André Louis Marchal (6 February 1894 – 27 August 1980) 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 ...

and organ teacher. He was one of the great initiators of the twentieth-century organ revival in France and one of the cofounders of the ''Association des amis de l'orgue'' alongside

Norbert Dufourcq Norbert Stéphane Jean-Marie Dufourcq (21 September 1904 – 19 December 1990) was a French organist, music educator, musicologist and musicographer. Biography Norbert Dufourcq was born in 1904 in Saint-Jean-de-Braye in the Loiret department ...

Biography

Marchal was born blind in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Undaunted by this handicap, he studied the organ under Eugène Gigout at the

Paris Conservatoire The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

and there, in 1913, won First Prize in organ-playing. Four years later he also won the ''prix d'excellence'' for fugue and counterpoint. Marchal concertized widely, both in France and abroad. He played a series of recitals at the

Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Located in the Wade Park District of University Circle, the museum is internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian art, Asian and Art of anc ...

in late 1947 and early 1948. Marchal taught organ at the

Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles The Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles (''National Institute for Blind Youth'') is a Special education, special school for Visual impairment, blind students in Paris, France. It is considered the first Blindness and education, school for the b ...

in Paris, in addition to serving as titular organist of the

Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The co ...

(1915–1945) and Saint-Eustache (1945–1963). He resigned from Saint-Eustache in 1963, his departure being brought about over a conflict concerning the correct organ builder to be hired to restore Saint-Eustache's instrument. He was an unparalleled improviser and was recognized as such by Fauré. Among his students were many distinguished musicians such as Jean Langlais,

Peter Hurford Peter John Hurford OBE (22 November 1930 – 3 March 2019) was a British organist and composer. Life Hurford was born in Minehead, Somerset, to Gladys Hurford (née James) and Hubert Hurford, a solicitor. He was educated at Blundell's School ...

Louis Thiry Louis Henry Nicolas Thiry (15 February 1935 Jean-Pierre Leguay Jean-Pierre Leguay (born 4 July 1939 in Dijon) is a French organist, composer and improviser. He studied with André Marchal, Gaston Litaize, Rolande Falcinelli (organ), Simone Plé-Caussade (counterpoint), and Olivier Messiaen (composition) ...

, one of three ''titulaires du grand orgue'' of

Notre-Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris ( ; meaning "Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris"), often referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a Medieval architecture, medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the River Seine), in the 4th arrondissemen ...

. He died in 1980 in

Saint-Jean-de-Luz Saint-Jean-de-Luz (; ,Donibane Lohitzune
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at the age of 86.

Awards and recognition

* Officer of the

Légion d’honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(1960) * Officer of the

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

(1965) * National Patron of

Delta Omicron Delta Omicron () is a co-ed international professional music honors fraternity whose mission is to promote and support excellence in music and musicianship. History Delta Omicron International Music Fraternity was founded on September 6, 1909 a ...

Delta Omicron

References

External links

* A 1962 recording on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcGPFfVCiDI 1894 births 1980 deaths Musicians from Paris Organ improvisers French classical organists Blind classical musicians Officers of the Legion of Honour Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres 20th-century French classical musicians 20th-century French organists 20th-century French male musicians French male classical organists French blind people {{organist-stub