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Springer Theses
Recognizing Outstanding Ph.D. Research

Yucun Zhou

Study on
Fabrication and
Performance of
Metal-Supported
Solid Oxide Fuel
Cells
Springer Theses

Recognizing Outstanding Ph.D. Research

Aims and Scope

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More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/8790

Yucun Zhou

Study on Fabrication
and Performance
of Metal-Supported Solid
Oxide Fuel Cells
Doctoral Thesis accepted by
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, P.R. China

123
Author Supervisor
Dr. Yucun Zhou Prof. Shaorong Wang
Shanghai Institute of Ceramics Shanghai Institute of Ceramics
Chinese Academy of Sciences Chinese Academy of Sciences
Shanghai Shanghai
P.R. China P.R. China

ISSN 2190-5053 ISSN 2190-5061 (electronic)

Springer Theses
ISBN 978-981-10-6616-0 ISBN 978-981-10-6617-7 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6617-7
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017957203

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part
of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations,
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The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
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the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this
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Printed on acid-free paper

This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature

The registered company is Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore
Supervisor’s Foreword

It is my great pleasure to introduce and recommend Dr. Yucun Zhou’s research

work for publication in the series of Springer Theses. His research work focuses on
the design, preparation, and measurements of metal-supported solid oxide fuel cells
(MS-SOFCs), under my supervision.
My research group devoted efforts in developing SOFC technology for dis-
tributed supplying of combined power and heat (CHP) applications. The operating
temperature is a key point for this technology, which is deeply related to the cost
and life of SOFC stacks. MS-SOFC is a frontier object in this field, for the cheaper
and more robust properties of porous metals in comparison with the traditional
Ni/YSZ (Yttria-stabilized zirconia) anode. However, the densification of the cera-
mic electrolyte film on the porous metal by a cheap technology is very difficult.
After joining our group, Dr. Yucun Zhou got to know this issue and began to work
following the tape casting and co-sintering route. We started from cheap SUS430
powder and commercial YSZ powder, trying to get a dense YSZ film supported by
a porous metal layer via the traditional sintering technology. We expected the
shrinkage of the porous metal substrate would help the densification of the elec-
trolyte film. However, the recipe of the tape casting slurry, the sintering process and
controlling of atmospheres, and also the design and optimizing of the microstruc-
ture of the electrode active layers should be carefully selected. There are huge
amount of experimental work to be done. Dr. Yucun Zhou has accepted good
training in materials science before, but the determining factor of success is his
smart and level head, as well as his diligence. He stands on the shoulder of others,
keeping modest, reading a lot of literatures to learn ideas for controlling of electrode
structure, and finally progressed much along this way.

v
vi Supervisor’s Foreword

Part of Yucun Zhou’s research has been published in high-impact journals such
as Advance Energy Materials, Journal of Power Sources, and Journal of The
Electrochemical Society, etc. The publication of this thesis in Springer is believed
to promote scientific research in the community of materials science and technology
in relation to SOFC.

Shanghai, P.R. China Prof. Shaorong Wang

July 2017
Parts of this thesis have been published in the following journal articles:

(1) Yucun Zhou, Xianshuang Xin, Junliang Li, Xiaofeng Ye, Changrong Xia,
Shaorong Wang, Zhongliang Zhan, Performance and degradation of
metal-supported solid oxide fuel cells with impregnated electrodes, Int.
J. Hydrogen Energy, 2014, 39, 2279–2285.
(2) Yucun Zhou, Chun Yuan, Ting Chen, Xie Meng, Xiaofeng Ye, Junliang Li,
Shaorong Wang, Zhongliang Zhan, Evaluation of Ni and Ni–Ce0.8Sm0.2O2−d
(SDC) impregnated 430L anodes for metal-supported solid oxide fuel cells,
J. Power Sources, 2014, 267, 117–122.
(3) Yucun Zhou, Xiaofeng Ye, Junliang Li, Zhongliang Zhan, Shaorong Wang,
Metal-supported solid oxide fuel cells with a simple structure, J. Electrochem.
Soc., 2014, 161, F332–336.
(4) Yucun Zhou, Ting Luo, Xianlong Du, Jianqiang Wang, Wei Yang, Chunwen
Sun, Changrong Xia, Shaorong Wang, Zhongliang Zhan, High activity of
nanoporous-Sm0.2Ce0.8O2-d@430L composites for hydrogen electro-oxidation
in solid oxide fuel cells, Adv. Energy Mater., 2014, 4.
(5) Yucun Zhou, Ting Chen, Junliang Li, Chun Yuan, Xianshuang Xin, Guoyi
Chen, Guoshuan Miao, Weiting Zhan, Zhan Zhongliang, Wang Shaorong,
Long–term stability of metal–supported solid oxide fuel cells employing
infiltrated electrodes, J. Power Sources, 2015, 295, 67–73.
(6) Weiting Zhan, Yucun Zhou, Ting Chen, Guoshuan Miao, Xiaofeng Ye,
Junliang Li, Zhan Zhongliang, Wang Shaorong, Zhenyan Deng, Long–term
stability of infiltrated La0.8Sr0.2CoO3-d, La0.58Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3-d and
SmBa0.5Sr0.5Co2.0O5+d cathodes for low temperature solid oxide fuel cells, Int.
J. Hydrogen Energy, 2015, 40, 16532–16539.
(7) Yucun Zhou, Da Han, Chun Yuan, Minquan Liu, Ting Chen, Shaorong Wang,
Zhongliang Zhan, Infiltrated SmBa0.5Sr0.5Co2O5+d cathodes for metal–sup-
ported solid oxide fuel cells, Electrochim. Acta, 2014, 149, 231–236.
(8) Yucun Zhou, Hao Wu, Ting Luo, Jianqiang Wang, Yixiang Shi, Changrong
Xia, Shaorong Wang, Zhongliang Zhan, A Nanostructured Architecture for
Reduced-Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, Adv. Energy Mater., 2015, 5.

vii
Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my teachers, classmates, friends, and families for their
guidance, support, and help over the past five years.
Foremost, I would like to convey my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Prof.
Shaorong Wang for his meticulous guidance and help. Professor Wang is not only a
wise, diligent, and insightful scholar and engineer, but also a modest and low-key
gentleman. Professor Wang invited me to the area of solid oxide fuel cells, provided
me with tremendous inspiration, encouragement, and support, and taught me to be a
qualified researcher. More importantly, he is a great mentor for my life and taught
me to be a real man. I admired him for his profound knowledge and noble per-
sonality. Nothing is enough to show my great appreciation to him. What I only can
do is following his footsteps, to be an aspiring researcher and a useful man.
In addition, I would like to thank Prof. Tinglian Wen for his kind help in my life
and research. I would like to thank Prof. Zhongliang Zhan for his guidance.
I am grateful to many people who have provided assistance in my research work
and brought me friendship and happiness in my daily life. They are Dr. Xiaofeng
Ye, Dr. Junliang Li, Dr. Le Shao, Dr. Da Han, Dr. Juan Zhou, Dr. Ting Luo,
Dr. Yadi Liu, Dr. Chun Yuan, Xie Meng, Dr. Xuejiao Liu, Dr. Jie Zou, Wenzhi
Pan, Dr. Tianyu Zhou, Dr. Yijie Zhou, Dr. Shan Yun, Dr. Haibo Wu, Zhengyi
Zhou, Zhencheng Zhang, Qiang Zhou, Minquan Liu, Guoyi Chen, Xixiang Li,
Guoshuan Miao, Xiaofeng Tong, Ting Chen, Weiting Zhan, and Xiaona Ji.
I would like to thank many researchers and staff in Shanghai Institute of
Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, for their kind support and help. They are
Dr. Huaiwen Nie, Dr. Xianshuang Xin, Dr. Jian Shi, Fanrong Zeng, Jiqin Qian,
Chongying Zhong, Youpeng Chen, Leimin Liu, Hao Wu, Jun Lu, Yuxin Han, Yide
Sheng, Chucheng Lin, Zhiwei Zhou, Caifei Lu, Xueying Zhao, and Xinhong Lu.
I wish them every success in the future.
I would like to give the highest appreciation to my parents. They raised me by
their hard work. I have learnt many life skills and inherited many excellent moral

ix
x Acknowledgements

characters from them. Meanwhile, I would like to thank my sisters, brothers-in-law,

and all my relatives for their constant support.
At last, I would like to give a special thanks to my wife Fang Wang. I cannot
thank you enough for your love, support, and standing by me through it all. You are
always in my heart.
Contents

1 Research Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Solid Oxide Fuel Cell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.1 Introduction of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.2 Operating Principle of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2 Metal-Supported Solid Oxide Fuel Cell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2.1 Introduction of Metal-Supported Solid Oxide
Fuel Cell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2.2 Choice of the Metal Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.3 Materials and Fabrication Techniques of Electrolytes . . . . . 7
1.2.4 Anode Issues and Corresponding Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.2.5 Cathode Issues and Corresponding Strategies . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.3 Scope of This Thesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2 Fabrication and Investigation of Intermediate-Temperature
MS–SOFCs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.2 Experimental Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.2.1 Technical Route . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.2.2 Fabrication of Symmetric and Single Cells . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.2.3 Material Characterizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.2.4 Electrochemical Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.3 Results and Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.3.1 Investigation of Infiltrated LSFSc–YSZ Cathodes . . . . . . . 19
2.3.2 Investigation of Infiltrated Ni–430L Anodes
and the MS–SOFCs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...... 24

xi
xii Contents

2.3.3 Investigation of Infiltrated SDC–430L Anodes

and the MS–SOFCs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...... 32
2.3.4 Investigation of Infiltrated Ni–SDC–430L Anodes
and the MS–SOFCs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...... 43
2.4 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...... 55
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...... 56
3 Fabrication and Investigation of Low-Temperature
MS–SOFCs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
3.2 Experimental Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
3.2.1 Fabrication of Symmetric and Single Cells . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
3.2.2 Material Characterizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
3.2.3 Electrochemical Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
3.3 Results and Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
3.3.1 Investigation of Infiltrated LSC/LSCF/SBSC–SSZ
Cathodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...... 63
3.3.2 Investigation of Infiltrated SBSC–SSZ Cathodes
and the MS–SOFCs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...... 70
3.4 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...... 75
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...... 75
4 Fabrication and Investigation of MS–SOFCs
with a Symmetric Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
4.2 Experimental Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
4.2.1 Fabrication of Symmetric and Single Cells . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
4.2.2 Material Characterizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
4.2.3 Electrochemical Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
4.3 Results and Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
4.3.1 Investigation of Infiltrated SBSC–430L Cathodes . . . . . . . 79
4.3.2 Investigation of MS–SOFCs with a Symmetric
Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....... 83
4.4 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....... 88
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....... 89
5 Summary and Outlook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
5.1 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
5.2 Outlook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Chapter 1
Research Background

