Jean Gabriel-Marie

Biography

Jean Gabriel-Marie was a French composer of the Romantic era. Born in Paris in 1852, Gabriel-Marie studied at the Paris Conservatoire and became an active part of French musical life after graduating. He performed as a timpanist in the Lamoureux Concerts, before going on to become a chorus master there from 1881 to 1887. Unlike many of his French colleagues, he was keen on the music of Wagner, which was creating waves in the opera world at the time. He was one of the first French composers to travel to Bayreuth, the home of Wagner’s opera festival, and was chorus master for a production of Wagner’s Lohengrin in Paris in 1887.

Gabriel-Marie wrote a number of pieces for theatres, and today is mostly known as a composer of light music, particularly dance pieces. His son followed in his footsteps, also becoming a composer and director of the Gabriel-Marie Institute in Marseille.