THE COMPOSERS' HOUSE: Le magasin de musique de Cherubini, Méhul, R.

Kreutzer,
Rode, Nicolo Isouard, et Boïeldieu
Author(s): Bruce R. Schueneman and María de Jesús Ayala-Schueneman
Source: Fontes Artis Musicae , January-March 2004, Vol. 51, No. 1, Papers from the
"Legacies: 500 Years of Printed Music" Conference, Denton, Texas, September 2001, and
from the International Musicological Society Conference, Louvain, 2002 (January-March
2004), pp. 53-73
Published by: International Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and Documentation
Centres (IAML)

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THE COMPOSERS' HOUSE:
Le magasin de musique de Cherubini
R. Kreutzer, Rode, Nicolo Isouard, et

Bruce R. Schueneman and Maria de Jesus Ay

In 1802 six prominent Paris-based composers

avowed aims being the publication of their o
sic of others. These dual aims provide evide
lisher" while looking forward to a newer, "c
Rasch has defined a modern publisher as a "p
to make public the work of a composer (or
produced (by a printer) a number of identical c
day publisher is responsible for printing, m
poser's or author's work, and in return rec
profits (being, of course, most at risk if there
eighteenth century did this modern idea of
writes that nearly all the Western words for p
modern sense at the end of that century. B
themselves "publishers" were actually usuall
modern publisher—printing or selling, for
both printer and seller were included on the ti
other times the title page names the person wh
lication. At the end of the eighteenth centur
in the modern sense—that is, where it is obv
the printer nor the seller of the published item
Rasch's definition of modern publishing is on
or distribution, but also encompasses an int
the idea of the mass production of printed
only the number of copies that he expected t
mass producing the musical artifact in the sam
today, and which publishers began to do in
publishing is all about distribution to many
publisher publishes music only for one or t
scription. Intellectually, the difference betw
the model familiar to us today is the differe
bile and the mass-produced model "T" Ford.
Le Magasin de musique de Cherubini et al.
Magasin de musique"] is thus situated at an i
point where the modern idea of a publisher wa

1. Music Publishing in Europe 1600-1900: Concepts an

European Science Foundation, forthcoming), section 1.

53

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54 FONTES ARTIS MUSICAE 51/1

one hand Cherubini, Méhul and their collaborators w

older tradition in which the publishing of music was limi
ing (even just for a particular retail store), but on the oth
an example of a modern publisher in the sense that th
the music that has appeared until this day": they wer
selling or printing in the same way a modern publisher m
also planning to distribute and sell the music of othe
musique reflected the outlook of an old-style publishe
prominence given on their publications to the exact addre
were acting as vendors of their own music, as well as of t
a quite specific retail location. Rasch has pointed out th
publishing in the nineteenth century is also accompa
sense of intellectual property and ownership.2 The th
of the six Le Magasin de musique composers largely c
with writing and publishing for during these years) w
mass entertainment, not an elite occupation either f
lover. Theater composers probably thought of themse
workers in a system of mass entertainment comparab
composers of Imperial Russia, or even to modern telev
became prevalent in the nineteenth century, of the comp
answerable only to God and his own conscience was j
dent in Beethoven, but the idea of composer as artisa
concept. Given this background of popular entertainm
composers of Le Magasin de musique, for reasons that
on, felt alienated from the fruits of their labor, and
musique in order to more nearly control how their in
printed, packaged, and sold.
M. Elizabeth Bartlett and Sarah Adams have ident
which composers of this era could have their works pu
might simply sell the rights to his music direct to a pu
lisher" might mean. This might involve directly appro
in the way that Dittersdorf approached Artaria in 178
C. P. E. Bach asked the organist Westphal to buy his m
instead of from an agent. This is an example of the comp
some of the duties of the publisher by acting as his own
common method of reaching the market was throug
many instances, as Rasch points out, a publisher mig
printer, or the person who financed a publication. The
—i.e., the publisher who handled printing, selling, an

2. Rasch, Music Publishing in Europe, section 1.2.

3. Sarah Adams, "International Dissemination of Printed Music d
the Eighteenth Century", in Hans Lenneberg, ed., The Disseminat
History of Music Publishing (New York: Gordon and Breach, 1994), 21
Etienne-Nicolas Méhul and Opera: Source and Archival Studies of Lyri
Revolution, Consulate and Empire (Heilbronn: Musik-Edition Lucie
4. Adams, "International Dissemination", 30.
5. Bartlett, Etienne-Nicolas Méhul, 89.

