Thérèse Malengreau : Paul de Maleingreau (1887-1956): Organist, teacher and Belgian composer

Paul de Maleingreau stands out as a remarkable figure in Belgian musical life. His fame was based on his compositions - some forty of which are destined for the organ - on the one hand, and on his brilliant career as an organist and professor at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels on the other. Much esteemed by his colleagues, composers, interpreters and organists - Albert Schweitzer, Tournemire, Duruflé, Emile Bosquet, Flor Peeters, to name just a few - Paul de Maleingreau has paved the way for a rediscovery and a modern approach to ancient music, both in the choice of his concert repertoire and in his teaching. He was the first to perform Bach's complete organ works in a series of recitals in Brussels, and he also enabled his audiences to get acquainted with the music of Bach's predecessors and other composers from the 16th and 17th centuries. His teaching provided a technical and musical basis for the generation that was to bring about the revival of ancient music properly speaking: Pierre Froidebise, Charles Koenig, Robert Kohnen, Marcel Druart, Herman Roelstraete. He designed various organs, a.o. for the Palais des Beaux Arts (1930), the Palais Stoclet, the "Bloemenwerf" in Ukkel (the house of the famous architect Vandevelde) and twice he drew up a stoplist for a private instrument. His output as a composer was much appreciated during his lifetime and his compositions were frequently performed both in Belgium and abroad (especially in the US). The atmosphere of his compositions is reminiscent of Franck and Debussy and plainsong themes are given an original treatment. De Maleingreau's compositions are often thematically linked to architectural monuments or paintings, showing a great variety in interest and tastes. His symphonies, suites, diptyques, triptyques, messes d'orgue and préludes are concert pieces and abound in complex writing. His functional organ works are smaller in scope and more austere in vein. Paul de Maleingreau was a member of the Libre Académe Picard and wrote several essays on some of the aspects of his art: organ building, organ teaching, the choice of repertoire and the art of improvisation.