Édouard Commette Explained

Édouard Commette (12 April 1883, in Lyon21 April 1967^[1]) was an organist from Lyon in France of international fame who served the Archdiocese of Lyon and was organist at Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière for over 50 years.

Place Édouard Commette at the foot of the hill on which the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière is built is named in his honour.^[2] A student of Charles-Marie Widor and Victor Neuville,^[3] his recordings were known worldwide,^[4] and he was also known as a composer of accessible and tuneful organ music in his own right.^[5]

Biography

Born in Lyon in the center of the silk manufacturing district where his father was an exporter, Edouard studied piano at the lycée of Bourg-en-Bresse, after which he returned to Lyon and turned his attention to organ and harmony. A pupil of Charles Marie Widor, in 1900 he made his debut as organist in Lyon at the Church of the Good Shepherd (Église du Bon-Pasteur). Four years later he spent six months at the Church of Saint Polycarpe (Église Saint-Polycarpe), which was renowned in Lyon for its pipe organ.

He took up his post at Lyon Cathedral in 1904 and was a professor at the Conservatoire de Lyon. Among his students were Pierre-Octave Ferroud and Adrien Rougier. Called "the best French organist" by the well-known music critic Émile Vuillermoz, Commette earned similar tributes from his students and listeners from all parts of the world and is responsible for some of the earliest organ recordings. As writer David Bridgeman-Sutton notes, "These – 78s, of course – were intended for a local market: their world-wide success amazed the modest M. Commette."^[6]

Critical reception

A critic from the now-defunct site Gramophone once opined, "Edouard Commette is a notable performer of the old school. He does not keep as steady a beat as I would like in the B minor and D minor Fugues, and not everyone will approve of his tendency to slow up slightly in order to point a fugal entry... I find M. Commette's rubato convincing enough in the non-fugal movements, and he gives a noble account of the B minor and Dorian preludes."^[7]

Compositions

• Pieces (6) for Organ: Offertoire sur des noëls; Fughetta; Allegretto; Adoration; Aspiration religieuse; Scherzo (Bornemann, 1914)
• 14 pièces brèves pour orgue (Durand, 1926)
• Deux méditations pour orgue (Hérelle, 1947)
• Sur le lac
• Toccata in G

Known recordings

• J. S. Bach on the Cathedral Organ of Saint Jean De Lyon, France. Angel Records LP, 35368.
• Orgues et organistes français du Xx° siècle (1900–1950) •

Léon Boëllmann : Menuet et Toccata de la Suite gothiqueEugène Gigout : ToccataGabriel Pierné : PréludeFelix Mendelssohn : Allegro Molto de la 6° SonateJ. S. Bach : Pièces BWV 543, 625, 614Louis Vierne : Carillon de LongpontLouis-Nicolas Clérambault : Caprice sur les grands jeux– Lyon St-Jean– Disque EMI; Columbia, 1929, 1931, 1932, 1938 CD-EMI partiel (491)

• J. S. Bach : BWV 147, 582, 588, 578, 622, Je veux te dire adieu.

– Lyon St-Jean– Disque Columbia-FCX 498, 1955 (dq 88)

• J. S. Bach : BWV 565, 562, 542, 645, 615, Préludes mi, ut, la min.

– Lyon St-Jean– Disque Columbia-FCX 497, 1955 (dq 85)

• J. S. Bach : BWV 539, 537, 532, Chorals 605, 625, 637, 638, 727.

– Lyon St-Jean– Disque Columbia, 1956 (dq 92)

• J. S. Bach : BWV 534, 536, 546, 542, 533, 543, Chorals 614, 629.

– Lyon St-Jean– Disque Columbia, 1957 (dq 103)

• J. S. Bach : BWV 553, 554, 555, 556, 557, 558, 559, 560, 531, 547.

– Lyon St-Jean– Disque Columbia, 1958 (dq 113) (42)

• J. S. Bach : BWV 538, 566, 535, 544.

– Lyon St-Jean– Disque Columbia, 1961 (68)

• J. S. Bach : BWV 646, 651, 658, 661, 667, 669, 670, 671, 680, 734, 737.

– Lyon St-Jean– Disque Columbia, 1962 (77)

• César Franck : 3 Chorals, Pièce héroïque.

– Lyon St-Jean– Disque Columbia-FCX 496, 1955 (dq 88)

• Felix Mendelssohn : Marche nuptiale. Richard Wagner : Marche de Tannhauser.

– Transcriptions de E. Commette.– Lyon St-Jean– Disque Columbia-ESBF 176, 1957

Notes and References

1. Book: Lyon, Le Lyonnais, Le Beaujolais . Éditions Beauchesne . 1994 . 978-2-7010-1305-3 . de Montclos . Xavier . Xavier de Montclos . . Paris . 124 . fr-FR . COMMETTE Edouard . COMMETTE Edouard – Organiste et compositeur (Lyon 12.04.1883– 21.04.1967). Son père, courtier en soierie, étant souvent en voyage, Edouard fut mis très jeune en pension, au lycée de Bourg-en-Bresse. Son professeur de piano, l'organiste ....
2. Lonely Planet Western Europe Page 360 Ryan Ver Berkmoes, Oliver Berry, Geert Cole – 2009 "Footpaths wind uphill but the funicular departing from place Édouard Commette is the least taxing way up; a return ticket costs €2.20. Crowning the hill is the 27m-high Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière "
3. Daniel Paquette Aspects de la musique baroque et classique à Lyon et en France 1989 "Elève de Widor et de Victor Neuville au Conservatoire de Lyon, Edouard Commette (1883–1967) devint rapidement (1904) organiste de la cathédrale de Lyon ; il eut le mérite de brûler toutes les musiques de sa jeunesse (Théodore Dubois, ..."
4. L'Orgue Issues 265–268 Association des amis de l'Orgue – 2003 "Par ailleurs, depuis qu'Edouard Commette (1883–1967) fit, le premier, sa réputation mondiale par le disque, jamais on n'avait enregistré tant de musique d'orgue (Ars Musicae tient à jour le Guide de la musique d'orgue enregistrée depuis ..."
5. Organists' Review Volume 84, Issues 329–332 Incorporated Association of Organists – 1998 "Edouard Commette (1883–1967) was organist of Lyons Cathedral for 52 years and known for his accessible and tuneful music. His delightful Scherzo makes a perfect overture to the programme."
6. Web site: The Pipe Organ in the Christchurch Town Hall, New Zealand. 2021-02-13. NZORGAN.COM. en.
7. Web site: Gramophone Resources and Information. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20120303180612/http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/April%201963/42/814463 . 2012-03-03 . 2020-10-16. www.gramophone.net.