Martin-Joseph Adrien

Martin-Joseph Adrien (also Andrien, or Adrien l'Ainé; 1766-November 1823) was a French operatic bass.

Life

He was born at Liége. He took alternate parts with Auguste-Athanase Chéron at the Paris Opéra from 1785 to 1804; afterwards he became choirmaster at the opera. In March 1822 he succeeded Lainé as professor of declamation at the École royale de musique, and died in the following November, a victim to the exaggerated system of declamation then in vogue.

His voice was harsh, and his method of singing bad, but he had merit as an actor. He composed the Hymne à la Victoire on the evacuation of the French territory in 1795, and the hymn to the martyrs for liberty.

Family

Two of his brothers were also composers. His brother (name unknown), born at Liége 1767, published five collections of songs (Paris, 1790-1802), and was for a short time choirmaster at the Théâtre Feydeau. Another brother, Ferdinand, was a teacher of singing in Paris, choir-master of the opera (1799-1801) and composer of songs.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Grove, George, ed. (1900). "Adrien, Martin". A Dictionary of Music and Musicians. London: Macmillan and Company.