Category Archives: Organist

Daniel Roth

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daniel-rothIn 1963, Daniel Roth became Rolande Falcinelli‘s substitute at the great organ at Sacré-Coeur in Paris, where he succeeded his former teacher as titular organist in 1973, a position he held until 1985, when he was appointed titular organist at Saint-Sulpice in Paris, where his predecessors were Charles-Marie Widor, Marcel Dupré, and Jean-Jacques Grunenwald.

Full bio.


Recordings:

Fresques Symphoniques Sacrées


On a sunday afternoon: Live at the Washington Cathedral


Eight Improvisations: Cavaille-Coll Organ of Sacre-Coeur in Paris


Daniel Roth Plays the Cavaille-Coll at Saint-Ouen in Rouen, France


Louis Vierne: Messe Solennelle, Opus 16 (A recreation of a Traditional Latin Mass at Saint-Sulpice, Sunday of the Resurrection)
Includes improvised service music by Daniel Roth

Audio:
Daniel Roth – Variations and Fugue on a theme of Albert de Klerk – 15th Haarlem Improvisation Competition

Videos:
Sortie – 7 February 1999 – St. Sulpice
Daniel Roth with Eric Lebrun – Victimae paschali laudes – St. Sulpice, Paris, France

Jean Langlais

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Jean_Langlais

Website:
http://www.jeanlanglais.com
You can hear him on Spotify.

Jean Langlais (1907 – 1991) was sent to the Paris National Institute for the Young Blind in 1918 where he studied piano, violon, harmony and organ with great blind teachers including Albert Mahaut and Andre Marchal.
Later, he entered the Paris National Conservatory of Music in the organ class of Marcel Dupré, obtaining a First Prize in 1930. In 1931, he received the “Grand Prix d’Execution et Improvisation des Amis de l’Orgue”, after having studied improvisation with Charles Tournemire. He ended his studies with a Composition Prize in the class of Paul Dukas at the Paris Conservatory in 1934.
In 1945, he became the successor to Cesar Franck and Charles Tournemire at the prestigious organ tribune of Sainte-Clotilde in Paris. He left that position in 1987 at the age of 80, having been titular for 42 years. Professor for forty years at the National Institute for the Young Blind, he also taught at the Paris Schola Cantorum where, between 1961 and 1976, he influenced both French and foreign students, including Naji Hakim and Ann Labounsky amongst many others.

Biographies:

Jean Langlais – The Man and His Music
by Ann Labounsky, Amadeus Press, 2000.


Jean Langlais, 1907-1991: Ombre et lumiere
(in French) by Marie-Louise Jaquet-Langlais, Paris: Éditions Combre, 1995.

Recordings:

Jean Langlais Improvises at Great Organs


Jean Langlais, my memories

LanglaisImprovisationsFestivo6951842

The Legendary Jean Langlais
His last recorded improvisations at Ste. Clotilde.

André Isoir

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IsoirAndré Isoir studied with Édouard Souberbielle (organ) and Germaine Mounier (piano) at the École César-Franck and with Rolande Falcinelli at the Paris Conservatoire. He won the Haalrem Improvisation competition in 1966, 1967, and 1968. Since 1973 he has been titulaire organist at the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris.


Audio:
André Isoir – Entry in the 1968 Haarlem Improvisation Competition

François-Henri Houbart

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HoubartHe received his musical education from Michel Chapuis, Suzanne Chaisemartin, Pierre Lantier and Pierre Cochereau. He is currently titulaire at the church of La Madeleine, Paris.

You can hear him on Spotify.


