Ignace-Xavier-Joseph Leÿbach (Born July 17, 1817, Gamsheim – Died May 23, 1891, Toulouse)

French pianist, organist, and composer. He was born in Gamsheim, Haut-Rhin, Alsace. This town is located approximately 15 kilometers north-northwest of Strasbourg and borders the Rhine River, with Germany on the opposite bank. Leÿbach received his initial musical instruction from his brother in Gamsheim. Subsequently, in Strasbourg, he studied harmony and counterpoint with Philippe Hoerter (1895-1863) and organ with Joseph Wackentaler (1795-1869). Wackentaler was a prominent musician from a family of musicians spanning generations, who served as Kapellmeister at Strasbourg Cathedral. In 1838, he succeeded his brother as organist at the Church of Saint-Pierre-le-Vieux, where his brother had previously served. Many biographical accounts of Leÿbach state that he subsequently moved to Paris and studied with Pixis, Kalkbrenner, and Chopin. Considering that Pixis lived in Paris from 1824 to 1840, Kalkbrenner returned to Paris from London in 1824, and Chopin arrived in Paris in 1831, it suggests that Leÿbach resided in Paris from the late 1930s to the 1940s, a period when the piano and piano music were undergoing significant transformation. However, he did not publish any works until he was over 30 years old. Leÿbach's obituary, published in Le Ménestrel on June 7, 1891 (which served as a source for later biographical accounts), states that he first published his own works in 1847. However, the oldest of his works held at the Bibliothèque nationale de France is Idylle champêtre No. 1, Op. 10, published in 1852. In 1844, Leÿbach was selected as the organist for Toulouse Cathedral, and he remained active in that city until his death at the age of 73. Despite not publishing works in his early life, he was an astonishingly prolific composer, with works up to Op. 290. The majority are works for solo piano, including fantasies based on opera themes, transcriptions, original compositions (character pieces), and educational works such as pieces for piano and harmonium, Méthode théorique et pratique d'harmonium (published 1864, translated into four languages), and L'Organiste pratique. His works were widely published not only in France but also in other European countries such as Germany, Italy, and Hungary.

References

• François-Joseph Fétis, « LEYBACH (Ignace) », Biographie universelle des musiciens et bibliographie générale de la musique, Supplément et complément, M. Arthur Pougin (dir.), vol. 2, Paris, Firmin-Didot, 1880, p. 108.
• Kurt Lueder, « Leÿbach, Ignace-Xavier-Joseph », Dictionnaire de la musique en France en XIXe siècle, Joël-Marie Fauquet (dir.), Paris, Fayard, 2003.
• F. Édouard Sitzmann, Dictionnaire de biographie des hommes célèbres de l'Alsace : depuis les temps les plus reculés jusqu'à nos jours, tome 2, Rixheim, F. Sutter, 1909, p. 153.
• Anonyme, « Nécrologie », Le Ménestrel, 57e année, n° 23, 7 juin, 1891, p. 184.