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 THE COMPOSERS' HOUSE 55

royalties based on copyr

Pierre noted that "Suiv
musiciens faisaient eux
leur domicile ou qu'ils d
systèmes avaient chacun
étaient, dans le premier
dans le second, l'abandon
ativement à ses risques
own house, there were
and/or the payment of a
in a case where a compo
name often appeared on t
ing, with an intermediar
lication during the Revo
Another way for a pub
larity of a work, and to g
the subscription system
for subscriptions in the
promising to buy the w
price, usually 20% to 30%
partial payment before r
and provided a ready m
he could make ends meet.
Why would a composer wish to bother himself with the mundane business
details of publishing music? There is always vanity, of course, but it is also true
that composers who printed their own music and relied on others to sell it were
often treated quite poorly. Bartlett quotes Dalayrac:

I didn't sell anything to M. Le Duc, and loaded down with the cost of my scores, I
used a third party to work hard to sell & to make the advances; I am able to offer my
scores only in his shop, & I am able to withdraw them when I wish ... I affirm here
on my honor, that having for the past ten years a dozen & more of engraved scores
of successful works; the product of the sale was sufficient until now only to pay for
expenses, & that I have been unable to recover even the sum of twenty louis which
I advanced for part of the expenses of my initial score in 1781.

The seller's commission usually amounted to about one-third to one-quarter of

total sales and the composer also footed the bill for engraving, paper, ink, and
so on, which could easily absorb another quarter of total sales. Theaters were
usually given a discount on purchase, so the profit margin for the composer
was quite narrow, if it existed at all. Moreover, the composer could be (and of
ten was) cheated at several stages of the process. Pirated arrangements were
sometimes made without the composer's knowledge, or a printer might make
more copies than the number reported to the composer, and then pocket the

6. Constant Pierre, Le Magasin de musique à l'usage des fêtes nationales et du Conservatoire

(Paris: Fischbacher, 1895), 106.
7. Maria Bianca Antolini, "Publishers and Buyers", in Rasch, ed.. Music Publishing in Europe,
section 9.3a.

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56 FONTES ARTIS MUSICAE 51/1

entire profit from the sale of the extra copies. Copyright p

infancy, and only gradually did the idea of intellectual prop
sense begin to take hold and to be respected. The entire
the modern sense depends upon a well-developed copyrig
exist at this time. Reprinting a work without the compo
became illegal in the late eighteenth century.8
Thus at the time of the creation of Le Magasin de mu
ing was in a state of transition from something involving s
by numerous people (composer, seller, agent, printer) wh
working in complete harmony, to the more comprehens
the norm from the nineteenth century.

Le Magasin de musique à l'usage des fêtes nationale

An interesting case study, which is modern in many r
thing of an anomaly, is the similarly-named Le Magasin
des fêtes nationales [hereafter MMUFN]. Five of the m
and partners' Le Magasin de musique were associated w
which grew out of the patriotic fervor and incredible energ
French Revolution. In the wake of the Revolution a need
sorts of patriotic songs, hymns, chants, romances, mar
was important to the new "deity" of the State, and com
to satisfy this new world order. The MMUFN was the b
Sarrette, commandant of the Parisian national guard. I
ning a society that would produce works by the professo
tional guard: distribution was to be mainly by subscrip
Sarrette's plan, each month the subscribers would rece
qui contiendrait une symphonie, un hymne ou choeur pa
pas redoublé et au moins une chanson patriotique, ce qui
de cinquante à soixante pages d'impression" [a symphony
chorus, a military march, a rondo or quickstep, and at least
all contained in a book of fifty to sixty printed pages] .9 Sa
plan to the Committee of Instruction and Public Safety
publique], which agreed to subsidize it. The Committee
donner chaque mois au Comité de Salut public et à com
prochain 550 exemplaires de la livraison de musique qu'ils
puissent être distribués dans tous les districts par le C
... pour servir dans les fêtes civiques et de manière à le
du plus grand nombre de citoyens" [to give every mont
with effect from next Ier germinal [i.e. 21 March 1794],
sic that they will publish, so that these may be distributed
Committee ... for use in civic festivals and in such a w
accessible to the largest number of citizens] .10 The adminis

8. Adams, "International Dissemination", 35.

9. Anik Devriès and François Lesure, Dictionnaire des éditeurs de mu
origines à environ 1820 (Geneva: Editions Minkoff, 1979), 113.
10. Ibid.

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THE COMPOSERS' HOUSE 57

the MMUFN included

Magasin de musique. E
Conservatoire (the nam
apparently being used on
national de musique" or
An examination of Con
MMUFN is instructive.
formed Le magasin de
Boïeldieu—were also pub
not represented in Pier
plained by his relatively
the MMUFN were ma
Gossec's Hymne à l'Etre
ten for the second an
Méhul are well represen
wrote an Hymne funèb
Féraud, who had been a
MMUFN printed 2,000 c
tributed to a set of Ro
French Revolution, Pie
lished after 1800, comp
chants, songs, and roma
is Cherubini's Mass for
musique), and another
operas, which was the
they had founded their o
is represented by severa
including an entire sectio
Conservatoire (the MMU
arm). Among the items
single one by Rode: the
Kreutzer.
Pierre charts three pha
riod of 1794 and the grow
activity but dire financ
1826) in which the MM
often known as Le Mag
the MMUFN acted rath
under the name of its d
of the firm when Sarre
bly in 1797.
In some ways the MM
from the beginning it h
though these resources
ways in financial troubl

