What is Alexandre Guilmant?
[[Image:GuilmantEddy.jpg|thumb|Alexandre Guilmant playing the organ, 1898]] '''Alexandre Guilmant''' (born [[Boulogne-sur-Mer]], 12 March 1837; died [[Meudon]] 29 March 1911) was a [[France|French]] [[organist]] and [[composer]]. ==Life== ===Early life and career=== Alexandre Guilmant was born in [[Boulogne-sur-Mer]]. His father was an organist and organ builder, and gave young Alexandre lessons. Otherwise Alexandre was largely self-taught. He did study with Belgian teacher [[Jacques-Nicolas Lemmens]], but by that time he was already a very good organist. From the 1860s he travelled widely in Europe, playing organs and becoming famous. Later he also visited the United States. In 1871 he became organist of the Trinité church in [[Paris]]. He kept this job until 1901. ===His teaching=== Guilmant became well known in France as a teacher. Together with two other musicians, [[Charles Bordes]] and [[Vincent d’Indy]], he started the [[Schola Cantorum]], a private college where students could study music. He taught the organ there. Earlier he had succeeded [[Charles-Marie Widor]] as organ teacher at the [[Paris Conservatoire]]. His Conservatoire pupils included [[Joseph Bonnet]], [[Nadia Boulanger]] and [[Marcel Dupré]]. ===Influence as organist=== Guilmant did not just play the organ for church services. He became very famous for giving organ [[recital]]s. Often he played on organs which had been constructed by the brilliant organ builder [[Aristide Cavaillé-Coll]]. He helped to make these organs popular in France, and they were a very important influence on the way that organists composed music for their instrument. Both Guilmant and Widor produced large works for the organ which they called “symphonies”. These usually had at least four movements each, and gave the player opportunities to use many different sound effects. ===His compositions=== Guilmant wrote eight organ symphonies, as well as a symphony for organ and [[orchestra]], and several shorter works for the same combination. He composed a great many mini