Ratez, Emile Pierre

1851-

 

French composer; born at Besanc.on; was a pupil of Demol in the music school of that city. He secured his musical education by studying in his leisure hours. He won first prize for violin-playing and musical theory in the Besangon Music School, and from 1872 to 1881 studied under Massenet and afterward Bazin at the Paris Conservatory, where in 1876 he came out first in a contest in counterpoint and fugue. In Paris he was viola-player in the orchestra of the Opera Comique, the Theatre Italien, and of the concerts given by Colonne, under whom he became chorusmaster in 1878, retaining this post for three years. In 1891 he became director of the Lille branch of the Paris Conservatory. His works include chamber-music; three trios, a quartet and a quintet for piano and strings; a string quartet and a string trio; a sonata for violin, one for viola, and one for violoncello, all with piano; a number of suites and other pieces for one or two violins with piano. He has written a large number of smaller pieces for various orchestral instruments, including an elegie for trombone and a legende for harp. He has composed two operas, Lyderic, and Paula Besangon; also a symphonic poem, Scenes heroiques. Besides this latter, he has to his credit a sinfonietta, a symphonic overture, a rhapsodic, and a suite for trumpet and orchestra; has also published a treatise on harmony, a treatise on elementary counterpoint and fugue, sets of vocal exercises, and studies for piano and for violin.