We hear that a new rector at Notre Dame de Paris has dismissed two organists and replaced them with an underqualified young man.
A petition to rectify the situation is being signed by many of the leading organists in France.
You can read it and sign on here.
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The best argument for this petition is this: if the Catholic church wants to use any public state funds to do anything, including appointing its own organists, then the church better comport itself according to state regulations in recruitments, appointments, use of public funds. France is a lay state with separation of church and state. It doesn’t seem obvious at times, but it is by constitution by law and by principle.
And yes, on the substance, it is absurd on its face that they are appointing a 21 year old student without a diploma. Looks really bad…and creepy.
The Church does not get any public funds for its operations. The State owns the building (and I presume, the organ itself) – hence, why France is paying for its rebuilding – but the Church gets no subsidies for services, running the church, or staff.
The Catholic Church gets public state funds? In France??
Luscious lips, though
“Notre Dame, Paris, organises two fires”
The scaffolding has been removed after the external restoration was completed. I believe the interior renovation will take a few more months.
You got downvotes for your comment, but that unfortunate picture begged for it. Rather shabbily.
Do we have any names?
Remaining in post: Olivier Latry and Vincent Dubois (great organ), and Yves Castagnet (choir organ)
Retiring (not necessarily by choice): Philippe Lefebvre (the petition demands he at least get renewed for a few months, so that he can participate in the re-inauguration, hence why it seems the retirement is not entirely voluntary)
Fired/dismissed: Johann Vexo, assistant choir organist
Hired: Thierry Escaich
Hired: Thibault Fajoles, assistant at the Great organ and the choir organ. According to Res Musica, he’s a student of Olivier Latry, still a student, and 21.
They object, in particular, to the non-renewal of Vexo, and the hiring of Fajoles without auditions/concours, given the prestige of the post and the fact it was the chosen procedure when Dubois was hired in 2016.
“underqualified young man”
Doesn’t that describe every young 20-something conductor taking over the most august orchestras of the world?
Touche
Conductors don’t get lifetime appointments to, arguably, the most prestigious job (or easily a Top 5 one) in the world.
If anyone is criticizing Thibault Fajoles then clearly they have not heard him perform and definitely have never heard him perform live. I attended two of his recent performances when he was in residence in New Orleans, and he is truly a Wunderkind! Not only did I hear him play two different programs in one month, but they were full of some rather complex music by Bach and by Max Reger among others, and the highlight of each concert was his incredible lengthy improvisations. I am sure that even the greatest composers of all time would have been impressed. And for comparison, just read about the early prominent position that François Couperin got at an even younger age as Royal organist in Paris. I am sure without a doubt that Thibault Fajoles will prove himself more than worthy of this position.
If he’s that good, he should have had no problem winning an audition though. There are thousands of wonderful musicians all over the world – they all have to pass auditions.
That also goes for PA’s. I did an audition here and was rejected, but I came anyway, these things are really a matter of persistence!
Sally
Hear! Hear!
Please. The real story here is the obvious placement by Latry of his own student into the position, which ought to be more than enough to spur NL or any other responsible journo to have a look into the long-known but little talked-about power plays he exerts in the organ community and beyond, very much including emotional abuse and other old-school Conservatoire tactics. Of course, good luck getting any of those probably terrified organ students to talk, aware as they are of the control he has over their opportunities.
I don’t see his name on that long-winded petition.
Perhaps a celebratory entente musicale in anticipation of a twinning partnership with Winchester.
The photograph is terribly out-of-date.
Well, it wasn’t quite a lifetime appointment for Lefebure, was it?
Well he was there for 34 years, until the Church burned, and he is 75 years old. So sure, I’ll grant you that, he didn’t literally die at the keyboard.
Clearly the senior cleric doing the hiring and firing fancies the young man in question… It’s happened here in the UK only too often.
Maybe he should apply for the vacancy at Winchester?
I tried to post this comment yesterday, and it is still being held awaiting moderation:
If anyone is criticizing Thibault Fajoles, then clearly they have not heard him perform and definitely have never heard him perform live. I attended two of his recent performances when he was in residence in New Orleans (where we often host organists from Paris), and he is truly a Wunderkind! Not only did I hear him play two different programs in one month, but they were full of some rather complex music by Bach and Max Reger among others, and the highlight of each concert was his incredible lengthy improvisations. I am sure that even the greatest composers of all time would have been impressed. And for comparison, just read about the early prominent position that François Couperin got at an even younger age as Royal organist in Paris. I am sure without a doubt that Thibault Fajoles will prove himself more than worthy of this position.
And additionally, I might add that when we criticize a young conductor for being given a position that seems too prominent for their age, it is because that type of leadership position requires years of experience that is typically only found in more mature maestros. A conductor and an instrumentalist are not the same thing. Surely, however, we can all recognize the virtuosity and talent of a great young musician.
Thibault? Is… is that you?
No, the comment was made by me. As you can see, I am not hiding behind some anonymous name like an internet troll. I have given my full name with photo and can easily be found online. My point here in general is that it is far too easy for anonymous internet trolls to criticize from behind their screens without ever actually having hear these musicians play. Even worse is that when professional musicians do interact in live performances, their personal experiences will be questioned by those who were neither there nor perhaps even musicians themselves. We live in a world where the basic truths of reality are questioned by online misinformation. Let’s all just turn off our devices and go experience live music! Basta.
Looks like the perfect time to fire all these disobedient organists and replace them with rappers.
Folks – nobody here has any idea of what is really happening. Could we please let the folks at Notre Dame work out things for themselves whilst trying to get the place ready to open? FYI – I know the young man in question. He’s excellent and will be a great asset to the musical life of that great cathedral.