11. Pierre, Magasin de musi

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58 FONTES ARTIS MUSICAE 51/1

for the venture were sometimes delayed or just not fort

dous distribution power of the state, however, made it
publisher in the sense of mass production and mass distr
was partly because it distributed music without any real
demand, and because its entire raison d'être was to distri
music (patriotic). Once France returned to more norma
ment lost interest in mass distribution of stirring patr
like.
One obvious limitation of a publishing concern like the MMUFN was its
specialized nature. As its catalog indicates, it particularly interested itself in
patriotic and instrumental music. Pierre also points out that earnings were dis
tributed among a large number of the partners, and prolific composers like
Cherubini and Méhul may have felt they were subsidizing the enterprise with
little for themselves. It is also obvious that the MMUFN was not particularly
interested in stage works. Though Cherubini's works were published often,
very few stage works overall were published by the MMUFN, and several of
Cherubini's contributions to the new Le Magasin de musique were of works
that had remained in manuscript, obviously not acceptable to the MMUFN.
The six composers who formed the Magasin de musique wanted to write what
they liked and to reap the full reward of their creativity.
While there is no formal connection between the two Magasins de musique,
it is obvious that the six partners were influenced by their association with the
state-supported firm. Pierre gives several reasons for these composers' ven
turing into the business world: (i) a desire to reap the earnings from their
works instead of having those earnings distributed among a large number of
partners (originally the "profits were to be used to support widows and chil
dren of the National Guard's musicians");12 (ii) a need to move beyond the spe
cialized purpose of Sarrette's enterprise; and (iii) a desire to make sure that
their works were published and did not languish in manuscript (several of the
partners' works published by Le Magasin de musique were actually works that
had been written and premièred years before but had not been published).
Presumably these composers mostly severed their ties with the MMUFN and
its successors, though there is evidence that several of them were published
by both Magasins during these years. Cherubini's Mass for three voices was
actually published by both firms within a year of each other.13 Certainly the
composers gained several things from their association with the MMUFN: a
keen sense of what they didn't want (profits dispersed among a slew of part
ners or charity cases; a confining repertoire), plus a vision of the profits that
might be made by selling the music of others as well as their own music. One
example of how profits might be made was the publication of numerous deriv
ative works based on a successful stage production (arrangements of the over
ture, individual arias, romances, and songs), and in fact the partners published
quite a few such works.

12. According to D. W. Krümmel and Stanley Sadie, Music Printing and, Publishing (New York:
Norton, 1990), 328.
13. Pierre, Magasin de musique, 139.

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THE COMPOSERS' HOUSE 59

The Composers

The six composers wh

musique were Luigi Che
Nicolo Isouard, Adrien B
two years old when Le M
of the six composers, he
tually becoming a Fren
theater, both as compos
posed at least nine patri
MMUFN. He was also em
and much later became
period. The years that C
coincide with a period o
especially from 1806-09
given up music in favor o
Méhul was thirty-nine
1779. His first stage su
many patriotic works f
cians of his time, and w
vorite of Napoleon, he c
and Bastille Day. During
mostly for the Opera-C
ing these years (about 1
failure of his opera Les
Kreutzer was about thi
Born at Versailles, he s
Concert spirituel as a vi
under the "kindly influ
and moved to Paris in 17
ater in addition to the vi
the first violin professo
Rode) a Method for Viol
etudes or caprices for v
nal etudes for violin wer
musique, but one of the f
around 1808 by Le Ma
Interestingly, Pierre do
lished by Sarrette's MM
several works for theate
Twenty-seven years old a
youngest member of
worked in the business w
time was studying and p
business background of
he had his first successf
merce for music. Durin

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60 FONTES ARTIS MUSICAE 51/1

French and was taken to Paris after the surrender. His

laborations with Kreutzer. During the years of operati
musique, Isouard was by far the most active member of the
stage works in nine years.
Boïeldieu was also twenty-seven in 1802. A native of
ganist and pianist (he composed an early concerto in F
sical theater, and wrote his first opéra-comique in 1793
Paris and quickly became one of the city's most promin
a disastrous marriage in 1802, he left France in 1803 to take
burg. He only returned to Paris in 1811, so had little act
Magasin de musique.
Finally to a consideration of Pierre Rode: Rode was twenty
of the founding of Le Magasin de musique. A Bordelais, he w
from an early age. He came to Paris at the age of thirte
ing with Viotti. He was, along with Kreutzer, one of the fir
at the Conservatoire, and helped write the Conservatoire
During the years of Le Magasin de musique, Rode w
Boïeldieu he had an official position in Russia), and he c
little to it.
Several aspects of the partnership will be evident from this brief perusal of
the six composers. All except Rode were mainly interested in composing for
the theater, all were well known and already established, and all were Paris
based, even if several happened to live abroad for part of this period. The the
ater connection is interesting, since the terms of the contract drawn up by the
members of the Magasin de musique, by which each composer was supposed
to produce one stage work or fifty pages each year, make it obvious that the
partnership was created with stage works in mind. Though all were well es
tablished, several had fallow periods between 1802 and 1811: Cherubini suf
fered severe depression for part of the period, Boïeldieu was absent for almost
the entire time, Rode was also absent for a significant portion of the years
1802-11, and Méhul was depressed and ill during the last few years of the en
terprise. Only Isouard churned out the amount of music called for in the con
tract, and he was also the only member to resign from the firm before it was
sold in 1811. Given the absences, illnesses, and other problems, it is amazing
that the firm lasted a whole nine years.

