Marcel Bitsch (December 29, 1921, Paris – September 21, 2011, Toulouse) was a French composer, teacher and analyst. He studied at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as 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 ...

and also was professor of counterpoint there.

Career

In 1939, Marcel Bitsch entered the

, where he studied harmony with

Jean Gallon Jean Charles Claude Gallon (25 June 1878 - 23 June 1959) was a French composer, choir conductor, and music educator. His compositional output consists of six antiphons for strings and organ, one mass, one ballet, and several art songs. Biograp ...

, counterpoint with

Noël Gallon Noël Jean-Charles André Gallon (11 September 1891 – 26 December 1966) was a French composer and music educator. His compositional output includes several choral works and vocal art songs, 10 preludes, a ''Toccata'' for piano, a ''Sonata ...

, musicology with

Paul-Marie Masson Paul-Marie Masson (9 September 1882 – 27 January 1954) was a French musicologist, music teacher and composer. A specialist of the lyrical work of Jean-Philippe Rameau, in 1930 he published his thesis on ''L’Opéra de Rameau'', which is st ...

, and composition with Henri Büsser. After earning his arts degree, Bitsch won the Second

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

in 1943 and First Grand Prix de Rome in 1945, both times with contemporary Claude Pascal winning the second position. In 1956, Marcel Bitsch started tenure as professor of counterpoint and later

fugue In music, a fugue () is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the co ...

at the Conservatoire de Paris. In his later years, he mostly concentrated on teaching and analysing the music of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

, producing analytic scores whose page layout was designed to convey the music's structural features. Among his students are Daniel Roth,

Pierre Pincemaille Pierre-Marie François Pincemaille (8 December 1956 – 12 January 2018) was a French organist, improviser, and pedagogue. He was known for his organ improvisations, both in concert and on CD and for his recordings of Charles-Marie Wido ...

, and

Édith Lejet Édith Lejet (born 19 July 1941) is a French composer and music educator. Biography Born in Paris, Lejet studied with Marcel Beaufils (aesthetics), Henri Challan (harmony), Marcel Bitsch (counterpoint and fugue), Jean Rivier and Andre Jolivet ...

. He retired in fall of 1988.

Works

*''Suite française'' for oboe and piano *''Quatre variations sur un thème de D. Scarlatti'' for trumpet *''Cahiers d'études pour la flûte'' - The published title for this collection is ''Douze Etudes pour Flute'' *''Six esquisses symphoniques'', 1949 *''La farce du Contrebandier'', musical comedy, 1946 *''Le chalumeau d'or'', ballet *''Marvellous Dreams, Twelve easy pieces for the piano'', 1947 *''Trois sonatines'' for flute and piano, 1952 *''Pastourelles'' for piano duet (10 pieces, 2 vols), 1956 *''Les plaisirs de Sully'', 2001 *''Douze etudes de rhythme pour clarinette'' 1957 *''Douze etudes pour Cor'' 1959 *''Aubade'' for alto saxophone and piano, 1978 *''Fantasietta'' for trumpet and piano *''Vingt études pour trompette ut ou si♭'', 1954 *''Variations sur une chanson francaise'', for horn and piano, ca. 1954 *''Concertino'' for bassoon and piano *''Vingt études'' pour le Basson, 1948 His ''Douze études pour flûte'' are not only intended as studies for private practice, but also as brief concert pieces, as stated by flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal in the preface to the Leduc edition. The collection is dedicated to Gaston Crunelle, a former professor of flute at the Conservatoire National de Musique de Paris. Mr. Bitsch himself was a student and later a professor at the Conservatoire.

References

1921 births 2011 deaths Musicians from Paris Male composers Prix de Rome for composition 20th-century French musicians Conservatoire de Paris alumni Academic staff of the Conservatoire de Paris 20th-century French male musicians {{France-composer-stub