THE P RTAL
December 2014
Page 22
Marie-Claire Alain,
Organist and Teacher
Will Burton praises a remarkable female organist and teacher
Born in
Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 10 August 1926, Marie-Claire Alain was the daughter of an
organist and composer and the sister of two brothers whop were also musicians. At the age of eleven
she was already assisting her Father on the organ of their Parish Church. She grew up to teach the organ and
made a vast number of recordings.
She studied at the Paris Conservatory in the organ
class of Marcel Dupré, where she won four first
prizes. At the Conservatory she studied harmony with
Maurice Duruflé.
a who’s who of the
present-day organ world
Her teaching career began at the conservatory
of Rueil-Malmaison and continued at the Paris
Conservatory where she taught Marcus Huxley
(organist at Birmingham Anglican Cathedral), Guy
Bovet, James David Christie, Margaret Phillips Martin
Souter, Thomas Trotter (St Margaret’s Westminster),
among others. Her list of pupils was described as “a
who’s who of the present-day organ world”.
She made over two hundred and sixty recordings
including the complete organ works of J. S. Bach.
She took over as organist of Saint-Germain-en-Laye
These may be found on you tube at www.youtube.
in France when her Father died in 1971. She served in
com/watch?v=5IQCCfl_79E in fourteen episodes.
this position for the next forty years.
In fact she recorded Bach’s complete works three
In 1950 she married Jacques Gommier. He died in
times, as well as the complete organ works of many
1992. They had two children, their son Benoir died in
other major organ composers.
2010, their daughter Aurélie survived her. She herself
most popular recording
died on 26th February 2013 in the nursing home in the
Devoted to the organ works of her brother Jehan she Parisian suburb of Le Pecq.
kept his memory alive after he died prior to her career
beginning. Her most popular recording was an album
It you go to the web site address above, you can access
of works for organ and trumpet with Maurice André. one of her three recordings of the complete works of
J. S. Bach. They are well worth listening to. In an age
Her third recording of the complete works of J. S. when we are so conscious of the absence of women in
Bach came out in 1994. On that occasion she told The some professions, it is comforting to know that organ
Organ magazine why she felt the need to record them playing has such a master of the instrument in Mariefor a third time, “It’s because of the instruments, the Claire Alain.
instruments above everything else, and the fine state to
which they have been restored—and the fact that they
Her technical ability was exceptional, and she
are now accessible. These recordings use instruments understood Bach so well. But: we do have those
from Bach’s time, and we know that Bach even played precious recordings, and they are now available to us
some of them—it’s an extraordinary feeling, to put all quite free of charge.
your hands on the keyboard, knowing that he was
there 250 years before you!
Enjoy them.
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