1.1 Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

1.1.1 Introduction of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

Fuel cells are electrochemical energy conversion devices which directly convert the
chemical energy in the fuels (e.g., hydrogen, methane) into electricity. Unlike other
types of chemical batteries, in which the chemical energy for electricity conversion
is obtained by consuming the electrode materials, the chemical energy in fuel cells
is derived from the reaction energy of fuels and oxidants. Thus, fuel cells can be
regard as “chemical generators”, which can generate electricity uninterruptedly by a
sustained supply of fuels and oxidants. Some characteristics of fuel cells are list here
[1, 2]:
(1) High efficiency: Since no combustion reaction or transmission equipment is
needed in the energy conversion process for the fuel cells, the efficiency is not
limited by the Carnot cycle, and the power generating efficiency can be as high
as 40–65%. If combined with heat, the efficiency can reach ˃90%.
(2) Environmentally friendly: The energy conversion process of the fuel cells is
achieved by the electrochemical process without combustion reaction or
moving component, thus no noise, dust or toxic gases like SOx, NOx generated.
(3) Flexibility of scale and usage: Different from traditional batteries, in which the
power and capacity are often convoluted, fuel cells allow easy independent
scaling between power and capacity, thus scale well from the 1–W range to the
megawatt range. Due to the flexibility of output power and scale, fuel cells have
a wide application from small portable power source to large fixed power
station.
Fuel cells are composed of a porous cathode where the reduction reaction of the
oxidants (e.g., oxygen) occurs, a dense electrolyte providing ionic conducting, and
a porous anode where the oxidation reaction of the fuels happens. In general, the

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018 1

Y. Zhou, Study on Fabrication and Performance of Metal-Supported Solid Oxide
Fuel Cells, Springer Theses, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6617-7_1
2 1 Research Background

property and the application of the fuel cells are determined by the property of the
electrolytes. Based on different types of electrolytes, fuel cells can be divided into
Alkaline Fuel Cell (AFC), Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC),
Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell (PAFC), Molten Carbon Fuel cell (MCFC) and Solid
Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC). The SOFC consists of a ceramic, oxide ionic conducting
electrolyte sandwiched by a ceramic anode and a ceramic cathode. The key features
of the SOFC are its all solid state construction and high operating temperature
(600–1000 °C). The combination of these features leads to a number of distinctive
and attractive attributes for the SOFC including noble metals free, no leakage or
corrosion risk of the liquid electrolyte, cell and stack design flexibility, multi-fuel
capability (including hydrocarbon fuels), and high efficiency [3–6]. The SOFC has
been considered for a broad spectrum of power generation applications, including
power systems ranging from watt range to megawatt range, e.g., Auxiliary Power
Unit (APU) for vehicles, Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system for buildings,
and large-scale power plants. Due to these merits, the SOFC has became one of the
most consistent developed fuel cells (1950s to nowadays), and has demonstrated its
commercial potential in the past several years.

1.1.2 Operating Principle of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

The operation principle of a SOFC is schematically shown in Fig. 1.1. During the
operating process of a SOFC, oxygen is adsorbed on the surface of the porous
cathode and reduced into oxide ions under the presence of electrons from an
external circuit. These oxide ions migrate through the dense solid electrolyte to the
anode side driven by the oxygen chemical potential gradient. In the porous anode,

Fig. 1.1 A schematic

diagram of the SOFC
1.1 Solid Oxide Fuel Cell 3

oxide ions react with fuels, H2 or CO, to produce H2O or CO2, and the released
electrons flow to the external circuit.
When using hydrogen as the fuel, reaction in the anode is:

2O2
þ 2H2 ! 2H2 O þ 4e ð1:1Þ

Reaction in the cathode is:

O2 þ 4e ! 2O2
ð1:2Þ

Full reaction of the fuel cell is:

2H2 þ O2 ! 2H2 O ð1:3Þ

The open-circuit voltage, EOCV, of the cell can be calculated from the free energy
change, DG, of the electrochemical reaction or from the partial pressure of the
oxygen PO(c) at the cathode and PO(a) at the anode:
EOCV ¼
DG=nF ¼ ðRT=nFÞ ln PO ðcÞ=PO ðaÞ ð1:4Þ

Here, R is the gas constant, T is the absolute temperature, F is the Faraday

constant, and n is the electron equivalent of oxygen (n = 4).

1.2 Metal-Supported Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

1.2.1 Introduction of Metal-Supported Solid Oxide

Fuel Cell

As introduced above, a SOFC is composed of three components: the anode, elec-

trolyte and cathode. A typical electrolyte material of a SOFC is yttria-stabilized
zirconia (YSZ), an oxide ion conductor at elevated temperatures. The anode is
usually a nickel-zirconia cermet (Ni–YSZ), and the cathode a perovskite material,
e.g., strontium doped lanthanum manganite (LSM). In practical application, one of
the three components should be thick enough to provide mechanical support for the
whole cell. Based on various supports, the SOFC can be divided into electrolyte-
supported SOFC (ES–SOFC), anode-supported SOFC (AS–SOFC), cathode-
supported SOFC (CS–SOFC) and metal-supported SOFC (MS–SOFC) (Fig. 1.2).
Properties of different SOFC configurations are listed in Table 1.1.
The early development of SOFC mainly focused on the ES–SOFC. Due to the
large ohmic impedance of the thick electrolyte (100–1000 µm), operating tem-
peratures of the ES–SOFC should be as high as 850–1000 °C. Such high tem-
peratures restrict the selection of materials used in the stack and the balance-of-plant
(BOP), bring challenges like thermal insulation and high-temperature oxidation/
corrosion. In another aspect, the ES–SOFC still exhibits a number of advantages
4 1 Research Background

Fig. 1.2 A schematic diagram of different SOFC configurations

Table 1.1 A comparison of different SOFC configurations

SOFC Advantages Disadvantages
configurations
ES–SOFC Good redox stability and long-term Large ohmic resistance
durability, Facile fabrication High operating temperature
High cost
AS–SOFC Low operating temperature Low redox stability
High output power
CS–SOFC High redox stability of the anode Low output power
MS–SOFC Low cost, High mechanical strength, Densification issue of the
Excellent redox and thermal shock electrolyte, Oxidation of the metal,
tolerance Cr poisoning issue

including: high stability of the structure and performance, good redox tolerance and
facile fabrication.
For the AS–SOFC, a thick anode (300–1000 µm) is used to support the whole
cell and the thickness of the electrolyte can be reduced to less than 50 µm. By using
a thin electrolyte, the ohmic resistance of the fuel cell is reduced significantly,
allowing the operation of an AS–SOFC at the intermediate temperatures (600–
800 °C). In addition, reduced operating temperatures allow for the application of a
wider range of materials and more cost-effective fabrication process, particularly in
relation to the interconnectors and BOP [7].
Compared with the AS–SOFC, the CS–SOFC shows a much better redox tol-
erance due to the thinner anode which can avoid the significant volume change of
1.2 Metal-Supported Solid Oxide Fuel Cell 5

the anode resulting from redox cycles. Siemens/Westinghouse has successfully

developed the tubular CS–SOFC technology and demonstrated the world’s first
highly efficient, longest running (over 13,000 h) 100 kW SOFC-CHP system and
the first highest–efficiency, 220 kW class pressurized SOFC-gas turbine
(PSOFC-GT) hybrid system based on this technology [8, 9].
The above cell configurations (ES–SOFC, AS–SOFC and CS–SOFC) using
porous ceramics or cermets as the mechanical supports bring challenges like high
cost of the raw materials and the fabricating processes, poor thermal and electrical
conductivity, and inferior mechanical strength due to the inherent properties of the
ceramics. In the last decade, benefitting from the development of new materials and
techniques, the operating temperatures of the SOFC have been reduced to lower
than 800 °C, under which the oxidation issue of metals, e.g., stainless steels can be
significantly relieved [10–15]. Thus, the MS–SOFC using a porous metal as the cell
support regained people’s interest recently. The MS–SOFC shows a number of
advantages over the traditional all–ceramic structured SOFC:
1. High mechanical strength: Due to the high mechanical strength especially the
fracture toughness of the metals, MS–SOFC exhibits much higher mechanical
ruggedness than that of the traditional fragile all-ceramic structured SOFC [16].
2. Increased thermal cycling stability: The high ductility and thermal conductivity
of the metals can help to relieve the mechanical stress and thermal stress in the
cells or stacks, thus to increase the thermal shock resistance of the SOFC. As
reported, the ability of a MS–SOFC to withstand rapid thermal cycling between
200 and 800 °C at 50 °C min−1 has been demonstrated [17].
3. Excellent redox tolerance: For the most widely developed AS–SOFC, a volu-
metric expansion of more than 40% is observed for the Ni particles when
oxidized to NiO. The volumetric expansion will cause a expansion strain in the
anode, resulting in a tensile strain in the electrolyte and a respective stress,
leading to the fracture of the electrolyte and the failure of fuel cells [18, 19].
While for the MS–SOFC, stainless steels with good redox stability are used as
the thick supporting layer and the thickness of the Ni based anode has been
greatly reduced, thus an excellent redox tolerance is guaranteed. For example,
the MS–SOFC developed in Ceres Power can withstand more than 100 accel-
erated redox cycles without degradation in performance [20].
4. Low cost: In the MS–SOFC, the cost of the raw materials can be greatly reduced
by replacing the expensive rare earth oxides with much cheaper metals, e.g.,
ferritic stainless steel. In addition, facile and low-cost manufacturing techniques,
e.g., welding, can be expected to be applied in the fabrication of MS–SOFCs,
which further reducing the manufacturing cost [21, 22].
In all, due to the high mechanical strength, good ductility, excellent thermal and
electrical conductivity, and good redox stability of the alloys, using metals, e.g.,
alloys as the cell substrate can effectively circulate the inherent drawbacks of the
ceramic substrate and the technical challenges of SOFCs. Based on these merits,
MS–SOFC has been regard as one of the most promising cell configurations for
6 1 Research Background

power generation systems [23]. However, before the successful commercial of the
MS–SOFC, there are still a number of challenges to be solved, e.g., the densifi-
cation issue of the ceramic electrolyte, oxidation of the metal support, elements
inter-diffusion between the FeCr substrate and the Ni-containing anode, and Cr
poisoning issue of the cathode.

