Arsène Muzerelle

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Arsène Muzerelle (born May 21, 1919 in Marseille ; † January 14, 2016 in Pertuis ) was a French organist , choirmaster and conductor .

Life

Arsène Muzerelle entered 1927 in the cathedral singing school ( Maîtrise de la Cathédrale de Reims ) of Reims Cathedral, which had been re-established shortly before by Canon Lucien Hess (1900–1986) . The canon and cathedral organist Jules Lartilleux (1874–1943) noticed his musical talent. When Arsène Muzerelle was ten years old, Lartilleux began to train him on the organ. He studied organ at the Ecole César Franck and at the Conservatoire de Paris , where he made Gaston Litaize a friend, then with André Marchal , the organist at the Saint-Eustache church in Paris, who soon turned from a teacher to a friend. He earned his living as an accountant in a hardware store while studying to be an organist. At the age of 17, Muzerelle became the organist of the choir organ in Reims Cathedral in 1936 . In 1943, only 24 years old, he was appointed as the successor of his teacher Jules Lartilleux - initially provisional due to the circumstances of the war, from 1947 as "titulaire" (incumbent) - as organist of the main organ of Reims Cathedral. The office of the Organiste titulaire des Grandes Orgues de la cathédrale de Reims has been one of the most prestigious in France since the time of Nicolas de Grigny . Until 1998, Muzerelle was organist at Reims Cathedral.

From 1949 Arsène Muzerelle led the young adult choir Les Alouettes de Champagne . Archbishop François Marty appointed him director of church music at the cathedral ( Maître de Chapelle ) and director of the cathedral singing school in 1960 after Lucien Hess was unable to continue this task due to the long-term consequences of his concentration camp imprisonment in Dachau . The Alouettes de Champagne produced a vocal ensemble ( Ensemble vocal Arsène Muzerelle ) and a chamber orchestra ( Cantabile ), which he conducted. From the boys' choir of the cathedral singing school as well as from the ensembles of the adults, he demanded performances of the highest quality. “ Notre-Dame de Reims does not tolerate mediocrity,” he used to say. Muzerelle also devoted himself to contemporary music. In 1972 he and his ensembles recorded all of Claude Ballif's choral works .

From 1947 to 1985 Arsène Muzerelle was also a professor at the Conservatoire de Reims . He became the teacher of numerous French organists.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Family obituary
  2. ↑ For Jules Lartilleux (with full first name: Jules-Marie-Joseph) see the obituary in the Bulletin du Diocèse de Reims. Revue religieuse historique et littéraire , vol. 71 (1943), no.25 of December 11, 1943.
  3. ↑ a b c d e Patrick Demouy: Hommage à Arsène Muzerelle ( Memento from April 9, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), Société des Amis de la Cathédrale de Reims: Info du samedi 16 January 2016 (French).
  4. ↑ Plein-jeu. The blog de la musique classique et de l'orgue: Décès de l'organiste Arsène Muzerelle , 19 January 2016.
  5. ↑ Syndicat National des Artistes et du Personnel d'Église: Décès d'Arsène Muzerelle ( Memento of March 24, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), press release of January 18, 2016.
  6. ↑ L'ancien organiste s'est éteint ( Memento of 24 March 2016 Internet Archive ). In: L'Union , Reims edition, 18 January 2016.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Muzerelle, Arsène
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French organist and conductor
DATE OF BIRTH May 21, 1919
PLACE OF BIRTH Marseille
DATE OF DEATH January 14, 2016
Place of death Pertuis (Vaucluse)