André Marchal

André Louis Marchal (6 February 1894 – 27 August 1980) was a French organist and organ teacher. He was one of the great initiators of the twentieth-century organ revival in France and one of the cofounders of the Association des amis de l'orgue alongside Norbert Dufourcq.

André Marchal
Birth nameAndré Louis Marchal
Born(1894-02-06)6 February 1894
Paris, France
Died27 August 1980(1980-08-27) (aged 86)
Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France
Occupation(s)Organist, organ teacher
Instrument(s)Pipe organ

Biography

Marchal was born blind in Paris. Remarkably undaunted by this handicap, he studied the organ under Eugène Gigout at the Paris Conservatoire; and there, in 1913, he won the First Prize in organ-playing. Four years later he also won the prix d'excellence for fugue and counterpoint.

Marchal concertized widely, both in France and abroad. He played a series of recitals at the Cleveland Museum of Art in late 1947 and early 1948.[1] Marchal taught organ at the Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles in Paris, in addition to serving as titular organist of the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés (1915–1945) and Saint-Eustache (1945–1963). He resigned from Saint-Eustache in 1963, his departure being brought about over a conflict concerning the correct organ builder to be hired to restore Saint-Eustache's instrument.[2]

He was an unparalleled improviser and was recognized as such by Fauré.[3] Among his students are many brilliant musicians such as Jean Langlais, Peter Hurford, Louis Thiry and Jean-Pierre Leguay, one of three titulaires du grand orgue of Notre-Dame de Paris.

He died in 1980 in Saint-Jean-de-Luz at the age of 86.

Awards and recognition

References
  1. "Andre Marchal" (PDF). The Diapason. 39 (2): 2. January 1, 1948.
  2. Robert Laffont, Dictionnaire des interprètes, Paris 1982, quoted on Erato Disques (CD set), Franck: L'œuvre Intégral Pour Orgue 1994.
  3. "Arbiter Liner Notes". Archived from the original on 2007-12-12. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
  4. Delta Omicron Archived 2010-01-27 at the Wayback Machine


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.