Léon Boëllmann (; 25 September 1862 – 11 October 1897) was a French

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 ...

, known for a small number of compositions for

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

. His best-known composition is '' Suite gothique'' (1895), which is a staple of the organ repertoire, especially its concluding

Toccata Toccata (from Italian ''toccare'', literally, "to touch", with "toccata" being the action of touching) is a virtuoso piece of music typically for a keyboard or plucked string instrument featuring fast-moving, lightly fingered or otherwise virt ...

Life

Boëllmann was born in

Ensisheim Ensisheim (; in Alsatian Ansa ()) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is also the birthplace of the composer Léon Boëllmann. The Germanic origins of the village's name reflect the area's histo ...

Haut-Rhin Haut-Rhin (); Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; , . is a department in the Grand Est region, France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine; its name means Upper Rhine. Haut-Rhin is the smaller and less pop ...

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

, the son of a pharmacist. In 1871, at the age of nine, he entered the École de Musique Classique et Religieuse (L'École

Niedermeyer Niedermeier is a German surname. The name was initially used as a distinguishing name for a farmer (Meier) who had a farm lower (nieder) than the neighboring one(s). Variants are Niedermaier, Niedermair, Niedermayer, Niedermayr, Niedermeier, Niederm ...

) in Paris, where he studied with its director, Gustave Lefèvre, and with Eugène Gigout. There, Boëllmann won first prizes in piano, organ,

counterpoint In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. The term originates from the Latin ...

fugue In classical music, a fugue (, from Latin ''fuga'', meaning "flight" or "escape""Fugue, ''n''." ''The Concise Oxford English Dictionary'', eleventh edition, revised, ed. Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson (Oxford and New York: Oxford Universit ...

, plainsong, and composition. After his graduation in 1881, Boëllmann was hired as "organiste de choeur" at the Church of St. Vincent de Paul in the

10th arrondissement of Paris The 10th arrondissement of Paris (''Xe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, the arrondissement is referred to as ''le dixième'' (; "the tenth", formally ''l ...

, and six years later he became cantor and ''organiste titulaire'', a position he held until his early death, probably from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. In 1885, Boëllmann married Louise, the daughter of Gustave Lefèvre and the niece of Eugène Gigout, into whose house the couple moved (having no children of his own, Gigout adopted Boëllmann). Boëllmann then taught in Gigout's school of organ playing and improvisation. As a favoured student of Gigout, Boëllmann moved in the best circles of the French musical world, and as a pleasing personality, he made friends of many artists and was able to give concerts both in Paris and the provinces.Havard de la Montagne. Boëllmann became known as "a dedicated teacher, trenchant critic, gifted composer and successful performer ... who coaxed pleasing sounds out of recalcitrant instruments". Boëllmann also wrote musical criticism for '' L'Art musical'' under the pseudonym "le Révérend Père Léon" and "un Garçon of the

Salle Pleyel The Salle Pleyel (, meaning "Pleyel Hall") is a concert hall in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, designed by the acoustician Gustave Lyon together with the architect Jacques Marcel Auburtin, who died in 1926, and the work was completed i ...

". Boëllmann died in 1897, aged 35. After the death of his wife the following year, Gigout reared their three orphans, one of whom, Marie-Louise Boëllmann-Gigout (1891–1977), became a distinguished organ teacher in her own right.

Works

During the sixteen years of his professional life, Boëllmann composed about 160 pieces in all genres. Faithful to the style of Franck and an admirer of Saint-Saëns, Boëllmann nonetheless exhibits a turn-of-the-century Post-romantic aesthetic which, especially in his organ works, demonstrates "remarkable sonorities". His best-known composition is '' Suite gothique'' (1895), now a staple of the organ repertoire, especially its concluding

, a piece "of moderate difficulty but brilliant effect", with a dramatic minor theme and a rhythmic emphasis that made it popular even in Boëllmann's day. Boëllmann also wrote

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 preeminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to the Eng ...

s and

art song An art song is a Western world, Western vocal music Musical composition, composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical music, classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is ...

s, works for piano, a symphony, works for cello, orchestra and organ as well as a cello sonata (dedicated to Jules Delsart), and other chamber works.

List of compositions

Organ

* ''Douze pièces'', Op. 16 (1890) * '' Suite gothique'', Op. 25 (1895) * ''Deuxième suite'', Op. 27 (1896) * ''Les Heures mystiques'', Op. 29/30 (1896) * ''Ronde française'', Op. 37 (arr. Choisnel) * ''Offertoire sur les Noëls'' * ''Fantaisie''

Piano

* ''Valse'', Op. 8 * ''Deuxième valse'', Op. 14 * ''Aubade'', Op. 15 No. 1 * ''Feuillet d'album'', Op. 15 No. 3 * ''2e Impromptu'', Op. 15 No. 4 * ''Improvisations'', Op. 28 * ''Nocturne'', Op. 36 * ''Ronde française'', Op. 37 * ''Gavotte'' * ''Prélude & fugue'' * ''Scherzo-Caprice''

Chamber music

* Piano Quartet in F minor, Op. 10 * Piano Trio in G major, Op. 19 * Sonata for Cello and Piano in A minor, Op. 40 * Suite for Cello and Piano, Op. 6 * ''2 Pièces'' for cello and piano, Op. 31 * ''Pièce'' pour violoncelle et piano

Voice

* ''Conte d'amour'', Op. 26 (''3 mélodies'')

Orchestra

* ''Fantaisie dialoguée'', Op. 35, for organ and orchestra * Intermezzo, for orchestra * ''Ma bien aimée'', for voice and orchestra * ''Rondel'', for small orchestra * ''Scènes du Moyen-Âge'', for orchestra * Symphony in F major, Op. 24 * ''Variations symphoniques'', Op. 23, for cello and orchestra

Selected recordings

* ''Suite gothique'', Op. 25, ''Deuxième Suite'', Op. 27, ''Offertoire sur des noëls'', ''Carillon'' et ''Choral'' des ''Douze Pièces'' Op. 16, ''Deux esquisses'', ''Fantaisie'', ''Heures mystiques'' (extracts), Op. 29 & 30, Helga Schauerte-Maubouet, Kuhn organ of Minden cathedral, Germany: Syrius SYR 141374.

References

External links

* *
Concise biography of Boëllmann (same as link above but translated with Google into English)

* * ttp://www.editionsilvertrust.com/music-a-to-b.htm Leon Boëllmann Piano Quartet, Op.10 & Piano Trio, Op.19 Sound-bites* ttp://hdl.handle.net/1802/3224 Verset de procession, for organ(From the Sibley Music Library Digital Score Collection) {{DEFAULTSORT:Boellmann, Leon 1862 births 1897 deaths 19th-century French classical composers 19th-century French male writers 19th-century French journalists 19th-century French male musicians Composers for piano Composers for pipe organ French Romantic composers French classical organists French composers of sacred music French male classical composers French male journalists French male writers French music critics Musicians from Haut-Rhin Composers for pedal piano French male classical organists 19th-century French organists