Gaston Bélier
Gaston Bélier (1863 – 1938) was a French organist and composer.
Career[edit]
A student of Eugène Gigout at the Conservatoire de Paris, he was titular organist at the Saint-Maclou of Pontoise Cathedral from 1892 to his death in 1938, and substitute organist at the église Saint-Ferdinand-des-Ternes in the 17th arrondissement of Paris.[1] From 1927 he was involved in the renovation and extension of the organ of La Madeleine in the 8th arrondissement.[2] In 1930 he participated in Victor Gonzalez's reconstruction of the organ of the Carmelite monastery of St. Joseph of Pontoise.
Composition[edit]
Like his colleagues Albert Renaud and Marcel Lanquetuit, Bélier is mostly known today for his Toccata pour grand orgue in D minor published by M. Senart in Paris in 1912. He also composed a Elevation for Organ, available on IMSLP.
Discography[edit]
Philippe Bardon[3] (on the organ of Saint-Maclou): Un récital d'orgue à Pontoise (EMA 9509), with works by J. S. Bach, Nicolas de Grigny, Michel Corrette, W. A. Mozart, Felix Mendelssohn, César Franck, Gaston Bélier, Jehan Alain and Olivier Messiaen.
References[edit]
- ^ Parisian organists
- ^ Antoine Kriéger: L'orgue Cavaillé-Coll de la Madeleine, online version on www.musimem.com
- ^ Philippe Bardon's official website
External links[edit]
- YouTube Marko Hakanpää plays Bélier's Toccata at the Grönlunds organ (III/52, 2002) of the Saint-Michel church at Turku, Finland (audio only).
- YouTube Diane Bish plays Bélier's Toccata at the Rieger organ (III/58, 1992) of the St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland.
- France Orgue G. Bélier's discography by Alain Carteyrade.
- Free scores by Gaston Bélier at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) La Toccata pour orgue en ré mineur. (revised version, 17 March 2012.)
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