History of Le Magasin de musique

On 17 thermidor year X [5 August 1802], Cherubini and Méhul signed a part
nership agreement for the creation of a company whose goal would be "l'achat
et la vente de musique" [the purchase and the sale of music].14 The company's
official name was Cherubini, Méhul & Cie, and was first located at rue de la
Loi no. 268, later no. 76. In the beginning only Cherubini had the right of sig
nature for the partnership, but additional clauses added several months later
also gave this right to Méhul. The partnership agreement consisted of 13 arti

14. Pierre, Magasin de musique, 106.

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 THE COMPOSERS' HOUSE 61

cles. The partners acted

ques de musique" [for th
is to say, for the acquisit
their own musical work
Le Magasin de musique "
be sold there for their
contribute 5% of the ea
the payment of clerks,
poser's right to the prof
ture by which the part
partner's work could be
the partners. If a work
count. Other clauses in the document concerned the internal structure of the
company: for example, the keeping of minutes of meetings, and the record
keeping involved in inventory. The admission of new members had to be unan
imously agreed upon by the partners. One interesting clause provided for ar
bitration by Grétry and Dalayrac "en cas de partage d'opinion" [in case of a
division of opinion] ,16
Though the company began on 5 August 1802 when the papers of incorpo
ration were first signed, the actual opening of the premises of Le Magasin de
musique did not take place until a few months later. Their opening was an
nounced in a circular dated 10 frimaire year XI [1 December 1802]. The an
nouncement read:

Monsieur,

Cherubini, Méhul, Kreutzer, Rode, N. Isouard et Boïeldieu, artistes compositeurs,

s'empressent de vous faire part qu'ils ont ouvert un magasin de musique à Paris, rue
de la Loi, vis-à-vis celle de Menars no. 268. On trouvera dans ce magasin toute la
musique qui a paru jusqu'à ce jour, et exclusivement tous les ouvrages des susdits
auteurs associés, ainsi que toutes les nouvelles productions de Viotti. On y trouve,
de même, des cordes de Naples de première qualité et à un prix modéré. Les asso
ciés, désirant entrer en relations d'affaires avec vous, vous prient de reconnaître les
deux signatures de la raison de commerce.

[Cherubini, Méhul, Kreutzer, Rode, N. Isouard and Boïeldieu, artist composers, has
ten to advise you that they have opened a music shop in Paris, at 268 Rue de la Loi,
opposite Menars. One will find in this store all the music that has appeared until this
day, and exclusively all the aforementioned authors' and partners' works, as well as
all new productions of Viotti. Also to be found there are Neapolitan strings of the
best quality and at a moderate price. The partners, wishing to enter into business
relationships with you, ask you to note the two signatures of the firm.

Cherubini, Méhul and Company]

A few days later, on 4 December, the firm was announced in the Correspon
dance des amateurs musiciens: "MM. Cherubini, Mehul, Kreutzer, Rhode [sic],
Nicolo Isouard et Boïeldieu have formed a magasin de musique at Rue de la

15. Ibid., 107.

16. Ibid., 107.

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62 FONTES ARTIS MUSICAE 51/1