Videos:
Offertoire 4/03/2012 La Madeleine
Sortie on ‘O Filii et Filiae’ – La Madeleine, Paris
Paraphrase improvisée sur 2 thèmes grégoriens – La Madeleine, Paris
Variations sur un thème populaire – La Madeleine, Paris

Michel Chapuis

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Michel ChapuisChapuis was organist for the Paris churches of St. Germain l’Auxerrois (1951-54) and St. Nicolas des Champs (1954-72), accompanied at Notre Dame (1955-64), and was titular organist of St. Séverin from 1964. He also toured widely as a concert artist. From 1956-79 he was Professor at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg, 1979-86 at the Besançon Conservatoire, and 1986-95 at the Paris Conservatoire. In 1995, he was named organist to the Versailles Royal Chapel.

Full bio. You can hear him on Spotify.


Videos:
Michel Chapuis – Grand Jeu Classique – St. Ouen
Michel Chapuis – Improvisations in French classical style – Chapelle Royale, Paris
Michel Chapuis – Improvisation sur “Ubi Caritas” – Cathédrale Saint-Vincent, Saint-Malo
Michel Chapuis – Improvisations dans le style classique français – Orgue Aubertin, Karuzawa, Japan

Jeffrey Brillhart

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JeffreyBrillhartJeffrey Brillhart is Director of Music and Fine Arts at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, Bryn Mawr, PA and on the music faculty at Yale University, where he teaches organ improvisation. Winner of the 1994 National Competition in Organ Improvisation, sponsored by the American Guild of Organists.

Official website:
http://www.jeffreybrillhart.com/





Book:
BreakingFreeBrillhartBreaking Free: Finding a Personal Voice for Improvisation through 20th Century French Improvisation Techniques. Published by Wayne Leupold Editions.

William Porter

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William PorterPorter studied organ at Oberlin College and Yale University where he received the DMA degree in 1980. He taught harpsichord and organ at Oberlin from 1974 to 1986 and taught organ, music history and music theory at the New England Conservatory in Boston from 1985 to 2002. He has also taught organ improvisation at the Eastman School of Music and McGill University.

He has an article on North German Improvisational Practice in GOArt Research Reports Vol. 2 and an article on contrapuntal improvisation in the GOArt Research Reports, Vol. 3.

You can hear him on Spotify.


Recordings:

An Organ Portrait
Includes and improvised Magnificat setting.

Videos:
Three excerpts from a masterclass given by William Porter on Hymn-Tune Improvisations at the AGO National Convention in Washington, DC in July 2010:
William Porter – Hymn-Tune Improvisation Masterclass, Part I – Washington, DC
William Porter – Hymn-Tune Improvisation Masterclass, Part II – Washington, DC
William Porter – Hymn-Tune Improvisation Masterclass, Part III – Washington, DC

Smarano International Organ Academy Course Part 1
Smarano International Organ Academy Course Part 2
Smarano International Organ Academy Course Part 3
Smarano International Organ Academy Course Part 4
Smarano International Organ Academy Course Part 5
O dass ich tausend Zunge hätte – Prelude
O dass ich tausend Zunge hätte – Canon
O dass ich tausend Zunge hätte – Intermezzo
O dass ich tausend Zunge hätte – Fugue
Improvisation: Four Modal Variations on Salve Regina: I (Theme and Plein jeu)
Improvisation: Four Modal Variations on Salve Regina: II (Scherzo)
Improvisation: Four Modal Variations on Salve Regina: III (Meditation)
Improvisation: Four Modal Variations on Salve Regina: IV (Introduction and Passacaglia)

Vidas Pinkevicius

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PinkeviciusVidas Pinkevicius graduated from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre in Vilnius with Bachelor‘s and Master’s degree in Organ Performance. He also holds Master’s degree from the Eastern Michigan University (USA) under Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra. He graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (USA) with the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Organ Performance. At UNL, he defended his DMA dissertation on Improvisation of Keyboard Preludes in the Style of J.S. Bach.

Vidas Pinkevicius has his own channel on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/vidpinkus

He also offers a free keyboard prelude improvisation course via email here.

Videos:
Vidas Pinkevicius – Painting: Pieta
Vidas Pinkevicius – Painting: Sleeping Beauty