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marie-Claire Alain |
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To
the American Guild of Organists from Michael Barone: I
have just received word (confirmed) that Marie-Claire Alain, the foremost
French organist, teacher and recording artist, has died today (February 26,
2013) at age 86. I cannot think of any single person who had a more profound
impact on the organ world than M-C A (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie-Claire_Alain). She
was the 'little black sheep' daughter, the late last of four children of a
very musical family (her father Albert was an organist, composer, and amateur
organ builder; her eldest brother Jehan an exceptional composer, who was
killed early in WW2 at the age of 29; her second brother, Olivier, a
musicologist; her sister Odile, also musical, also
died young in a tragic skiing accident). Marie-Claire, encouraged by Jehan,
showed remarkable talent, and went on to become the first French woman to
record the complete works of Bach (several times), and enjoyed an
international reputation for her numerous
recordings and concert tours. The list of her students is a 'whose-who' of the present-day organ world. Madame
Alain's performances are included in numerous PIPEDREAMS programs. Her
commentary, in particular, is features in two special broadcasts: ·
Alain on Alain, Part
1: http://pipedreams.publicradio.org/listings/2007/0728/ ·
Alain on Alain, Part
2: http://pipedreams.publicradio.org/listings/2007/0729/ Hers
was a bubbly personality, a quick wit, an elegant turn of phrase (musically
and verbally), and a virtuosic yet also
deeply perceptive and expressive performance style, as attested to by her
dozens of recordings. Her health had
been deteriorating in recent months. She will be sorely missed. Requiem Aeternum, Marie-Claire Alain.
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