Alphonse Thys


Alphonse Thys was a 19th-century French composer.

Short biography

He studied harmony at the Conservatoire de Paris with Émile Bienaimé and musical composition with Henri-Montan Berton.
In 1833, he won the first Prix de Rome with his cantata Le Contrebandier espagnol. He lived two years at the Villa Medicis in Rome, then settled in Paris as a composer. He wrote some popular songs such as La Belle limonadière or La Nuit au sérail.
He wrote operas for the Théâtre national de l'Opéra-Comique as well as mixed choirs. When he was a teacher of music, he used Pierre Galin's method, and in 1873 wrote the foreword of the book Histoire anecdotique de la méthode Galin-Paris-Chevé. His most famous pupil was Edmond de Polignac.
He was Pauline Thys's father.

Works

His abundant production includes: