The Friends of Music at St. Mark’s New Canaan will present renowned international concert organist Frédéric Blanc in recital on Saturday, April 18, at 5 pm in the church. The concert, a tribute to Maurice Duruflé in the 40th year since his death, features the music of Duruflé, Tournemire, Franck, Gruenenwald, Vierne, and improvisations.
After discovering music by improvising at the piano and organ at a very young age, Monsieur Blanc began formal studies at the Conservatories of Toulouse and Bordeaux. He continued perfecting his art with notable French organists André Fleury, Marie-Claire Alain, and Marie-Madeleine Duruflé, of whom he became a devoted disciple.
Winner of several international competitions (the Grand Prix de Chartres, second prize, 1996 ; and the Grand Prize of the Paris International Organ Competition, 1997), he now has a busy career as an international concert artist, playing recitals as solo artist or with orchestra. In parallel he participates in or leads radio broadcasts, conferences and master classes throughout Europe (most recently at the Royal Academy of Music, London) and the United States on the subjects of French music and the art of improvisation.
Frédéric Blanc is a member of the Organ Commission for the City of Paris, and a member of the Organ Commission for the French Ministry of Culture. He has recorded for the Motette, EMI, Aeolus, and Baroque Notes labels, specializing in the French organ school as well as the French art of improvisation. He serves as titular organist of the great Cavaillé-Coll organ of the Church of Notre-Dame d’Auteuil, Paris.
Below are highlights of a recent interview with Monsieur Blanc, translated from the French.
What drew you to the organ?
As a young child in my hometown, I served as an altar boy during mass at my local parish church. Later, I sang in the parish choir, from a position close to the organ. It was through direct contact with the instrument that I began to improvise, without knowing anything about music, all by ear, and without knowing musical notation … and by using the instrument’s various stops. That’s how my vocation was born.
What were your main musical influences?
I have a great affinity for the piano and chamber music of the French Impressionist school – first of all, then orchestral works by Debussy, Ravel, Gabriel Fauré, and of course, Maurice Duruflé.
What does Duruflé’s music mean to you?
Maurice Duruflé’s music is profoundly subtle; it comes from a superior mind, a mind both deeply inspired as well as sensitive. Despite its complicated writing (at times), it speaks directly to the heart. His music is a bit like a desert island amidst all the rest of French music, but it can now be considered classic.
Why are you performing in New Canaan?
I’m a great friend of Ned Tipton (Director of Music Ministries at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church), whom I greatly admire and who is an inspired musician; I’ve known him for many years. I’ve been to St. Mark’s before, and I really enjoyed the church itself, the organ, and all the people I met who gather in this parish. It’s a great pleasure for me to come back and give a concert here.
How do you approach the art of improvisation in French music?
The art of improvisation is a great tradition in the world of French organists. Particularly in the 19th century, all concert performers and pianists improvised and composed at the same time. One must possess a special gift to practice this discipline at a high level; it is a spontaneous and fascinating art form that brings great joy and satisfaction both to the one creating the music and to the listeners. Yet it is a rather mysterious art – one that is very difficult to discuss or describe, for there is a part of the creative act that eludes the musician in this truly singular art form.
