Dom Paul Marie-Joseph Benoit, OSB (9 December 1893 – 10 April 1979) was a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

monk, organist, and composer.

Biography

Paul Benoit was born December 9, 1893, in

Nancy, France Nancy ; Lorraine Franconian: ''Nanzisch'' is the prefecture of the northeastern French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle. It was the capital of the Duchy of Lorraine, which was annexed by France under King Louis XV in 1766 and replaced by a pr ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Benoit first began to feel called to the vocation of a Benedictine monk. After the Armistice of 1918, he entered a retreat at the Benedictine Abbey of St. Maurice and St. Maur, at

Clervaux Clervaux (; lb, Clierf or (locally) ; german: Clerf) is a commune and town in northern Luxembourg, administrative capital of the canton of Clervaux. The town's arms, granted in 1896, show three blackbirds on a gold ground in the chief of a red ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small land ...

, and he joined the abbey in 1919. After taking his vows (1921) and being ordained into priesthood (1926), he was called ''Dom Paul Benoit.'' "Dom" is the traditional title given to Benedictines after their vows. Benoit had begun music lessons at the age of seven, taking piano lessons from his mother. He took organ lessons from Mademoiselle Hess, the daughter of the organist of

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

in Nancy. After his priestly ordination, he studied the organ with Albert Leblanc, the former organist of

in Luxembourg. He then studied with Augustin Pierson, organist at St. Louis Cathedral in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

, whose brother was also a monk at Clervaux. There he was introduced to 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 ...

and

Louis Vierne Louis Victor Jules Vierne (8 October 1870 – 2 June 1937) was a French organist and composer. As the organist of Notre-Dame de Paris from 1900 until his death, he focused on organ music, including six organ symphonies and a ''Messe solennelle' ...

, who influenced his own work. During that time, he gave organ lessons to organists in the area of Clervaux. In 1931, Benoit took over as organist of the Mutin-Cavaillé-Coll organ (3 manuals, 20 stops) at the abbey, replacing his predecessor who suffered from health problems. Although he had already composed small pieces as a child, it was at this time that he began composing seriously. In an autobiography, he said that he drew inspiration from J.S. Bach (counterpoint), Louis Vierne (chromaticism),

Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most infl ...

(free rhythmic structure) and

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

(chromaticism). His main source of inspiration was

Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe dur ...

, which he heard daily in the monastic liturgy. Benoit's compositional style can be described as melodic-

pentatonic A pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five notes per octave, in contrast to the heptatonic scale, which has seven notes per octave (such as the major scale and minor scale). Pentatonic scales were developed independently by many anci ...

, with the occasional harmonic influence of

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passa ...

. He skillfully uses ninths, elevenths, and thirteenths, and the melody is often set against sustained chords. On the advice of his spiritual director, Benoit used his personal prayer time in his monastic cell for composing, because he could be close to God in this way. Benoit composed only for God, and he never performed a public concert. In 1945, Benoit met Dom Georges Chopiney, who had just moved to the Abbey of Clervaux, and who became his assistant at the organ, and a good friend. Chopiney wrote in his obituary of Benoit that in addition to music, Benoit - much like

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonical ...

- had a great love for plants and animals. He liked to take walks in the forest to admire the wetlands and watch animals (birds, butterflies, and even insects.) He was also involved in running a small weather station. As described by Chopiney, Benoit had a complex personality. On the one hand, he was a shy, sensitive, and timid man, who had a great need for love and appreciation, yet had difficulty relating to other people. On the other hand, he was sometimes jealous and could be very dominant, even authoritarian, although he was fundamentally a deeply humble man. He also had a sentimental streak, with a certain naiveté and enthusiasm. Chopiney concludes his article with the following words: "french: En définitive, Dom Benoît ne fut jamais rien d'autre qu'un enfant. ..Il avait une âme d'enfant, limpide, naïve et candide." (English: "In the end, Dom Benoit was never anything other than a child ..He had a child's soul, pure, naive and innocent.") Benoit died on April 10, 1979, in

and left behind a great body of work for the organ, much of which has not yet been published.

