French-language academic journal From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with the musical journal La Revue musicale (1920–1940).
The Revue musicale was a weekly musical review founded in 1827 by the Belgian musicologist, teacher and composer François-Joseph Fétis, then working as professor of counterpoint and fugue at the Conservatoire de Paris. It was the first French-language journal dedicated entirely to classical music. In November 1835 it merged with Maurice Schlesinger's Gazette musicale de Paris (first published in January 1834) to form Revue et gazette musicale de Paris, first published on 1 November 1835. It ceased publication in 1880.
Cover of Revue et Gazette Musicale de Paris (15 November 1835)
By 1830 the Revue musicale, written and published by Fétis, was on sale at Maurice Schlesinger's music seller's premises.[1] Schlesinger (whose father founded the Berliner allgemeine musikalische Zeitung) was a German music editor who had moved to Paris in 1821. Schlesinger published editions of classical and modern music under his own name at a reasonable price, most notably works by Mozart, Haydn, Weber, Beethoven, Hummel and Berlioz. He also published Robert le diable[2] and Les Huguenots by Giacomo Meyerbeer, as well as La Juive by Fromental Halévy.[3] Schlesinger founded his own rival publication, the Gazette Musicale de Paris, which first appeared on 5 January 1834.[4][5]
Another music journal, Le Ménestrel, had first appeared the previous month on 1 December 1833.[6][7] Until La Revue et Gazette ceased publication in 1880, Le Ménestrel was to be its main rival in terms of influence and breadth of coverage.[8]
In 1835, Schlesinger bought the Revue musicale from Fétis and merged the two journals into the Revue et gazette musicale de Paris. He widened the subject matter of the Gazette musicale from music itself to also include literature about music – in 1837 he commissioned from Honoré de Balzac for the Gazette the novellaGambara (dealing with the new style of grand opera).[9]
1835, Vol. 1 (2e année, No. 2, 11 January 1835). In issue 44, pp.353–4 (the first edition of Revue et Gazette Musicale de Paris) Schlesinger - comparing himself to a general of Ancient Greece - announced on 1 November 1835 in glowing terms that the struggle with Fétis had been won, and that La Revue Musicale would pass, with arms and baggage-train, ensigns flying and with all the honours of war, into the Gazette musicale.[20] Fétis announced that subscribers to his Revue would receive the Gazette under the Revue's masthead until 1 January 1836, and that he would continue to write exclusively for the Gazette.
1835, Vol. 2 (Nos. 45-52, November–December 1835, with supplements)
6th year, 1839. From January 1839 until 11 April 1841 the journal appeared twice weekly, on Thursdays and Sundays. For the first six months, (January–June 1839), the Thursday edition appeared as
Revue musicale, journal des artistes, des amateurs et des théatres with similar font and masthead design. The first edition appeared on Thursday, 3 January 1839, with consistent volume numbering, as 6e année, No. 1.[21]
Revue musicale, journal des artistes etc. (Thursdays only: No. 1, Thursday, 3 January 1839 to No. 26, Thursday, 27 June 1839, as Revue Musicale: plus No 27, Thursday, 4 July, and No. 28, Sunday, 7 July, as Revue et Gazette Musicale de Paris) The Sunday edition continued as
Revue et gazette musicale de Paris, 6th year, 1839 (6e année, No. 1). (Sundays only: No. 1, Sunday, 6 January until No. 26, Sunday, 30 June; then No 27, Thursday, 4 July, and No. 28, Sunday, 7 July as above; then both Thursday and Sunday editions until No. 72, Sunday 29 December.)[22]
7th year, 1840 (Contains both Thursday and Sunday editions of Revue et Gazette Musicale de Paris)
8th year, 1841 (bi-weekly until issue of 11 April 1841, p.225, then Sundays only from 18 April)
(in French) René Guise, La Pléiade, p.1517. Pierre Brunel, "Histoire du texte", Folio Classique, 1995, pp.318–9 comprising Gambara, Sarrasine, Massimilla Doni.
The first issue was published in February 1827, and until December 1833 each publication year thus runs from February to the end of the following January. Modern library catalogues may include the bound volumes as if the years began on 1 January, which can lead to confusion.
Page 625 of Vol. 6 contains an announcement of a new series of the journal to incorporate serious analysis of new compositions, along with improved technology for printing musical examples ("les perfectionnemens de fabrication thypographique"). The new series begins on 6 Feb 1830. Vol. 6 also contains a cumulative index of the first 6 volumes.
This sequence of weekly issues doesn't seem to have a general digitised index. Adding one to the final number in the URL will access the next issue - eg DF1833-001, DF1833-002, etc. NB Nos. 049-052 are for the VIth year, January 1833
