Jean Guillou
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Jean Victor Arthur Guillou (born April 18, 1930 in Angers) is a French composer, organist, pianist, and pedagogue.
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[edit] Life
Following autodidactic studies in piano and organ performance, Guillou became organist at the church St. Serge in Angers at age 12. From 1945-1955, he studied at the Paris Conservatoire under Marcel Dupré, Maurice Duruflé, and Olivier Messiaen. In 1955, he accepted a position as professor of organ and composition at the Institute of Sacred Music in Lisbon. For health reasons, he left Lisbon in 1958 and moved to Berlin, where he lived for the following five years. In 1963, Guillou was appointed as titular organist at St. Eustache in Paris.
He has a worldwide reputation as a brilliant concert organist and improviser. Additionally he often performs as pianist; for example, he gave the English and French premieres of Julius Reubke's long-forgotten piano sonata.
Guillou's engagement in organ building lead to collaborations with several organ builders and the construction or renovation of instruments in l'Alpe d'Huez , the Tonhalle in Zurich, the Conservatory in Naples, St. Eustache (as mentioned above), and, most recently, the Auditorio de Tenerife in Santa Cruz (Canary Islands).
As a composer, he has written numerous works for organ, as well as chamber music, orchestral music, and transcriptions for organ. In addition, Guillou has issued numerous organ recordings, including the complete organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach and César Franck, numerous improvisations (e.g., Visions cosmiques (1969), or Jeux d'orgue (1970)),as well as most of his own organ compositions, on a series of 7 CDs for the Philips label.
From 1970-2005, Guillou taught organ performance and improvisation at the annual Züricher Meisterkurse. Beginning in 2007, these masterclasses are being held at St. Eustache in Paris, France.
[edit] Compositions
[edit] Organ solo
- Fantaisie op. 1 (1954)
- 18 Variations op. 3 (1956)
- Sinfonietta op. 4 (1958)
- Ballade Ossianique No. 1 ("Temora") op. 8 (1962)
- Toccata op. 9 (1962)
- Symphonie Initiatique for two organists op. 18 (1969)
- 6 Sagas op. 20 (1970)
- Ballade Ossianique No. 2 ("Les Chants de Selma") op. 23 (1971)
- La chapelle des abîmes op. 26 (1973)
- Scènes d'enfants op. 28 (1974)
- Jeux d'Orgue op. 34 (1978)
- Suite pour Rameau op. 36 (1979)
- Saga No. 7 op. 38 (1983)
- Sonate en trio op. 40 (1984)
- Chamades op. 41 (1984)
- Impromptu for pedal solo op. 42 (1985)
- Hypérion ou la Rhétorique du Feu op. 45 (1988)
- Säya ou l'Oiseau Bleu op. 50 (1993)
- Éloge op. 52 (1994)
- Alice au pays de l'orgue for organ and narrator op. 53 (1995)
- Pensieri op. 54 (1995)
- Instants op. 57 (1998)
- Pièces furtives op. 58 (1998)
[edit] Organ with other instruments
- Inventions for organ and chamber orchestra (organ concerto No. 1) op. 7 (1960)
- Concerto héroïque for organ and orchestra (organ concerto No. 2) op. 10 (1963)
- Colloque No. 2 for organ and piano op. 11 (1964)
- L'Infinito for bass and organ op. 13 (1965)
- Organ Concerto No. 3 for organ and string orchestra op. 14 (1965)
- Colloque No. 4 for organ, piano and two percussionists op. 15 (1966)
- Intermezzo for flute and organ op. 17 (1969)
- Colloque No. 5 for organ and piano op. 19 (1969)
- Organ Concerto No. 4 for organ and orchestra op. 31 (1978)
- Organ Concerto No. 5 ("Roi Arthur") for organ and brass quintet op. 35 (1979)
- Concerto for violin and organ op. 37 (1982)
- Andromède for soprano and organ op. 39 (1984)
- Peace for mixted choir (8 voices) and organ op. 43 (1985)
- Aube for mixted choir (12 voices) and organ op. 46 (1988)
