Eugène Gigout

Recording session with Eugène Gigout for the Welte-Philharmonic-Organ, 1912

Eugène Gigout (23 March 1844 – 9 December 1925) was a French organist and a composer of european late romantic music for organ. He was a pupil of Camille Saint-Saëns.

He was born in Nancy, France, and died in Paris, France.

He was the organist of St. Augustin Church in Paris for 62 years. He was widely known as a teacher and his output as a composer was considerable. He was an expert improviser, and founded his own music school. His nephew-by-marriage, Leon Boellmann, was also a fine organist and composer for the organ, though he died very young at age 35.

The 10 pièces pour orgue (composed 1890) are his most well-known compositions. This set includes the Toccata in B minor, probably his best-known piece; it is a frequent encore at organ recitals. The set also includes the Scherzo in E major. Other notable pieces include the Grand Choeur Dialogué and Marche Religieuse.

His compositions are available on a number of commercial recordings.

External links

• Free scores by Eugène Gigout in the Werner Icking Music Archive
• Eugène Gigout was listed in the International Music Score Library Project
• Several Gigout pieces for virtual organ mp3s can be heard or downloaded at http://www.virtuallybaroque.com/list2g.htm