24 March 1820 – 9 Nisan 5580
After the assassination of the Duc de Berry rocked French society in February 1820, the Jewish community of Paris commissioned a funeral march from a relatively unknown Jewish composer, to be performed at a synagogue memorial service for this popular member of the restored French royal family. Marche Funebre et De Profundis en Hebreu was composed by Jacques Fromenthal Halevy (1799-1862) and performed in the Jewish community’s temple for the first time on March 24. Halevy went on to become one of France’s greatest composers and a member of the Royal Institute of Music. He was the son of Elie Halfon Halevy, a cantor who was also the secretary of the Jewish community of Paris and a Hebrew teacher and writer as well. Unlike his father, Jacques was not an observant Jew. Halevy’s long-term reputation was assured by his grand opera La Juive, which premiered in 1835 and soon became part of French opera’s classic repertoire.