Loi, no. 268, in front of Menars. We will continue to a

tion formed by the renowned artists."17 The company
star, each point of which revealed the name of one of the
The newspapers also announced the existence of the
Duminil, in Petites Affiches, welcomed the new company
à Paris une maison de commerce d'un genre absolume
pre à fixer l'attention, comme à exciter l'intérêt du publi
compositeurs du mérite le plus reconnu, las de faire, p
tune de certains marchands souvent ignorans dans
avides de gain et parcimonieux envers les auteurs, se s
un magasin de musique dans lequel, entre tous les
teurs, on trouvera le leurs ... C'est rue de la Loi 268 en
[s/c] qu'ils ont pris un très beau magasin où l'on sera é
les noms de cette nouvelle boutique ceux des citoy
Kreutzer" [A new enterprise has just been started in P
and sure to excite the public's interest. Several artist
most recognized merit, tired of making, by their wor
merchants who are often ignorant of music and const
monious towards composers, have joined together to
which, besides the works of others, one will find the
fine store is located at Rue de la Loi 268 in front of Rue M
will be astonished to find among the names of this new
Cherubini, Méhul, Kreutzer .. ."].19 The article include
tions on sale at Le Magasin, among which are several a
ofMontalban by Winter and works for violin and cello by
consists of works by the partners.
One of the most important clauses in the partners
their individual contributions to Le Magasin de musi
mitted to provide to Le Magasin one or several works
at least one stage work or fifty pages of vocal or instrum
ner failed to meet this quota he was deprived of his ea
cluding the profit on the sale of his own works. Exce
cluding illness and other recognized reasons: it is un
the clause was applied. Since none of the partners exc
tracted quota every year, the clause may have been m
hard to imagine that Cherubini or Méhul did not profit f
when they hadn't produced a stage work in a particul
the bar, in terms of productivity, quite high, perhaps un
the only partner to meet his obligations, composed a
works in nine years. Kreutzer failed in his obligation t
and Méhul four times (in 1804, 1805, 1808 and 1810).
Russia from 1803 to 1811 and composed only Ma Tant

17. Correspondance des amateurs musiciens, 4 décembre 1802.

18. See Arthur Pougin, The Life and Music of Pierre Rode, tran
Bruce R. Schueneman (Kingsville, TX: Lyre of Orpheus Press, 1994)
19. Pierre, Magasin de musique, 108-09.

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THE COMPOSERS' HOUSE 63

Femme colère (which w

depression, Cherubini w
works, and fulfilled his o
eras, either in complete
ers. Rode, who never pu
olin through Le Magasin,
his contribution was cor
(numbers 7 and 8) were
eral songs, apparently t
The contributions of th
never a prolific compos
works, both with opus nu
seemed destined from t
Similarly, Boïeldieu soon
produced by the remain
Méhul, and Cherubini.
bution accounted for 3,
Cherubini's accounted fo
partnership before the fi
though it must have bee
published and he was not
Isouard felt that he migh
the workhorse of Le M
profits from his own w
members of the firm.
Most of the music prod
shop. The firm was very
to an international client
idence, however, that at l
sold by means of subscr
suring an adequate sale,
Cherubini's Mass for th
de musique, and altogeth
evidence it may be assu
offered for subscription
At the time of the firm
engraved pages of musi
nership. Among these w
by Viotti; a trio and pia
sonata for piano, violin,
tos by Woldemar; and v
Braun, Gavinies, Humm
also published the comp
the first publisher to do

20. Pougin, Life and Music, 6

21. Antolini, "Publishers and

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64 FONTES ARTIS MUSICAE 51/1

Don Juan, Idomenée, arid La Clemenza di Tito arrange

catalog also included Beethoven's Six Variations on an O
and the Fifteen Variations and a Fugue on an Origina
Variations, op. 35).
No doubt the obligations of composing and performing
to run a business, especially when the partners contr
fashion. The projected sale of the firm was announced
as its beginning: by a circular, which stated that "Nous av
faire part que le terme de notre société étant sur le po
sommes déterminés d'un commun accord à renoncer au commerce de
musique. En conséquence, nous vous prévenons que notre fonds de musiq
est en vente" [We have the honor of informing you that, the term of our
ety being about to expire, we have decided unanimously to give up our m
business. Consequently we inform you that our music stock is for sale] .22
five remaining partners sold the firm to Jacques-Joseph Frey, a professor
music, on 12 August 1811. Frey purchased the business, the manuscripts t
Le Magasin de musique had acquired from non-associated composers,
9,679 engraved plates (comprising about 650 editions). Frey agreed to pay
35,700 francs in seven installments (with interest ranging from 5% to 6%), and
more than half the registry fees. He immediately paid 11,500 francs for
music then existing in the store, while the costs of the furniture and other m
terial possessions of the firm only fell due for payment on 1 August 1821. The
firm's two stamps, one of the six-pointed star and the other in the form of a
nature bearing the words "Cherubini, Méhul & Cie.", were destroyed. Th
three composers with the most inventory (Cherubini, Méhul, and Kreutze
made arrangements to store music with Frey and to sell him music
discount. Isouard's inventory presumably remained with the firm when
departed, since Pierre states that it was part of the sale to Frey. Rode an
Boïeldieu preserved complete freedom in regard to their own works, thou
Pougin's catalog shows that Frey published a number of Rode's works af
1811.
Evidently the five composers had had enough of business affairs (at lea
this particular business affair), and on 15 October 1811 they chose M
Adelaide-Charlotte Foucard (Kreutzer's wife) as proxy to watch over their
terests. Rode, who was again about to depart from Paris (at the end of 1811
premièred one of Beethoven's violin sonatas in Vienna, and subsequently liv
in Berlin for many years), appointed his own representative, the cel
Baudiot, to deal with both the proxy and with Frey. Unfortunately some o
sight was necessary, since Frey defaulted on the very first payment and in
est was not paid on several installments. The partners resorted to legal acti
and apparently Frey finally paid as agreed. Part of the sale agreement had been
that Frey could use the existing store signs for one year, use the term "as
cessor to Cherubini, Méhul, Kreutzer, Rode and Boïeldieu" on music he p

