# Leon Boellmann



## Sid James

LEON BOELLMANN 
(1862 - 1897)

The name of Léon Boëllmann is known to all organists above all because of his brilliant Toccata for the instrument, the final movement of a_ Suite gothique_. Born in Alsace in 1862, he served as organist at the church of St. Vincent-de-Paul in Paris from 1881 until his early death in 1897...In addition to the Toccata from the_ Suite gothique_, Op. 25, the _Douze Pièces (Twelve Pieces), _Op. 16, and _Heures mystiques_, Opp. 29 & 30, are well enough known.

(above taken from the Naxos page http://www.naxos.com/person/Leon_Boellmann/27080.htm)

A fuller biography on wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Léon_Boëllmann

The famous toccata from his _Suite gothique _on youtube (the other movements of the work are also there):






I'm really beginning to get into the French organ repertoire, of all ages. It appeals to me more than works by say the Germans, because the French seem to have this fluidity and preoccupation with colour which I like. I haven't heard any other works by Boellmann. He seems to be a pretty obscure composer. The first time I came across this work was at an organ recital in Sydney town hall in 1989 (to mark the building's centenary). The drama and sheer grandeur of the piece has remained with me all these years, until I finally purchased a Naxos cd of French organ music, which included the _Suite gothique_. Comments?


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## HarpsichordConcerto

Never heard of Boellman until this thread. The youtube clip sounded like any grand organ music ought to. That was my initial feeling.

Imagine listening to that at home on the high-fidelity system. It would shake the foundations!


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## Sid James

Yes, he remains pretty obscure to even many seasoned listeners (like us here), but is quite well known to organists (particularly in France/Europe?). I was listening to the _Suite gothique_ this morning, on my portable cd player, and even on that small system, it sounds pretty grand. I have to turn the system down, otherwise it's just overload at that long note at the end (this is a typical ending for many organ works, but somehow this piece just grabs me, no matter the cliche). That ending has remained with me for all the time after I went to that recital 20 years ago, as a boy. It's a pity the man died so young (in his 30's), otherwise he might have become as well known as say Widor, Vierne or Dupre. The wikipedia article says he was quite a personable man, as many organists seem to be...


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