Compositions

*PB 01 - Élévations pour les Messes IX-X-XI (Combre, Paris) *PB 02 - Élévations pour la Messe XI (Combre, Paris) *PB 05 - 2 Fantaisies pour orgue (Combre, Paris) *PB 08 - 50 Élévations (CPP/Belwin, Miami/London) *PB 09 - Diptyque en l'honneur de Ste Thérèse (Combre, Paris) *PB 11 - 7 pièces pour harmonium ou orgue (Combre, Paris) *PB 15 - 60 Pièces dévotionelles (CPP/Belwin, Miami/London) *PB 21 - Versets du Magnificat (Art Sacré, Clervaux) *PB 22 - Pièces d'orgue pour l'année liturgique (Art Sacré, Clervaux) - Réédition de: **PB 03 - Au soir de l'Ascension du Seigneur (Fisher & Bro. 7934, 1943) **PB 04 - Noël basque (Fisher & Bros. 7961, 1943) **PB 06 - 10 petites fugues sur des thèmes liturgiques (Société anonyme Nancy) **PB 10 - 4 préludes pour grand orgue (Fisher & Bro. 8509) **PB 12 - Pièces d'orgue (Fisher & Bro. 8774) **PB 16 - Esquisses liturgiques (Fisher & Bro. 9517) **PB 17 - Triptyque pour orgue (pro defunctis) *PB 23 - (Art Sacré, Clervaux) - Réédition de: **PB 07 - Suite liturgique pour Pâques (Fisher & Bro. 8362, 8455, 8359, 8360) **PB 19 - Toccata sur "Ite Missa est" VIII **PB 20 - Offertoire sur la Séquence "Te Johannes" *PB 24 - (Art Sacré, Clervaux) - Réédition de: **PB 13 - Le Chant intérieur (Fisher & Bro. 8841) **PB 14 - 41 Élévations (Fisher & Bro. 8984) **PB 18 - Ode pour la paix, pour grand orgue (Fisher & Bro. 9286) *PB 25 - Noël original avec 6 variations (Art Sacré, Clervaux) *PB 26 - Nativité et Pâques à l'Abbaye de Clervaux (Art Sacré, Clervaux) *PB 27 - Consolatrix Afflictorum (Art Sacré, Clervaux), ) *PB 28 - Livre d'Orgue "Anniversaires 2009" (Art Sacré, Clervaux)

Arrangements

* "Christian Love",

hymn tune A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part (or more) harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm (chords change frequently), with or without refrai ...

common metre Common metre or common measure—abbreviated as C. M. or CM—is a poetic metre consisting of four lines that alternate between iambic tetrameter (four metrical feet per line) and iambic trimeter (three metrical feet per line), with each foot con ...

,''People's Mass Book'' (1970), Cincinnati, OH: World Library Publications, Hymn 121, "Where Charity and Love Prevail", p. 140. adapted from

chant A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of note ...

tune for ''

Veni redemptor gentium "Veni redemptor gentium" (Come, Redeemer of the nations) is a Latin Advent or Christmas hymn by Ambrose of Milan in iambic tetrameter. The hymn is assigned to the Office of Readings for Advent, from December 17 through December 24, in the Liturg ...

'' any of his works remain unpublished.

Discography

*"Année liturgique" (LP, enregistré à Clervaux par

Albert Leblanc Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...

, Luxembourg Sound LS 30 721, à l'occasion du cinquantenaire de la pronunciation des vœux) *"Pâques, Le Chant Intérieur" (CD, enregistré à Clervaux par Carlo Hommel, 1991, K617 France, K6170201991; également contenu dans le coffret "Carlo Hommel" de2006, K617CARLO1-4) *"Nativité et Pâques" (2 CDs, enregistrés à Clervaux par Carlo Hommel, 2000, K617 France) *"Consolatrix Afflictorum" (CD, enregistré à Clervaux par Gérard Close, 2007, Art Sacré, RCB01042007)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Benoit, Paul 1893 births 1979 deaths Musicians from Nancy, France French classical organists French male organists French classical composers French male classical composers Composers for pipe organ 20th-century classical composers Impressionist composers French Benedictines 20th-century organists 20th-century French composers 20th-century French male musicians Male classical organists