Alexandre Guilmant

Alexandre Guilmant (1837–1911) was a French organist and composer. A noted pedagogue, performer, and improviser, Guilmant was a founding member of the Schola Cantorum de Paris, the oldest private higher music institution in France. In 1871 he was appointed as organist of Sainte-Trinité Church in Paris, a position that he held for 25 years. From then on, he followed a career as a virtuoso; he gave concerts in Europe as well as in the USA. In 1896, he succeeded Charles-Marie Widor in Conservatoire de Paris, where he taught until 1911. Guilmant was an accomplished and extremely prolific composer, who devoted himself almost entirely to works for his own instrument. His organ output includes his 18 collections of Pièces dans différents styles (pieces in differing styles), the Soixante interludes dans la tonalité grégorienne (60 pieces in Gregorian tonality), and others. He also wrote orchestral, chamber, and vocal music.