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Pierre Bernac
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==Life and career== ===Early years=== Born Pierre Bertin in Paris on 12 January 1899, he started his working career in his father's brokerage house. He later changed his surname to Bernac to avoid confusion with the actor [[Pierre Bertin (actor)|Pierre Bertin]].<ref name=s216>Schmidt, p. 216</ref> He began taking singing lessons at the age of 18, and was first taught by the composer [[André Caplet]]. He was later coached by [[Yvonne Gouverné]], who accompanied him at his first recital, in Paris, in 1925.<ref name=grove>Blyth, Alan. [https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000002837 "Bernac [Bertin], Pierre"], ''Grove Music Online'', Oxford University Press, 2001. Retrieved 17 May 2020 {{subscription required}}</ref> He studied German [[lieder]] with [[Reinhold von Warlich]] in [[Salzburg]],<ref>Schmidt, p. 207</ref> but it was as an interpreter of French [[mélodie]] that he became best known.<ref name=baker>Slonimsky ''et al'', pp. 318–319</ref> Bernac's name came to be closely linked with that of the composer and pianist [[Francis Poulenc]]. They gave the first performance of Poulenc's ''[[Chansons gaillardes]]'' in 1926, but it was another eight years before they worked together again.<ref name=s216/> In 1933 Bernac made the first of only two excursions into opera, as Pelléas in ''[[Pelléas et Mélisande (opera)|Pélleas et Mélisande]]'' at the [[Théâtre des Champs-Elysées]]. His only other operatic appearance was in the same role in Geneva, conducted by [[Ernest Ansermet]] in 1936.<ref name=grove/> In 1934 Bernac, visiting the [[Salzburg Festival]], was asked at short notice to give a [[Claude Debussy|Debussy]] recital. Having no accompanist and knowing that Poulenc was in Salzburg, Bernac sent him a three-line note: "I have been asked to sing some Debussy in three days' time. Would you agree to accompany me? Handsome fee, give me your reply quickly".<ref name=poc>O'Connor, Patrick. [https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/pierre-bernac "Pierre Bernac"], ''Gramophone'', June 1999. Retrieved 17 May 2020</ref> Poulenc agreed, and they found their musical rapport so great that they decided to form a musical partnership.<ref name=grove/> ===Partnership with Poulenc=== [[File:Poulenc-1922.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=young clean shaven white man with a full head of dark hair|[[Francis Poulenc]] (1920s picture)]] Bernac and Poulenc introduced their partnership to Paris at the [[École Normale de Musique de Paris|École normale de musique]] on 3 April 1935, when they gave the premiere of Poulenc's ''Cinq poèmes de Paul Eluard''. They continued to perform together for 25 years, in France and abroad, until Bernac retired. They built up a repertory, based on Poulenc's own songs, but also exploring the works of other prominent French songwriters from the 17th to the 20th centuries,<ref>Schmidt, pp. 488–491</ref> and including songs by [[Johannes Brahms|Brahms]], [[Federico Mompou|Mompou]], [[Franz Schubert|Schubert]], [[Robert Schumann|Schumann]], [[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]] and others.<ref>Schmidt, pp. 266; "Recitals of the Week", ''The Times'', 28 February 1949, p. 7 and 20 November 1950, p. 2</ref> They began performing outside France quite soon after launching their partnership: in November 1935 they performed at the French embassy in London at a reception for the [[George VI|Duke]] and [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother|Duchess of York]],<ref>"Court Circular", ''The Times'', 21 November 1935, p. 17</ref> the following year they broadcast the first of many recitals together on the [[BBC]],<ref>"Broadcasting", ''The Times'', 1 December 1936, p. 29</ref> and their first British tour, in 1939, took in four cities in addition to London.<ref>Schmidt, p. 488</ref> The [[Second World War]] delayed their American debut until 1948;<ref name=baker/> ''[[The New York Times]]'' said of Bernac, "the integrity and elegance of his singing quickly won him a following among connoisseurs of art song interpretation".<ref name=nyt>Hughes, Allen. [https://www.nytimes.com/1979/10/19/archives/pierre-bernac-80-baritone-and-poulenc-partner-dies-advice-sought-by.html, "Pierre Bernac, 80, Baritone and Poulenc Partner, Dies"], ''The New York Times'', 19 October 1979. Retrieved 18 May 2020</ref> Poulenc wrote 90 songs for Bernac, "his style influenced by the baritone's peculiarly refined artistry", according to ''[[Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians|Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians]]''. Although Bernac avoided the operatic stage after 1936, Poulenc relied on him for technical advice on vocal matters when writing his opera ''[[Dialogues des Carmélites]]'', and his late [[Gloria (Poulenc)|Gloria]].<ref name=s216/> Poulenc said that his association with Bernac was the reason why he wrote so many songs. "No one will ever sing them better than Bernac, who knows the inner secrets of my music. It was also through accompanying him in Schubert, Schumann, Fauré, Debussy and Ravel that I learnt my trade as a melodist."<ref>Poulenc, p. 224</ref> Other composers who wrote for Bernac include, from France, [[André Jolivet]], [[Henri Sauguet]] and [[Jean Françaix]]; from Germany, [[Paul Hindemith]]; from England, [[Lennox Berkeley]]; and from the US, [[Samuel Barber]].<ref name=grove/> Bernac retired from the concert platform in 1959, when he was 60.<ref>Schmidt, p. 208</ref> ===Teacher=== While still active as a singer, Bernac was also a teacher. In ''Grove's Dictionary'', [[Alan Blyth]] says of Bernac, "Among his many pupils the most distinguished was [[Gérard Souzay]], whose style owed much to Bernac's example". Others who studied with Bernac include [[Elly Ameling]], [[Grace Bumbry]], [[Mattiwilda Dobbs]], [[Carol Neblett]] and [[Jessye Norman]].