Henri David Gagnebin (13 March 1886 – 2 June 1977) was a Belgian-born Swiss composer.

Early Life

Gagenbin was born on 13 March 1886 in

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

, the son of Henri-Auguste Gagnebin, a pastor, and Adolphine Heshuysen, a native of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. He had at least one sister, Elie, who was later a professor at the

University of Lausanne The University of Lausanne (UNIL; french: links=no, Université de Lausanne) in Lausanne, Switzerland was founded in 1537 as a school of Protestant theology, before being made a university in 1890. The university is the second oldest in Switzer ...

Career

His first studies were in

Bienne , french: Biennois(e) , neighboring_municipalities= Brügg, Ipsach, Leubringen/Magglingen (''Evilard/Macolin''), Nidau, Orpund, Orvin, Pieterlen, Port, Safnern, Tüscherz-Alfermée, Vauffelin , twintowns = Iserlohn (Germany) B ...

and

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

. He studied the piano with Auguste Laufer and harmony with Justin Bischoff. In 1905, he spent eight months in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, where he studied composition with

Richard Rössler Richard Rössler, also ''Roessler'' or ''Rößler'' (14 November 1880 – 23 June 1962) was a Baltic German pianist, organist, composer and music educator (academic teacher). In 1910, he married the pianist Dora Charlotte Mayer (1887–1951), a W ...

. In 1908, he moved to Paris, where he studied the

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

with

Louis Vierne Louis Victor Jules Vierne (8 October 1870 – 2 June 1937) was a French organist and composer. As the organist of Notre-Dame de Paris from 1900 until his death, he focused on organ music, including six organ symphonies and a '' Messe solennelle ...

and composition with

Vincent d'Indy Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy (; 27 March 18512 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher. His influence as a teacher, in particular, was considerable. He was a co-founder of the Schola Cantorum de Paris and also taught at the Par ...

. He stayed there for eight years, during which he was organist at the Lutheran Church of the Redemption. In 1916, he became organist at the Temple de Saint-Jean in Lausanne, and also taught courses at the conservatory. In 1925, he was invited to become director of the conservatory at

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

, where he remained until his retirement in 1961. Gagnebin worked in most musical genres, with the exception of

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

: he wrote symphonies, two ballets, a trio, four quartets, a large number of pieces for various instrumental groups, four toccatas for the piano, a piano concerto, more than one hundred pieces on Huguenot psalms, two church sonatas and a number of organ pieces. He was also a frequent contributor to music periodicals, including ''La Tribune de Genève''.

Death

Gagnebin died in Geneva on 2 June 1977.

References

1886 births 1977 deaths 20th-century classical composers Swiss classical composers Musicians from Liège Swiss male classical composers 20th-century Belgian male musicians 20th-century Swiss composers Belgian emigrants to Switzerland {{Switzerland-composer-stub