22. Pierre, Magasin de musique, 111.

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 THE COMPOSERS' HOUSE 65

lished for three years, an

music he published for two
By the terms of the final
ing, either collectively or
a period of ten years. Bo
far from the old shop, an
brother. Pierre seems t
Boieldieu's works in 1811.24

Examples of the Printed Music of Le Magasin de musique

An examination of the music printed by Le Magasin de musique reveals fine
printed, though sometimes idiosyncratic, scores. The following illustration
shows the title page of Kreutzer's Le Franc breton:

•
f
f . - *».•
: .
—
.i,. . - *v

LE FHXNC BRETON

rv;;:
de Deiaure -

(A PARI
Jm-ibf** MMT'
(%eruiuu.. GH&uL. firru&es, Ql oJjomard et , <

- .J ,
.^:-A ' " —

FIGURE 1 Title Page of Le Franc breton.

23. Pierre, Magasin de musique, 112.

24. Pierre, Magasin de musique, 114.

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66 FONTES ARTIS MUSICAE 51/1

An interesting feature of Le Magasin de musique's publ

they generally do not include dates of any sort. When tryin
isting scores by of the firm, it was discovered that the cata
always included a bracketed year: that is, the cataloger c
proximate a publication date.
The next illustration shows a section from the bottom of

Do/trie'/d
JYoprieJà das
dar Auirur.r. Deports • A' fa, BtihotAèyufsf

"parTsT
/T^parTs^
Ait/Mtu/euruv
AwMapeurm, da.dtrlfufitptcJhriyà
Nusupuf, Dirtyn par
far MM™*
MMT*
(%èrui
Gfieruiinv, *sHeAuL, /(rcui*cr, e^ode,, Ql. o/soiiard ct tZ&oieUdiexc,
f♦ Buo
-&» Ae>
da IdsLai, If?yd,vir
l&lcri, N'yd, wvir
vie -a-w oeBvltmanr.
ocJle-Minors
So 3 So 3 .

FIGURE
FIGURE
2 Le Franc breton, title page (detail). 2 Le F

Note that it i
property of t
partners: each
of the firm a
Bibliothèque I
76. Finally we
Next we have
to the page by

<W_
V y t ' ■" *
? -.,,• # % - .
V"
V -V •; Lv
*•.'*'
» • -* (•f
.».\• ** '*.< \\
'■ 11

/ „ ;>V\
/,•••'« .
•*
-,

-/

FIGURE
FIGURE
3 Le Franc breton, title page (with star logo). 3 Le Fra

Though it is ha
of the partners
The next illustr

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 THE COMPOSERS' HOUSE 67

JJJ J opv
HAUTBOIS.

CORS en Fn.

BASSONS.

VIOLOK 1°

VIOLOH »?

ALTO .

BASSE .

FIGURE 4 Le Franc breton, page 1 of score.

The engraving is quite well done: the only strange feature is the dynamic ma
ings, which are not done with the same font as modern published music.
The next set of illustrations is from the first few pages of a set of three
lin duets by Ferdinand Gasse.

GRANDS DUOS
(3t>ucethz>tuf

r/r/t
ae&r' K10ZV/M

Composes par ,

J^/fjl.Jr'r>/ifrtrr >4 /<Qv/- <4 i^wh/

jQxAOC/ J\60 f 4 rLw~Je-JJuoJ

Gier*6ttu, * 'Ifc/tal, dintther, -tshi/e/ ef c5$f/r/s6ct(.'

jryf^j^vtkM

Hf.y
(J 0 "

FIGURE 5 Title Page of Violin Duets by Gasse.

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68 FONTES ARTIS MUSICAE 51/1

Gasse does not appear either in The New Grove or Bake

self contains some information about him. He is ident
[resident] of Italy. Notice that there is no star logo on
bottom section of the page reveals why this may be th

jProprutfe de*r £ctiteurs.

J'rojorusft' Deposes A/a Di//wtfi*yuelny>e'r
fl{w JSditcurs. Dty>osts à, /atitle,
J)ïiûof/ifyu

r/Y,
r/r,
Au
An Magasin dcMi&y
.IfmyosindeMitsyuesJPirty&par uesI>iriyéj>ar MM"?*
MM**?*

C'/n-r/z/fi/ii. t 'l/eAfd, tXwiAer, Z//01&' rf /dioie/deeft'

Due
jRuede Dtc/ie/uui, JV.pd nis-Ants celfeMuutrs.
t/e Aic/u/ùut,M.y<> uis-àrvôr celfeMnutrs.
04 3
<543

FIGURE 6 Detail of Title Page

Page of
of Gasse's
Gasse's Violin
Violin Duets.
Duets.