1.2.2 Choice of the Metal Support

The selection of proper metal supports is critical for the successful fabrication and
stable operation of a MS–SOFC. In general, metal supports for a MS–SOFC should
fulfill the following requirements: (1) high mechanical strength, (2) high electrical
conductivity, (3) good high–temperature oxidation and corrosion resistance under
the SOFC operating environment (600–800 °C, oxidizing and reducing atmo-
spheres), (4) matched thermal expansion coefficients (TECs) with other cell com-
ponents, (5) good manufacturability, (6) low cost.
Metals, especially chromia-forming alloys have been widely investigated as
interconnect materials for SOFCs. Due to the similar operating condition and
requirement, in principle, the selection of proper metal supports can refer to that of
metal interconnects. The most widely used alloys for the interconnects are com-
posed of Cr–Fe–Ni three phases [24]. Specifically [25, 26]: chromium based alloys
have an excellent high-temperature oxidation resistance (900–1000 °C) due to the
high-conductive protective oxides generated on the surface. However, the high
chromium content in the Cr based alloys will cause the issues like chromium
poisoning of cathode and excessive chromia growth. In addition, the Cr based
alloys are difficult and costly to fabricate. By reducing the Cr content, the Fe–
Cr-based alloys exhibit an enhanced manufacturability and a reduced cost. To
ensure the formation of a continuous, protective Cr2O3 scale, the critical minimum
Cr content is approximately 20–25%. Based on compositions, stainless steels are
usually divided into four groups: (i) ferritic steels, (ii) austenitic steels,
(iii) martensitic steels and (iv) precipitation hardening steels [24]. Among them, the
ferritic stainless steels, e.g., SS430L, SS440L and SS410L with a Cr content of 15–
30% are the most promising candidates for MS–SOFC applications due to the
matched TEC with those of other SOFC materials caused by their body-centered
cubic structure [14, 27–29]. Ferritic stainless steels also have good oxidation and
corrosion resistance, low cost and good manufacturability. The drawback of such
Fe–Cr-based alloys lies in their low mechanical strength. Austenitic stainless steels
with a Cr content higher than 30%, a Ni content of 8%, and trace Mo, Ti and N
have high mechanical strength, good oxidation resistance, good manufacturability,
and low cost. While the high TEC of such alloys affects their wide application in
MS–SOFCs. Compared with Fe–Cr-based alloys, Ni–Cr-base alloys always
demonstrate higher mechanical strength, better oxidation resistance and scale
electrical conductivity. However, as the austenitic stainless steels, a major drawback
1.2 Metal-Supported Solid Oxide Fuel Cell 7

of these alloys is their high TEC. In addition, Ni and Ni–Fe alloys which can be
easily fabricated by the well established manufacturing technology for SOFCs have
also been investigated as proper supporting materials for MS–SOFCs [30–32].
However, these materials have many disadvantages like poor redox resistance, high
cost, low oxidation resistance, and relatively low mechanical strength.
To date, a number of metals have been applied in MS–SOFCs as potential
supporting materials. It’s hard to say which will be the most promising one since
other factors like the configuration of the cell, materials of other components and
manufacturing techniques should also be taken into consideration.

1.2.3 Materials and Fabrication Techniques of Electrolytes

Well-established and low-cost fabrication techniques for ceramic membranes like

tape casting, screen printing and suspend fluid spray have been widely applied in the
electrolyte fabrication for traditional all-ceramic SOFCs. However, high sintering
temperatures (1200–1500 °C) are needed to densify the electrolytes by these
wet-chemical methods, and severe oxidation of the metal supports will occur under
such high temperatures. Co-firing the metal support and electrolyte layer in a
reducing atmosphere is a good way to protect the metal, while electrolytes like doped
ceria and strontium and magnesium doped lanthanum gallate (LSGM) are not stable
under the reducing atmosphere at high temperatures. Figure 1.3 shows the X–Ray
diffraction (XRD) patterns of the LSGM powder after calcining in 95% N2–5% H2 at
1000 and 1200 °C, respectively. It can be found that no obvious change in the
perovskite phase is observed after treating at 1000 °C, while a full decomposition
into La2O3 and SrLaGaO4 occurs at a higher temperature of 1200 °C. Zirconia based
electrolytes, e.g., YSZ, has a good ionic conductivity, chemical and structure sta-
bility under a wide range of partial pressure of oxygen. This kind of electrolyte can

Fig. 1.3 XRD patterns of the LSGM powder after calcining in 95% N2–5% H2 at: a 1000 °C and
b 1200 °C
8 1 Research Background

be fabricated by the wet-chemical forming and high-temperature, reducing–atmo-

sphere sintering method [33, 34]. As reported, a MS–SOFC has been developed by
laminating the tape casted Fe22Cr stainless steel layer, the Fe22Cr+0–50 vol.%YSZ
cermet layer and the Sc, Y co-doped ZrO2 (ScYSZ) layer, followed by a
high-temperature sintering process under the reducing atmosphere (H2/Ar) [35].
Low-temperature techniques, e.g., plasma spray, pulsed laser deposition
(PLD) and electrostatic and pneumatic spray deposition have also been applied to
fabricate electrolyte membranes for MS–SOFCs. A major advantage of these tech-
niques is the low operating temperature which can effectively avoid the oxidation of
metal supports. Researchers from the National Research Council Canada fabricated a
dense samarium doped ceria (SDC)/scandia stabilized zirconia (ScSZ) bi-layer
electrolyte onto the porous SS430L substrate by a combination of PLD and wet
ceramic processes [28]. Researchers from the same group have also obtained dense
SDC electrolyte layers on the SS430L and Hastelloy X substrates by the spray
pyrolysis and thermal spray method, respectively [36, 37]. Hwang et al. used the
atmospheric plasma spray (APS) technology to deposit a La0.8Sr0.2Ga0.8Mg0.2O3
(LSGM) electrolyte layer onto the porous nickel substrate and the resulting MS–
SOFC showed an output power density of 1.27 W cm−2 at 800 °C [38]. Ju et al.
fabricated a SDC/LAGM bi-layer on the Ni–Fe metal support by the PLD method
and the resulting MS–SOFC exhibited high power densities of 1.99, 1.1 and
0.53 W cm−2 at 700, 600 and 500 °C, respectively [39].
Although some promising results have been demonstrated, the above
physical/chemical deposition techniques have several drawbacks: for the PLD
method, a high vacuum is needed, uneven deposition for large samples is reported
together with a high cost; for the spray pyrolysis, a strict requirement of the porous
substrate (a low surface roughness and a small pore size) is needed and the density
of the fabricated electrolytes is not high enough; for the plasma spray method, low
pO2 during deposition results in strain relaxation in post annealing and formation of
micro-cracks, the electrolyte thickness is typically higher than 30 lm to be gas tight
[40]. Thus, it is urgent to develop a low-cost, high efficient and facile technique to
fabricate large sized electrolytes with a high conductivity for MS–SOFCs.

1.2.4 Anode Issues and Corresponding Strategies

Traditional MS–SOFCs have a four-layer structure with a cell configuration of

“metal support-anode-electrolyte-cathode” and the typical anode materials are Ni
based cermets. Villarreal et al. fabricated a MS–SOFC with a Fe–Cr metal support,
a Ni–YSZ anode and a thin YSZ electrolyte by sintering the multi-layers in a
reducing atmosphere at 1350 °C [33]. However, the aggregation and coarsening of
the Ni particles caused by the high-temperature sintering process leaded to an
excessive densification of the Ni–YSZ anode, which resulted in a low power
density of the MS–SOFCs (0.1 W cm−2 at 800 °C) [33]. In addition, when the Ni
based anode and the ferritic FeCr substrate contact directly, a mutual diffusion
1.2 Metal-Supported Solid Oxide Fuel Cell 9

process of Fe, Ni, and Cr on the substrate/anode interface will occur during cell
fabrication as well as during electrochemical operation of the MS–SOFCs. The
diffusion process will bring two issues:
1. The diffusion of Ni from the anode to the FeCr substrate will alter the substrate
structure from the ferritic to the austenitic structure, leading to an increased TEC
of the substrate. The increased TEC can cause internal cracks, even structural
failure of the whole fuel cell. Furthermore, the oxidation resistance of the
substrate matrix will be changed by forming a new alloy and the long-term
stability will be influenced [41].
2. The diffusion of Fe and Cr from the substrate to the anode will convert the Ni
phase into a Ni-based alloy with relatively high Cr and Fe contents. This con-
version will inhibit the electrochemical activity of the Ni based anode, resulting
in an increased polarisation resistance and hence a decreased performance as
well as long term stability [41].
Brandner et al. investigated the interfacial diffusion behavior of elements
between the Crofer 22 APU alloy and the Ni layer, and the diffusion depth of Cr can
be as long as 70 lm into the Ni layer after the treatment at 1100 °C for 3 h [42].
Franco et al. reported that a diffusion depth of 15–20 lm for element Ni, Fe and Cr
was found after the 200 h operation of MS–SOFCs at 800 °C [41].
Several strategies have been explored to solve the Ni coarsening and elemental
mutual diffusion issues:
1. Low fabricating and operating temperatures. Using low-temperature
physical/chemical deposition techniques to fabricate MS–SOFCs can effec-
tively avoid the Ni coarsening and elemental diffusion issues [43, 44]. As
reported by the Ceres Power, dense ceria based electrolytes can be achieved at
only 1000 °C, at which the oxidation of metal supports and coarsening of Ni
based anodes can be greatly inhibited [45]. Furthermore, due to the low oper-
ating temperature of 600 °C, elemental diffusion behavior is not obvious, thus a
long-term stability of the performance can be guaranteed.
2. Alternative anode designs. Placing the metal support in the cathode side is
another way to solve the elemental diffusion issue. Waldbillig et al. deposited a
LSM–YSZ cathode layer onto the porous SS430L support, followed by the YSZ
electrolyte layer and the NiO–YSZ anode layer onto the cathode. This strategy
can avoid the diffusion issue between the metal support and the Ni based anode
[46]. However, Cr poisoning of the cathode materials will be another serious
issue.
3. Diffusion barrier layers. Insertion of a diffusion barrier layer (DBL) like CeO2
and La0.6Sr0.2Ca0.2CrO3 between the metal support layer and the anode layer has
been widely explored as a solution to Ni and Fe/Cr inter-diffusion [41, 42, 47,
48]. As reported, with a DBL, the degradation of a MS–SOFC has been reduced
from ˃20% (without a DBL) to less than 1% when operated at 800 °C and 0.7 V
during the initial 1000 h [41]. For a DBL, besides the diffusion blocking effect
of Fe, Cr and Ni, it should have an appropriate porosity, a good electronic
10 1 Research Background

conductivity, a similar TEC to other components and a good chemical com-

patibility with other materials.
4. Infiltrated anode design. The infiltration/impregnation technique which is con-
ducted by infiltrating the precursor solution of the catalyst into a pre-sintered
porous backbone, followed by a low-temperature heat treatment to convert the
precursor solution into nanoparticles has been widely used in the fabrication of
SOFCs [49]. In contrast to that of the conversional sintering method, the fab-
ricating temperature of the infiltration method can be remarkably reduced from
1000–1400 °C to 700–850 °C. Thus, Ni coarsening and elemental mutual dif-
fusion issues during cell fabrication can be effectively avoided. Ni and Ni-doped
CeO2 anodes have been fabricated by the infiltration method and promising
electrochemical performances have been achieved [50, 51].

1.2.5 Cathode Issues and Corresponding Strategies

Traditional cathode materials such as LSM and La1–xSrxFeO3−d (LSF) should be

sintered in air in the temperature range of 1000–1200 °C to get a good adhesion
with the electrolyte and an acceptable electrochemical performance, while the
stainless steel substrate would suffer excessive oxidation at so high temperatures.
A reducing atmosphere can protect the steel substrate while the decomposition of
these cathode materials would occur in such atmosphere. As shown in Fig. 1.4,
after treating at 1000 °C for 10 h, the (La0.8Sr0.2)0.95MnO3 (LSM) powder has been
thoroughly decomposed into MnO, La2O3 and MnLa2O4.
Using physical deposition techniques (e.g., plasma spray) can circumvent this
issue [52]. However, due to the high cost of the deposition techniques, most
researchers choose the in-situ sintering method (sintering the cathode during the cell
testing process) to fabricate cathodes for MS–SOFCs [53–55]. Kim et al. investi-
gated the in-situ sintered Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3−d (BSCF) cathode and a good
sinterability was demonstrated [56]. SmBa0.5Sr0.5Co2.0O5−d (SBSCO) has also been

Fig. 1.4 XRD patterns of the

LSM powder after calcining
in 95% N2–5% H2 at 1000 °C
1.2 Metal-Supported Solid Oxide Fuel Cell 11

applied in MS–SOFCs as the in-situ sintered cathode and a power density of

0.5 W cm−2 (800 °C) for the single cell was achieved [57]. However, the poor
chemical compatibility between those in-situ sintered cathodes and the zirconia
based electrolytes will reduce the stability of the fuel cells. Similar to the anodes,
the cathode issues can also be solved by using the infiltration method. LSM infil-
trated YSZ cathode has been applied in the MS–SOFC and a good performance has
been achieved at 650–750 °C [50].

