Charles Colin (musician, 1832)

Charles-Joseph Colin (born June 2, 1832 in Cherbourg , † July 26, 1881 ) was a French oboist, organist , music teacher and composer .

Life

Colin had his first music lessons from his father Charles-Louis Colin , who was a professor of harmony and conductor at the Bordeaux Opera , before he entered the Conservatoire de Paris . Here he was a student of the famous oboist Gustave Vogt , he also studied the organ with François Benoist and harmony with Adolphe Adam and Ambroise Thomas . He received first prizes in oboe (1852), harmony and accompaniment (1853), organ (1854) and counterpoint (1854). In 1857 he won the Second Premier Grand Prix de Rome behind Georges Bizet with the cantata Clovis et Clotilde after Amédée Burion .

Colin was the first organ teacher of his nephew Louis Vierne . Vierne was a world-famous, blind organist.

During his stay in Rome, which was associated with the award, Colin composed a mass solennelle and a one-act opera. The works were awarded the Prix ​​Trémont by the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1863 . In 1868 he succeeded Félix Berthélémy as oboe teacher at the Conservatoire. The following year he was also the organist of the large Daublaine-Callinet organ in the Saint-Denis du Saint-Sacrement church , which Cavaillé-Coll had recently restored.

plant

Colin had a significant influence on the decision of his nephew Louis Vierne to embark on a musical career as an organist. Above all, however, he was of outstanding importance as an oboe teacher. He is the link between his teacher Vogt and his most important pupil Georges Gillet , who for fifty years was decisive for the style of oboe playing in France.

Colin composed 8 technically highly demanding solos de concours , which are still played in oboe competitions to this day. In 1983 the entire work was performed by students in the University of Washington oboe class . Colin also composed a Grande Fantaisie concertante for oboe and orchestra, some church music works, including a mass that was performed in Lille in 1879, an O salutaris for tenor and soprano, an Ave verum for mixed choir and an Andante religioso for harmonium and pieces for Harmonium and for piano.

For his services as a teacher Colin was named Officier d'Académie in 1877 and in 1881 a few days before his death he was made a Knight of the Legion of Honor .

Web links

• Biography Colins (French)