Composer
Biography:
Jean Pierre Leguay (organist, composer and improviser) was organist at the church of Notre-Dame- des Champs in Paris before being appointed titular organist of the Great Organ of Notre-Dame in Paris in 1961. He has received several awards: in the subjects organ, improvisation (organ, piano), composition (Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, international competitions in Lyon, Nice, Haarlem (NL), Erding (D) and Prix de Composition Musicale »Paul-Louis Weiller« from the Académie des Beaux-Arts at the Institut de France.
From 1968 to 1989 he taught organ and improvisation (for soloists and groups) at the Conservatoire National in Limoges and from 1989 to 2003 at the Conservatoire National in Dijon.
Leguay enjoys international recognition as a concert organist, composer and improviser, be it on the organ, the piano or in an ensemble. This triple career takes him far beyond the borders of his native France (Europe, Canada, USA and Asia). He is often a guest of radio stations, academies, universities and music colleges in Germany and abroad.
The catalog of works by this composer and passionate sound alchemist includes more than 70 works for various instrumental and vocal ensembles (e.g. Seve for saxophone and viola String Quartet, Souffle for 14 instruments, Dawn for organ and chamber orchestra, Cendres d'ailes for tenor and piano, Missa Deo Gratias for solo soprano, mixed choir, brass quartet, percussion and one or two organs, Madrigal VIII for drums, Madrigal VI for saxophone quartet). His works, including commissions for the French Ministry of Culture, Radio France, Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, Concours International de Chartres, Musique Sacrée à Notre-Dame, Scottish Arts Council, Festival of Léon (Spain) and the Festival of La Massana ( Andorra), were mainly published by the publishers Billaudot, Jobert, Lemoine, Universal and Symétrie.
His numerous recordings (e.g. for the labels Euromuses, Festivo, Glossa, Hortus, IFO Records, MSNDP, Lade, NEOS, 3D Classics) demonstrate his wide repertoire spectrum from the 17th to the 22nd century. In addition, several CDs are dedicated to his improvisations and his own compositions (particularly the organ works and chamber music).
As an improviser he was responsible for most of the film music too Les Mysteres des Cathedrales by Jean-François Delassus (produced for ARTE and Editions Montparnasse).
The recording of his Missa Deo Gratias and his Sonatas II and III were also awarded record prizes (»Choc de Musique«), as was his most recent CD with improvisations, which received the German Record Critics' Prize. The specialist magazine »Diapason« gave Leguay's portrait CD Chant d'airain the highest rating. On January 1, 2013, he was made »Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur«.
Albums:
