Benjamin Godard
Benjamin Louis Godard was born in Paris on August 18, 1849. After attending the Paris Conservatory, he received in 1878 a municipal prize for an orchestral work, besides having his first opera produced. He wrote several operas after that, winning fame with Jocelyn in 1888. He also wrote a considerable amount of chamber and orchestral music, in which his fine, sensitive lyricism is evident. He died in Cannes, France, on January 10, 1895.
Among his more familiar works is the Adagio pathétique. This started out as a piece for violin and piano, the third of a set of compositions in op. 128. It was orchestrated by Ross Jungnickel in 1910, and is most popular in this version. This is music notable for its expressive emotion; its lyricism at times has a religious stateliness.
The most famous single piece of music by Godard, however, is the “Berceuse” from his opera, Jocelyn. With libretto by Paul Armand and Silvestre and Victor Capoul—based on a poem by Lamartine—Jocelyn was introduced in Brussels on February 25, 1888. The setting is France during the French Revolution, and concerns the love of Jocelyn, a young priest, for the daughter of a nobleman. After many inner struggles, Jocelyn decides to remain true to his calling and give up his beloved. They meet for the last time at her deathbed to which Jocelyn has been summoned to administer absolution. The “Berceuse” is a tender aria by Jocelyn (“Cachés dans cet asile”) in which he calls upon angels to protect his loved one.