Noëlie Marie-Antoinette Pierront (23 September 1899 – 25 September 1988) was a 20th-century 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 ...

, concertist and

music educator Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do original ...

Biography

Born in the

6th arrondissement of Paris The 6th arrondissement of Paris (''VIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ''le sixième''. The arrondissement, called Luxembourg in ...

, Pierront started to study the

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...

with

Abel Decaux Abel-Marie Alexis Decaux (11 February 1869 – 19 March 1943) was a French organist, composer, and pedagogue, best known for his piano suite ''Clairs de lune'', some of the earliest pieces of dodecaphonic, yet impressionist music. A student of ...

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 Vincent d’Indy at the

Schola Cantorum de Paris 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 ...

. Subsequently, a student of

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 ...

and

Marcel Dupré Marcel Jean-Jules Dupré () (3 May 1886 – 30 May 1971) was a French organist, composer, and pedagogue. Biography Born in Rouen into a wealthy musical family, Marcel Dupré was a child prodigy. His father Aimable Albert Dupré was titular o ...

at 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 ...

, where

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonically ...

Jehan Alain Jehan-Aristide Paul Alain (; 3 February 1911 – 20 June 1940) was a French organist, composer, and soldier. Born into a family of musicians, he learned the organ from his father and a host of other teachers, becoming a composer at 18, and compo ...

, André Fleury,

Maurice Duruflé Maurice Gustave Duruflé (; 11 January 1902 – 16 June 1986) was a French composer, organist, musicologist, and teacher. Life and career Duruflé was born in Louviers, Eure in 1902. He became a chorister at the Rouen Cathedral Choir School fro ...

Jean Langlais Jean François-Hyacinthe Langlais III (15 February 1907 – 8 May 1991) was a French composer of modern classical music, organist, and improviser. He described himself as "" ("Breton, of Catholic faith"). Biography Langlais was born in L ...

and

Gaston Litaize Gaston Gilbert Litaize (11 August 1909 - 5 August 1991) was a French organist and composer. Considered one of the 20th century masters of the French organ, he toured, recorded, worked at churches, and taught students in and around Paris. Blind ...

among others were her colleagues, she won its First Prize in organ in 1928. She also worked the organ privately with

André Marchal André Louis Marchal (6 February 1894 – 27 August 1980) was a French organist and organ teacher. He was one of the great initiators of the twentieth-century organ revival in France and one of the cofounders of the ''Association des amis de l'orgu ...

and

musical 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 ...

with

Guy de Lioncourt Guy de Lioncourt (1 December 1885 in Caen – 24 or 25 December 1961 in Paris) was a French composer. Life He studied music at the Schola Cantorum de Paris under Léon de Saint-Réquier (harmony), Amédée Gastoué (Gregorian chant), André Rou ...

at the

. She was the organist at the

Saint-Germain-des-Prés Saint-Germain-des-Prés () is one of the four administrative quarters of the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France, located around the church of the former Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Its official borders are the River Seine on the north ...

church from 1926 to 1928, then titular organist at the in Paris from 1929 to 1970. Pierront taught at the Schola Cantorum de Paris from 1925 to 1932. As a concertist, she gave the last recital before the War on the Willis organ at the

Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is a Grade II listed entertainment and sports venue in London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. It is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and the later Tottenham Wood Farm. Origi ...

(London) on 20 August 1939. She inaugurated the grand organ by Danion-Gonzalez of the cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Limoges on 13 December 1963. Pierront died in the

15th arrondissement of Paris 15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 and preceding 16. Mathematics 15 is: * A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and . * A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky number, a pernicious nu ...

Dedications

Charles Tournemire Charles Arnould Tournemire (22 January 1870 – 3 or 4 November 1939) was a French composer and organist, notable partly for his improvisations, which were often rooted in the music of Gregorian chant. His compositions include eight symphon ...

dedicated to her his number 49 of ''Dominica XXI post Pentecosten (29th Sunday after Pentecost)'' of his ''Orgue Mystique'' Op. 57. Jehan Alain dedicated his ''Aria'' for organ (1938) to her.

Publications

With

Jean Bonfils Jean-Baptiste Marcel Éloi Bonfils (21 April 1921 – 26 November 2007) was a 20th-century French organist, music educator, musicologist and composer. Biography Born in Saint-Étienne (Loire), Bonfils commenced his musical studies at the . Aft ...

, she is the author of: * The series ''Deo gloria: répertoire liturgique de l’organiste pour orgue sans pédale ou harmonium''. N. Pierront et J. Bonfils in 10 volumes (1962–1968) * ''Nouvelle Méthode d’orgue'' in 2 vol., Schola Cantorum (1962). * ''Nouvelle Méthode de clavier'' in 4 vol., Schola Cantorum (1960–68). She is also credited with numerous transcriptions and editions of organ music recordings at the Éditions musicales of the Schola Cantorum and the Procure générale de Musique, series ''Orgue et Liturgie'', including an edition of the ''Livre d’orgue'' by

De Grigny Nicolas de Grigny ( baptized 8 September 1672 – November 30, 1703) was a French organist and composer. He died young and left behind a single collection of organ music, and an ''Ouverture'' for harpsichord. Life Nicolas de Grigny was born in ...

(Les Grandes heures de l’orgue) with

Norbert Dufourcq Norbert Stéphane Jean-Marie Dufourcq (21 September 1904 – 19 December 1990) was a French organist, music educator, musicologist and musicographer. Biography Norbert Dufourcq was born in 1904 in Saint-Jean-de-Braye in the Loiret department o ...

in 1953. Noëlie Pierront died in Paris on 25 September 1988.

Sources

In ''L’Orgue''''Revue L'Orgue''
/ref> n° 225 (1993/I), Symétrie (Lyon): * Raphaël Tambyeff, ''Noëlie Pierront (1899–1988)'' * Pierre Denis, ''Les organistes français d’aujourd’hui : Noëlie Pierront'' * ''Discographie de Noëlie Pierront'' * ''Principales publications musicales de Noëlie Pierront'' * ''Composition de l’Orgue de Saint-Pierre-du-Gros-Caillou''.

References

External links

The organ of Saint-Pierre-du-Gros-Caillou.
Site Seeberger
Noëlie Pierront with her personal organ
France Orgue
Discography by Alain Cartayrade.
''Le Groupe des Six et l’Orgue'' — Noëlie Pierront (1899-1988) — L’orgue d’étude Yves Fossaert
Symétrie (L'Orgue No 225) {{DEFAULTSORT:Pierront, Noelie French classical organists Conservatoire de Paris alumni Schola Cantorum de Paris alumni Women organists French music educators 1899 births Musicians from Paris 1988 deaths 20th-century organists 20th-century French women musicians Women music educators 20th-century classical musicians