Het ORGEL 96 (2000), nr. 6, 5-15 [summary]
| Joachim Bollen | |
Louis James Alfred Lefébure-Wely, a composer of
decadent organ music? Het ORGEL 96 (2000), nr. 6, 5-15 [summary] |
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Nowadays, Louis James Alfred Lefébure-Wely
(1817-1869) is considered a composer of decadent organ music, who wrote some pompous
marches. The reproach is undeserved, as he played a major role in the development of the
French symphonic organ style. He was a close friend of organ builder Aristide
Cavaillé-Coll, and he inaugurated many new Cavaillé-Coll organs. Furthermore, he was
appointed organist at, successively, three important Cavailléé-Coll organs in Paris: at
St.-Roch, La Madeleine and St.-Sulpice. Lefébure-Wely was the first organ composer to use
the characteristic possibilities of these organs effectively in his compositions. This can
be concluded, for instance, from his registration indications: Lefébure-Wely often
combined several 8 foot-stops, and made optimal use of stops like the Flūte harmonique
and the Basson-Hobo. Lefébure-Wely was an advocate of the modern harmonium as well. He
published three methods for the instrument; in his compositions he explored its
possibilities thoroughly. Website of Joachim Bollen:
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