Pierre-Marie François Pincemaille (8 December 1956 – 12 January 2018) 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 ...

, improviser, and

pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

. He was known for his organ improvisations, both in concert and on CD and for his recordings of Charles-Marie Widor's complete organ symphonies played on organs built by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, as well as his recordings of the complete organ works of Maurice Duruflé and

César Franck César Auguste Jean Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in present-day Belgium. He was born in Liège (which at the time of h ...

, and organ works of Pierre Cochereau and

Louis Vierne Louis Victor Jules Vierne (8 October 1870 – 2 June 1937) was a French organist and composer. He was the organist of Notre-Dame de Paris from 1900 until his death. As a composer, much of his output was Organ (music), organ music, including six ...

in particular. He was titular organist at the

Basilica of Saint-Denis The Basilica of Saint-Denis (, now formally known as the ) is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. The building is of singular importance historically and archite ...

until his death and was regarded as one of the finest organists of his generation.

Biography

Pincemaille was born in Paris' 17th arrondissement and began piano studies in 1965; in 1968, he started to study the organ. He graduated from the

Paris Conservatory 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 ...

with five first prizes (in

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 ...

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 ...

, and

improvisation 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 was taught by Henri Challan, Jean-Claude Raynaud, Marcel Bitsch and Rolande Falcinelli. He was appointed titular organist at the

Basilica of St Denis The Basilica of Saint-Denis (, now formally known as the ) is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. The building is of singular importance historically and archite ...

in St Denis (near Paris) in 1987. He was succeeded in June 2018 by his student Quentin Guérillot. Between 1978 and 1990, he won five international organ competitions: * 1978: First Prize at the Concours International d'Improvisation in Lyon * 1987: Grand Prix at the Concours Européen d'Orgue in Beauvais * 1989: First Prize at the Concours International d'Improvisation in Strasbourg * 1989: Grand Prix at the Concours International d'Improvisation in Montbrison * 1990: Grand Prix in improvisation at the Concours de Chartres He was a professor of

at the

, professor of organ improvisation at the Regional Conservatory in

Saint-Maur-des-Fossés Saint-Maur-des-Fossés () is a Communes of France, commune in Val-de-Marne, the southeastern suburbs of Paris, suburbs of Paris, France, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. History Abbey Saint-Maur-des-Fossés owes its name to Saint-Maur A ...

, and professor of harmony and counterpoint at the Regional Conservatory in

Saint-Germain-en-Laye Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. ...

. He is known to be a master of improvisation. As an improviser, he improvised during the ceremonies at the

, and his recitals, in the tradition of French organ school. As a composer, he has published an

Ave Maria The Hail Mary or Ave Maria (from its first words in Latin), also known as the Angelic or Angelical Salutation, is a traditional Catholic prayer addressing Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical pa ...

for mixed choir a capella (Lyon: À coeur joie, 2013), ''En Louisiane'' for trombone and piano (Sampzon: Delatour France, 2004), and ''Prologue et Noël varié'' for organ (Sampzon: Delatour France, 2007). In November 2017, three

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the preeminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to the Eng ...

s ( Pater Noster; Ave Maria; Ave Verum), published with ''A coeur joie'' editions received their premiere performance at the Basilica of St. Denis. He gave more than 1000 concerts and recitals all around the world (France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Norway, Japan, Canada, USA, South Africa...). He was Chevalier de l'

Ordre des Palmes Académiques A suite, in Western classical music, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes; and grew in scope so that by the early 17th century it comprised up to ...

, Chevalier de l'

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 ...

, and Chevalier de l' Ordre de Saint-Grégoire-le-Grand. Pincemaille died on 12 January 2018, at the local hospital in

Suresnes Suresnes () is a commune in the western inner suburbs of Paris, France. Located in Hauts-de-Seine, from the centre of Paris, it had a population of 49,482 as of 2020. Suresnes borders the Bois de Boulogne in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, ...

, of lung cancer, aged 61. After his death, some events were given in memoriam, like concerts or radio broadcasts.

Discography

Pierre Pincemaille recorded around twenty CDs, among which: * Complete organ work of

(Motette 12541) * Complete organ work of Maurice Duruflé (Solstice SOCD 231–232) * The 10 symphonies of Charles-Marie Widor (Solstice SOCD 181–185) * Written work of Pierre Cochereau (Solstice SOCD 163) * Youth work of

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithology, ornithologist. One of the major composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th century, he was also an ou ...

(IFO 00318/19)) * 8 CDs of

Bibliography

* Völker, Elke: "Der Reiz perfekter Illusion. Ein Interview mit dem Pariser Organisten und Starimprovisator Pierre Pincemaille" (''Organ – Journal für die Orgel'' 1, no. 1 (1998): 18–21). * Pincemaille, Pierre: L'improvisateur à Notre-Dame. In: ''Pierre Cochereau: Témoignages'', ed. Yvette Carbou. Bourg-la-Reine: Zurfluh, 1999, 271–339. . * Pincemaille, Pierre: L'improvisateur à Notre-Dame. In: ''Pierre Cochereau: Un art d'illusioniste'', ed. Yvette Carbou. Sampzon: Delatour France, 2014, 263–338. . Pierre Pincemaille was also involved in the DVD "The genius of Cavaille Coll" (BBC Music Magazine Awards 2014).

References

External links

*
Pierre Pincemaille on editions Delatour
.
Pierre Pincemaille on LastFM

Pierre Pincemaille on Solstice Music

Biography of Pierre Pincemaille
on the website of the organs of

Chartres Cathedral Chartres Cathedral (, lit. Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres) is a Catholic cathedral in Chartres, France, about southwest of Paris, and is the seat of the List of bishops of Chartres, Bishop of Chartres. Dedicated in honour of the Virgin Mary ( ...

. * . * . * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pincemaille, Pierre 1956 births 2018 deaths 20th-century French organists 21st-century French organists French classical organists French male classical composers Organ improvisers French cathedral organists Musicians from Paris French music educators Free improvising musicians Conservatoire de Paris alumni Academic staff of the Conservatoire de Paris Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Chevaliers of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques Knights of St. Gregory the Great People from Herblay Deaths from lung cancer in France French male classical organists Musicians from Val-d'Oise Musicians from Seine-Saint-Denis Composers awarded knighthoods