Lefébure-Wély, Louis James Alfred 1817 - 1869

Author: Ueda, Yasushi
Last updated:March 12, 2018
Author: Ueda, Yasushi
A leading French organist, pianist, and composer of the 19th century. He received his initial musical training from his father, an organist, and began composing at the age of five. Even before reaching his teens, he occasionally deputized for his father, performing the organ during sacred services. In 1832, at the age of 14 years and 11 months, he entered the organ class at the Paris Conservatoire (under Professor François Benoist), graduating with a first prize in 1835. Concurrently with his organ studies, he joined Professor Zimmermann quickly earning a first prize the following year. Upon his father's death in 1831, Lefébure-Wély was appointed resident organist at the Church of Saint-Roch, where his father had served. With the patronage of Queen Marie Amélie, who belonged to the church's parish, he devoted himself to the organ with deep religious fervor. He also diligently pursued composition studies, seeking advice from Paris Conservatoire professors Berton and Halévy, and receiving private instruction from the promising opera composer Adolphe Adam. His reputation as an organist was exceptionally high, and renowned 19th-century organ builders, such as Cavaillé-Coll, did not hesitate to praise Lefébure-Wély. Marmontel, a fellow Conservatoire alumnus who later became a piano professor, described his playing as follows: “When Lefébure-Wély improvised on the organ, no one could surpass him. [...] His rich and overflowing imagination, always obedient to an energetic and passionate will, followed every nuance of emotion. Without any exaggeration, Lefébure-Wély was the greatest organ genius in the church or the salon.” From 1847, he was appointed organist at the Madeleine Church, and at Chopin's funeral in 1849,Chopin's performance of Chopin's Preludes on the organ deeply moved the congregation. His fame as a pianist was no less than that as an organist. While it is rare for an organist to also be a pianist today,Saint-Saëns the distance between the organ (or harmonium) and the piano was much closer in the 19th century, as was the case with Saint-Saëns. The majority of his more than 200 published works were piano pieces, among which Les Cloches du Monastère (The Monastery Bells), Op. 54-1, became a huge hit, selling over ten thousand copies in France, England, and Germany. However, it is also true that this hit led to Lefébure-Wély's true capabilities remaining largely unknown, and he tended to be labeled solely as a 19th-century salon piece composer based on this work alone. In his later years, he also wrote large-scale works such as the Violin Sonata, Op. 157, and symphonies for two pianos (Opp. 163, 168), suggesting that his compositional abilities reached a considerably high standard. As the critic Dortigue stated, “He was more of an organist than a virtuoso,” his works generally stand out for constructing clear forms using somewhat angular melodic figures and clearly differentiating voices, rather than being fluid and showy concert pieces. This appears to be influenced by organ writing. He passed away in Paris the year after publishing his magnum opus, the organ collection L'Organiste Moderne (1868).
Works(18)
Piano Solo
Various works (15)
Piano Ensemble
Various works (1)
Duo Brillant sur l'Opéra de Henri Reber 'Le Père Gaillard Op.75
Composed in: 1852 Playing time: 9 min 10 sec