Victor Jean Félix Henri LetocartArchives of the Hauts-de-Seine online, 7/2/66 act #39, view n°12, without mention of death (6 February 1866 – 1945) was a French

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

and composer.

Biography

Born in

Courbevoie Courbevoie () is a commune located in the Hauts-de-Seine Department of the Île-de-France region of France. It is in the suburbs of the city of Paris, from the center of Paris. The centre of Courbevoie is situated from the city limits of Par ...

, Henri Letocard was the son of a music teacher, Joseph Félix Letocart. He began his musical studies in 1879 at the École Niedermeyer, with Clément Loret and

Eugène Gigout Eugène Gigout (; 23 March 1844 – 9 December 1925) was a French organist and a composer, mostly of music for his own instrument. Biography Gigout was born in Nancy, and died in Paris. A pupil of Camille Saint-Saëns, he served as the organi ...

for the organ, before entering the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

in 1885 in the organ classes of

César Franck César-Auguste Jean-Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in modern-day Belgium. He was born in Liège (which at the time of his birth was p ...

and

music composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called c ...

Ernest Guiraud Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor * Ernest, ...

. After the Conservatory, where he obtained a second degree in organ in 1887, he was first called to the position of organist of the church of

St. Vincent de Paul Vincent de Paul, CM (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660), commonly known as Saint Vincent de Paul, was a Occitan French Catholic priest who dedicated himself to serving the poor. In 1622 Vincent was appointed a chaplain to the galleys. Afte ...

. In 1900, he was appointed organist of the new instrument by at until 1920, and

maître de chapelle (, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...

, a position he held until 1933. Letocart was one of the most militant supporters of the restoration of

liturgical chant Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

. The organist and composer André Fleury was one of his students, as was the composer .

Works

* ''La Lyre Catholique'', 3 volumes of pieces for harmonium (entries, offerings, elevations, communions, exits, verses) specially written for the religious service * Pieces for organ *

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 *

Mélodie A ''mélodie'' () is a form of French art song, arising in the mid-19th century. It is comparable to the German ''Lied''. A ''chanson'', by contrast, is a folk or popular French song. The literal meaning of the word in the French language is "melod ...

s *

Symphonic poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ''T ...

Bibliography

* Biographical notes in ''Maîtres contemporains de l'orgue'', volume 2, 1911

References

External links

Henri Letocart
on IdRef * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Letocart, Henri 1866 births 1945 deaths People from Courbevoie 19th-century French composers 20th-century French composers French composers of sacred music French classical organists French male organists 19th-century French male musicians 20th-century French male musicians Male classical organists