GUILMANT, FÉLIX-ALEXANDRE. - Organist and composer, b. at Boulogne-sur-Mer on 12 March 1837, d. at Mendon (Paris) on 29 March 1911. With his father, organist at St. Nicholas, he studied the first elements of music, which he later completed at the school of Gustave Carulli: in Brussels he perfected his study of the organ with Lemmens.
At the age of 20 he was choirmaster at St. Nicholas and then organ master at the Conservatory. In 1871 he became organist at the Trinité in Paris, where he won much acclaim. He traveled in Italy, Spain, England and Russia, achieving great success. A powerful and original performer, he was also a composer, revealing gifts as a profound and effective contrapuntist and harmonist. Co-founder in 1894 of the Schola cantorum, he was organ master there. In 1896 he moved to the Conservatory. G. was also a great collector of organ music. The Archives des maîtres de l'orgue (with biographical studies by André Pirro) are a collection of French masters of the preceding centuries, while the Ecole classique d'Orgue (25 volumes) range over a broader field. His original works are numerous organ pieces, Masses, psalms, hymns and an oratorio.
G.'s aim was to restore French music to efficiency and to create, together with Franck, D'Indy, Bordes and others, a French school of organ.
Bibliography
Silverio Mattei