Photo: Georges Penabert (Paris) photographe ( Arudy , Pyrénées-Atlantiques , 1825 - Paris , 1903). · Public domain · credits
Tier 3 · vertical & regionalfull biography
Alexandre Guilmant
Person · male · France · Boulogne-sur-Mer · born 1837 · died 1911 · recording since 1982
French composer (1837–1911)
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Also known as Alexander Guilmant · Alexandre Guilmant · Félix-Alexandre Guilmant · Guilmant · Guilmant Guilmant · 亚历山大·吉尔芒
Timeline
10 events▣ Album 6◦ Birth 1✦ Award 1† Death 1★ Debut release 1
1830s
1890s
1910s
1980s
· Debut release
Debut release: Organ Sonatas Nos. 1, 2 and 5
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
1990s
2000s
· Album
Album: Symphonies nos. 1 & 2 for Organ and Orchestra / Marche Élégiaque
Album
source: musicbrainz
2010s
Biography
English biography757 words · 3 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1327719772
Biography
Félix-Alexandre Guilmant (French pronunciation: [feliks alɛksɑ̃dʁ ɡilmɑ̃]; 12 March 1837 – 29 March 1911) was a French organist and composer. He was the organist of La Trinité from 1871 until 1901. A noted pedagogue, performer, and improviser, Guilmant helped found the Schola Cantorum de Paris. He was appointed as Professor of Organ in the Conservatoire de Paris in 1896.
Biography
Guilmant was born in Boulogne-sur-Mer. A student first of his father Jean-Baptiste and later of the Belgian master Jacques-Nicolas Lemmens, he became an organist and teacher in his place of birth.
In 1871 he was appointed to play the organ regularly at la Trinité church in Paris, and this position, organiste titulaire, was one he held for 30 years. Guilmant was known for his improvisations, both in the concert and church setting. His inspiration came from Gregorian chants, and he was greatly noted amongst his colleagues for his mastery of the melodies. From then on, Guilmant followed a career as a virtuoso; he gave concerts in the United States (the first major French organist to tour that country), and in Canada, as well as in Europe, making especially frequent visits to England. His American achievements included a 1904 series of no fewer than 40 recitals on the largest organ in the world, the St. Louis Exposition Organ, now preserved as the nucleus of Philadelphia's Wanamaker Organ.
With his younger colleague André Pirro, Guilmant published a collection of scores, Archives des Maîtres de l'Orgue (Archives of the Masters of the Organ), a compilation of the compositions of numerous pre-1750 French composers. The collection was printed in ten volumes, the first in 1898 and the last (which Guilmant did not live to finalize) in 1914. Guilmant provided a rather similar survey of organ pieces by foreign composers, publishing l'École classique de l'Orgue (Classical School of the Organ). These anthologies, despite all the musicological developments which have taken place since Guilmant's own time, remain very valuable sources of early music.
In 1894 Guilmant founded the Schola Cantorum with Charles Bordes and Vincent d'Indy. He taught there up until his death at his home in Meudon, near Paris, in 1911. In addition, he taught at the Conservatoire de Paris where he succeeded Charles-Marie Widor as organ teacher in 1896. As a teacher, Guilmant was noted for his kindness and attention to detail. His students' recollections feature accounts of a particular focus on all facets of a note: attack, release, character. Marcel Dupré was the most celebrated of his many students. Others included Augustin Barié, Joseph-Arthur Bernier, Joseph Bonnet, Alexandre Eugène Cellier, Abel Decaux, Gabriel Dupont, Charles Henry Galloway, Philip Hale, Edgar Henrichsen, Édouard Mignan, and Émile Poillot. See: List of music students by teacher: G to J#Alexandre Guilmant.
Guilmant's interest in Marcel Dupré began when the latter was a child. Albert Dupré, father of the celebrated Marcel, studied organ with Guilmant for seven years prior to his son's birth. In Dupré's memoirs, he includes an anecdote where Guilmant visits his mother upon his birth and declares that the child will grow up to be an organist. After frequent visits throughout his childhood, Marcel Dupré began studying with Guilmant formally at age 11. From this time until his death, Guilmant championed the young virtuoso and did much to advance his career. Guilmant's house was later purchased then demolished by Dupré and rebuilt. His home organ was also sold to Dupré.
Compositions
Guilmant was an accomplished and extremely prolific composer. Unlike Widor, who produced a great deal of music in all the main genres, Guilmant devoted himself almost entirely to works for his own instrument, the organ. His organ output includes: 'Pièces dans différents styles', published in 18 books; 'L'organiste pratique', published in 12 books; Eighteen 'Pièces Nouvelles'; and 'L'Organiste liturgique', published in 10 books. Guilmant's Eight Sonatas were conceived with the Cavaillé-Coll organ of La Trinité in mind, and are therefore symphonic in style and form, taking their place alongside the symphonic organ works of César Franck and the Organ Symphonies of Charles-Marie Widor.
The Sonate No. 1/Symphonie No. 1 for organ and orchestra, Op. 42, was programmed by Sergei Koussevitzky in the 1930s, but was not heard again until Igor Buketoff revived it for a 1977 live recording with the Butler University Orchestra (note, the composer's name is misspelled "Gilmont" in the source).
Though few in number, his works for instruments besides the organ have not been entirely neglected. For example, the Morceau Symphonique is one of the most frequently performed trombone solos, enjoying longstanding popularity among both professional and advanced student trombonists.
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 24 | 85.8th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 7 | 80.4th |
| Studio albums | 6 | 86.1th |
| Awards recorded | 1 | 89th |
| Timeline events | 10 | 86.7th |
| Recording span (years) | -71 | 5.7th |
| Genres | 5 | 88.3th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (7 release groups · 6 studio albums)
Albums · 6
1982 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 1:11:25
1Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 42: I. Introduction et Allegro9:422Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 42: II. Pastorale. Andante quasi Allegretto6:283Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 42: III. Final. Allegro assai8:064Sonata No. 2 in D major, Op. 50: I. Allegro moderato8:435Sonata No. 2 in D major, Op. 50: II. Larghetto2:426Sonata No. 2 in D major, Op. 50: III. Allegro vivace5:247Sonata No. 5 in C minor, Op. 80: I. Allegro appassionato6:288Sonata No. 5 in C minor, Op. 80: II. Adagio con molt' espressione7:379Sonata No. 5 in C minor, Op. 80: III. Scherzo. Allegro6:2510Sonata No. 5 in C minor, Op. 80: IV. Recitativo1:2811Sonata No. 5 in C minor, Op. 80: V. Choral et Fugue. Allegro8:221989 · studio album
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Tracklist · 32 tracks · 3:22:53
Disc 11Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 42: I. Introduction et Allegro10:512Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 42: II. Pastorale (Andante quasi Allegretto)6:373Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 42: III. Final (Allegro assai)8:474Sonata No. 2 in D major, Op. 50: I. Allegro moderato8:085Sonata No. 2 in D major, Op. 50: II. Larghetto4:176Sonata No. 2 in D major, Op. 50: III. Allegro vivace5:487Sonata No. 3 in C minor, Op. 56: I. Preludio (Allegro maestoso e con fuoco)4:578Sonata No. 3 in C minor, Op. 56: II. Adagio4:509Sonata No. 3 in C minor, Op. 56: III. Fuga (Allegro moderato)3:34Disc 21Sonata No. 4 in D minor, Op. 61: I. Allegro assai4:562Sonata No. 4 in D minor, Op. 61: II. Andante5:073Sonata No. 4 in D minor, Op. 61: III. Menuetto (Allegretto)5:344Sonata No. 4 in D minor, Op. 61: IV. Final5:465Sonata No. 5 in C minor, Op. 80: I. Allegro appassionato6:376Sonata No. 5 in C minor, Op. 80: II. Adagio (Adagio con molt' espressione)7:447Sonata No. 5 in C minor, Op. 80: III. Scherzo (Allegro)6:478Sonata No. 5 in C minor, Op. 80: IV. Recitativo1:329Sonata