Avis de soutenance - doctorat - Emmanuelle BLASUTTA

The Solfèges d'Italie with a figured bass were a learning singing method intended for children and other learners or amateurs well-versed in music in France in the late 18th century. This method was published in Paris in 1772, in Cousineau's edition, by Pierre Levesque et Jean-Louis Bêche. The latter were singers and music masters at the Royal Court in Versailles. The Solfèges d'Italie are a compilation of music pieces created by famous Italian opera composers in the first half of the 18th century. Among them, Leonardo Leo (1694- 1744) and Johann Adolf Hasse (1699-1783) were the most productive composers. Levesque and Bêche collected and published hundreds of these solfeggios in 5 editions from 1772 to 1805. Their point was to add a figured bass to make them more easily playable. But so far no one had cared to raise the question whether these Solfeggios had paved the way for the Méthode de chant du Conservatoire published in Paris thirty years later. Along the way an impressive repertoire was uncovered. This research work aims to explain the success met by this method in France, assess its achievements from a vocal and artistic viewpoint. Levesque and Bêche allowed their learners to reach artistic heights by providing a method that is technically and culturally impressive.