François-Jules SIMON
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Poet, musician and founder of the journal L'Orphéon.
François-Jules Simon, a poet and musician born in 1816, is not the philosopher Jules Simon, his near-namesake and contemporary, with whom he is confused. His own business was choral singing: the Orphéon movement then gathered thousands of workers who sang without a single instrument. He federated these scattered societies and founded the movement's journal in 1855.
The story
Born in 1816, François-Jules Simon was a poet and a musician — and is not to be confused with the philosopher and statesman Jules Simon (1814-1896), his almost-namesake and contemporary.
His subject was choral singing. The orphéon movement, born in workshops and schools, then had tens of thousands of working men singing in amateur societies, with no instrument but their voices.
He founded the Musical and Choral Societies of France, which gave those scattered clubs a federation, competitions and a shared repertoire.
In 1855 he created L'Orphéon, the movement's newspaper, which he ran until his death. His son Henri Abel Simon (1843-1906) took the paper over in 1868 and held it for nearly forty years.
He died in 1868 and lies in the family grave, in Division 66, avenue des Peupliers, first line — the division of Georges Seurat, of Jules Vallès and of the singer Marietta Alboni.
On site, do not miss
A family grave in a Division worth the detour in itself: the 66th lines up, on its first row, a pointillist painter, a Communard and a prima donna.
Visitors' questions
Where is François-Jules Simon's grave?
In Division 66, avenue des Peupliers, first row, in a family grave. The Division brings together the painter Georges Seurat, the writer Jules Vallès and the opera singer Marietta Alboni: its first row is one of the most crowded in the cemetery.
Georges SeuratWhat was the orphéon movement?
A vast network of working-class choirs, born in the workshops and schools of the nineteenth century, which had tens of thousands of workers singing. Charles Gounod conducted the Orphéon of the City of Paris; François-Jules Simon gave it its newspaper.
Marie Miolan-CarvalhoShould he be confused with Jules Simon the philosopher?
No. The philosopher and statesman Jules Simon (1814-1896) is another man altogether. François-Jules Simon (1816-1868) was a poet and musician, founder of the Musical and Choral Societies of France and of the paper L'Orphéon. He rests in Division 66 of Père-Lachaise.
Pierre FlourensWho else rests in Division 66?
The painter Georges Seurat, the Communard Jules Vallès, the opera singer Marietta Alboni, the garden engineer Adolphe Alphand and Count Alexandre Walewski, natural son of Napoleon I, all rest there — four trades and four centuries of taste in a single Division.
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