Jean Langlais (1907-1991) was a French composer and organist best known for his sacred music and his role as organist at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Paris. Born on 15 February 1907 in La Fontenelle, Brittany, he lost his sight at the age of two. This disability did not prevent him from following his passion for music, however. He attended Paris’s Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles (National Institute for Blind Youth), where he studied piano and organ under André Marchal, and later the Paris Conservatoire, where he was a student of Marcel Dupré, Paul Dukas and Charles Tournemire. In 1931, Langlais returned to the National Institute for Blind Youth as a teacher, where he remained until 1976, and his career as an organist blossomed in 1945 on his appointment as titular organist of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Montmartre, a position he held until 1987. Langlais was also a prolific composer. His musical output comprises over 250 works, including masses, motets, organ pieces and chamber music. His compositional style combines elements from plainchant and the Baroque and modern eras and is characterised by a strong expressiveness and rich harmonic texture. His music is today performed throughout the world and is appreciated for its spiritual depth and technical complexity, with his organ music considered a milestone in the instrument’s 20th-century repertoire.
This recording contains Langlais’s complete works for organ and trumpet. Though these pieces are united by a brilliant compositional originality, each collection differs from the others in character and style. The listener find two large-scale works of over-arching form – the Pièce and Sonatine – and two collections of shorter but no less important pieces – the 7 chorales and 9 pieces. The organ and trumpet converse incessantly in a unique sound world. In the 7 Chorals, the trumpet is entrusted ‘only’ with the Protestant chorale tunes, while the organ accompanies them with an incessant flourishing in richly varied harmony and counterpoint. By contrast, in the Pièce pour trompette, it is the trumpet that is given free rein for virtuosic display, the organ relegated to small orchestral interventions. At other times, as in most of the 9 Pièces, a homogeneous balance between the two instruments is sought. From a sonic point of view, each of these Pièces is a world of its own.
This recording features the Brondino Vegezzi-Bossi organ at the Protestant Temple in Gland (on the north shore of Lake Geneva) – a particularly fine organ with sonorities typical of the French symphonic instrument. This turned out to be a winning choice, as not only does the instrument’s sound recall that of the great Parisian Cavaillé-Coll organs, it also features some of the sonorities typical of the French Neo-Classical organ that best reflect Langlais’s conception of organ timbre.
Other information:
- Recorded July 2023 in Gland (Vaud), Switzerland
- Booklet in English contains liner notes by the organist, profiles of him and the trumpeter, and a description of the organ with a stop list
- Italian liner notes available at brilliantclassics.com
- Jean Langlais (1907-1991) was a French composer and organist famous for his sacred music and his role as organist at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Paris.
- He was born on 15 February 1907 in La Fontenelle, Brittany, France. He lost his sight when he was only two years old due to untreated glaucoma. His disability did not prevent him from following his passion for music. He attended the National Institute of the Young Blind in Paris, where he studied piano and organ under André Marchal, and later the Paris Conservatoire, where he was a student of Marcel Dupré, Paul Dukas and Charles Tournemire.
- In 1931, Langlais began teaching at the National Institute of the Young Blind, a position he held until 1976. His career as an organist took a major turn in 1945 when he was appointed titular organist at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Montmartre, a position he held until 1987.
- Langlais was also a prolific composer. His musical output comprises over 250 works, including masses, motets, organ pieces, and chamber music. His compositional style combines elements of Gregorian, Baroque and modernism, characterized by a strong expressiveness and rich harmonic texture.
- This new recording presents Langlais’ complete works for trumpet and organ, a happy combination of s strongly melodic and a harmonic instrument. Presented are a set of Chorales, a Sonatina and series of small character pieces.
- Played by Nicolas Bernard (trumpet) and Tommaso Mazzoletti, playing the Brondino Vegezzi-Bossi organ at St.Paul protestant church in Gland, Switzerland.
