conceived
by
Andre
Campra
and
J.
B. C. Ballard to be
representative
of
their best work
and,
as
such,
it is a source of much information for the
student of French classical
opera.
It is unfortunate that
Gregg
Press
gave
us no information
regarding
the exact source of their 1967
reprint,
for
the fact that there
may
be differences between
printings
of what
pur-
ports
to be an edition of such and such a
year
must not be overlooked.
In addition to the basic
bibliographical
information found in our first
footnote,
we are informed
only
that the
reprinting
of 1967 is
"slightly
reduced from the
original"
and that it was
"printed
in West
Germany."
Evidence of differences between
printings
of the same edition
may
be observed
by examining
the two title
pages
of the 1724 full score
found above in Plates 3 and 4. The 1967
reprint
conforms to Plate
3,
as do all the Paris
copies except
two. These
two,
found in the Biblio-
theque
Nationale
(H.144
and
X.467),
are the same as Plate 4. Differ-
ences in
spacing (comma following "Campra"), lettering (M
of "Mu-
sique,"
D of
"Acad6mie"),
and
orthography ("Jean-Baptiste"
instead of
"J-B"
and "&" instead of
"et") may
be
easily
discerned.
However,
no Paris
copy
includes the errors found in the 1967
reprint.
Surely
most of these errors are due to uneven
inking
in the
particular
18th-century copy
used to
photograph,
but
given
the differences in title
page
noted
above,
it is at least conceivable that an
imperfect printing
was corrected
by
Ballard in some
subsequent printing.
Ex. 4 shows the
type
of error
peculiar
to the 1967
reprint (see
the vocal line in measure
1,
where the last half-note should be a
quarter).
A careful examination
and collation of this
reprint
with all Paris
copies
reveal a number of such
discrepancies
in the notation of
rhythm."2
It is unfortunate that
Gregg
Press did not reveal the location of the
source of their
reprint. Failing this,
it is
regrettable
that
they
did not
proofread
the source or
reprint
and collate it with
any
of the correct
Paris
copies.
This
said,
the
reprint
in its
present
form
gives
a much
more accurate
picture
of the
composer's
intention than the
piano-voice
reduction of the Michaelis edition.
Using
it as a
primary
source,
the
32Discrepancies
occur in the
following places: (1) p. 37,
bottom
line,
meas.
2;
(2) p. 52,
bottom
line,
meas.
8; (3) p. 117, top score,
meas.
2,
vocal line; (4) p.
156,
3rd
score,
meas.
3,
bass
line; (5) p. 177, top score,
meas.
6,
bass
line; (6) p. 2,
top score,
meas.
4,
vocal
line; (7) p. 219,
4th
score,
meas.
4,
bass
line;
and
(8) p.
249,
bottom
score,
meas.
1,
vocal line
(see
Ex.
4).
73
Ex. 4
f
x_- =_.
'- "
-
-
next
step
is to make available a well edited
performing
edition and
thereby
to transfer from the museums and libraries to the
living stage
a
major
work
by
a
composer
who was
"perhaps
the most
enchanting
of
all dance
composers."
"
3
Wilfred
Mellers, Frangois Couperin
and the French Classical Tradition
(Lon.-
don, 1950), p.
78.

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Printed Editions of Andre Campra's "L'Europe Galante"

Author(s): James R. Anthony

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Printed Editions of Andre Campra's L'Europe Galante

Printed Editions of Andre Campra's L'Europe Galante