Odile Bailleux (; 30 December 1939 – 19 November 2024) was a French

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

ist and

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 ...

. She was a long-time organist of both

Abbaye de 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 conc ...

and Notre-Dame-des-Blancs-Manteaux in Paris. As a harpsicordist she was a pioneer of

historically informed performance Historically informed performance (also referred to as period performance, authentic performance, or HIP) is an approach to the performance of Western classical music, classical music which aims to be faithful to the approach, manner and style of ...

, co-founding the first French Baroque ensemble with early instruments.

Life and career

Born in

Trappes Trappes () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines departments of France, department, Île-de-France Regions of France, region, Northern France. It is a banlieue located in the western outer suburbs of Paris, from the Kilometre zero, c ...

on 30 December 1939, Bailleux studied piano at the . She turned to the

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

, studying at a music school in Paris, the École César Franck where she was in the organ class of Jean Fellot and

Édouard Souberbielle Jacques Auguste Édouard Souberbielle (17 June 1899 – 29 January 1986) was a 20th-century French organist, Kapellmeister and music educator. Biography Souberbielle first studied with his mother, a former pupil of Émile Delaborde, son of Ch ...

. After she participated in 1964 in the International Academy of the Organ in

Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume (; ) is a commune in the southeastern French department of Var, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Located east of Aix-en-Provence, the town lies at the foot of the Sainte-Baume mountains. ''Baume'' or ''b ...

, she left in 1969 to work with the organist

Helmut Walcha Arthur Emil Helmut Walcha (27 October 1907 – 11 August 1991) was a German Organ (music), organist, harpsichordist, music teacher and composer who specialized in the works of the Dutch and German Baroque music, Baroque masters. Blind since h ...

in Frankfurt. Walcha was known for his playing of Baroque works, but in her exploration of the world of Baroque organ music she was particularly inspired by

Gustav Leonhardt Gustav Maria Leonhardt (30 May 1928 – 16 January 2012) was a Dutch keyboardist, conductor, musicologist, teacher and editor. He was a leading figure in the historically informed performance movement to perform music on period instruments. Leo ...

. Bailleux was the substitute for at the grand organ of the

from 1966 where she became organiste titulaire, along with

André Isoir André Jean-Marie Isoir (20 July 1935 – 20 July 2016) was a French organist and pedagogue. Biography André Isoir was born in 1935 in Saint-Dizier in Grand Est, France. Isoir studied with Édouard Souberbielle (organ) and Germaine Mounier (p ...

, in 1973 and held the post for a long time. She was also organist at Notre-Dame-des-Blancs-Manteaux in Paris. In 1982, she served on the jury for the international competition for organ at

MAfestival Brugge The MA Festival Brugge, short for the festival Musica Antiqua Bruges in Bruges, Belgium, is a festival of early music and historically informed performances, started in 1960. The program includes concerts, master classes, conferences, visits ...

(Musica Antiqua Bruges) in Belgium. As a harpsichordist she played continuo in the group Musique-Ensemble that she and oboist Michel Henry founded in 1975 as the first French Baroque ensemble with early instruments. She played harpsichord and later organ in the La Grande Écurie et la Chambre du Roy from 1977. She said: "... our dialogue resembled a bird conference. Lots of colour, lots of animation, very few solemn truths". In 1992 her right arm was paralysed, and she was diagnosed with

meningioma Meningioma, also known as meningeal tumor, is typically a slow-growing tumor that forms from the meninges, the membranous layers surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms depend on the location and occur as a result of the tumor pressing ...

. She began to teach at the conservatoire of

Bourg-la-Reine Bourg-la-Reine () is a Communes of France, commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. History In 1792, during the French Revolution, Bourg-la-Reine (meaning "Town of the Queen") w ...

, retiring in 2004. Bailleux died in Paris on 19 November 2024, at the age of 84.

