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 origina ...

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 pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

with Abel Decaux,

Louis Vierne Louis Victor Jules Vierne (8 October 1870 – 2 June 1937) was a French organist and composer. He was the organist of Notre-Dame de Paris from 1900 until his death. As a composer, much of his output was Organ (music), organ music, including six ...

and Vincent d’Indy at the

Schola Cantorum de Paris The Schola Cantorum de Paris ( being ) 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 The Schola ...

. Subsequently, a student of Eugène Gigout and

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

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

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithology, ornithologist. One of the major composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th century, he was also an ou ...

Jehan Alain Jehan-Ariste 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 compos ...

, 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 attended Rouen Cathedral Choir School from 1912 to 1918, ...

, Jean Langlais 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'org ...

and

musical composition Musical composition can refer to an Originality, original piece or work of music, either Human voice, vocal or Musical instrument, instrumental, the musical form, structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new pie ...

with Guy de Lioncourt 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 nor ...

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 an entertainment and sports venue in North London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. A listed building, Grade II listed building, it is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and th ...

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

15th arrondissement of Paris The 15th arrondissement of Paris () is one of the 20 arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ('the fifteenth'). The 15th arrondissement, called , is situated on the Rive ...

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, 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 (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 ...

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 French women organists French music educators 1899 births Musicians from Paris 1988 deaths 20th-century French organists 20th-century French women musicians French women music educators 20th-century French classical musicians