Jacques-Nicolas (Jaak-Nicolaas) Lemmens (3 January 1823 – 30 January 1881), was an

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational ...

, music teacher, 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 Def ...

for his instrument.

Biography

Born at Zoerle-Parwijs, near Westerlo, Belgium, Lemmens took lessons from

François-Joseph Fétis François-Joseph Fétis (; 25 March 1784 – 26 March 1871) was a Belgian musicologist, composer, teacher, and one of the most influential music critics of the 19th century. His enormous compilation of biographical data in the ''Biographie univer ...

, who wanted to make him into a musician capable of renewing the organ-player's art in Belgium. Fétis sent him to Adolf Friedrich Hesse in Germany to learn

Johann Sebastian 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 wo ...

's tradition. In 1847, Lemmens won the

Paris Conservatoire 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 ...

's prestigious ''

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

'' with his ''Le roi Lear'' ("King Lear"). One year later he published his first work for organ: ''Dix improvisations dans le style sévère et chantant'' ("Ten improvisations in a strict and singing style"). In March 1849 he was appointed organ teacher at the Royal Brussels Conservatoire, aged only 26; and he trained numerous young musicians, including two eminent Frenchmen,

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 ...

and

Charles-Marie Widor Charles-Marie-Jean-Albert Widor (21 February 1844 – 12 March 1937) was a French organist, composer and teacher of the mid-Romantic era, most notable for his ten organ symphonies. His Toccata from the fifth organ symphony has become one of th ...

. During 1852 he gave

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 ...

recitals in Saint Vincent de Paul, La Madeleine and Saint Eustache churches in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, where he stunned audiences with his technique. Particularly notable was his brilliant pedal-playing, which owed a good deal to his studies of Bach's music (at the time Bach's organ works were not at all well known in France). In 1857 he married the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880& ...

Helen Sherrington (1834–1906), who in the following decade emerged as a leading English concert and operatic singer. He died at

Zemst Zemst () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the villages of Elewijt, Eppegem, Hofstade, Weerde, Zemst-Laar, Zemst-Bos and Zemst proper. On January 1, 2006, Zemst had a total populatio ...

, near

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

, Belgium.

Compositions for organ

* Dix Improvisations dans le style sévère et chantant (1848) * École d'Orgue, basée sur le plain-chant romain (Orgelschule, 1862), incl.: ** Prélude à 5 (Grave) in E-flat major ** Prière (Moderato cantabile) in E major ** Fanfare (Allegro non troppo) in D major ** Cantabile (Allegretto) in B minor ** Final (Allegro) in D major * Four organ pieces in free style : Allegretto in B flat, Christmas-Offertorium, Fantasia in A minor, Grand Fantasia (The Storm) in E minor (1866) * Trois Sonatas (1874): ** Sonate Nr. 1 "Pontificale" in D minor ***1. Allegro moderato ***2. Adagio ***3. Marche Pontificale (Maestoso) ***4. Fuga (Fanfare) ** Sonate Nr. 2 "O Filii" in E minor ***1. Prélude (Allegro non troppo) ***2. Cantabile (Andante) ***3. Fuga (Allegro con fuoco) ** Sonate Nr. 3 "Pascale" in A minor ***1. Allegro ***2. Adoration (Andante sostenuto) ***3. Finale "Alleluia" (Maestoso recitando - Allegro)

Lemmensinstituut

At the request of the Belgian clerical authorities, Lemmens returned to Belgium to found a school for Church music in

in 1879. This was to become the future

Lemmensinstituut The Lemmensinstituut The Lemmensinstituut (Lemmens Institute) is a Belgian conservatory of music. It was founded in Mechelen, in 1879, by the Belgian bishops as the ''École de musique religieuse'' (School of Religious Music). It was later renamed ...

after its move to

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic c ...

in 1968. Lemmens could only work at the development of this school for two years, as he died on 30 January 1881. He was succeeded by

Edgar Tinel Edgar Pierre Joseph Tinel (27 March 185428 October 1912) was a Belgian composer and pianist. He was born in Sinaai, today part of Sint-Niklaas in East Flanders, Belgium, and died in Brussels. After studies at the Brussels Conservatory with Lo ...

References

* Lowell Lacey, '"Jaak-Nicolaas Lemmens" (1823-1881) in ''Adem''. 1979. *

François Sabatier François Sabatier (born in 1945) is a French musicologist, music historian and music educator. Biography François Sabatier studied music history and musicology at the Conservatoire de Paris and the Paris-Sorbonne University. The author o ...

, ''Lemmens, Jacques-Nicolas'' a
Grove Music Online
* Annelies Focquaert, ''Lemmens, Jacques-Nicolas'' a
SVM

External links

* 1823 births 1881 deaths Belgian classical organists Male classical organists Belgian classical composers Belgian male classical composers Romantic composers Academic staff of the Royal Conservatory of Brussels Prix de Rome (Belgium) winners 19th-century classical composers People from Westerlo 19th-century Belgian male musicians 19th-century organists {{Belgium-composer-stub