Léonce de Saint-Martin-de-Paylha

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## Monsieur

Léonce Marie-Joseph, Comte de Saint-Martin-de-Paylha

Saint-Martin at the courtyard of Notre-Dame-de-Paris

### Aliases

Léonce de Saint-MartinMonsieur le comte, or "Monsieur"

(Vicomte until his father's death, afterwards comte.)

### Relatives

M. Louis-Lucien Henri, Comte de Saint-Martin-de-Paylha (1852-18??), fatherJeanne-Marie Rouaïs (18??-1???), mother

Marie-Fernande Elisabeth Hugot-Derville (1891-1973), sister

Two daughters.

### Affiliation

Cathédrale Sainte-Cécile d'Albi (1900-1924), organiste adjointCathédrale Notre-Dame-de-Paris (1922-1937), suppléant

Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-Paris (1938-1954), organiste titulaire

Roman Catholic Church

## Biographical information

### Marital status

married to Jeanne-Martine Payet (1887-1961)(m. 192?)

### Place of birth

Château de Fonlabour, 1 Route de Toulouse, 81000 Albi, Tarn, France

### Place of death

Place des Vosges, 75004 Paris, Île-de-France, France

## Physical description

### Eye color

brown

**Monsieur Léonce Marie-Joseph, Comte de Saint-Martin-de-Paylha** *(born 31 October, 1886, Albi, Tarn - died 10 June, 1954, Paris, Île-de-France)*, more commonly known as **Léonce de Saint-Martin**, was a French nobleman who is primarily known as a virtuoso church and concert organist, composer, theorist, improviser, and pianist. He was the assistant organist of the Moucherel-Isnard-Puget organ of the Cathedral of Saint Cecilia in Albi from 1900 to 1924 and titular organist of the Notre-Dame-de-Paris cathedral from 1938 to 1954, succeeding his friend and teacher Louis Vierne.

The Saint-Martin family originated from the Ariège region of the Pyrenees and were of Spanish descent; the wealthy aristocratic family consisted of many generals and politicians who played an important role in French politics from the nineteenth century. The son of Jeanne Rouaïs (18??-1???), a pianist and housewife, and count Lucien Louis Henri de Saint-Martin-de-Paylha (1852-1922), he was one of three children. He had an early interest in music and began studying the organ by himself at the age of nine and piano lessons under his mother at the age of four.

Saint-Martin was often criticised, mocked, bullied, and ridiculed in his lifetime and rarely ever praised due to his sudden accession to the organ loft of Notre-Dame (he was accused of using his connections to achieve his aspirations), his lack of experience and much more, despite being a virtuoso; being deemed an "amateur" as he was not exactly well-known. Though he was a substitute for some time, Vierne's will dictated that a competition would be held to find his successor which was not held. The reluctant appointment of Saint-Martin by the cathedral caused widespread protests and outrage in the organ world (even with friends of Vierne) even though he was considered by a few parties to be a great player; defying Vierne's will which dictated that a competition would be held to determine the next titular organist of the cathedral.

He had very few, if any friends in the organ world and was an "outcast" to the rest of Parisian society (these comments still persist today due to his obscurity). His best friend, Marcel Dupré, the greatest virtuoso of his time, regularly supported him and kept his career alive while the rest of the scene scorned him. His legacy remains in many compositions which have emotional and virtuosic character and is unfortunately often underlooked, being overshadowed by his predecessor Vierne and his successor Pierre Cochereau.

As a virtuoso organist, he was impeccable and had been the second person to play Dupré's Trois préludes et fugues op. 7, contradicting Charles-Marie Widor's comment about them being "unplayable". It must be remarked that he was self-taught, though he did have a few private lessons with Louis Vierne, and did not enter any conservatories whatsoever.

A humble, pious, and peaceful man, numerous themes which are very obviously influenced by his Roman Catholic faith and devout personality appear in his works. An association called "Les Amis de Léonce de Saint-Martin" exists in his memory which was founded on 27 February 1963.

His title of "Count" was purely ceremonial and hereditary. Treated as an ordinary French citizen, he did not occupy any political positions nor govern any territories, even then he was not interested in law nor politics.

## Biography

### Family

> *"Liber, sed fides / I am free, but have faith"* (Motto of the House of Saint-Martin)
>
>

The House of Saint-Martin-de-Paylha (often shortened to Saint-Martin) are a minor French noble family of Spanish descent (the Ariège region of the Pyrenees was their homeland) that were ennobled by King Louis XVI on the 20th of November in the year 1696.

