Mermet, Auguste
(1810–1889)> COMPOSER
Mermet, Auguste (5 January 1810, Brussels; 4 July 1889, Paris), composer, was born into a family of army officers distinguished for their service during the First Empire, and he seemed destined for a military career until it became evident that music alone was important to him. His first creative attempt was to set a poem by Carmouche entitled La Bannière du roi and given at Versailles during his youth. Shortly afterwards, Alexandre Soumet gave him his Saul to set, and the Opéra accepted it for…