Recordings

Bailleux made only a few recordings as a soloist, French Baroque music and also Froberger and tientos by Correa de Arauxo. She played on a number of recordings by the conductor

Jean-Claude Malgoire Jean-Claude Malgoire (25 November 1940 – 14 April 2018) was a French oboist and later conductor. Early life Malgoire was born on 25 November 1940 in Avignon, France. His mother was born in Italy. Malgoire graduated from the Paris Conservatory. ...

with his ensemble La Grande Écurie et la Chambre du Roy. Her recording of

Nicolas de Grigny Nicolas de Grigny (baptized 8 September 1672 – November 30, 1703) was a French organist and composer. He died young and left behind a single collection of organ music, and an ''Ouverture'' for harpsichord. Life Nicolas de Grigny was born in R ...

's ''Premier livre d'orgue'' at the Moucherel/Formentelli organ of the

Albi Cathedral The Cathedral of Saint Cecilia of Albi ( French: ''Cathédrale Sainte-Cécile d'Albi''), also known as Albi Cathedral, is the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of Albi. First built in the aftermath of the Albigensian Crusade, the grim exterior res ...

in October 1983 was reissued in 2009 and was awarded a

Diapason d'Or The Diapason d'Or (French for "Golden Tuning Fork") is a recommendation of outstanding (mostly) classical music recordings given by reviewers of '' Diapason'' magazine in France, broadly equivalent to "Editor's Choice", "Disc of the Month" in the ...

then. A reviewer summarised that she was a strong inventive person with "a taste for expressive suspensions" who found unusual but always appropriate tempos. *

Marc-Antoine Charpentier Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'' ''H.146, Marche en rondeau''. This theme is st ...

: ''Leçons de Ténèbres,'' H.96, H.97, H.98/108, H.102, H.103, H.109, H.105, H.106, H.110, H.100 a, Odile Bailleux, organ, La Grande Écurie et La Chambre du Roy conducted by Jean Claude Malgoire. 3 LP CBS 1978. * Charpentier: '' Messe de minuit pour Noël'' H.9, Henri Ledroit, John Elwes, Gregory Reinhart, Odile Bailleux, organ, Les Petits chanteurs de Chaillot, Roger Thirot (cond.), CD CBS, 1982 * Charpentier: "Vêpres Solennelles" H.540, H.190, H.50, H.149, H.52, H.150, H.51, H.161, H.191, H.65, H.77, John Elwes, Ian Honeyman, tenors,

Agnès Mellon Agnès Mellon (born 17 January 1958) is a French soprano who specializes in baroque music. Biography Agnès Mellon started her career in 1981 with the baroque ensemble Les Arts Florissants (ensemble), Les Arts Florissants, directed by William ...

, Brigitte Bellamy, sopranos, Dominique Visse, Jean Nirouet, countertenors, Philippe Cantor, Jacques Bona, baritones, Choeur régional- Nord Pas de Calais, La Grande Écurie et la Chambre du Roy, Odile Bailleux, organ, conducted by

(2 CD CBS Sony 1987) * Charpentier: ''Messe à 4 Chœurs'' H.4, Odile Bailleux, organ, Choeur régional Nord-Pas-de-Calais, La Grande Écurie et La Chambre du Roy, conducted by Jean Claude Malgoire. CD Erato 1991. *

Johann Jakob Froberger Johann Jakob Froberger ( baptized 19 May 1616 – 7 May 1667) was a German Baroque composer, keyboard virtuoso, and organist. Among the most famous composers of the era, he was influential in developing the musical form of the suite of dance ...

: ''Œuvres pour orgue : Toccata, Ricercare, Canzone…'', at the chapel organ of the Séminaire de jeunes à Avignon and at the (1977, Disque Stil 2810S77) * * *

References

External links

* *
Discographie d'Odile Bailleux
at France Orgue
Odile Bailleux à l'orgue de Sète en 1982 (Spanish composers)
on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Bailleux, Odile 1939 births 2024 deaths 20th-century French classical musicians 20th-century French organists 20th-century French women musicians 21st-century French classical musicians 21st-century French organists 21st-century French women musicians French classical organists French harpsichordists French women organists Musicians from Yvelines People from Trappes Women harpsichordists