<ref>Steane, J. B. [https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000000762 "Ameling, Elly"]; Blyth, Alan, and Meredith Eliassen. [https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002234611 "Bumbry, Grace"]; Dyer, Richard, and Elizabeth Forbes. [https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002234996 "Dobbs, Mattiwilda"]; Wierzbicki, James and Elizabeth Forbes. [https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-5000903436 "Neblett, Carol"]; and Bernheimer, Martin, Alan Blyth, and Karen M. Bryan. [https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002252060 "Norman, Jessye"] ''Grove Music Online'', Oxford University Press. Retrieved 18 May 2020 {{subscription required}}</ref> ''[[The Musical Times]]'' called him "an outstanding teacher of song interpretation – visionary, precise, tireless and loving."<ref>[https://www.jstor.org/pss/963227 "Pierre Bernac"], ''The Musical Times'', January 1980, p. 48 {{subscription required}}</ref> In retirement, Bernac conducted masterclasses in France, Britain and the US and was on the faculty of the [[Fontainebleau Schools#The American Conservatory|American Conservatory, Fontainebleau]].<ref name=baker/> ===Writer=== ====''The Interpretation of French Song'' (1970)==== Bernac wrote two books: ''The Interpretation of French Song'' (1970) and ''Francis Poulenc: The Man and His Songs'' (1977). He wrote the first in English for the guidance of English-speaking singers.{{refn|Bernac wrote the English prose; his former pupil Winifred Radford (1901–1993) supplied line-by-line English translations of the French verses.<ref name=notes/>|group= n}} He explained in his preface that he had space for only the most outstanding composers; nevertheless the book covers 200 mélodies by 18 composers, from [[Hector Berlioz|Berlioz]] to Poulenc, via [[Charles Gounod|Gounod]], [[César Franck|Franck]], [[Édouard Lalo|Lalo]], [[Camille Saint-Saëns|Saint-Saëns]], [[Léo Delibes|Delibes]], [[Georges Bizet|Bizet]], [[Jules Massenet|Massenet]], [[Henri Duparc (composer)|Duparc]], [[Emmanuel Chabrier|Chabrier]], [[Ernest Chausson|Chausson]], [[Gabriel Fauré|Fauré]], [[Claude Debussy|Debussy]], [[Erik Satie|Satie]], [[André Caplet|Caplet]], [[Albert Roussel|Roussel]] and [[Maurice Ravel|Ravel]].<ref name=notes/> In the first of the three introductory chapters Bernac describes the role of the concert singer and the significance of "interpretation" – bringing the words and music to life through imagination and personal vision, with unceasing respect for the composer's indications and for the inseparability of the text and its music. The second chapter consists of technical advice on French vowel and consonant sounds and their proper vocal production. The third analyses the differences between the French mélodie and the German lied. The bulk of the book consists of analyses of the various composers' techniques, with detailed advice to singers. The reviewer in the American journal ''[[Notes (journal)|Notes]]'' called the book a masterpiece,<ref name=notes>Grubb, Thomas. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/896561 "The Interpretation of French Song"], ''Notes'', March 1971, pp. 480–482 {{subscription required}}</ref> and his counterpart in the British ''[[Music & Letters]]'' called it "a 'must' for any serious student of the French repertory".<ref>[https://www.jstor.org/stable/731579 "The Interpretation of French Song"], ''Music & Letters'', July 1970, pp. 310–311 {{subscription required}}</ref> ====''Francis Poulenc: The Man and His Songs'' (1977)==== The second book was written in French, but first published in English translation. In 1977 [[Victor Gollancz Ltd|Gollancz]] in London and [[W. W. Norton & Company|Norton]] in New York published a translation by Winifred Radford.<ref>[https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp08554/winifred-radford "Winifred Radford"], National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 18 May 2020</ref><ref name=wc>WorldCat {{oclc|3729779}} and {{oclc|906256451}}</ref> The original French text was published in Paris by Buchet-Chastel the following year as ''Francis Poulenc et ses mélodies''.<ref>WorldCat {{oclc|610487250}}</ref> Bernac used an approach similar to that in his earlier book: a short biographical study of Poulenc is followed by a discussion of the composer's style and the singer's approach to it, and the bulk of the book considers the songs individually, grouped by the various poets' names.<ref name=rb/> Reviewing the English edition, ''The Musical Times'' said "This is not just a book about Poulenc songs. With its fine literary style … it is an unselfconscious exposé of the spirit of being French, and an object lesson in how to approach any musical repertory with a high degree of rationale, but above all a warm heart".<ref name=rb>Bowman, Robin. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/959598 "Francis Poulenc, the Man and His Songs"], ''The Musical Times'', September 1978, p. 767 {{subscription required}}</ref> The English edition has a preface by Sir Lennox Berkeley and the French by Henri Sauguet.<ref name=wc/> ===Last years and legacy=== Bernac did not marry and had no children. He died, following a series of heart attacks, in [[Villeneuve-lès-Avignon]] on 17 October 1979, aged 80.<ref name=grove/> The Friends of the Académie Ravel in [[Saint-Jean-de-Luz]] awards the Pierre Bernac Prize in Song (Prix de chant Pierre Bernac).<ref>Académie Ravel [http://www.academie-ravel.com/actu.php Actualité] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091226135335/http://www.academie-ravel.com/actu.php |date=2009-12-26 }}, accessed January 4, 2010</ref> In 1980 Berkeley became the first president of "The Friends of Pierre Bernac", a charitable trust set up to promote the reissue of Bernac's recordings.<ref>Poulenc, p. 142</ref>
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