Jean Françaix, born in Le Mans to musician parents, had by the age of twelve covered everything from Scarlatti to Ravel. Leaving the Conservatoire with a first prize for piano, he went on to study with Nadia Boulanger. We owe him the scores of Sacha Guitry's great films, from Si Versailles m'était conté to Napoléon, and an opera. His wife Blanche joined him in 2010, at a hundred.
The story
Born at Le Mans in 1912 into a family of musicians, Jean Françaix knew at twelve the whole of music from Scarlatti to Ravel: his father ran the town's conservatoire.
First prize for piano at eighteen at the Paris Conservatoire, he worked with Nadia Boulanger, who would also train the Americans from Copland to Glass.
He wrote the music for Sacha Guitry's great films: Les Perles de la couronne, Si Versailles m'était conté, Napoléon, Si Paris m'était conté.
His concert work runs from a fantastical oratorio — L'Apocalypse selon saint Jean — to the opera La Princesse de Clèves. His daughter Claude, a pianist, played and recorded with him.
He died in 1997 and rests in Division 42, on the inner path, third row. His wife Blanche, born Yvon, joined him there in 2010: she was a hundred years old.
The grave
A simple grave with two inscriptions: “Jean FRANCAIX 1912-1997 compositeur” and “Blanche FRANCAIX née YVON 1910-2010”. She lived to a hundred and outlived her husband by thirteen years. Nothing of Nadia Boulanger, nothing of Guitry's films, nothing of L'Apocalypse selon saint Jean: the word “compositeur” — composer — is enough.
On site, do not miss
Two names on the stone, and two dates that surprise: “Blanche FRANCAIX née YVON 1910-2010”. She outlived her husband by thirteen years and lived to a hundred.
Visitors' questions
Where is Jean Françaix's grave?
In Division 42, on an inner path, third row, beneath a stone that bears two names: his own and that of his wife Blanche, née Yvon, who died a centenarian in 2010, thirteen years after him. The Division is that of Mouloudji and Félix Guattari.
MouloudjiWho trained Jean Françaix?
Nadia Boulanger, the most influential composition teacher of the century — the woman who also trained Copland, Piazzolla and Glass. He had entered the Paris Conservatoire and left it with a first prize in piano at eighteen.
Claude DelvincourtDid Françaix write for the cinema?
He did, and above all for one film-maker: Sacha Guitry. Les Perles de la couronne, Si Versailles m'était conté, Napoléon, Si Paris m'était conté — the director's great historical pageants carry his music.
Michel MagneWhat was Jean Françaix's style?
Clear, witty, tonal — against the grain of his century. He composed for sixty years without yielding to the avant-gardes, which earned him a reputation for lightness among critics who took difficulty to be a requirement.
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