Achille Philip, (born October 12, 1878,

Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...

- November 12, 1959,

Béziers Béziers (; oc, Besièrs) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Every August Béziers hos ...

) was a French organist and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

Biography

A pupil of the Conservatoire de Marseille in 1888, Philip won the first prize for solfeggio in 1894, piano in 1896 and harmony in 1898. In October 1898, Philip entered the Conservatory of Paris where he studied organ with

Alexandre Guilmant Félix-Alexandre Guilmant (; 12 March 1837 – 29 March 1911) was a French organist and composer. He was the organist of La Trinité from 1871 until 1901. A noted pedagogue, performer, and improviser, Guilmant helped found the Schola Cantor ...

(1837-1911) and composition with

Charles Lenepveu Charles-Ferdinand Lenepveu (4 October 1840 – 16 August 1910), was a French composer and teacher. Destined for a career as a lawyer, he defied his family and followed a musical career. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, and won France's to ...

(1840-1910). Philip won first prize in

counterpoint In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

and

fugue In music, a fugue () is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the c ...

in 1904. From 1904 to 1913 Philip was the organist of the choir of the Madeleine church in Paris. From 1904 to 1950 he was professor of organ and harmony at the

Schola Cantorum The Schola Cantorum de Paris is a private conservatory in Paris. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Bordes, Alexandre Guilmant and Vincent d'Indy as a counterbalance to the Paris Conservatoire's emphasis on opera. History La Schola was founded i ...

in Paris . Philip also presided over the organs of: *

Saint-Jacques-du-Haut-Pas Saint-Jacques du Haut-Pas () is a Roman Catholic parish church in Paris, France. The cathedral is located at the corner of Rue Saint-Jacques and Rue de l'Abbé de l'Épée in the 5th arrondissement of Paris. The church has been registered as a his ...

(1913-1928), * St. Leon (1928-1949), * St. Francis Xavier (1941-1946) *

Val-de-Grâce The (' or ') was a military hospital located at in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was closed as a hospital in 2016. History The church of the was built by order of Queen Anne of Austria, wife of Louis XIII. After the birth of h ...

(1913-1950) (where each year he gave the St. John Passion and St. Matthew Passion of

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

, as well as

Mozart's Requiem The Requiem in D minor, K. 626, is a requiem mass by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791). Mozart composed part of the Requiem in Vienna in late 1791, but it was unfinished at his death on 5 December the same year. A completed version date ...

). On August 3, 1935, Philip created Bacchus at the Théâtre des Arenes in Béziers. In 1950, he settled in Béziers where he was appointed on March 31, 1957, as the organist of the Basilique Saint-Aphrodise. Philip married the singer Marthe Legrand with whom he founded the "Quatuor Français". After the death of his wife, he married Louise Gant

Discography

Sacred music

Organ

* Prélude et Fugue (1902) * Adagio et Fugue (1904) * Lied (1911) * Pièce en si mineur (1911) * Toccata et Fugue en la mineur pour orgue, Durand, Paris (1913). * Variations sur le noël «Il est né le divin enfant» * Cinq Petites Pièces Faciles sur des Noëls Provençaux * Postlude: Carillons

Vocal

* Tantum ergo (en mi bémol majeur) (1901) * Psaume CXVI (Laudate Dominum) pour chœur à 4 voix mixtes et 2 orgues (édition de la Schola Cantorum "Répertoire moderne de la Musique Vocale") 1902 * Tu es Petrus pour chœur à quatre voix mixtes et deux orgues (1935) * Diffusa est (1936) * Trois Tantum ergo (avril 1947) (Editions Musicales de la Schola Cantorum) * Notre Père qui êtes aux cieux pour Baryton ou Mezzo-soprano et Orgue (édition L. Philippo 1954 * Ave verum pour chœur à quatre voix mixtes avec accompagnement d'orgue ad libitum

Chamber music

* 2e Sonate en ut dièse mineur pour violon et piano, Édition Mutuelle, Paris (1908)

Orchestral

* Au pays basque (1909) * Les Djinns (1913) * Dans un parc enchanté (1917) * Fantaisie pastorale (1919) * Nymphes et Naïades (1920)

Lyric theater

* L'Or du Menhir (1934) * Bacchus (1935) Also: 45

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Margar ...

s, 3 masses, 30 melodies

Sheet music

* Free scores of Achille Philip on the International Music Score Library Project * 11 Christmas harmonies with 4 mixed voices on Scribd rchive

References

* Marc Honegger, Dictionnaire de la Musique - Les Hommes et leurs Œuvres, Paris, Bordas, 1970. * Alex et Janine Béges: Achille Philip, organiste et compositeur, Béziers, Société de Musicologie du Languedoc, 1980. * Fonds de partitions de l'église Saint François Xavier {{DEFAULTSORT:Philip, Achille 1878 births 1959 deaths People from Arles 20th-century French composers French classical composers French male classical composers French classical organists 20th-century French male musicians French male classical organists