André Jean-Marie Isoir (20 July 1935 – 20 July 2016) 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 pedagogue.
Biography
André Isoir was born in 1935 in
Saint-Dizier
Saint-Dizier () is a subprefecture of the Haute-Marne department in north-eastern France.
It has a population of 23,382 (2018 figure) and is a subprefecture of the department. Although Saint-Dizier is marginally the most populous commune in Hau ...
in
Grand Est
Grand Est (; ) is an Regions of France, administrative region in northeastern France. It superseded three former administrative regions, Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine, on 1 January 2016 under the provisional name of Alsace-Champagne-A ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
Isoir studied with
Édouard Souberbielle (organ) and
Germaine Mounier (piano) at the
École César Franck and under
Rolande Falcinelli at the
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris (), or 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 Jean Ja ...
where he won the first prizes in organ and improvisation in 1960.
Thereafter he won several international organ competitions. In 1965 he won the
improvisation competition in St Albans (UK). And, in three successive years, he won the competition in
Haarlem
Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...
(Netherlands), earning the "Challenge Award," the only French interpreter to have achieved this distinction since the inception of the competition in 1951.
André Isoir was organist titulaire at St-Médard in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
from 1952 to 1967 and at
St. Severin in 1967. Since 1973 he has been titulaire (head organist) at the ancient
Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés
An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns.
The co ...
in Paris.
In 1974 Isoir was appointed to the organ staff at the Conservatoire d'Orsay, in 1977 promoted to the rank of National School of Music. He became a full professor in January 1978 and remained at Orsay until 1983, when he was appointed to the Conservatoire National de Region de Boulogne-Billancourt, where he taught organ until 1994.
Isoir recorded some sixty discs, notably for
Calliope
In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; ) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muses".
Mythology
Calliope had two famous sons, OrpheusH ...
. His recordings have been awarded the Grand Prix du Disque in 1972, 73, 74, 75, 77, 80, 89 and 91 as well as the «Président de la République» prize for "Le Livre d'Or de l’Orgue Français". In February 1974 he was awarded membership of the Friends of the Organ for his "Variations sur un psaume huguenot". He has recorded the complete organ works of
J. S. Bach, which remains one of the benchmark performances of Bach's organ music. His recordings of works by
César Franck
César Auguste Jean Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in present-day Belgium.
He was born in Liège (which at the time of h ...
on the organ of the
Luçon Cathedral were also highly praised.
André Isoir completed his musical culture by gaining a thorough knowledge of the organ. In his view, knowledge of the instrument contributes to a better approach to different musical styles in terms of both technology and performance.
Isoir was awarded ''
Chevalier des Arts et Lettres'' by the National Order of Merit, best instrumental soloist of the year to 2nd Victoires de la Musique, and also "Choc de l’année 2000" from the magazine ''
Le Monde de la musique
''Le Monde de la musique'' was a French monthly musical magazine published from 1978 to 2009 with a circulation of 20,000 copies in 2008.
It was founded in 1978 by ''Le Monde'' and ''Télérama'' at the initiative of Jean-Michel Croissandeau, in c ...
'' for his interpretation of the
Art of Fugue by J.S. Bach. Some of his most notable students have included
François Espinasse,
Michel Bouvard,
Jean Boyer, and others.
He died on 20 July 2016, his 81st birthday, in
Longpont-sur-Orge
Longpont-sur-Orge (, literally ''Longpont on Orge'') is a commune in the Essonne department in ÃŽle-de-France in northern France.
From 1954 to 1962, the villa in Longpont-sur-Orge owned by William and Noma Copley served as a social hub and a ...
.
His son, Daniel Isoir, is a pianist who founded La Petite Symphonie. Inheriting his father's interests, Daniel Isoir has recorded Franck's piano works.
Sources
*
Entry to André Isoir in the French Wikipedia, translated December 25, 2008, using Google Translate. Retranslated without a translation program and revised May 20, 2010.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Isoir, Andre
1935 births
2016 deaths
French classical organists
Conservatoire de Paris alumni
Organ improvisers
French composers
French male composers
People from Saint-Dizier
Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite
Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
French male classical organists