Marcel Lanquetuit
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Marcel Louis Robert Lanquetuit (8 June 189421 May 1985) was a French composer,
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 ...
, conductor,
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 teacher of music.


Life

Marcel Lanquetuit was born in 1894 in
Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...
,
Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
, France. His father, Charles (18601932), was a church musician at the church of St-Godard de Rouen. Lanquetuit began his musical studies in his hometown under Albert Dupré, and then began learning the organ and
music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...
(
harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...
,
counterpoint In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. The term originates from the Latin ...
,
fugue In classical music, a fugue (, from Latin ''fuga'', meaning "flight" or "escape""Fugue, ''n''." ''The Concise Oxford English Dictionary'', eleventh edition, revised, ed. Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson (Oxford and New York: Oxford Universit ...
) privately with Albert's son
Marcel Dupré Marcel Jean-Jules Dupré (; 3 May 1886 – 30 May 1971) was a French organist, composer, and pedagogue. Early life and education Born in Rouen into a wealthy musical family, Marcel Dupré was a child prodigy. His father Aimable Albert Dupré ...
. From 1910 to 1914, he played the organ at St-Godard de Rouen. Meanwhile, he continued his studies. In 1913, he studied at the
Paris Conservatory of Music 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 Jau ...
under
Eugène Gigout Eugène Gigout (; 23 March 1844 – 9 December 1925) was a French organist and a composer, mostly of music for his own instrument. Biography Gigout was born in Nancy, and died in Paris. A pupil of Camille Saint-Saëns, he served as the organis ...
, and in 1914 won the Conservatory's 1st prize for organ. He served in the armed forces from 19141919, and in 1918 he married Marcelle Lacombe. They had one son, Pierre, an architect. He became principal organist at St-Godard de Rouen in 1920. In 1926, he made a recital tour of the United States, visiting
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
,
Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...
and
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
(where he played the famous
Wanamaker Organ The Wanamaker Grand Court Organ, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the largest fully functioning pipe organ in the world, based on the number of playing pipes, the number of ranks and its weight. The Wanamaker Organ is located within a ...
, by some measures the largest pipe organ in the world, in
Wanamaker's Wanamaker's was an American department store chain founded in 1861 by John Wanamaker. It was one of the first department stores in the United States, and peaked at 16 locations along the Delaware Valley in the 20th century. Wanamaker's was pur ...
department store). In 1938, he was appointed principal organist at
Rouen Cathedral Rouen Cathedral () is a Catholic church architecture, church in Rouen, Normandy, France. It is the Episcopal see, see of the Archbishop of Rouen, Primate of Normandy. It is famous for its three towers, each in a different style. The cathedral, b ...
, and retained this position until 1978. He also filled in from time to time at the
church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris The Church of Saint-Sulpice () is a Catholic church in Paris, France, on the east side of Place Saint-Sulpice, in the 6th arrondissement. Only slightly smaller than Notre-Dame and Saint-Eustache, it is the third largest church in the city. ...
when Marcel Dupré was on tour. He taught privately, and was the substitute for Marcel Dupré at the Paris Conservatory before the Second World War. He was then professor of organ at the Rouen Conservatory for 15 years, where his students included
Pierre Labric Pierre André Labric (born 30 June 1921) is a French organist, pedagogue, and composer. Biography Born in Conches-en-Ouche in Eure, Normandy, Labric studied organ at the Rouen Conservatoire with Marcel Lanquetuit (Prix d'honneur 1941), and at ...
, Bernard Havel, Jean-Claude Touche,
Odile Pierre Odile Marie-Pascale Pierre (; 12 March 1932 – 29 February 2020) was a French organist, composer and academic teacher. She was the organist at La Madeleine, Paris, and taught organ and improvisation at the Conservatoire de Paris. The last stude ...
,
René Alix René Alix (14 September 1907 – 30 December 1966) was a French organist, choral conductor and composer. Biography Born in Sotteville-lès-Rouen, René Alix studied music in Rouen with Marcel Lanquetuit, in Paris with Georges Caussade an ...
and Marie-Thérèse Duthoit (his successor in Rouen). He died in 1985 at the hospital in
Bois-Guillaume Bois-Guillaume () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography The town is a wealthy, residential hilltop suburb of Rouen, semi-rural, semi-suburban with a little farming and some light indu ...
, Normandy.


Work

Only a few of Lanquetuit's works have been preserved. He preferred to improvise, and a large part of his work was destroyed by a fire in his house in 1940. His reputation as a composer is based primarily on a ''
Toccata Toccata (from Italian ''toccare'', literally, "to touch", with "toccata" being the action of touching) is a virtuoso piece of music typically for a keyboard or plucked string instrument featuring fast-moving, lightly fingered or otherwise virt ...
'' in D major, published in 1927 by
Éditions Alphonse Leduc The Éditions Alphonse Leduc company is a prominent French Music publisher (popular music), music publishing house specializing in classical music. It was created in Paris in 1841. Since January 2014, Leduc is part of the Wise Music Group (for ...
. He also wrote a short ''Intermezzo'' for organ in G major.


Awards

* 1934: He was received into the
Académie des sciences, belles-lettres et arts de Rouen The Académie des Sciences, Belles-Lettres et Arts de Rouen is a learned society created by letters patent of Louis XV of France, Louis XV on 17 June 1744. The Academy of Rouen got its early start with a few friends with a common appreciation for ...
on 9 March 1934 with a speech on the musical improvisation style of Marcel Dupré. * 1958: Knight of the
Legion of Honour 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 ...
(Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur) * 1961: Knight of the
Order of St Gregory the Great The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great (; ) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of the five orders of knighthood of the Holy See. The honor is b ...
(Chevalier de l’Ordre de Saint-Grégoire-le-Grand)


See also

* :fr:Église Saint-Godard de Rouen, article in French Wikipedia about the church


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lanquetuit, Marcel 1894 births 1985 deaths Musicians from Rouen French male composers French classical organists Knights of the Legion of Honour Knights of St. Gregory the Great 20th-century French composers 20th-century French male musicians French male classical organists Composers awarded knighthoods