No. 5 in C minor, Op. 80: V. Choral et Fuge (Allegro)10:3710Sonata No. 6 in B minor, Op. 86: I. Allegro con fuoco7:5611Sonata No. 6 in B minor, Op. 86: II. Meditation (Andante quasi Adagio)5:1312Sonata No. 6 in B minor, Op. 86: III. Fugue et Adagio8:52Disc 31Sonata No. 7 in F major, Op. 89: I. Entrée (Tempo di Marcia, maestoso)6:462Sonata No. 7 in F major, Op. 89: II. Lento assai (Rêve)3:483Sonata No. 7 in F major, Op. 89: III. Intermezzo (Allegretto)6:344Sonata No. 7 in F major, Op. 89: IV. Grand Choeur (Allegro con brio)3:335Sonata No. 7 in F major, Op. 89: V. Cantabile (Andante)6:486Sonata No. 7 in F major, Op. 89: VI. Final (Allegro)5:427Sonata No. 8 in A major, Op. 91: I. Introduction et Allegro risoluto10:298Sonata No. 8 in A major, Op. 91: II. Adagio con affetto7:429Sonata No. 8 in A major, Op. 91: III. Scherzo (Vivace)7:1110Sonata No. 8 in A major, Op. 91: IV. Andante sostenuto2:5211Sonata No. 8 in A major, Op. 91: V. Intermede et Allegro con brio6:58Ausgewählte Orgelwerke, Vol. 5
1998 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 1:07:15
1Première Sonate d‐Moll, op. 42: Introduction et Allegro11:272Première Sonate d‐Moll, op. 42: Pastorale (Andante quasi allegretto)7:113Première Sonate d‐Moll, op. 42: Final (Allegro assai)8:144Caprice B‐Dur, op. 20,35:395Verset F‐Dur, op. 19,5 (aus Pièces d’orgue dans different styles)1:566Troisième Sonate c‐Moll, op. 56: Preludio. Allegro maestoso e con fuoco5:097Troisième Sonate c‐Moll, op. 56: Adagio5:468Troisième Sonate c‐Moll, op. 56: Fuga (Allegro moderato)4:249Offertorie pour les fêtes de la Sainte Vierge (aus L’Organiste liturgiste)5:3110Communion sur Ecce panis angelorum, op. 59,3 (aus L’Organiste pratique)6:3111Sortie sur Ave maris stella (aus L’Organiste liturgiste)5:272001 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 1:00:47
1Symphonie tirée de la Symphonie-Cantate "Ariane", op. 53: Allegro molto agitato7:172Symphonie tirée de la Symphonie-Cantate "Ariane", op. 53: Adagio (Sommeil)6:103Symphonie tirée de la Symphonie-Cantate "Ariane", op. 53: Danse des Songes (Andante quasi allegretto)3:514Symphonie tirée de la Symphonie-Cantate "Ariane", op. 53: Marche (Allegro maestoso)7:445Pastorale, op.264:146Scherzo capriccioso, op. 366:577Finale alla Schumann sur un noël languedocien, op. 833:288Elégie Fugue, op. 44,26:269Marche triomphale, op. 344:2710Prière, op. 16,24:1011Final, op. 40,46:03Symphonies nos. 1 & 2 for Organ and Orchestra / Marche Élégiaque
2003 · studio album
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Tracklist · 9 tracks · 1:03:27
1Symphony no. 1 for Organ and Orchestra in D minor, op. 42: I. Introduction et Allegro10:162Symphony no. 1 for Organ and Orchestra in D minor, op. 42: II. Pastorale7:403Symphony no. 1 for Organ and Orchestra in D minor, op. 42: III. Final. Allegro assai7:164Marche Élégiaque in C minor, op. 74,17:015Symphony no. 2 for Organ and Orchestra in A major, op. 91: I. Introduction et Allegro9:196Symphony no. 2 for Organ and Orchestra in A major, op. 91: II. Adagio con affetto7:257Symphony no. 2 for Organ and Orchestra in A major, op. 91: III. Scherzo6:168Symphony no. 2 for Organ and Orchestra in A major, op. 91: IV. Andante sostenuto2:549Symphony no. 2 for Organ and Orchestra in A major, op. 91: V. Intermède et Allegro5:202015 · studio album
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Tracklist · 32 tracks · 3:05:21
