Joseph Bonnet

Biography

Joseph Bonnet is a pupil of Alexandre Guilmant and was regarded a long time as his spiritual heir. He becomes official organist of the church Saint-Eustace in 1906 on contest until in at 1944, receives the first price of the academy the same year. He was also the official organist of the Conservatoire of Paris. He took part in many rounds in Europe until in 1914. Mobilized during the First World War, it is reformed in 1917 for health reason. The same year his/her single brother dies during the Bataille of Dardanelles.

Its radiation on the other side of the Atlantic was very important (round of 1917, foundation of several schools of organ in the United States and in Canada, lectures in Boston in 1936), and nowadays it is much more known over there than in France.

It composed some parts in the first years of its career before turning entire to the interpretation of traditional as from the years 1920. Very religious and large music lover Gregorian, it founded the Gregorian Institut of Paris in 1923 qu ' it chaired until his death.

He intervenes as expert during the repair of the organ of Saint-Eustace between 1926 (?) and 1932. It Maria with Genevieve Turenne on April 1st 1927, with Charles-Marie Widor like witness and Charles Tournemire as organist. The couple had two children: a girl, Francoise and a boy, Bénédict.

In spite of the war, it is sent beginning 1940 in round in the United States with its family. The French defeat prohibits the return to him. It benefitted from its notoriety to multiply the official receptions with the profit of the prisoners of war French. Its health is degraded in 1943. He died in 1944 in Canada, in a hotel where he spent the holidays with his wife and his children. Its body was buried with the monastery of Saint-Benoit-of-Lake (Canada), draped in a Tricolor.

Work

Compositions

Prolific type-setter in the first years of his career, Joseph Bonnet published the essence of his work between 1908 and 1913. He still composed a part in 1925 then ceased completely to devote himself exclusively to interpretation. Its work counts despite everything 10 opus of which 2 were lost. All these parts were written for organ, with or without accompaniment. Very eclectic, Joseph Bonnet composes shovel-mixes with the lithurgic or pseudo-lithurgiques pages, of the homages to the Titanic, the Catalogne or the town of Prague, spièces impressionist, romantic… It should be noted that its Variations are the only ones not to have suffered from disaffection in France.

Opus 1: Variations in concert (organ). 1908: ED. E.Leduc, P.Bertrand and Co. Dedicated in M.Clarence Eddy.

Opus 2: Ave Maria (4 mixed votes with accompaniment of organ). 1908: Mutual editions. Dedicated with Maurice Emmanuel, choirmaster to the church Holy-Clotilde.

Opus 3: Poems of autumn (organ). 1908: ED. E.Leduc, P.Bertrand and Co.

N°1 Lied of the chrysanthemums. Dedicated with Alexandre Guilmant.
N°2 Morning of Provence. Dedicated in William C.Carl
N°3 Poem of the evening. Dedicated with Mr. and Mrs. Charles Tournemire.

Opus 4: lost
Opus 5: Twelve parts for large-organ, volume 1. 1909. 1908: ED. E.Leduc, P.Bertrand and Co.

Prelude
Night Lament
Toccata
Ave Husbands Stella
Daydream
Intermezzo
Imagination on two Noëls
symphonic Epithalamium
Legend
Canzona
Catalan Rhapsody

Opus 6. 1910. ED. E.Leduc, P.Bertrand and Co.

Agnus Dei
2nd Ave Maria
(3rd piece with the lost title)

Opus 7: Twelve parts for large-organ, volume 2. 1910. ED. E.Leduc, P.Bertrand and Co.

Dedication
Study in concert
Moonlight
Stella Matutina
Dream of child
Song of spring
Prelude to the Salvo Pastoral Regina
Lovesongs without words
Second legend
Elves
heroic Whim

Opus 8

Paster Noster
Black and white Jesu

Opus 9: lost
Opus 10: Twelve parts for large-organ, volume 3. 1913. ED. E.Leduc, P.Bertrand and Co.

In memoriam Titanic
Ariel
Meditation
musical Moment
Consolation
Lullaby
Magnificat
Chaconne
Landscape
Angelus of the evening
Interludes
Pisen Ceskeho Naroda, Czech poem (dedicated at the town of Prague).

Without opus:

Sad Song (1925). With the memory of Joachim Gasquet.

Recordings

Highly skilled concert performer, Bonnet recorded many times, in particular works of Frescobaldi and Bach. Let us quote for memory its series " Historian organ recitals" , which was a great success at the time.

Sources

Official site of Joseph Bonnet
Interview of Francoise Brown-Bonnet of October 11th, 2006, oldest daughter of Joseph Bonnet.
Guide of the music of organ, by X.Darasse, B.François-Sappey, G.Guillard, M.Roubinet, F.Sabatier with the ED. Beech.

External bonds

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