Léonce de Saint-Martin

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Léonce de Saint-Martin (born October 31, 1886 in Albi , † June 10, 1954 in Paris ) was a French composer and organist . From 1937 to 1954 he was titular organist of the Notre Dame de Paris organ .

Life

Léonce de Saint-Martin was born in 1886 in the château de Fonlabour near Albi . At the age of 14 he became a temporary organist at Albi Cathedral . However, at the request of his father, he first studied law and in 1906 obtained his license in Montpellier . From 1920 he regularly represented Marcel Dupré as organist at the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral and in 1924 he also officially became Louis Vierne's assistant organist . Since then he has performed regularly in Europe.

With the death of Louis Vierne at the organ of Notre Dame during a concert (1937), his position as titular organist became vacant. Vierne himself had requested a competition for his successor. 55 organists then signed a petition calling for a competition. Regardless of this, the cathedral chapter awarded the post to Saint-Martin. Since then, Saint-Martin has been a persona non grata of Parisian musical life. He continued to give international concerts and composed. On Whit Sunday 1954 he played for the last time in Notre Dame and died on June 10th in Paris.

literature

  • Jean Guérard: Léonce de Saint-Martin à Notre-Dame de Paris, 1886–1854 . Les Editions de l'Officine, Paris 2005, ISBN 2-915680-08-6 .
  • Carolyn Schuster Fournier : Léonce de Saint-Martin. Organist at Notre-Dame Cathedral 1937 to 1954. For the 50th anniversary of his death . In: The American Organist . tape 38 , no. 10 , 2004, p. 60-69 .

Web links

predecessor Office successor
Louis Vierne Titular organist at the Notre Dame de Paris organ
1937–1954 		Pierre Cochereau
personal data
SURNAME Saint-Martin, Léonce de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French organist
DATE OF BIRTH October 31, 1886
PLACE OF BIRTH Albi
DATE OF DEATH June 10, 1954
Place of death Paris