Albert Lavignac

D-at major: Charming, suave, placid (plein de

charme, placide, suave)

Alexandre Jean Albert Lavignac (21 January 1846

28 May 1916) was a French music scholar, known for his
essays on theory, and a minor composer.

G-at major: Gentle and calm (doux et calme)

Biography

Minor keys:
G-sharp minor: Very somber (trs sombre)

Lavignac was born in Paris and studied with Antoine

Franois Marmontel, Franois Benoist and Ambroise
Thomas at the Conservatoire de Paris, where later
he taught harmony. Among his pupils were Henri
Casadesus, Claude Debussy, Vincent d'Indy, Amde
Gastou, Philipp Jarnach, Henri O'Kelly, Gabriel Piern,
and Florent Schmitt.

C-sharp minor: Brutal, sinister, or very sombre

(brutal, sinistre ou trs sombre)
F-sharp minor: Rough, or light, aerial (rude ou
lger, arien)
B minor: Savage or sombre but vigorous (sauvage
ou sombre, mais nergique)

In March 1864, at the age of eighteen, he conducted

from the harmonium the private premiere of Gioachino
Rossini's Petite messe solennelle.

E minor: Sad, agitated (triste, agit")

His condensed work, La Musique et les Musiciens, an

overview of musical grammar and materials, continued to
be reprinted years after his death. In it he characterised
the particular characteristics of instruments[1] and of each
key,[2] somewhat in the way Berlioz and Gevaert (Trait
d'orchestration, Gand, 1863, p. 189) had done:

A minor: Simple, naive, sad, rustic (simple, naf,

triste, rustique)
D minor: Serious, concentrated (srieux, concentr")
G minor: Melancholy, shy (mlancolique, ombrageux)

Major keys:

C minor: Gloomy, dramatic, violent (sombre, dramatique, violent)

F-sharp major: Rough (rude)

B major: Energetic ("nergique)

F minor: Morose, surly, or energetic (morose, chagrin, ou nergique)

E major: Radiant, warm, joyous ("clatant, chaud,

joyeux)
A major: Frank, sonorous (franc, sonore)

B-at minor: Funeral or mysterious (funbre ou

mystrieux)

D major: Joyful, brilliant, alert (gai, brilland,

alerte)

E-at minor:
triste)

G major: Rural, merry (champtre, gai)

Profoundly sad (profondment

A-at minor: Lugubrious, anguished (lugubre, angoiss")

C major: Simple, naive, commonplace (simple,

naf, franc, ou plat et commun)

His more popularized works discussed the music dramas

of Richard Wagner, summarised in Le Voyage artistique
B-at major: Noble and elegant, graceful (noble et Bayreuth.
lgant, gracieux)
F major: Pastoral, rustic (pastoral, agreste)

E-at major: Vigorous, chivalrous (sonore, nergique, chevaleresque)

2 Selected works

A-at major: Gentle, caressing, or pompous (doux, Lavignac edited the compendious Encyclopdie de la Mucaressant, ou pompeux)
sique.
1

5
Cours complet thoretique et pratique de dicte musicale (1882)
cole de la pdale (1889)
La musique et les musiciens (1895) Translated into
English, 1905
Le voyage artistique Bayreuth (1897) An analysis
of Wagners leitmotifs.

Footnotes

[1] The timbre of the trombone is in its nature majestic

and imposing. It is suciently powerful to dominate a
whole orchestra and produces an impression of superhuman power ... it can become terrible ... or mournful and
full of dismay: or it may have the serenity of the organ ...
It is a superb instrument of lofty dramatic power, which
should be reserved for great occasions.
[2] page 424

References
Gail Smith, Keys and colors: is there a connection?"

External links
Free scores by Albert Lavignac at the International
Music Score Library Project

EXTERNAL LINKS

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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