Isouard's name is no longer included in the list of partners (so this score obvi
ously post-dates the time when he was a partner), and Le Magasin de musique
probably never had a five-star logo made. We know, based on this information
alone, that this work was published late in the firm's life, probably around 1810.
The publisher number is 545, or forty-two numbers higher than Le Franc bre
ton. Notice also that the indication of place of publication ("à Paris") has a quite
different look to the same words in Kreutzer's work. Another indication that
the work was published later in the firm's life is the address, which is now
given as rue de Richelieu, 76. This is actually the same street as rue de la Loi—
the street name was changed in February 1806.25 The work is also identified as
the property of the publishing firm, not of the composer. The fact that this in
formation was so prominently displayed on the title page speaks to the fact that
this was important to the partners, confirming their individual ownership of
their own works and the corporate ownership of everything else.
Illustration 7 shows the first page of the violin 1 part of Gasse's first duo.

25. Cecil Hopkinson, A Dictionary of Parisian Music Publishers, 1700-1950 (London: C.

Hopkinson, 1954/7? New York: Da Capo, 1979).

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 THE COMPOSERS' HOUSE 69

All«
All. . .
maestoso. VIOUNO 1°

FIGURE 7 Gasse, Violin Duets, First Page of Music.

Finally, here follow several illustrations from Isouard's score of Le Médecin

turc. Since this work is by one of the partners, the title page indicates that the
work is the property of the authors.

33"
or MftDKC IN f l lir
PAROLES DE

* Villiers el Armand -Gouffe

v A/Mir

— v.. *•

•v-' Prix 36-f Orchesfre 3o". .

fry>ruUt. drlXuirto- ptpoxe d /a Jtid/uiOdy**.

A TOULOUSE; aa Maguih .it Musujut et I Instrument, .

Chti CbomlhH-Calvet, rue At la Porame, n.* 100, prit la Comddie, ou Von trouve At
bonnet Contet At Napled et Papier titfi, toot ce qui a du upport aux bureaux et au Deeaein,
da boo, Papier de toute grandeur et qutlitd, Regiatrea, Encres, Cirea * cachetcr. Bee, Ate.
II tieot aussi.lei AbOnaemena pour tome tone de Mutique et Partitibnt, a finatar doPartty.*^

FIGURE 8 Title Page of Le Médecin turc.

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70 FONTES ARTIS MUSICAE 51/1

Toward the bottom of the page, however, the name of

be Magasin de musique et d'Instrumens in Toulous
Cherubini et al.

-Proj>rie&/ dcl'duAfUr. fyrposc/ a kt /fifi/wtAeyue' . " ^

A TOULOUSE,' au Magasi'n de Musique et (tlnstrumenst

Chez Crosilhes-Calvet, rue de la Pomme, n.° 100, pr£s la Comddie, oS l'on trouve d«s '" ,
bonnes Cordes de Naples* et Papier rrfgl^, tout ce qui a du rapport aux bureaux et au Dessein,
du bon,Papier de toute grandeur et qualitd, Registres, Encres, Cires a cacheter, &c, &t.
II tient aussi les Abonnemens pour toute sorte de Musique et Partitibns, k l'instar d© Paris,,:r -£d|

r-y■"
Grave par Jr*tiniuej ' ~ ". ~. « ^ -
FIGURE 9 Title Page Detail of Le Médecin

A careful examination of this illustratio

over the name of the original publisher,
lishing circles of the time. Though it d
publisher number of this work is 238. Is
published about 1803 or 1804. If the pub
lowed consecutively (which admittedly i
other than chronological order may hav
scores), it appears that the firm saw a bu
publishing over 200 works in a few year
or seven years. This would be consiste
Boïeldieu's and Rode's departure for R
Isouard's later defection from the firm.
energy over the years, and that the partne
venture.

»
V?* *1

- /-<f •■-) ■ -v:/

it • •>'S,,-1
U A W»ii
I .rrV> h, 1

FIGURE 10 Detail of Title Page of Score of Le Médecin turc.

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 THE COMPOSERS' HOUSE 71

This final illustration

names, especially Kreut
of this score is a little un
their own peculiarities
lins are at the top of th
custom. Apparently the
time.

Final Considerations

Le Magasin de musique may be seen as a unique publishing enterprise.