1.3 Scope of This Thesis

In this thesis, we aim to develop novel MS–SOFCs using low-cost and mechanical
robust stainless steels (430L) replacing the ceramic materials as the supports for
SOFCs. In order to solve the issues during the cell fabrication and operation pro-
cesses, and enhance the electrochemical performance and stability of MS–SOFCs, a
“tape casting-sintering-infiltrating” method and a “micro-nano” structure were
developed. Besides, the structure-performance relationship of the electrodes, reac-
tion kinetics of the electrodes and degradation mechanisms of the fuel cells were
also investigated.
1. Fabrication and investigation of intermediate-temperature MS–SOFCs. In order
to enhance the performances of intermediate-temperature MS–SOFCs (600–
800 °C), La0.6Sr0.4Fe0.9Sc0.1O3−d (LSFSc) cathode and Ni-based anode mate-
rials were applied by the infiltration method to reduce the polarization resis-
tances of cathodes and anodes, respectively. The structure, phase and
morphology of the electrodes have been characterized; the loading, heat-treating
temperature and composition of the infiltrated electrodes have been optimized;
the reaction kinetics of the electrodes and the degradation mechanism of the
MS–SOFCs have been studied.
2. Fabrication and investigation of low-temperature MS–SOFCs. In order to
enhance the performances of low-temperature MS–SOFCs (<600 °C), polar-
ization resistances and long-term stabilities of the infiltrated La0.8Sr0.2CoO3−d
(LSC)-scandia stabilized zirconia (SSZ), La0.58Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3−d (LSCF)-SSZ
and SmBa0.5Sr0.5Co2.0O5+d (SBSC)-SSZ cathodes were investigated. MS–
SOFCs with SBSC-SSZ cathodes have been fabricated and the electrochemical
performance, long-term stability and thermal shock resistance have been
evaluated.
3. Fabrication and investigation of MS–SOFCs with a symmetric configuration. In
order to simplify the structure and enhance the performance of the MS–SOFCs,
a symmetric configuration with “anode infiltrated 430L-electrolyte-cathode
infiltrated 430L” was developed. Reaction kinetics of the cathode, and the
electrochemical performance and stability of the MS–SOFCs have been
evaluated.
12 1 Research Background

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55. Nielsen J, Hjalmarsson P, Hansen MH, Blennow P (2014) Effect of low temperature in-situ
sintering on the impedance and the performance of intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel
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56. Kim Y-M, Bae J (2009) Investigation of mixed conducting cathode for metal-supported
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57. Baek S-W, Jeong J, Kim Y-M, Kim JH, Shin S, Bae J (2011) Metal-supported solid oxide fuel
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Chapter 2
Fabrication and Investigation
of Intermediate-Temperature MS–SOFCs

2.1 Introduction

Metal-supported solid oxide fuel cells (MS–SOFCs) offer many advantages like
excellent structural robustness and stability, high tolerance toward rapid thermal
cycling, easy stack assembling as well as low materials cost over the conventional
all-ceramic structured solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) [1–3]. Such advantages benefit
from the mechanically robust, electrically and thermal conductive metals applied in
the metal-supported construction. However, employing metals, e.g., stainless steel
as the support may bring a number of challenges to the cell fabrication processes,
especially the densification of electrolytes and the fabrication of electrodes.
Densification of electrolyte materials like yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ)
requires high temperatures (usually above 1200 °C). However, serious oxidation of
the metal substrate will happen at the high sintering temperatures. Co-firing the
metal support and electrolyte in a reducing atmosphere can solve the problem, while
electrolytes like doped ceria and strontium and magnesium doped lanthanum gallate
(LSGM) are not stable under the reducing atmosphere at high temperatures.
Meanwhile, elements inter-diffusion between the ferritic FeCr substrate and
nickel-containing anode, e.g., iron and chromium from the ferritic substrate into the
anode and nickel from the anode into the ferrite is a serious problem resulting in the
low power density and rapid performance degradation of MS–SOFCs [4, 5].
Furthermore, fabrication of the cathode layer is also challenging for MS–SOFCs
since the commonly used cathode materials such as La1−xSrxMnO3−d (LSM) and
La1−xSrxCo1−yFeyO3−d (LSCF) would decompose when sintered at high tempera-
tures in a reducing atmosphere that is required to protect the stainless steel
substrates from excessive oxidation. Such processing challenges make the elec-
trochemical performance and stability of the most MS–SOFCs much lower than
those of the traditional all-ceramic structured SOFCs. Even though techniques like
plasma spray and pulsed laser deposition (PLD) are applied to the MS–SOFCs

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018 15

Y. Zhou, Study on Fabrication and Performance of Metal-Supported Solid Oxide
Fuel Cells, Springer Theses, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6617-7_2
16 2 Fabrication and Investigation of Intermediate-Temperature …

preparation processes, such methods would either increase the fabrication costs or
sacrifice the cell performances [6–11].
Due to the above issues, most state of the art MS–SOFCs operate at temperatures
around 800 °C, these high temperatures may cause problems like substrate oxidation
and performance degradation. How to reduce the operation temperature of MS–
SOFCs with YSZ electrolyte to intermediate-temperatures (600–800 °C) via a simple
and low-cost method is a real problem. In recent years, the infiltration method has
been applied into the manufacture of MS–SOFCs [1, 12–14]. This method involves
preparing a porous backbone, e.g., yttria-stabilized-zirconia (YSZ) backbone which
has been sintered at a high temperature (around 1300 °C). The second component of
the electrode is then introduced into the porous backbone by infiltrating and subse-
quent oxidizing or reducing at a low temperature (350–850 °C). The infiltration
method not only avoids the high-temperature process but also enables promising cell
performances for the resulting nano-structured catalysts.
Here we design a novel MS–SOFC based upon tri-layers-porous 430L substrate |
dense YSZ electrolyte | porous YSZ backbone-with Ni/Ce0.8Sm0.2O2−d (SDC)/
Ni–SDC catalysts infiltrated into the porous 430L substrate as the anode and
La0.6Sr0.4Fe0.9Sc0.1O3−d (LSFSc) catalysts infiltrated into the porous YSZ backbone
as the cathode, respectively. This simplified tri-layer-structure not only reduces the
cell manufacturing processes but also eliminates the resistances caused by addi-
tional barrier layers. Moreover, since the active electrode catalysts are deposited
into the pre-sintered backbones at relatively low temperatures, problems like ele-
mental inter-diffusion and stainless steel oxidation could be avoided.

2.2 Experimental Section

2.2.1 Technical Route

The schematic of the technical route for the manufacturing of MS–SOFCs is shown
in Fig. 2.1. Firstly, green tapes based upon tri-layers-metal support (pore formers
containing) | YSZ electrolyte | YSZ electrolyte (pore formers containing) were
fabricated by the tape casting and laminating techniques. Secondly, the green tapes
were co-sintered at a high temperature (around 1300 °C) under the reducing
atmosphere and a structure of “porous metal support | dense YSZ electrolyte |
porous YSZ” was obtained. Thirdly, precursor solutions of the anode and cathode
materials were infiltrated into the porous metal support and the porous YSZ layer,
respectively. Lastly, a low-temperature heat treatment (350–850 °C) was conducted
to convert the precursors into nano particles acting as active electrode materials for
the MS–SOFCs.
2.2 Experimental Section 17

Fig. 2.1 Schematic of the production process for the manufacturing of MS–SOFCs

2.2.2 Fabrication of Symmetric and Single Cells

For single cell preparation, commercial 430L stainless steel powder (−400 mesh,
Jing-yuan Powder Material Co., Ltd, China) and 8YSZ powder (Tosoh
Corporation, Japan) were used as starting materials. The slurry for tape casting was
ethanol based which contained pore-forming agent, dispersing agent, binder,
plasticizer and other organic additives, in addition to powders. The simple tri-layer
structure of porous 430L | YSZ electrolyte | porous YSZ backbone was produced by
laminating tape cast green tapes and subsequent co-firing at 1300 °C for 4 h in a
reducing atmosphere (5% H2/95% N2). Symmetric anode and cathode cells were
prepared similarly, based upon “porous 430L | YSZ electrolyte | porous 430L” and
“porous YSZ | YSZ electrolyte | porous YSZ”, respectively. Both the symmetric
anode and cathode cells were supported by a dense YSZ electrolyte with the
thickness of 200 µm. For the symmetric anode cell, the thickness of the porous
430L was 80 µm. While for the symmetric cathode cell, the thickness of the porous
YSZ was 40 µm.
For cathode catalysts, LSFSc particles were introduced into the porous YSZ
backbones by infiltrating aqueous solutions containing stoichiometric amounts of La
(NO3)3, Sr(NO3)2, Fe(NO3)3 and Sc(NO3)3, where citric acid was also added at a 1:1
molar ratio to metal ions. After drying, heat treatment was conducted at 850 °C in a
reducing atmosphere of 5% H2–95% N2 for 2 h to convert these salts into metal
oxides without excessive oxidation of the 430L substrate. While for the anode, Ni
(NO3)2, Sm(NO3)3 and Ce(NO3)3 aqueous solution in stoichiometric ratios (the mass
ration of SDC:Ni = 8:2/1:0/0:1) was also introduced into the porous 430L support
by the infiltration method after the cathode preparation. Heat treatment of the anode
catalysts was conducted at 600 °C. The loadings of infiltrated catalysts were con-
trolled by a micro-liter syringe each time and the infiltration/heat treating cycle was
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
 AMBROISE THOMAS

