Conservatoire

Conservatoire, or CONSERVATORIUM (Ital. conservatorio), forms of a name given by the Italians to schools instituted for the purpose of advancing the study of music and maintaining its purity. In the earliest times these schools were partly attached to benevolent institutions and hospitals; others, again, were supported by opulent private individuals. They were originally intended for foundlings, orphans, and the children of poor parents. Some trace their origin to St Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, in the 4th century, or St Leo, who flourished in the 5th. They were largely developed by Gregory the Great. The scholars, male and female, all received free board, lodging, and clothing, and were taught to sing and play. Extra boarders were also admitted on paying a fee. In Naples there were at one time four such schools, while in Venice there were four expressly for females. In 1808 the Neapolitan conservatoires were reduced to one, under the name of Reale Collegio di Musica. The Venetian conservatoires shared in the downfall of the Venetian republic. A new grand conservatoire was founded at Milan in 1808, which still exists. In France the necessity of a school for educating singers gave rise to the École Royale de Chant et de Déclamation in 1784. During the French Revolution, in consequence of the scarcity of instrumental musicians for the army, the government decreed the erection of an Institut National de Musique in 1793, which was changed into the present establishment in 1795 under the name of the Conservatoire de Musique. The yearly expenses of this conservatoire were fixed at 240,000 francs, the number of masters was 125, and the pupils of both sexes amounted to 600. In 1802 the expense was reduced to 100,000 francs, with a corresponding reduction in the number of masters and pupils, but the original sum and number of pupils has now been nearly reached again; the professors are at present 77 in number. The tuition is divided over more than seventy different classes, in which all pertaining to music and also declamation is taught by the best masters. The elementary works published by this conservatoire for all instruments are known over the whole world, and it possesses a library and museum of the first importance. The post of director has been held by an illustrious succession—Cherubini, 1822–42; Auber, 1842–71; and then, M. Ambroise Thomas. Other important conservatoires are those of Brussels (founded 1833), Prague, Vienna (1816), and the great conservatorium of Leipzig, established in 1842 under the auspices of Mendelssohn; also those of Cologne, Munich, Stuttgart, Berlin, &c. The Royal College of Music in London, which received a charter in 1882, is designed to rival the conservatoires of the Continent. There are several of note in the United States, especially the Boston Conservatory of Music (1867), the New England Conservatory of Music (1870), also in Boston, and the Grand Conservatory of Music of the City of New York (a corporation); and there are reputable schools of music, termed conservatories, in almost all the principal cities. The name conservatoire is used for other than musical schools in France. There is thus a Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers at Paris.