Jeanne Demessieux

Feb 16, 2022

Good morning.

Today we’re listening to Jeanne Demessieux, a French organist and composer. Born in 1921 and identified quickly as a musical prodigy, Demessieux entered the Paris Conservatoire at age 12. Appointed chief organist at Paris’s Saint-Esprit around the same time, she went on to perform concert organ internationally. We’re playing one of the eight-disc Decca Legacy collection of her recordings: Vol. 6 featuring compositions by César Franck. Demessieux would only perform pieces from memory and at any given moment held upward of 3,000 pieces in her head.

Last year would have been her centennial, which was celebrated in organ performances around the world. “Next to Jeanne Demessieux,” fellow organist Maurice Duruflé remarked, “the rest of us play the pedals like elephants.”

Decca Legacy Vol. 6 (Franck Recordings at La Madeleine, Paris) - Jeanne Demessieux (150m, no vocals)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music / Tidal

Have a really nice Wednesday.

via Wikipedia, which adds that Demessieux’s memorized pieces included “the complete organ works of Bach, Franck, the major organ works of Liszt and Mendelssohn, and all of Dupré's organ works up to Opus 41.”