1844–1925 · France · Baroque
Eugène Gigout (1844–1925) was a French composer and organist. He studied at the Niedermeyer School in Paris under Camille Saint-Saëns, and from 1863 he was organist of the church of Saint-Augustin in Paris for 62 years. His best-known work is the Toccata in B minor for organ.
Eugène Gigout was born in Nancy on 23 March 1844. His first musical training took place at Nancy cathedral, where he sang in the choir.
From 1857 Gigout was a student at the Niedermeyer School in Paris. His teachers there included Clément Loret and Camille Saint-Saëns.
By 1862 he was already teaching at the school himself, giving lessons in composition, piano and organ. His wife was Caroline-Mathilde Niedermeyer, the daughter of the composer Louis-Abraham Niedermeyer.
In 1863 Gigout became organist of the church of Saint-Augustin in Paris. He held the post for 62 years.
He was renowned as an expert improviser, and most of what he composed was written for his own instrument, the organ.
In 1911 Gigout took over the organ class at the Paris Conservatoire from Alexandre Guilmant. As a teacher he gained wide fame, and he founded his own music school.
Among those who studied with him were Albert Roussel, André Messager, Maurice Duruflé, Gaston Bélier, Henri Gagnon, André Marchal, André Fleury, Victoria Cartier and Léon Boëllmann. Boëllmann was also Gigout's nephew by marriage and his adopted son.
Eugène Gigout died in Paris on 9 December 1925. He is buried in Montmartre Cemetery alongside his wife and Léon Boëllmann.
Gigout wrote mostly for the organ, though his output is not limited to it. His music follows the strict classical rules of counterpoint and harmony, while Gregorian plainchant was an important guide for his melodies.
His best-known work is the Toccata in B minor from the collection Ten Pieces for Organ (1890), which often turns up as an encore at organ recitals. The same collection contains a Scherzo in E major, which is also played fairly often. Other notable pieces include the Grand chœur dialogué (1881) and the Marche religieuse.
The site offers the Toccata from Dix Pièces pour orgue, a piece for organ whose level in the catalogue is marked as advanced.
Other organ collections include Cent Pièces brèves dans la tonalité du plain-chant, Album grégorien (1895), Poèmes mystiques (1903) and Cent Pièces nouvelles (1922). In 1898 he produced the Rapsodie sur des airs populaires du Canada for organ.
Gigout also wrote for piano: Staccato-Étude, Rêverie and Bagatelle (all 1868), three pieces for piano duet, Pièce symphonique, Caprice-Ballet and Fantaisie scolastique (1879), and Trois Improvisations caractéristiques (1912). His works are available on several commercial recordings.