They occupied numerous important positions in French politics, and the military, in the 19th century and were also businessmen who invested in commerce. At the time of Léonce's birth, the house lived in the town of Albi in the Tarn department of France, where they owned a château, the Château de Fonlabour, built in the 18th century. They are a wealthy aristocratic family of considerable importance; which still survive today. One of the most famous members of the family is the philosopher Louis-Claude.

Despite the French Revolution, the family still keep its hereditary positions but live as ordinary French citizens.

A family tree, which will detail his ancestors, is to be published later.

### Early years

Léonce Marie-Joseph, Vicomte de Saint-Martin-de-Paylha, was born in the morning (approximate time: 08:00) of 31 October 1886 in the Château de Fonlabour (Route de Toulouse) in Albi (in southern France), which was owned by the House of Saint-Martin since the 18th century. The château now serves as facilties for an agricultural college. Count Louis-Lucien Henri, a lawyer, and Countess Jeanne-Marie de Saint-Martin de Paylha *née Rouaïs* were his father and mother respectively, and he was their eldest son.

Léonce was one of two children who managed to survive into adulthood - the other one being his younger sister Marie-Fernande Elisabeth ("Lisbeth") Hugot-Derville (1891-1973). His younger brother died at an early age, likely of smallpox.

His early interest in music began with his steadfast devotion to religion, through his upbringing in the Roman Catholic faith, and close attention and love for his mother, an excellent pianist. She gave him keyboard lessons which started when he was merely four. He attended the *École Sainte-Marie d’Albi*, as well as that of *Saint-Charles*, as his primary schools which furthermore increased his musical knowledge. He regularly played small pieces for public gatherings the schools held, including graduations. He was deemed a child prodigy.

Furthermore, Abbé Louis Birot (1863-1936), Archiprêtre of the Cathedral of Albi from 1908 until his death, and Abbé Pinel, Maître de chapelle l’Institut du Bon Sauveur and future priest of Fonlabou, the church next to the Saint-Martin *chateau* also influenced him and introduced him to gregorian chant. He served as a chorister at Albi Cathedral.

Saint-Martin played a pipe organ for the first time when he was 9 in the year 1895, at the great classical Moucherel-Isnard organ of Albi Cathedral. Having gotten permission from the parish priest to do so, he was immediately fascinated. His interests shifted towards the organ immediately, as up until then wanted to grow up to be a concert pianist, now wanting to be a professional organist. Instantly, he started learning the instrument by himself and continued to immerse himself in the rich liturgical tradition of the Catholic Church, including gregorian chant, which influenced him heavily in later life.

In 1900, Eudoxe-Irénée-Edouard Mignot, the Archbishop of Albi, appointed Léonce, 14, as the assistant organist of the cathedral, noting his talent, competence, and enthusiasm.

### The law student

Saint-Martin was interested in the organ, composition, musicology, and piano. However, his aristocratic father, despite recognising the musical potential of the young boy, was against him taking up a career in music; saying that "it is unserious, it is no better than being a sexton or verger". Despite this, his mother, Jeanne-Marie, encouraged the child to pursue his musical dreams and remained an important influence on him, as she was a fellow musician.

Eventually, he reluctantly gave into his father's demands and studied for his bacclaureate which he passed aged 15. His father enrolled him into the *Université de Montpellier* to study law and received a bachelor's degree in the subject when he was 20 - he did not however become a practicing lawyer, unlike his father.

He had still secretly pursued music, even having written and published a few pieces during this time; including his first few opuses. His opus 2, the piano piece *Légende Castillonaise*, and a ballet (destroyed by his father), were dedicated to Jeanne Caralp, a girl he had a crush on. Caralp was not of the correct social status in this case; being a commoner compared to the high and noble status of the House of Saint-Martin, and his father was against the relationship. In this aristocratic milieu, no one spoke or thought about money. It was not part of education. He did, however, excel in the local music programme.

It must be mentioned his mother, against M. Saint-Martin's will, paid for organ lessons for Léonce while he was studying in Montpellier that were given at the Chapelle des Pénitents Bleus by its organist. The same organist was also a professor at Montpellier's *conservatoire*. He was also able to meet Charles Bordes and the renowned Vincent d'Indy, two of the founders of Paris' Schola Cantorum, through these lessons. d'Indy advised Saint-Martin to travel to Paris, which he considered to do then, but ultimately saved the offer up for another time.

In 1904, Jean-Baptiste François-Ernest Puget, the renowned son of Théodore, revolutionised the organ of Albi Cathedral in a Romantic rebuild, turning the monumental Baroque instrument into the magnum opus of the Puget family. By this time, it now bore 74 stops over 4 manuals and pedalboard. Saint-Martin was enamoured and immediately focused to composing organ works specifically for this instrument.

Now aged 21, free from his father, and having served in the military for two years, he started pursuing music as a whole. He met Adolphe Marty, ...