- Colloque No. 6 for organ and two percussionists op. 47 (1989)
- Fantaisie concertante for violoncello and organ op. 49 (1991)
- Missa Interrupta for soprano, organ, brass quintet, percussion and choir op. 51 (1995)
- Fête for clarinet and organ op. 55 (1995)
- Écho for flute, clarinet, string quintet, choir, piano and organ op. 60 (1999)
- Concerto 2000 for organ and orchestra op. 62 (2000)
- Concerto for trombone and organ op. 64 (1985)
- Colloque No. 7 (concerto for piano and organ) op. 66 (1998)
- Colloque No. 8 for marimba and organ op. 67 (2002)
- Organ Concerto No. 6 for organ and orchestra op. 68 (2002)
- La Révolte des Orgues for eight portative organs, great organ, and percussion op. 69 (2005)
- Organ Concerto No. 7 for organ and orchestra op. 70 (2006)
[edit] Orchestra
- Piano Concerto No. 1 for piano and orchestra op. 16 (1969)
- Judith Symphonie for mezzo soprano and orchestra op. 21 (1970)
- Symphony No. 2 for string orchestra op. 27 (1974)
- Symphony No. 3 ("La Foule") for orchestra op. 30 (1977)
- Concerto grosso for orchestra op. 32 (1978)
- Piano Concerto No. 2 for piano and orchestra op. 44 (1986)
- Trombone Concerto for trombone (solo), 4 trumpets, 3 trombones, 3 tubas and two percussionists op. 48 (1990)
- Fête for clarinet and orchestra op. 55 (1995)
[edit] Chamber Music
- Colloque No. 1 for flute, oboe, violin and piano op. 2 (1956)
- Sonate No. 1 for piano op. 5 (1956)
- Cantilia for piano, harp, timpani and 4 celli op. 6 (1960)
- Toccata (piano version) op. 9b (1962)
- Colloque No. 3 for oboe, harp, celesta, percussion, 4 celli and 2 double basses op. 12 (1964)
- Quatuor for oboe and string quartet op. 22 (1971)
- Cantiliana for flute and piano op. 24 (1972)
- Sonate for trumpet op. 25 (1972)
- Poème de la Main for lyric soprano and piano op. 29 (1975)
- Sonate No. 2 for piano op. 33 (1978)
- Trio for 3 Violoncelli (excerpt from Diderot à corps perdu) op. 59 (1999)
- Augure for piano op. 61 (1999)
- Co-incidence for violin solo op. 63 (1996)
- Epitases for two pianos op. 65 (2002)
[edit] Theater Music
- Diderot à corps perdu (1973)
[edit] Transcriptions for Organ
- Johann Sebastian Bach: Musical Offering BWV 1079
- Johann Sebastian Bach: Goldberg Variations BWV 988
- Franz Liszt: Fantasia and Fuge on BACH - syncretic version
- Franz Liszt: Orpheus
- Franz Liszt: Prometheus
- Franz Liszt: Valse oubliée
- Modest Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition
- Sergej Prokofiev: March from the opera "The Love for three oranges"
- Sergej Prokofiev: Toccata for piano'
- Igor Strawinsky: Three dances from "Petrouchka"
- Peter I. Tschaikowsky: "Scherzo" from Symphony No. 6 ("Pathétique")
[edit] Bibliography
- Abbing, Jörg. Jean Guillou - Colloques - Biografie und Texte. St. Augustin, Germany: Dr. Josef Butz Musikverlag, 2006. ISBN 3-928412-02-7.
- Cantagrel, Gilles. "Jean Guillou", in Guide de la musique d’orgue, edited by Gilles Cantagrel. Paris, France: Fayard, 1991: 424-428.
- Cook, Mary Jean. "Errata in the published organ works of Jean Guillou," in The Diapason 67 (May 1967): 4-5.
- Guillou, Jean. Die Orgel: Erinnerung und Zukunft. St. Augustin, Germany: Dr. Josef Butz Musikverlag, 2005. ISBN 3-928412-01-9.
- Hodant, Jean-Philippe. "Rhétorique et Dramaturgie dans l'œuvre musicale de Jean Guillou." Paris, France: Université Sorbonne, 1993.
- Orengia, Jean-Louis. Jean Guillou, interprète, compositeur et improvisateur." Mémoire de maîtrise de musicologie. Paris: Université Sorbonne, 1981/1982.
- Rhodes, Cherry. "Introducing Jean Guillou," in The A.G.O. R.C.C.O. Magazine" (March 1974): 29 and 53.
- Terry, Mickey Thomas. "An Interview with Jean Guillou," in The American Organist 28 No. 4 (April 1994): 56-59.