1Sonata no. 1, op. 42 in D minor: I. Introduction et allegro9:062Sonata no. 1, op. 42 in D minor: II. Pastorale. Andante quasi allegretto6:583Sonata no. 1, op. 42 in D minor: III. Final. Allegro assai7:064Sonata no. 2, op. 50 in D major: I. Allegro moderato6:555Sonata no. 2, op. 50 in D major: II. Larghetto3:256Sonata no. 2, op. 50 in D major: III. Allegro vivace4:437Sonata no. 3, op. 56 in C minor: I. Preludio. Allegro maestoso e con fuoco4:368Sonata no. 3, op. 56 in C minor: II. Adagio4:289Sonata no. 3, op. 56 in C minor: III. Fuga. Allegro moderato3:2310Sonata no. 4, op. 61 in D minor: I. Allegro assai4:4811Sonata no. 4, op. 61 in D minor: II. Andante4:3112Sonata no. 4, op. 61 in D minor: III. Menuetto. Allegretto4:4313Sonata no. 4, op. 61 in D minor: IV. Final. Adagio-Allegro vivace con fuoco5:1114Sonata no. 5, op. 80 in C minor: I. Allegro appassionato5:5215Sonata no. 5, op. 80 in C minor: II. Adagio con molt’espressione8:3916Sonata no. 5, op. 80 in C minor: III. Scherzo. Allegro6:3217Sonata no. 5, op. 80 in C minor: IV. Recitativo1:3618Sonata no. 5, op. 80 in C minor: V. Choral et fugue. Allegro9:1319Sonata no. 6, op. 86 in B minor: I. Allegro con fuoco7:3220Sonata no. 6, op. 86 in B minor: II. Méditation. Andante quasi adagio5:3021Sonata no. 6, op. 86 in B minor: III. Fugue et adagio8:1722Sonata no. 7, op. 89 in F major: I. Entrée6:1123Sonata no. 7, op. 89 in F major: II. Lento assai (Reve)4:0424Sonata no. 7, op. 89 in F major: III. Intermezzo5:5225Sonata no. 7, op. 89 in F major: IV. Grand choeur (Allegro con brio)3:0526Sonata no. 7, op. 89 in F major: V. Cantabile6:1727Sonata no. 7, op. 89 in F major: VI. Final. Allegro5:3828Sonata no. 8, op. 91 in A major: I. Introduction et allegro risoluto9:3829Sonata no. 8, op. 91 in A major: II. Adagio con affetto6:4830Sonata no. 8, op. 91 in A major: III. Scherzo (Vivace)6:2431Sonata no. 8, op. 91 in A major: IV. Andante sostenuto2:4432Sonata no. 8, op. 91 in A major: V. Intermède et allegro con brio5:36
Album · 1
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Organ MusicSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 10 tracks · 1:10:251Grand Chorus in G minor, op. 846:51 2Caprice in B-flat major, op. 20 no. 36:36 3Allegretto in B minor, op. 19 no. 15:52 4Lamentation in D minor, op. 45 no. 111:19 5Offertoire "O filii", op. 49 no. 26:45 6Sonata no. 7 in F major, op. 89: IV. Lento assai (Rêve)4:29 7March on a Theme by Handel, op. 15 no. 26:50 8Scherzo symphonique in C major, op. 55 no. 27:36 9Noël languedocien, Communion no. 2 in F minor, op. 605:11 10Sonata no. 1 in D minor, op. 42: III. Finale. Allegro assai8:56 | Compilation | 21 February 2006 |
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Alexandre Guilmant head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 24 | 85.8th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 7 | 80.4th |
| Studio albums | 6 | 86.1th |
| Awards recorded | 1 | 89th |
| Timeline events | 10 | 86.7th |
| Recording span (years) | -71 | 5.7th |
| Genres | 5 | 88.3th |
Awards & honours
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1892 | Knight of the Legion of Honour | won |
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alexandre-Guilmant.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/048158fb-0a25-4d25-a287-f714f534392cdiscography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/048158fb-0a25-4d25-a287-f714f534392ccore—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q350359genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q350359seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandre_Guilmantbiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandre_Guilmant
Why this artist is in the database
- List of composers by name
Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: Georges Penabert (Paris) photographe ( Arudy , Pyrénées-Atlantiques , 1825 - Paris , 1903). · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q350359 · MusicBrainz: 048158fb-0a25-4d25-a287-f714f534392c
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