Reproduction of a photograph from life,

by E. Pirou, Paris.
 CHARLES LOUIS AMBROISE THOMAS

Ambroise Thomas was born in Metz on the fifth day of August, 1811.
He was the son of a musician and received his first instruction in
music from his father. In his earliest childhood he developed a talent
for music and when only four years of age he began his musical
studies. Three years later he had instruction on the violin and piano,
for which latter instrument he manifested a special gift, and he was
already an excellent performer on it, when, in 1828, at the age of
seventeen, he was admitted to the Paris Conservatoire and became
the pupil of Zimmermann in piano playing, of Dourien for harmony,
and of Lesueur for composition. Kalkbrenner, then in the height of
his fame, took a great interest in the boy and aided his study of the
piano, while Barbereau gave him lessons in counterpoint. He was a
diligent student, and one year after his entrance to the Conservatoire
he won the first prize for piano playing. The year following, he
carried off the first prize for harmony, and two years later the Grand
Prix was awarded him; and when only twenty-one, he went to Italy at
the expense of the State, remaining there for the prescribed three
years, and studying conscientiously. During this period he wrote a
string quintet; a quartet for strings; a trio for pianoforte, violin, and
’cello; a fantasia for pianoforte and orchestra; a fantasia on Scotch
melodies, for piano; six capriccios in the form of waltzes, for piano;
two nocturnes for piano, a rondo for four hands, for the same
instrument; six Italian songs; three motets, with organ, and a
requiem, with orchestra. These works were all published, as was also
his prize cantata “Hermann and Ketty.” They are now forgotten, but
they were then evidences of great industry and of a leaning in the
direction of what was most worthy in the art into which the young
musician had been born, and they attracted earnest critical attention.
He returned to Paris early in 1836, and at once sought for a
hearing at the Opéra Comique, the first ambition of a young French
composer. He did not have long to wait, for in August, 1837, his one-
act opera, “La Double Echelle,” was performed, and so favorably
received that he obtained a firm foothold at the opera house and
produced there “Le Perruquier de la Régence,” three acts (1838); “Le
Panier Fleuri,” one act (1839). In the meanwhile, encouraged by his
success, he aspired to the Académie, and in 1839 produced there, in
collaboration with Benoist, La “Gipsy,” a ballet in two acts. He also
composed for the same establishment “Le Comte de Carmagnola”
(1841); “Le Guerillero” (1842); and “Betty,” a ballet in two acts
(1846). None of these was successful. At that time Auber, Halévy,
Meyerbeer and Donizetti were composing for the Académie, and it
was not easy for a young artist to hold his own against them. Thomas
had not neglected the Opéra Comique, for which he wrote “Carline”
(1840); “Angélique et Médor” (1843); “Mina” (1843), all of which
failed to make any favorable impression on the public. Discouraged
by the lack of success that attended his efforts, he ceased to write for
the lyric stage, and for five years remained silent. When he was heard
again it was in “Le Caïd,” a three-act comic opera, which was
produced in 1849, and achieved a brilliant success, making a tour of
Europe. It was followed in 1850 by “Le Songe d’une nuit d’été,” in
three acts. This opera was no less fortunate in the reception accorded
it, and at once gave Thomas a foremost place among the young
French composers of the day. Then came “Raymond,” three acts
(1851); “La Tonelli” (1853); “La Cour de Célimène” (1855); “Psyché”
(1857); “Le Carnaval de Venise” (1857); “Le Roman d’Elvire.” Some
of these obtained slight temporary success, but not one of them won
the popularity that attended “Le Caïd” and “Le Songe.” Again
Thomas retired from view, and this time it was six years before he
produced another opera.
In 1851 he became a member of the Institute, and in 1852,
Professor of Composition in the Conservatoire. Up to this time
Thomas had distinguished himself as a fluent and refined melodist,
and by his piquant orchestration; he was also noted as a master of
musical comedy. Nevertheless he had not yet been able to win for
himself a rank equal to that of Auber, and in French comic opera, “Le
Maçon,” “Fra Diavolo,” “Le Domino Noir,” and “Les Diamants de la
Couronne,” which had been composed before Thomas went into his
second seclusion, still surpassed all that the latter had produced, and
survive to this day, while, with the exception of “Le Caïd,” none of
Thomas’s operas antecedent to 1850 are ever performed.
In 1866 “Mignon” was heard, and Thomas at once leaped to world-
wide fame. The work had an overwhelming success, and has been
given in every opera house in the world. Two years later this
masterpiece was followed by “Hamlet,” which was equally successful
in France, though it has not, elsewhere, proved as popular as
“Mignon.” On the strength of these two fine operas he was
appointed, in 1871, to fill the position of Director of the
Conservatoire, left vacant by the death of Auber. His other
compositions, not yet mentioned, are a cantata composed for the
inauguration of a statue to Lesueur (1852); a “Messe Solennelle”
(1857); a “Marche Réligieuse” (1865); “Hommage à Boïeldieu,”
composed for the centenary of Boïeldieu (1875), and many part
songs, among them “La Vapeur,” “Le Chant des Amis,” “Le Tyrol,”
“France,” “L’Atlantique,” “Le Carnaval de Rome,” “Le Traineaux,”
“Le Temple de la Paix,” “La Nuit du Sabbat,” some of which are
works of the highest merit, in their order. In 1874 was produced
“Gille et Gilleton,” a one-act comic opera, written, however, in 1861.
“Psyché” was revived in 1878 with additions, but though the music is
full of graceful beauty, and was warmly praised, it made no marked
impression on the general public. After “Hamlet,” Thomas did not
bring forward another opera for fourteen years, and then he made
another brilliant success with “Françoise di Rimini” (1882), in which
was some of the finest music he had ever written, especially in the
prologue and in the fourth act. He was now seventy-one years of age,
and could well rest on the laurels he had won. From that date until
the present (1893), he has produced no new lyric work, his only
contribution to the stage of the opera being a ballet founded on “The
Tempest,” by Shakespeare (1889), which, though remarkable as the
effort of a man seventy-eight years old, was not destined to be
numbered among his successes. In fact, with this work his career as a
composer appears to have ended. He received the grand Cross of the
Legion of Honor in 1880. At the age of eighty-two, he is still fulfilling
his duties at the Conservatoire, in which institution he has worked
many important and useful reforms. He has improved the method of
instruction, has instituted lectures on the general history of music;
has founded an orchestral class and compulsory vocal classes for
reading at sight, and has raised the standard of solfeggio teaching.
Not only this, but he has been largely instrumental in increasing the
salaries of the professors, and has enlarged the prosperity of the
institution until it has reached a point that makes it almost self-
paying. Thomas has lived a wholly artistic life and has, fortunately,
escaped most of the severer trials experienced by the majority of
those who have devoted themselves to that branch of his art which
has brought him fame and competence. He is given to physical
exercise, is fond of country life, has a villa at Argenteuil and an island
home at Zillieo, in Brittany. He is not without literary talent and his
tastes are refined. He is an enthusiastic collector of bric-a-brac, and
rarely fails attendance at any of the more important auctions at the
Hotel Druot.

Fac-simile autograph manuscript of an

“Album Leaf” written by Ambroise
Thomas.
 Ambroise Thomas’ life as a composer for the Paris opera houses
covered fifty-two years. In that time he wrote much charming music,
but he never developed any individuality of style, never wrote
anything so distinctively his own that it could at once be attributed to
him by reason of any characteristics belonging peculiarly and
distinguishingly to him. His earlier operas, produced between 1837
and 1848, are marked by refinement of taste, and graceful finish in
workmanship. After that and until 1860 his method underwent a
change, and he sought brilliancy and piquancy, as instanced in “Le
Caïd,” and gradually warmed into poetic feeling and deeper
sentiment, departing, in the meanwhile, from the conventionalities
that Rossini and other Italian composers had fastened on French
opera music. His growth in his art has been steady from the very
outset, but if he has ceased to write after “Le Roman d’Elvire,” which
ended this period of his musical development, his fame as a
composer would hardly have survived down to the present time.
From the opera just named to “Mignon” was an enormous stride, and
the brilliant reputation this work made for him was sustained by
“Hamlet” and “Françoise di Rimini.” But even these, his
masterpieces, do not present him in the light of a composer who had
something to say that had not been said before. His art evolution had
enlarged his method of thought and had enabled him to give a wider
scope to his talents, but it had not endowed him with a style that set
him apart from other composers. We hear of the style of Auber, and
it brings a clear idea of a strongly marked musical individuality to
our mind. The same may be said of the style of Meyerbeer and also
that of Gounod; but to speak of the style of Thomas would be to
convey no such distinct and instant suggestion of a definite and an
unmistakable originality, like that which pertains essentially to Bizet.
The music of Thomas is always polished and delicate; his operas
show that he has an innate feeling for dramatic effect; his musical
comedies are models for the intimate blending of music with the
spirit of the words and the stage situations. His harmonies are rich
and flowing, and impart to his work a decided air of refined elegance.
His instrumentation emphasizes convincingly his thorough mastery
over the resources of the modern orchestra and a sensitive
appreciation of the characteristic tone-color of the different
instruments. His scores are never overloaded, and as the rule the
right touch is always put by him in the right place. The voice is never
overwhelmed by the orchestra. With all these merits he is rarely if
ever emphatic, and strength and intensity of passion are not among
his musical gifts. Love, melancholy, gaiety and poetic tenderness are
the sentiments in which he excels. Fire, and a vigorous sweep of
emotional feeling are not within his power to depict. The changes in
the style of his scores are the changes that the varying musical tastes
of the times brought about. He never formed these tastes, but he
invariably followed them. His earlier operas are in the vein of Auber
or of Rossini, sometimes of both in combination. When the fashion
of the day called for more dramatic expression he followed in the
footsteps of Halévy. Later, when brilliancy, tunefulness and graceful
commonplace were the vogue, he had no scruple against modelling
himself on Clapisson. It was not until Gounod had risen into fame
and “Faust” became the rage, filling the music-loving world with
delight, that Thomas found it possible to write “Mignon” and
“Hamlet,” in both which operas the influence of the younger
composer is shown on almost every page. Thomas has not the gift of
originality, but he has the gift of receptivity and the faculty of
assimilation largely developed. Twice he went into seclusion, and
each time when he reappeared it was with a style in harmony with
that of the favorite opera composers of the hour. There is nothing
culpable in this, for it proves conclusively, that Thomas was always
an untiring student. It is undeniable, that on every occasion his style
underwent a radical change, it showed an advance in the broader and
more impressive essentials of his art, and added to the fame of the
composer. The works in which he will live are those which belong to
his last period.
 AMBROISE THOMAS.

Reproduction of a lithograph portrait

published by Becquet of Paris.

