Pauline Duchambge

Pauline Duchambge née de Montet (1778 – 23 April 1858) was a French pianist, singer, and composer. Life Duchambge (Montet) was born in Martinique, the daughter of a noble family. She was taken to Paris, where she received a convent education and studied the piano from composer and author Jean-Baptiste Desormery, son of the famous comic opera actor and composer Léopold-Bastien Desormery. Pauline left the convent in 1792 and married Baron Duchambge in 1796. In 1798 at the age of 20, she lost both her parents and with them the family fortune. Soon afterwards she was divorced. It was after these events that Duchambge’s musical education began in earnest. She studied harmony and composition with Daniel Auber and Luigi Cherubini (who wrote several compositions for her) as well as piano and composition with Jan Ladislav Dussek. In 1815, Duchambge met the French poet and novelist, Marceline Desbordes-Valmore beginning a lifelong friendship and collaboration. Their friendship is documented by a lengthy correspondence and a number of songs by Duchambge on Debordes-Valmore’s texts including L’Adieu tout bas, La Fiancée del marin, Je pense à lui, La Jeune Châtelaine, Rêve du mousse, La Sincère