Jean Cras

Jean Cras (1879–1932) was a 20th-century French composer and career naval officer. His musical compositions were inspired by his native Brittany, his travels to Africa, and most of all, by his sea voyages. Cras was born and died in Brest. He was accepted into the navy at the age of seventeen. As a midshipman cadet on the Iphigénie, he travelled in the Americas, the West Indies and Senegal. With the outbreak of war in 1914 Cras was appointed as adjutant to Admiral Augustin Boué de Lapeyrère. After the war Cras became Chief Secretary to the Chief of General Staff, and was promoted to Commander. He served on several other vessels before being appointed Service Chief on the General Staff for Scientific Research. In 1931 he was appointed Major General of the Port of Brest and promoted to rear admiral. He occupied this position when he died after a short illness. Cras met the composer Henri Duparc early in his career and the two became lifelong friends. Duparc called Cras "the son of my soul". Though Cras's duties in the French navy left him little time to devote to his musical work, he continued to compose throughout his life, mainly writing chamber music and songs. Much of his most ambitious work, the opera Polyphème, was written and orchestrated during the war; however, most of his output dates from after the war. Today, his string trio and string quartet are his best known works.