Not so with his greater confrère Halévy, whose first grand

successes, “La Juive” and “L’Eclair,” were his only masterpieces.
Thomas has not reached the height to which Halévy soared in either
of these operas. “Mignon” and “Hamlet” are, however, works of no
common order. The former has won a place in the repertory of every
opera house in Europe. There is much of genuine poetic feeling in the
music, and the score, as a whole, is distinguished by grace,
melodiousness, delicacy of taste, and that effect of spontaneity that is
understood as inspiration. Fine discrimination has been shown in
giving each character its appropriate musical expression, and the
skill with which the people of the story are contrasted cannot be too
warmly praised. The “Connais-tu le pays,” the “swallow” duet, the
prayer of Mignon, the romance of Wilhelm, the polonaise of Felina,
have become justly celebrated. The orchestration is exquisite in its
delicate finish and its ingeniously varied but always artistic color.
That it has achieved a permanent place on the opera stage is beyond
question. “Hamlet” is more ambitious, and though not without a
certain nobility of style, is little else than a more elaborate “Mignon.”
In it the composer says nothing that he has not already said in the
last-named work, the only change being a somewhat more earnest
method of expression. In this opera it was claimed that Thomas “has
indicated to young composers the line at which the new school
should stop, under penalty of exceeding the bounds of lyric art”; but
Thomas, though undoubtedly a musician of talent, knowledge and
experience, has never shown such originality as to entitle him to be
considered a reformer, and as yet there has not been, even in his own
country, any propaganda to spread a knowledge of him through the
world. “Hamlet” may be considered the extreme point that French
grand opera had reached in the direction of the Wagnerian music-
drama up to the time that it appeared. The Gounod influence is still
clearly apparent in it, but the Wagner influence also makes itself felt
in the effort to break away from conventional models and to
substitute expressive declamation for more rhythmical melody. The
mad song of Ophelia is, perhaps, the most effective number in the
opera. “Françoise de Rimini” went a step further than did “Hamlet”
toward a predetermined departure from the old school of operatic
music to the new. The composer authorized the statement that the
prologue to the work would be a profession of musical faith, which he
had long contemplated and in which he would mark definitely how
closely symphonic music can be allied with the lyric drama; after
which the curtain was to rise on music essentially “theatrical,” or, if a
better word should be demanded, “human.” The prologue is certainly
as strong and masterly, but it has in it nothing of a symphonic
quality, and, as a profession of faith, proved to be of no permanent
value save as an evidence of the highest point which the composer’s
musical development had reached. This portion of the opera and the
fourth act are by far the finest achievements of Thomas. The
orchestra through the whole opera is treated with consummate
power, notably in the beautiful effects obtained by unaccustomed
groupings of the different instruments. In the ingenious blendings of
tone-color that are produced by combining widely varying timbres
with a skill as profound as felicitous; the richness, ripeness, and
perfection of the scoring generally; as well as the masterly discretion
observed in maintaining a judicious balance between the orchestra
and the singers, the score may be justly given a place among the most
masterly that modern musical art has produced. For the rest, despite
some splendid dramatic moments in the work and the faultless finish
of its workmanship as a whole, it is to be doubted if it will live. But
how few works do live! Many glorious operas have been written since
“Don Giovanni” and “Fidelio” saw the light, and yet not one has
appeared that has yet been accorded a place by their side. Hundreds
of operas that met with a brilliant and deserved success in their day,
have fallen gradually into the background; operas by Spontini, who,
in “La Vestale,” just escaped producing an immortal masterpiece; by
Cherubini, whose “Les Deux Journées” came nearer winning the
third place than any opera since; by Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi,
Meyerbeer, whose “Les Huguenots” is his only work that bids fair to
survive; by Weber, whose “Der Freischütz” alone promises to last.
The supreme operas of the world might be named on the fingers of
one hand. Mention of Wagner has been avoided because he is yet to
experience the test of time,—that incorruptible and most pitiless of
critics. It is the fate of some admirable and justly honored composers
to learn their ultimate reputation with posterity during their lifetime.
Among these, we think, is Ambroise Thomas, and that reputation
will include respectful consideration for an eminent and able
musician, who constantly grew in his art; while it will accord him a
prominent place in the ranks of wholly estimable opera composers of
the second order.
 GEORGES BIZET

Reproduction of a photograph from life,

by Carjat & Cie., Paris.
 ALEXANDRE CÉSAR LÉOPOLD BIZET.

Alexandre César Léopold Bizet was born in Paris, Oct. 25th, 1838.
His godfather called him “Georges,” and as “Georges,” Bizet is known
to the world at large.
The father of Bizet was an artisan, who, at the age of twenty-five,
studied music, and became a teacher of singing. He outlived his son.
The mother was a sister of the wife of Delsarte. She was a pianist of
ability, a “first prize” of the Conservatory. From her Bizet learned the
alphabet and musical notation. From his father he learned the use of
the pianoforte, and the elements of harmony.
The boy did not wish to be a musician; he hankered after the
literary life. “When I was a child,” Bizet told Gallet, “they hid my
books to keep me from abandoning music for literature.”
Although he was not of the required age, Bizet passed brilliantly, in
his tenth year, the entrance-examination of the Conservatory, where
he studied the pianoforte under Marmontel, the organ under
Benoist, counterpoint and fugue under Zimmermann; and after the
death of the latter, he studied composition under Halévy. He won a
prize before he was eleven years old, the first of many prizes:—
First solfeggio prize (1849); second pianoforte prize (1851), and
the first pianoforte prize (1852); first “accessit d’orgue” (1853),
second prize (1854), first prize (1855); second prize in fugue (1854),
first prize (1855); second “grand prix de Rome” of the Institute
(1856), and first “grand prix” (1857).
 In 1856 Offenbach, manager of the Bouffes-Parisiens, proposed a
competition in operetta. The libretto was “Doctor Miracle.” Seventy-
eight composers appeared; six were found worthy, and the prizes was
awarded ex aequo, to Bizet and Lecocq. The music of the latter was
first heard April 8th, 1857; the music of Bizet was heard April 9th.
The public was impartially cold.
Toward the end of 1857 Bizet started on his journey to Rome. He
journeyed leisurely, and entered the city Jan. 28, 1858. It was in 1859
that he sent, according to rule, a composition to the “Académie des
Beaux-Arts”; it was not a mass however; it was an operetta in Italian:
“Don Procopio,” in two acts. The reviewer, Ambroise Thomas,
praised the ease, the brilliancy, “the fresh and bold style” of the
composer, and he deplored the fact that Bizet had not given his
attention to a work of religious character. The score of this operetta
is lost. In 1859 Bizet traveled in Italy and obtained permission to
remain in Rome during the one year, that, according to tradition,
should be spent in Germany. He sent to the Académie “Vasco de
Gama,” a descriptive orchestral composition with choruses; three
numbers of an orchestral suite; and, if Pougin is correct, an operetta
in one act, “La Guzla de l’Emir”; but Pigot claims that this latter work
was not begun until after the return to Paris.
He returned and found his mother on her deathbed. He was
without means, without employment; and he was crushed by the
death of the one for whom he was eager to work day and night. He
once wrote to her from Rome, “100,000 francs, the sum is nothing!
Two successes at the Opéra Comique! I wish to love you always with
all my soul, and to be always as to-day the most loving of sons.”
He was a “prix de Rome,”—too often an honor that brings with it
no substantial reward. He was a “prix de Rome,” as was the
unfortunate described by Legouvé:
“Listen to the wretched plight
Of a melancholy man,
A young man of sixty years,
Whom they call ‘un prix de Rome.’”

Burning with desire to write for the operatic stage, he gave music
lessons. Dreaming of dramatic situations and grand finales, he made
pianoforte arrangements of airs from operas written by others.
 The Count Walewski granted Carvalho, the manager of the
Théâtre-Lyrique, a subsidy of 100,000 francs, on the condition that
an important work by a “prix de Rome” should be produced each
year. Bizet was the first to profit thereby. He wrote the music for
“The Pearl Fishers.” The text was by Carré and Cormon, and the
opera was produced with gorgeous scenic setting, Sept. 30, 1863. The
opera was given eighteen times, and it was not sung again in Paris
until 1889, at the Gaité, and in Italian, with Calvé and Talazac, when
it was only heard six times.
It is stated in Pigot’s “Bizet et son Œuvre” that Blau and Gallet
wrote a libretto, “Ivan, the Terrible,” which was set to music by Bizet
in the style of Verdi. Gallet says that neither he nor Blau wrote a
word of such a libretto.
In 1866 Bizet worked at the orchestral composition which three
years later was played at a Concert Pasdeloup and was then called
“Souvenirs de Rome”; he temporarily abandoned it on the receipt of
a libretto by Saint-Georges and Adenis, founded on Sir Walter Scott’s
“The Fair Maid of Perth.” While he composed the music of this
opera, he supported himself by giving lessons, correcting proofs,
arranging dance music for orchestra, and writing songs. He often
worked fifteen or sixteen hours a day. His letters of this year end
with one and the same cry: “I must make my living.” This pursuit of a
living brought early death.
The score of “The Fair Maid of Perth” was finished in six months,
but the opera was not produced at the Théâtre-Lyrique until the 26th
of December, 1867. There were twenty-one representations. In 1890
there were eleven representations at the Eden Theatre (Théâtre-
Lyrique).
It was in 1867 that Bizet wrote the first act of “Malbrough,” an
opérette bouffe, which was given at the Athénée. In 1868 or 1869 he
wrote the music of an opérette-vaudeville, “Sol-si-ré-pif-pan,” for the
Menus-Plaisirs, and he did not sign the score.
It was also in 1867 that he appeared as a writer on musical
subjects. His first and last article was published in the first number
of the Revue Nationale, Aug. 3rd. His pseudonym was “Gaston de
Betzi.”
 And then Bizet busied himself in the completion of “Noah,” a
biblical opera left unfinished by Halévy; in arranging operas for
pianoforte solo; in original compositions for the pianoforte, as his
“chromatic variations.” He wrote music for the text of “The Cup of
the King of Thule”; he called it “wretched stuff” and destroyed it. His
“Souvenir de Rome, fantaisie symphonique” was played at a Concert
Populaire in 1869. In that same year, June 3rd, he was married to
Geneviève Halévy, the daughter of the composer. After the invasion
of France, Bizet served in the National Guard, and his letters during
those bloody days reveal the depth of his patriotism and his disgust
at the incompetence and corruption in high places.
In 1872 (May 22) a little work in one act was brought out at the
Opéra Comique. It was called “Djamileh”; the text was by Gallet, the
music was by Bizet. It was given ten or eleven times; and Saint-
Saëns, infuriated at the Parisian public, wrote biting verses:
“The ruminating bourgeois, pot-bellied and ugly, sits in his narrow
stall, regretting separation from his kind; he half-opens a glassy eye,
munches a bon-bon, then sleeps again, thinking that the orchestra is
a-tuning.”
Carvalho, manager of the Vaudeville, dreamed of reviving the
melodrama. He first caught his playwright, Daudet; he secured Bizet
as the musician; the result was “L’Arlésienne,” which was first
produced Oct. 1, 1872. The music included twenty-four numbers,
orchestral and choral. The score was designed for the particular
orchestra of the Vaudeville. Bizet rearranged for full orchestra the
numbers that make up the Suite No. 1, and the Suite was first played
at a Concert Populaire Nov. 10, 1872. He also revised the other
numbers, and the revision was used at the revivals at the Odéon in
1885 and 1887. The Suite No. 2 was arranged by Ernest Guiraud.
The overture, “Patrie,” was first played at a Concert Populaire in
February, 1874. Bizet experimented with texts suggested for an opéra
comique; he finally chose “Carmen,” the text of which was drawn by
Meilhac and Halévy from a tale by Merimée. The opera was produced
at the Opéra Comique, March 3, 1875, with the following cast:
Carmen, Galli-Marié; Micaëla, Marguerite Chapuis; Don Jose,
Lhérie; Escamillo, Bouhy. It was about this time that Bizet was
decorated with the red ribbon of the Legion of Honor.
 “Carmen” was no more successful than its predecessors. Bizet
mourned its failure. For some time he had fought bravely against
melancholy. At the age of thirty-six, he exclaimed, “It is
extraordinary that I should feel so old.” Attacks of angina had been
periodical for some years. He would jest at his suffering: “Fancy a
double-pedal, A flat, E flat, which goes through your head from ear to
ear.” He had abused his strength by over-work. Suddenly, at
midnight, he died in Bougival, where he was resting. It was June 3rd,
three months after the first performance of “Carmen.” The widow
was left with a five-year-old son.

