Scan 59
Groves Dictionary Of Music And Musicians,vol.5 L-m, 1900
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1His early general education was received at the Johanneum in Berlin, and in 1849 he entered the Leipzig Conservatory, where his violin teacher was David and his composition master Richter. On leaving Leipzig Langhans went to Paris to study the violin further under Alard. For five seasons, 1852–56, he played first violin in the Gewandhaus orchestra at Leipzig, in 1857–60 was Konzertmeister at Dusseldorf and then settled temporarily, as teacher and violinist, at Hamburg, Paris and Heidelberg. From 1874 to 1881 he was professor of the history of music at Kullak’s Neue Akademie der Tonkunst in Berlin, when he joined Scharwenka’s newly founded Conservatory there, ultimately becoming its director.
3In 1871 the University of Heidelberg conferred the degree of Doctor upon Langhans, who was an honorary member of the Liceo Filarmonico of Florence and of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome. He visited Britain in 1881 and subsequently, after hearing some open-air music at Glasgow, the Worcester Festival and Sullivan’s ‘Patience’ in London, he wrote articles on music in England for the ‘Musikalisches Centralblatt’.
5Langhans’s compositions, which include a string Quartet that gained a prize offered by a Florentine gentleman in 1864, a violin Sonata and a Symphony, are quite unimportant; but his literary work has been more prized. It includes ‘Das musikalische Urteil’ (1872), ‘Die Musikgeschichte in 12 Vorträgen’ (1878), a ‘Geschichte der Musik des 17., 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts’ in continuation of Ambros, and a history of the Berlin High School for Music. In 1858 he married the pianist Luise Japha, a pupil of Robert and Clara Schumann.
7R. H. L.
9LÅNGHOLM-BERGMAN, Sylvelin. See BERGMAN (LRIK).
11LANGHVELDT, Georges van. See MACROPEDIUS.
13LANGIUS, Hieronymus. See LANGE.
15LANGLAIS, Jean (b. La Fontenelle, Ille-et-Vilaine, 15 Feb. 1907).
17French organist and composer. He is of Breton descent. Being blind, he was sent to Paris at the age of ten for his education at the Institution des Jeunes Aveugles, where his professors were M. Blazy for pianoforte, A. Mahaut, a Franck pupil, for harmony and A. Marchal for counterpoint, organ and composition. In 1927 Langlais entered Dupré’s organ class at the Paris Conservatoire, where he won a Premier Prix for organ in 1930. He left the Conservatoire after a year in Noël Gallon’s class for fugue, returning there in 1934 to attend the composition course of Paul Dukas.
19Langlais, who is the present (1953) organist of Sainte-Clotilde in Paris, César Franck’s church, had held previous organ appointments.
21In 1927 he became assistant organist at Saint-Antoine des Quinze-Vingts and in 1932 organist of Notre-Dame de la Croix. In 1934 he succeeded his first professor, M. Blazy, at Saint-Pierre de Montrouge and in 1945 he succeeded J. Ermend-Bonnal at Sainte-Clotilde. Since 1931 Langlais has taught organ and composition at the Institution Nationale des Jeunes Aveugles.
23Although he has written much other music, Langlais is best known by his organ works. Two early sets of organ pieces, the ‘Trois Poèmes évangeliques’ (1932) and the ‘Trois Paraphrases grégoriennes’ (1935), enjoy considerable popularity. The former combines plainsong with a picturesque style of organ writing and the latter is in a more severely modal frame. Increased dissonance marks the works written during the second world war, culminating in the difficult organ Symphony (1944). Later works, such as the ‘Suite française’ (1948), are easier of approach.
25BIBL. — DENIS, P., ‘Jean Langlais’ (‘L’Orgue’, No. 52, July–Sept. 1949).
26DUFOURCQ, N., ‘La Musique d’orgue française de Jehan Titelouze à Jehan Alain’ (Paris, 1941 & 1949).
27MACHABÉY, A., ‘Portrait de trente musiciens français’ (Paris, 1949).
29CATALOGUE OF WORKS
31INCIDENTAL MUSIC
32‘Le Diable qui n’est à personne’, Jean Cayrol (1946).
33‘Légende de Saint Julien l’Hospitalier’, Gustave Flaubert, dram. version (1947).
35CHURCH MUSIC
365 Motets for 2 voices & organ (1932–42).
372 Psalms (French words) (1937)
381. CXXIII for soprano, tenor, chorus with pf., organ or orch.
392. I.VIII for chorus & organ.
40‘Tantum ergo’ for 8 voices & organ (1940).
41‘Mystère du Vendredi-Saint’ (1943)
421. Miserere mei for 4-part chorus & organ.
432. O Crux ave for chorus, orch. & organ.
443 Motets for voice & orch. (or organ) (1943)
45‘Pie Jesu’ for solo voice, organ, 2 vns., cello & harp, ad lib. (1945).
46Mass for 4-part chorus & 2 organs (1949).
47‘Trois Prières’ for solo voice or unison chorus & organ (1949).
49CHORAL WORKS
50‘Deux Chansons’ (Clément Marot) for unaccomp. chorus (1931).
51‘La Voix du vent’ for soprano, chorus & orch. (1934).
52‘Cantate à Saint Vincent de Paul’ for 4-part chorus & stgs. (1946).
53‘Cantate à Saint Grignon de Montfort’ for women’s voices, organ & 3 trumpets ad lib. (1947).
55ORCHESTRAL WORKS
56‘Essai sur l’évangile de Noël’ (1935).
57‘Hymne d’action des Grâces’ (1935).
58‘Pièce symphonique’ for stgs., brass & organ (1938).
59‘Trois Danses’ for wind & pf. (1944).
61SOLO INSTRUMENT AND ORCHESTRA
62‘Suite concertante’ for cello (1936).
63Pf. Concerto (1936).
64Concerto for organ or harpsichord (1949).
66CHAMBER MUSIC
67Trio for flute, vn. & viola (1935).
68‘Pièce en forme libre’ for stg. 4tet & organ (or pf.) (1938).
69Duo for vn. & cello (1942).
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