Guillaume Lasceux (3 February 1740 - 1831) was a 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 ...

improviser Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

and composer.

Biography

Born in

Poissy Poissy () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. Inhabitan ...

, Lasceux began his career as an organist in the parish of St-Martin of

Chevreuse Chevreuse () is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, French department of Yvelines, Regions of France, administrative region of Île-de-France, north-central France. Geography Chevreuse is located south of Paris, in the m ...

in 1758. He moved to Paris in 1762 to study

music composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called ...

for five years with Charles Noblet, organist and harpsichordist of the Opera. He succeeded him to the Mathurins in 1769. In the same year, he was appointed organist at St-Aure, and 10 years later, at the , with similar posts at the

College of Navarre The College of Navarre (, ) was one of the colleges of the historic University of Paris. It rivaled the Sorbonne and was renowned for its library. History The college was founded by Queen Joan I of Navarre in 1305, who provided for three depar ...

and the . In 1769, he replaced Claude-Nicolas Ingrain on the organ of the

Saint-Étienne-du-Mont Saint-Étienne-du-Mont () is a church in Paris, France, on the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève in the 5th arrondissement, near the Panthéon. It contains the shrine of St. Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris. The church also contains the tombs of ...

church, of which he officially became titular in 1774. During the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

, he lost most of his posts and had to earn a living by accompanying the theophilantropic ceremonies in Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, converted into a "Temple of Branch piety". He resumed his organist's post in 1803, after the restoration of Catholic worship there, and retired on 2 January 1819. Recognized as a virtuoso on the organ, harpsichord or forte-piano, Lasceux became famous for his improvisations inspired by the

Last Judgement The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the '' Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism. Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, res ...

Works

His work includes vocal pieces, chamber music and numerous organ pieces. * 1767: ''Romances'', including ''Hommage à l’amour'', ''Absence et retour'', ''Les adieux de la violette''. * 1768: ''Sonates pour le Forte-Piano'', violin ad lib. (Book 1). * 1772: ''Journal de pièces d'orgue contenant des messes, Magnificat et noëls'' (unpublished) - ''Sonates pour le Forte-Piano'' (Book 2). * 1775: ''Quatuor'' Op. 4 for fortepiano, 2 violins and cello. * c. 1775: ''Ariettes et petits airs''. * 1783: ''Nouveau Journal de pièces d’orgue, no 1, Messe des Grands Solennels''. * 1783: ''Pot-pourri d’airs connus'' for harpsichord, Op. 9. * 1785: ''Nouveau Journal de pièces d’orgue, no 2, Magnificat in F major, no 3, Trois noëls variés pour l’orgue ou le clavecin''. * c. 1789: ''Les époux réconciliés'' (operatic comedy). * 1804: ''Messe'' for choir and orchestra. * 1809: ''Essai théorique et pratique sur l’art de l’orgue'' (manuscript), with 26 musical examples of all kinds with registrations. * 1812: ''Nouvelle suite de pièces d’orgue'': 1. ''Messe des annuels et grands solennels'', 2. ''Hymnes, proses et répons de l’office de la Fête-Dieu'', 3. ''Messe des solennels mineurs'' (perdu). * 1819: ''Annuaire de l’organiste''. * 1820: ''12 Fugues'' for organ. * Posth. : 2 Motets au Saint Sacrement.

Sources

Brigitte François-Sappey Brigitte François-Sappey (born 21 January 1944) is a French musicologist, educator, radio producer, and lecturer. Biography Brigitte François-Sappey studied music at the Conservatoire de Paris where she won First Prize (music diploma), first ...

, ''Guillaume Lasceux'', ''Guide de la musique d'orgue'', dir.

Gilles Cantagrel Gilles Cantagrel (born 20 November 1937) is a French musicologist, writer, lecturer and music educator. Biography Born in Paris, Cantagrel studied physics, art history and music at the École Normale de Musique de Paris and at the Conservatoi ...

, Paris,

Fayard Fayard (complete name: ''Librairie Arthème Fayard'') is a French Paris-based publishing house established in 1857. Fayard is controlled by Hachette Livre. In 1999, Éditions Pauvert became part of Fayard. Claude Durand was director of Fayar ...

, series ''Les Indispensables de la musique'', 2012, (pp. 609–611). * Eileen Morris Guenther, "Lasceux, Guillaume." ''Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online''. 17 Jul. 2009. * Guillaume Lasceux, ''Essai théorique et pratique''''Essai théorique et pratique'' on IMSLP
/ref> (1809); introduction by Jean Saint-Arroman, fac-simile Jean-Marc Fuzeau, series Dominantes,

Bressuire Bressuire (; ; Poitevin: ''Beurseure'') is a commune in the French department of Deux-Sèvres, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The town is situated on an eminence overlooking the Dolo, a tributary of the Argenton. Notable buildings Bressuire ha ...

(France), 2011. * Guillaume Lasceux. ''Annuaire de l’Organiste'' (1819); introduction by Jean Saint-Arroman, fac-simile Jean-Marc Fuzeau, series Dominantes,

Courlay Courlay () is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. Population See also *Communes of the Deux-Sèvres department The following is a list of the 252 communes of the Deux-Sèvres depart ...

(France), 2006.

References

External links

*
YouTube
Jean-Luc Perrot joue ''Cromorne avec les fonds, Andante Cantabile'', extrait du'' Nouveau Journal de Pièces d'orgue'' n° 2 (''Magnificat'' in F major) on the Callinet organ of Notre-Dame Church in Saint-Étienne.
YouTube
Christine Pagès joue la ''Symphonie Concertante'' de la ''Messe des Grands Solennels'' (v. 1783) à l'orgue de l'église Saint-Jacob d'Anvers. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lasceux, Guillaume 1740 births 1831 deaths French classical organists French Classical-period composers French male classical composers French composers of sacred music People from Poissy French male classical organists