PIERRE COCHEREAU: A LEGACY OF IMPROVISATION AT NOTRE DAME DE PARIS

Abstract

Pierre Cochereau (1924–84) was the organist of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and an improviser of organ music in both concert and liturgical settings. He transformed the already established practices of improvising in the church into a modern artform. He was influenced by the teachers with whom he studied, including Marcel Dupré, Maurice Duruflé, and André Fleury. The legacy of modern organ improvisation that he established at Notre Dame in Paris, his synthesis of influences from significant figures in the French organ world, and his development of a personal and highly distinctive style make Cochereau’s recorded improvisations musically significant and worthy of transcription. The transcription of Cochereau’s recorded improvisations is a task that is seldom undertaken by organists or scholars. Thus the published improvisations that have been transcribed are musically significant in their own way because of their relative scarcity in print and in concert performances. This project seeks to add to this published collection, giving organists another glimpse into the vast career of this colorful organist and composer. The sound recordings compiled from the loft at Notre Dame include many CDs of Cochereau’s liturgical improvisations. The four liturgical improvisations that I have compiled and transcribed were released on a CD entitled L’organiste liturgique.