BIZET’S TOMB IN PÈRE LACHAISE.

PARIS.

From a photograph made specially for

this work.

Bizet left few manuscripts. He burned many shortly before his

death. The fragments of “Don Rodrigue” and “Clarisse Harlowe”
were left in a curious notation that is nearly hieroglyphical, not to be
deciphered.
When Louis Gallet first met Bizet, he saw a forest of blonde hair,
thick and curly, which surrounded a round and almost child-like
face. Bizet’s figure was robust. In later years his features were firm,
and his expression was energetic, tempered by the trust, the
frankness, and the goodness that characterized his nature. He was
very short-sighted, and he wore eyeglasses constantly. His mouth
lent itself as easily to expression of mocking wit as to kindness. His
love for his parents has been already mentioned; his devotion toward
his wife was such that she told Gounod there was not one minute of
the six years of marriage which she would not gladly live over. He
was a welcome companion, fond of jest and paradox, frank and loyal.
At the house of Saint-Saëns he played gladly the part of Helen in
Offenbach’s operetta. He was ever firm, even extravagant in
friendship, as when at Baden-Baden in ‘62 he challenged a man who
spoke lightly of Gounod’s “Queen of Sheba.” When the talk was
concerning musicians whom he loved, Bach, Mozart, Rossini, Verdi,
Gounod, his voice would lose its peculiar sibilance, and his hot
eloquence showed honesty as well as nimble wit and power of
expression. In all of the recollections of troops of friends, in his
letters to acquaintances and friends there is not a suggestion of mean
action, scheming purpose, low or narrow thought.
At the age of fourteen Bizet was a master of the pianoforte; his
technique was above reproach; he was particularly skilful in mixing
his colors: an exquisitely defined melody had its proper and
characteristic background. Halévy and Liszt are of the many
witnesses to his extraordinary talent for reading from score at sight.
Reyer speaks of his remarkable memory. And yet Bizet never
appeared in public as a pianist; although in certain salons of Paris his
abilities excited lively admiration.
So too his gifts as a composer for orchestra were more than
ordinary; but whenever he had an opportunity to write for the stage,
he abandoned any instrumental work that had interested him.
For Bizet obeyed the instincts of the French musician and looked
to the stage for enduring fame.
There is no need of close examination of “The Pearl Fishers,” and
“The Fair Maid of Perth.” We know the later works of Bizet, and
therefore we find hints of genius in the early operas. With the
exception of the duet of Nadir and Zurga and of a few pages
saturated with local color, there is little in “The Pearl Fishers” to
herald the arrival of a master of the stage. There are delightful
examples of instrumentation in “The Fair Maid of Perth”: the opera
as a whole is conventional, and the solo passages and the ensemble
are often reminiscent: there is continual homage to famous men:
Gounod, Halévy, Verdi, Thomas, et al. Bizet had not yet found the
use of his own voice.
Nor would “Djamileh,” the satisfaction of the longing of Camille du
Locle for ideal musical revery, the sounding of the revolt against the
school of Scribe, carry the name of Bizet to after years. Its perfume is
subtle and penetrating; its colors delight trained eyes. It is a tour de
force. It has the affected frankness of a pastel in prose. The hearer
must be mastered by the spirit of the Orient to thoroughly enjoy. The
three comedians should be seen as in an opium dream.
The fame of Bizet must rest eventually on two works:
“L’Arlésienne” and “Carmen.”
I believe “L’Arlésienne” is the more artistic, the greater work. In
“Carmen” is the greater promise of what Bizet might have done. The
music of “L’Arlésienne,” is inseparably associated with success or
failure of the play itself and the abilities of play-actors. If the concert-
suite is played, it pleases; but apart from the representation of the
dramatic scenes, the music loses its true significance. The saxophone
solo in the Prelude, with its marvellous accompaniment, gratifies the
ear in the concert-room; but its haunting and melancholy beauty is
intensified tenfold when it is associated with the apparition of “The
Innocent.” It is impossible to over-rate the beauty, the passion, the
dramatic fitness of the music that accompanies the various scenes in
the simple and terrible drama of Daudet. The dialogue between Mère
Renaud and Balthazar when they meet after fifty years is touching;
but the adagietto, that softly tells of humble heroism, love preserved
without shame, the kiss given at last and without passion, longings
and regrets endured in silence, rises to a height of pathos that is
beyond the reach of words or pantomime. In connection with the
scene and the dialogue the adagietto is irresistible in its effect; in the
concert room, it is simply a beautiful piece for muted strings. This
play of Daudet is so simple, so devoid of trickery that its popular and
universal success is extremely doubtful. The average spectator would
fain see the unworthy Woman of Arles for whom Fréderi burns in
agony; the shepherd Balthazer seems to him a good, tiresome old
man with a beard; The Innocent, unless the part is played with rare
finesse, becomes almost ludicrous. Not until there is a return to the
appreciation of simplicity will this music of Bizet be known as the
supreme example of music in the domain of melodrama.
Meilhac and Halévy in the libretto of “Carmen,” feel constantly the
pulse of the audience.
The opera is not a sustained masterpiece. The want of action in the
third act is not atoned for by a display of musical inspiration. With
the exception of the trio of card-players, the music of this act is far
below that of the other three. But, with the omission of this act, how
frank, how intense, how characteristic, is the music that tells of a
tragedy of universal and eternal interest.
For Carmen lived years before she was known by Merimée. She
dies many deaths, and many are her resurrections. When the world
was young, they say her name was Lilith, and the serpent for her sake
hated Adam. She perished that wild night when the heavens rained
fire upon the Cities of the Plain. Samson knew her when she dwelt in
the valley of Sorek. The mound builders saw her and fell at her feet.
She disquieted the blameless men of Ethiopia. Years after she was
the friend of Theodora. In the fifteenth century she was noticed in
Sabbatic revels led by the four-horned goat. She was in Paris at the
end of the last century, and she wore powder and patches at the
dinners given by the Marquis de Sade. In Spain she rolled cigarettes
and wrecked the life of Don José.
The dramatic genius of Bizet is seen fully in his treatment of this
character. She sings no idle words. Each tone stabs. There are here
no agreeable or sensuous love passages; as Bellaigue remarks, there
is not a touch of voluptuousness in the opera. The soldier is under
the spell of a vain, coarse, reckless gipsy of maddening personality.
He knows the folly, the madness of his passion; he sees “as from a
tower the end of all.” These characters are sharply drawn and
forcibly painted. There is free use of the palette knife; there is fine
and ingenious detail. The singers sing because it is the natural
expression of their emotions; they do not sing to amuse the audience
or accommodate the stage carpenter. The orchestra with wealth of
rhythm and color italicizes the song; prepares the action;
accompanies it; or moralizes. Apart from the technical skill shown in
the instrumentation, the great ability of Bizet is seen in his
combining the French traditions of the past and the German spirit of
the present without incongruity. Here is a departure from old
models, and yet a confirmation. The quintet is sung because thereby
the feeling of the scene is best expressed; five people are not
introduced because the quintet is an agreeable combination of
voices. The unmeaning vocal ornaments found in the earlier operas
of Bizet have disappeared. He uses his own manly, intense speech.
He expresses his own thoughts in his own way. He does not care
whether his work is opéra comique or grand opera, or melodrama.
His sole object is to tell his story as directly and as forcibly as
possible.
In a world of art that is too often ruled by insincerity, a lusty, well-
trained voice aroused the attention. Suddenly the voice was hushed.
Only with the silence, came the hearty approval of the great
audience. Bizet met with no popular success during his lifetime. Now
“Carmen” holds the stage; “L’Arlésienne” excites the admiration of
all musicians; the earlier operas have been revived and sung in
foreign languages. In his own country he was from the start known
vulgarly as “one of the most ferocious of the French Wagnerian
school”: an absurd charge: for in no one of his operas is there
recognition of the peculiar theories of Wagner. Bizet followed the
traditional formulas: he used the air, the concerted pieces, the formal
divisions and subdivisions. The orchestra assists the singer; it does
not usurp his place. Without doubt he learned from Wagner in the
matter of orchestral expression, as Wagner learned from Weber and
Meyerbeer; as one sensible man does from his predecessors. There
was nothing new in Bizet’s use of the typical motive; it was similarly
employed by Grétry, Auber, Halévy.
Melody, expressive harmony, ingenious counterpoint, an unerring
sense of the value of a peculiar tone of an instrument or the
advantage of a combination of instruments,—these were used by the
Bizet of later years simply to express truth. This was the purpose of
his life; this was the motto of his existence. No one could be more
refined than he in musical expression; no one could be more
seemingly brutal. The glowing words that he wrote concerning Verdi
in the Revue Nationale show his one prevailing thought: “Let us then
be frank and true; let us not demand of a great artist qualities which
he lacks, and let us profit from the qualities which he possesses.
When a passionate, violent, even brutal temperament; when a Verdi
presents us with a strong and living work full of gold and mud, of gall
and blood, let us not go to him and say coldly, ‘But, my dear Sir, this
is wanting in taste, it is not distingué.’ Distingué! Are Michael-
Angelo, Homer, Dante, Shakespeare, Beethoven, Cervantes, and
Rabelais distingués?”
It is presumptuous, it is impossible to anticipate the verdict of
Time the Avenger. It is not improbable, however, that the future
historian of the opera will class Bizet with Wagner and Verdi as the
men of mighty influence over the opera of the last years of this
century. “Carmen” was, perhaps, a promise, a starting point, rather
than a fulfillment. But if the young and fiery composers of Italy of to-
day turn reverently toward Verdi and Wagner, they also read lovingly
the score of “Carmen.”
 CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS

Reproduction of a photograph from life,

by Eug. Pirout, Paris.
 CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS

The eminent composer, Camille Saint-Saëns, was born in Paris,

October 9, 1835. While yet an infant he manifested an innate gift for
music. We are informed by the most reliable of his biographers, his
grand-aunt, that, observing the deep attention with which the child
listened to music, she gave him his first lessons on the piano when he
was scarcely three years old. It would not be easy to find a record of
earlier precocity. His mother relates, when her son began to play the
first exercise, C, D, E, F, G, she discovered him playing it with only
the right hand, using the other hand to press the weak little fingers
down, in order to sound each note distinctly. It was ingenious,
almost virtuosity! That a child like Saint-Saëns should make rapid
progress was inevitable. When his fingers were sufficiently strong to
strike the keys of the pianoforte without great effort, his grand-aunt,
believing that she had reached the end of her task with him, placed
him in charge of a professional teacher of the pianoforte. It was not
long before this teacher was replaced in turn, by a master worthy of
such a pupil, and wholly capable of guiding his studies. This master
was Stamaty, and the choice was admirable. In addition to Stamaty,
who was only a teacher of the pianoforte, M. Maledan, an able
instructor in harmony and theory and a man of decided talent, was
engaged to guide the more serious musical studies of young Saint-
Saëns.
The boy was ten years old when his mother resolved that he should
make the acquaintance of some of the notabilities of the musical
world before making his first appearance in public. To this end she
gave a private soirée at her house, the result of which was echoed
through the press of Paris. The lad performed, with Stamaty, one of
Mozart’s Sonatas for four hands with surprising ease and in
remarkable sympathy with the composer’s style. Then, with a quartet
accompaniment, he performed some of the works of the great
masters, including fugues by Bach, a concerto by Hummel, and
Beethoven’s concerto in C minor.
A few months later, he made his début before the public in a
concert given in the Pleyel Salon, so much favored of artists, and
where Chopin and Rubinstein, not to name other great pianist-
composers, also made their first bow before a Parisian audience.
Little Camille, as he was then styled, achieved a flattering success.
The most eminent critics sang his praises and predicted a great
future for him. Never did they prophesy with more true foresight
than they did on that occasion. L’Illustration published his portrait,
and there were some who went so far as to draw a comparison
between him and the incomparable Mozart!
This brilliant début in nowise spoiled the young pianist; on the
contrary, its effect only increased his zeal for study. He attended the
course of lessons in composition under Halévy at the Conservatoire
as an élève auditeur, literally, a listening pupil, for one year. He then
obtained admission to the organ class where he won the first prize.
Encouraged by his success he next appeared as a competitor at the
Institut (Prix de Rome), but failed. He never again crossed the
threshold of the Institut de France until long afterward, when he was
received with honor and glory as a member of the “Section
Musicale.” When he competed for the Prix de Rome, he was only
seventeen years of age, but he had already attained celebrity as a
pianist and an organist, and had also distinguished himself as the
composer of several important scores. One of these was an ode to St.
Cecilia, for chorus, solo, and grand orchestra, which was performed
by the Société Sainte Cécile, of which Seghers was the leader. The
newspapers were as severe upon Saint-Saëns as a composer, as they
had been satisfied with his début as a pianist. “In the absence of
inspiration of the first order, or of brilliant genius,” writes the critic
of the Gazette Musicale, “it could be wished that the composer
showed a little more fougue and dash, were it only in a few paltry
flights which reveal a young artist’s desire to create for himself an
individual style.”
With Saint-Saëns inspiration came later, and it was pure
inspiration, without fault, and was not wanting in originality.
The young composer soon avenged himself for these harsh
criticisms, by composing his first symphony, in E flat, which was also
executed by the Société Sainte Cécile. The great artist of the future
had not then reached his sixteenth year. The work was well
calculated to encourage the highest hopes for the future of the
symphonist, and these hopes were abundantly realized by his last
and admirable symphony in C minor, a composition which indeed
may be considered a genuine masterpiece. The first symphony by the
lad of sixteen met with a full measure of applause; it has been
published and is still frequently played with success. It appears in the
catalogue of his complete works as the musical leaflet No. 2. The
second symphony, in F major, was performed for the first time in
1856 by the Philharmonic Society of Bordeaux, and also met with a
warm welcome. A third symphony in D does not appear in the
catalogue, which also does not mention the second symphony, the
only symphonies named being those in E flat, in A minor (Leaflet 56)
and in C minor (Leaflet 78). It would seem, therefore, either that two
of the five symphonies written by Saint-Saëns have not been
published, or that this complete catalogue, printed by his publishers,
Durand et Schoenewerk, of Paris, is incomplete.
I have purposely omitted to mention four concertos for piano and
orchestra, because these productions, which are of a high order, have
brought to mind an incident which is worthy a special place in this
biography.
These four fine works were brilliantly performed on the same
evening in the Salle Pleyel by Mme. Marie Jaëll, the pianist so
famous for her extraordinary, not to say marvellous, powers of
execution. This was, indeed, a feat on the part of the virtuoso as well
as an interesting exhibition of artistic talent, and its success was
complete. The performances began at nine o’clock in the evening and
ended at half-past eleven. Throughout this long and difficult test
there was not the slightest momentary defect, either in the playing of
the orchestra or in that of the experienced and skilful pianist. For the
success of so difficult a task the most subtle artistic feeling and
exceptional muscular force were necessary. Mme. Jaëll possessed
these qualities in such measure that the soirée devoted to the four
concertos of Saint-Saëns will never fade from the memory of those
who were present. Besides these concertos we should mention a
concerto-fantaisie for piano and orchestra written in 1891 for Mme.
Roger-Niclos, which she played with great success at the Colonne
concerts. This work has recently been published.
In his work entitled “Virtuoses Contemporains,” our dear master
and friend, Marmontel, has felicitously described the style of piano
playing characteristic of Saint-Saëns. “Saint-Saëns is as
accomplished a pianist as he is an organist. He attacks the piece in
hand with great energy, and keeps perfect time. His fiery and
brilliant execution is flawless even in the most rapid passages. His
powerful but admirably modulated playing is full of majesty and
breadth; and the only fault that can be found with his masterly
execution is, perhaps, the excess of rhythmical precision. Ever
master of himself, Saint-Saëns leaves nothing to chance and does
not, perhaps, always yield sufficiently to the pathetic. On the other
hand, the virtuoso always acquits himself with irreproachable
accuracy.”
For many years Saint-Saëns has quitted Paris in the winter, to seek
the warm sunshine under the blue skies of those favored countries to
which the sun remains ever faithful. In order to travel and pass his
time free from all annoyance, the composer has adopted the excellent
custom of departing from Paris without any flourish of trumpets,
without informing anyone where he intends to sojourn, and often
without knowing, himself, exactly where he will pitch his tent. On
leaving Paris on the 30th of November, 1889, he charged his worthy
friend and colleague, Guiraud, of the Institut, now no more, alas! in
case the Académie de Musique should authorize the rehearsals of his
“Ascanio,” to begin during the composer’s absence. It was put in
hand, and M. Guiraud, with score before him, followed the rehearsals
with the utmost care and assiduity.
 CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS.

Reproduction of a photograph from life

by Raschkow, Jr.—Breslau.

The preparations for the opera had made great progress, and
everybody expected, at any moment, the composer’s return. Not only
did he refrain from reappearing in Paris to assist at the last
rehearsals and to give his final hints to the singers and the orchestra,
but he did not even write to anyone. Nobody knew where he had
concealed himself. This extraordinary and unheard-of act of a
composer, who goes abroad to amuse himself by chasing butterflies
or collecting plants, while at home the theatrical managers are
making preparations for the first performance of a work of such
importance as a grand five-act opera, excited all Paris. It even
disturbed the Government, which caused inquiry to be made for the
musician by its diplomatic agents throughout the world. The search
was a vain one. It was generally thought that Saint-Saëns had died in
some part of Ceylon, where certain French travellers believed they
had seen him as he was making his way to Japan. The first
performance of “Ascanio” was given at a moment when it was in
doubt whether Saint-Saëns was dead or alive. Happily, he was still of
this world and in very good health; but careless of his glory, was
basking in the sunshine of the Canary Islands, busily engaged in
finishing a volume of verse which appeared in Paris last year; for
Saint-Saëns is a poet as well as a musician. It was a relief to the
public when an announcement was at last made by Louis Gallet, the
composer’s fellow-worker and friend, that the fugitive, at the very
moment when “Ascanio” was under active rehearsal at the Opéra,
was peacefully and contentedly breathing the warm and balmy air of
Palma. As soon as the newspapers betrayed his sojourn in this
verdant and flowery retreat, the authorities of the city and the
principal inhabitants proposed to confer honors upon the master.
But the composer had not gone all the way to Teneriffe for this
purpose, and thanking the authorities for the homage they wished to
pay him, immediately disappeared again!
Saint-Saëns is a husband and a father, but his married life has
unfortunately not been a very happy one. His two children both died
at an early age. One of them fell from the balcony of his father’s
house, and was killed, while the other suddenly died a short time
afterward. Thus it sometimes happens that a man may have, like
Saint-Saëns, everything that goes to make up the sum of human
happiness—talent, success, honor and fortune,—and yet yearn in
vain for that complete felicity which is denied him. Concealed like
the statue of Isis, whose veil no mortal has ever been permitted to
draw aside, is the condition of unalloyed happiness on this earthly
sphere. We know that it exists; we seek it; ofttimes we think it within
our grasp, and yet it eludes us!
We cannot more fitly terminate this sketch of the great personality
of Saint-Saëns than by adding that he is one of the most masterly
readers of piano and organ music who has ever lived, and an
improviser of the first rank.
As a child pianist and composer, Camille Saint-Saëns was what is
called an infant prodigy. The child has come to man’s estate and is, at
the present moment, one of the most learned and able artists in
every branch of his art, that can be found in the ranks of modern
musicians. Since the death of Beethoven, Schumann and
Mendelssohn, he wields in Europe the sceptre of symphony; he is
renowned as a composer for the church and the theatre, and as an
organist; and the mastery he has shown in the concerto, the oratorio
and chamber music, of which he has produced a large number of
works, is of world-wide fame.
Of his purely instrumental music we may mention, in
chronological order: “Tarentelle,” for flute and clarinet with
orchestra; “Orient et Occident,” a military march; Ballade for piano,
organ and violin; Introduction and Rondo Capricioso, for violin and
piano; “Le Rouet d’Omphale,” a symphonic poem; Concerto for
violoncello in A minor; Sonato for piano and violoncello; Heroic
March for full orchestra; Ballade for horn or violoncello and piano, in
F; Ballade for flute or violin and piano; Lullaby for piano and violin,
in B flat; “Phaéton,” a symphonic poem; “Danse Macabre,” for
Orchestra, arranged for piano, for one or two performers, and for
one or two pianos; also for piano duet, with violin or violoncello; for
military band, etc; Quartet for piano, violin, alto and violoncello;
Allegro appassionata, for violoncello and piano; Ballade for violin
and piano, in C; Suite for orchestra; prelude, saraband, gavotte,
ballade and finale; “La Jeunesse d’Hercule,” symphonic poem;
Ballade for violoncello and piano in D; Concerto for violin in C
major; “Suite Algérienne,” for orchestra; Concerto for violin, in B
minor; Concert piece for violin and piano; “Une Nuit à Lisbonne,”
barcarolle for orchestra; “La Jota Aragonaise,” for orchestra; Septet
for trumpet, two violins, alto, violoncello, contra-bass and piano;
Hymn to Victor Hugo, for orchestra; Sonata for piano and violin in D
minor; “Wedding-Cake,” Caprice Valse for piano and stringed
instruments; Caprice on Danish and Russian airs, for flute, oboe,
clarinet and piano; “Havanaise” for violin and piano; “La Fiancée du
Timbalier,” for orchestra; etc., etc.
 Fac-simile autograph musical
manuscript contributed by the composer
for use in this work

We bear in mind several scores by Saint-Saëns which do not

appear in the general catalogue of his works. First of all, there is a
very fine composition for a military band, which the illustrious
musician was good enough to write at my request, in 1868, for the
celebration of Hoche’s centenary at Versailles. A short time ago I
asked Saint-Saëns why he had not published this beautiful work,
written as a tribute to the memory of the great French general, and
which is so full of stirring patriotic sentiment. The composer replied
that he did not know what had become of this music since the day on
which it was solemnly performed before the statue of Hoche at
Versailles. The full score and the orchestral parts have remained
undiscovered up to the present time. I may also mention, as among
the compositions of Saint-Saëns, which are not included in the
catalogue of his works, an extremely original, bright and thoroughly
artistic work written for several instruments and called “Le Carnaval
des Animaux.” Only one of the animals in this merry Carnival has
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