Certainly the banding together of six eminent composers for the purpose of
publishing their own works had not been (and is not) an everyday occurrence
in the history of western music. This enterprise was both new and old. Le
Magasin de musique was still a "pre-modern" publisher in that its main role
was to print and sell the music of its owners, mostly either at a particular shop
or through the time-honored method of subscription. This is not unlike an in
dividual composer paying for the printing of his own works and floating a
subscription via advertising he has paid for, a common mode of publishing up
to the nineteenth century. It is also pre-modern in that the firm was very much
tied to a specific location on the rue de la Loi. It is instructive that the circular
by which Le Magasin announced itself to the world also touted its fine
Neapolitan strings. Le Magasin de musique was not only a publisher but
also a retail shop. According to Rasch's definition, it was not a true "modern
publisher".
Le Magasin de musique was modern, however, in its marketing of other
composers' music. From the very first circular the partners promised to pub
lish (or sell) all known music, certainly a very ambitious undertaking. With the
example of the MMUFN before them they had been exposed to the sheer
power of mass distribution, though there is no evidence that their works were
ever as widely distributed or that they ever produced for a true modern mass
market. Le Magasin de musique is a curious case study in the transition from
the older publishing model described by Rasch to the more modern mass pro
duction firms that became the norm in the nineteenth century. With the advent
of music notation software and the Internet, it may again be possible for a com
poser to be his own publisher and distributor. If that is the case, prospective
publishers would do well to study the case history of Le Magasin de musique.

Le « Magasin de musique » a existé de 1802 à 1811. Il a été fondé par six com
positeurs français qui ont publié, sous ce label, leur propre musique et celle
d'autres auteurs. L'entreprise fut précédée, à partir de 1794, d'un « Magasin de
musique à l'usage des fêtes nationales », éditeur de chœurs patriotiques et
d'œuvres similaires post-révolutionnaires créé à l'initiative de l'Etat. Cinq des
six compositeurs à l'origine du second Magasin de musique étaient déjà mem
bres du précédent. Le nouveau Magasin de musique ouvrit en décembre 1802,

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72 FONTES ARTIS MUSICAE 51/1

à grand renfort de publicité. Il fonctionnait sur la base d'un

les six compositeurs : afin de pouvoir partager les profit
cun devait y apporter sa contribution annuelle à rai
musique de scène ou de cinquante pages de musique, au m
seul l'un des associés - Isouard - réussit à remplir cette o
de la musique produite était vendue au magasin des comp
le nom de Magasin de musique.
Le Magasin de musique fut plutôt une expérience isolé
de cas intéressante sur les nouvelles pratiques des édite
tir du début du dix-neuvième siècle.
Dominique Hausfater

Das typische Bild eines "Musikverlegers" änderte sich zwischen dem Ende
des 18. und dem Beginn des 19. Jahrhunderts. Während des 18. Jahrhunderts
war ein "Verleger" häufig nur für einen Bereich - drucken z.B. oder verkaufen
— einer Publikation verantwortlich; während später Musikverleger alle
Verantwortlichkeiten einer Publikation übernahmen — drucken, verkaufen,
verbreiten und die finanzielle Unterstützung übernehmen.
Das .Magasin de Musique' von Cherubini, Mehul, R. Kreutzer, Rode, Nicolo
Isouard und Boieldieu steht für eine interessante Teilung in dieser Entwick
lung. Einerseits arbeiteten die Partner im Unternehmen und verkauften unter
bestimmten Voraussetzungen nach dem älteren Modell des 18. Jahrhunderts;
aber andererseits beabsichtigten sie auch, die Musik anderer Komponisten zu
verbreiten und zu verkaufen. Dem Projekt von Cherubini et al. ging eine
ähnlich benannte Einrichtung voran, deren Ziele ziemlich unterschiedlich
waren: das .Magasin de Musique a l'usage des fetes nationales. Dieses war das
Geistesprodukt von Bernard Sarrette, Kommandant der Garde nationale.
Sarrettes Magasin war für patriotische Publikation zuständig und hatte den
Vorteil eines nationalen Verteilungsnetzes. Es wurde schließlich die
Verlagsabteilung des Pariser Conservatoires.
Fünf der sechs Partner im Magasin de Musique waren mit dem
Unternehmen von Sarrette verbunden. Die meisten jedoch waren an der
Musikproduktion für die Bühne, anstatt an patriotischen Chören, die von
Sarrette benötigt wurden, miteinbezogen. Die neue Firma wurde im August
1802 gegründet, der Öffentlichkeit aber erst im Dezember angekündigt.
Während der Dauer der Partnervereinbarung, musste jeder eine bestimmte
Menge Musik pro Jahr produzieren und 5% des Einkommens von seinem
Gewinn dem Magasin zahlen. Während die meiste Musik, die von den
Partnern produziert wurde, in dem Pariser Geschäft in der Rue de la Loi
verkauft wurde, wurden wenigstens einige Werke durch Subskription
abgesetzt.
Das Unternehmen wurde 1811 an Jacques-Joseph Frey, einem Musik
professor, verkauft. Bis zu dieser Zeit hatte es über 5.000 Musikplatten von
Komponisten im Gegensatz zu den Partnern produziert, zum Beispiel von
Steibelt, Hyacinthe Jadin, Dussek, Hummel und Spontini. Das Unternehmen

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THE COMPOSERS' HOUSE 73

hatte auch die erste k

produziert und mehrer
veröffentlicht.
Wolfgang

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