Organists and Organ Playing in Nineteenth-Century France and Belgium

During the nineteenth century, the organ profession in France and Belgium reached a new Golden Age. Orpha Ochse traces this remarkable rebirth through the careers of Saint-Saens, Franck, Gigout, Guilmant, and Widor and other influential figures: the historian Fotis, the publisher Durand, the pianist Alkan, and the composers Dubois, Gounod, Fauré, and d'Indy. This period is significant not only as a slice of history but also because of its influence on organ playing in other countries. Countless American organists are the grand-pupils or great-grand-pupils of Widor or Guilmant, and for most of the twentieth century the Lemmens approach to organ playing dominated American organ pedagogy. Orpha Ochse explores the development of the secular recital, the organist as church musician, and the education of organists in a carefully documented study that is both scholarly and engaging.