The Hague, August 17, 1838
The Hague (?), February 6, 1871
Emile’s grandfather, François Dunkler Sr. was born in 1779 in Rastatt (Grand Duchy of Baden). After settling in the Netherlands in 1815, he was called to The Hague in 1829 to assemble a music corps of the Grenadiers department.
In 1849 he was succeeded as conductor by his son François Dunkler Jr. (1816-1878). At the end of his reign, namely in 1876, the corps was renamed Royal Military Band.
The short life of Emile Dunkler, son of François jr., has sp far been shrouded in mists. For example, the date of birth given above is the most likely, but most sources, which of course diligently copy from each other, give 1840 or 1841. One source states that Dunkler was taught in his hometown by Joseph Giese, who was a cello teacher at the Royal Music School there. He then lived in Paris for many years and was appointed cellist to the Emperor by Napoleon III. This can all be reconciled with the fact that all his compositions bear French titles (which in itself is certainly not conclusive evidence), are, as far as we know, partly dedicated to French persons and were mainly published in Paris. In any case, as a cellist he has had an international reputation.
Significant of the popularity of Dunkler’s work is that, some time after his death, the Parisian publisher Fromont first proceeded with a collective publication of seventeen of his ‘genre pieces’: Dix-sept morceaux de genre, édition revue et corrigée par G. [Gustave ] Sandré, 1895, and that fifteen years later the London publisher Augener followed suit: Compositions, revues et doigtées par Ludwig Lebell, 1910. As far as can be seen, the 1895 collection contains a number of first editions; a considerable part of Dunkler’s works was not issued during his lifetime. However, around 1867 a compilation, Cinq morceaux de genre, was published by the Parisian publisher Girod.
A number of Dunkler’s works, such as La fileuse and Caprice hongrois, are still famous.
The 1895 collection contains the following compositions for cello and piano:
opus 11 Fantaisie originale, à Monsieur Lasserre (original edition: Girod, 1884)
opus 12 Ballad
opus 13 Danse hollandaise
opus 14 Berceuse
opus 15 La fileuse
opus 16 Caprice. Mazurka
opus 17 Tarantelle
opus 18 Caprice hongrois, à Madame van Deinze
opus 19 Chanson a boire
opus 20 Rêverie, dedicated to Caroline Derval (earlier edition: Augener, ca. 1880)
opus 21 Une larme
opus 22 Un reproche. Melody
opus 23 Valse de concert, à Madame la Marquise de Tucisy
opus 24 Introduction et Polonaise
opus 25 Adagio et Rondo
opus 26 L’absence. Melody
opus 27 Souvenir de Pesth
The Netherlands Music Institute owns all three collections as well as separate editions from opus 13 to 15 and 17 to 22.
In addition, it holds two manuscripts, probably dating from the 1860s:
Introduction and Tarantelle
L’absence
Legally downloadable on IMSLP/Petrucci are:
Fantasy original opus 11
Caprice hongrois opus 18
Reverie opus 20
Valse de concert opus 23
According to the source cited earlier, Emile’s half-brother Eduard (1848-1885) has been involved in posthumous publications and arrangements. He was the son of François Jr.’s marriage, concluded in 1846. Emile’s mother is unknown.
(July 7, 2011, revised August 19, 2016)