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EDITORIAL: THE EVENT
Nearly seven years ago, in collaboration with Professor Mongrédien and the Festival de la Chaise-Dieu, the Fondation Napoléon made it possible for the first performance since 1804 of the music for the coronation of Napoleon I by Le Sueur and Paisiello. A recording was made..., which today is almost out of stock.
Of course, with the bicentenary in the offing, there are several projects for reconstruction under discussion.
However, I can announce a first performance: on 14 June, 2002, at 8-45pm, in the Eglise Saint-Honoré d'Eylau, in Paris (8th arrondissement, avenue Raymond Poincaré).
The single concert, which has received support from the Fondation, will be given by the Académie Symphonique de Paris, excellent soloists and a choral society, conducted by Peter Hicks.
A second work will also be presented, no less interesting or 'historic' than the first, namely: the mass written by Cherubini for the coronation of Louis XVIII... which never took place.
ENTRANCE IS FREE, and there will be a collection taken during the interval for the Association Laurent Clerc, a charity for deaf children.
The Fondation Napoléon is delighted to invite you to this historical, musical and charitable evening.
Looking forward to meeting you at Saint-Honoré d'Eylau, I wish you an excellent, Napoleonic, week!
Thierry Lentz
Director of the Fondation Napoléon
BOOK OF THE MONTH
The French Second Empire: An Anatomy of Political Power, by Roger Price
Napoleon III's career is remarkable for its ups and downs. In this hefty tome, Roger Price, professor of history at the University of Aberystwyth (Wales) considers the way in which Napoleon III came to power, how he wielded it, and finally how he lost it.
TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO
31 May, 1802 (11 Prairial, An X), Ghalib Effendi, Bach-Mouhassebé (Comptroler General of Finances), minister plenipotentiary and special envoy from the Sublime Porte, arrived in Paris.
31 May, 1802 (11 Prairial, An X), the Ministre de l'intérieur announced the organisation of a Salon for painting, engraving, sculpture and architecture, from 15 Fructidor to 15 Brumaire in Paris, and launched a competition to celebrate the signing of the Concordat and the Paix d'Amiens.
3 June, 1802 (14 Prairial, An X), the Société de bienfaisance (Society for benefaction) published a report on its activities in Paris: since its re-establishment on 10 Frimaire, An X, this charity had cared for 439 children, (225 of whom were still under their care), 60 had died and 14 had been "rejected for specific reasons". As for benefactors, only one was mentioned by name, that is, Lucien Bonaparte, for his donation of 600 Francs. There were 30 subscriptions of more than 50 Francs, and 139 of 50 Francs.
Le Moniteur universel
4 June, 1802 (15 Prairial, An X), in Paris, during a ceremony as part of the Grande Parade des Tuileries, the First Consul returned to the 1er Régiment d'Artillerie à pied their standards which had been confiscated following an insurrection in Turin the previous year. The standards had been exposed on the Temple de Mars, surrounded by black crepe for 8 months.
Le Moniteur universel
Germany: in Vienna, a series of suicides amongst population of the surrounding neighbourhoods was worrying the town authorities. So much so that they considered taking 'radical' steps, perhaps even passing a law: "whereby the bodies of suicides would in future be dragged through the street behind the hangman's cart and buried by the hangman."
Vienna, 6 June, 1802, reported by the Moniteur universel, 4 Messidor, An X.
Wishing you an excellent, Napoleonic, week!
Peter Hicks
Historian and Web editor
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THIS WEEK:
Snippets
- An association and a web site for the Château de Pont-de-Briques (Boulogne-sur-Mer)
- Nelson's battle plan for Trafalgar discovered in National Maritime Museum (UK)
- Reconstruction of Napoleon's Russian march
What's on
- Concert: Napoleon's coronation mass
- Exhibition: Victor Hugo seen through caricatures
- Auction: Sale of very fine ancient and modern books
- Conference: Lycée high schools and their students, 1802-2002
- Television: BBC programme on Wellington
Gallery
- First distribution of the Croix de la Légion d'honneur at the Camp de Boulogne, 16 August, 1804
- First distribution of the Croix de la Légion d'honneur in the Eglise des Invalides by the Emperor, 15 July, 1804
The monthly titles
- Book of the Month: The French Second Empire: An Anatomy of Political Power, by Roger Price
- This month's picture, The return of Marcus Sextus, by Pierre-Narcisse Guérin
- Article of the Month, The Cinco de Mayo and French Imperialism, by Peter Hicks
- In the Collectors Corner, the star of the Légion d'Honneur
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