France will celebrate the centenary of the birth of one of her most famous composers, Jehan Alain (1911–1940), in his native city of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, located to the west of Paris, March 25–27.
The three-day festival was organized by Aurélie Decourt, daughter of the renowned concert organist and teacher Marie-Claire Alain, and Les Amis du Vieux Saint-Germain. Marie-Claire Alain will be the distinguished guest of honor for the festival.
There will be three major concerts. The opening gala concert will be a performance by the Orchestre National de l’Ile-de-France of a new orchestration by Luc Antonini of the Trois Danses of Jehan Alain, as well as a rare performance of the Trois Danses by Maurice Duruflé and orchestral works by Debussy and Ravel on Friday, March 25 at the Salle Dumas.
The second concert on March 26 will feature readings with “letters from the Front” written by Jehan Alain, interspersed with his organ works at the Church of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. The artists for this program will be Michel Bouvard, organist of the Basilica of Saint-Sernin Toulouse and French actress, Brigitte Fossey. This concert is a co-production with the festival Toulouse les Orgues.
The final concert on March 27 will take place at the Church of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and will feature the music of Jehan Alain as well as his father, Albert, and his brother, Olivier. The artists will include organists Eric Lebrun and Marie-Ange Leurent, flutist Luc Urbain, the Camerata Saint-Louis (Georges Guillard, director), and the Choir of the Sorbonne (Denis Rouger, conductor).
There will be a special exhibition of Jehan Alain’s autograph manuscripts, letters, and drawings as well as an exhibit devoted to the family instrument collection, now located in Switzerland. This event will include the participation of the Jehan Alain Association of Switzerland, Guy Bovet, director, as well as private archives and those of the Alain family.
There will be an international colloquium featuring scholars from around the world, beginning on Friday morning and concluding on Saturday early afternoon. The professors and students of the Regional Conservatory “Claude Debussy” of Saint-Germain-en-Laye will present a program of Alain’s chamber music on Saturday afternoon, and the solo piano music of Jehan Alain will be presented by Désiré N’Kaoua and students from the Regional Conservatory “Claude Debussy” on Sunday morning.
Special events include the presentation of a new book, Une famille de musiciens au XXe siècle, les Alain, written by Aurélie Decourt (published by Editions Hermann, 2011). Dr. Decourt received her Ph.D. in musicology from the University of Paris-Sorbonne in 1999 and is the author of numerous books and articles on Alain family members as well as the famous Alain house organ. Her new article, “L’orientalisme et son dépassement dans la musique de Jehan Alain,” will appear in the French publication, L’Orgue, in 2011.
For information regarding registration, concert information, and hotel reservations (there is a hotel in Saint-Germain-en-Laye with rooms being held for festival participants), contact Dr. Decourt via e-mail:
aurelie.decourt@orange.fr, or consult the website of Les Amis du Vieux Saint-Germain: www.amisvieuxsaintgermain.org. A blog “Jehan Alain 2011” is in the making and will soon appear.
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