Ferdinand Hérold

Louis-Joseph Ferdinand Hérold (1791–1833) was a French composer principally remembered for his 1828 score for the ballet La Fille mal gardée, which has proved one of the most enduring in the entire repertoire. Born in Paris, he won the Prix de Rome in 1812 and worked primarily in opera — his Zampa (1831) was an enormous success in its time — while also contributing to the ballet repertoire at the Paris Opéra.

Hérold's music for La Fille mal gardée, based loosely on themes from an earlier 1789 score by Peter Ludwig Hertel, is irresistibly sunny and melodically inventive, perfectly capturing the comedy and tenderness of the story of Lise and Colas. The score includes one of the most famous passages in all ballet music: the clog dance, the maypole dance, and the pas de deux. John Lanchbery made a celebrated arrangement and re-orchestration for Frederick Ashton's definitive 1960 production for the Royal Ballet, which remains the standard staging worldwide.

Hérold died of tuberculosis in Paris aged forty-one, at the height of his career.