Rolande Falcinelli facts for kids

Rolande Roberte Ginabat-Falcinelli (born February 18, 1920 – died June 11, 2006) was a talented French organist, pianist, composer, and music teacher. She was known for her amazing musical skills and for teaching many future famous musicians.

Her Life and Musical Journey

Rolande Falcinelli was born in Paris, France. Her family had a background in art, as her grand-uncle and grandfather were both painters.

She started her musical education early, joining the famous Conservatoire de Paris in 1932. There, she learned from some of the best teachers. She studied piano with Isidor Philipp, harmony with Marcel Samuel-Rousseau, and composition with Henri Büsser. Most importantly, she studied organ and improvisation with Marcel Dupré, who became her favorite teacher. In 1942, she won a special award called the Grand Prix de Rome for her compositions.

From 1946 to 1973, Rolande Falcinelli was the main organist at the famous Sacré-Cœur Basilica in Paris. This is a very important job for an organist! After her, her student Daniel Roth took over. She also taught organ at the American Conservatory in Fontainebleau and the École Normale de Musique in Paris for several years.

In 1948, she showed her incredible memory and skill by performing all of Marcel Dupré's organ music from memory at a concert hall in Paris. Dupré's music was very important to her throughout her career.

In 1955, Rolande Falcinelli took over from her teacher Marcel Dupré as the professor of organ and improvisation at the Paris Conservatory. She taught there until 1987. Many of her students became brilliant organists themselves, including Odile Pierre, Xavier Darasse, Louis Thiry, André Isoir, Daniel Roth, Pierre Pincemaille, Jean-Pierre Leguay, and Naji Hakim.

Besides playing and teaching, Rolande Falcinelli also wrote many musical pieces. She composed for the organ, piano, and other instruments. She also wrote music for orchestras, choirs, and even songs. She made many recordings, including some of Marcel Dupré's compositions.

Rolande Falcinelli passed away on June 11, 2006, at the age of 86, in Pau, France. She had a daughter named Sylviane, who became a musicologist (someone who studies music).

Her Musical Compositions

Rolande Falcinelli was a very creative composer. She wrote a wide variety of music for different instruments and groups.

Organ Music

She wrote many pieces for the organ, both for solo performances and for the organ with other instruments or voices.

• Organ Solo: Her organ solo works include pieces like Triptyque (a set of three pieces), Petit Livre de Prières (a small book of prayers), and La Cathédrale de l'Âme (The Cathedral of the Soul), which has ten parts. She also wrote 14 Études insérées dans l'Initiation à l'orgue, which are studies to help people learn the organ.
• Organ with Other Instruments or Voices: She combined the organ with other instruments like violins, cellos, flutes, and even two pianos. She also wrote pieces for voice and organ, including 4 Motets à la Vierge (four songs to the Virgin Mary) and Psaume XIII (Psalm 13).

Piano and Chamber Music

Rolande Falcinelli also composed a lot of music for the piano and for small groups of instruments (chamber music).

• Piano Solo: Her piano works include D'une âme... (Of a Soul...), a varied poem in ten connected songs, and Harmonies et lignes (Harmonies and Lines), which are eight short pieces.
• Chamber Music: She wrote for groups like string quartets, and pieces for instruments like violin and piano, or cello solo. Examples include her String Quartet and Chant d'ombre et de clarté (Song of Shadow and Light) for solo cello.
• Piano and Orchestra: She composed Polska, a suite based on popular Slavic tunes, for piano and orchestra.

Vocal and Choral Works

She also wrote music for singers and choirs.

• Songs: She set poems by famous writers like Paul Fort and Théophile Gautier to music.
• Choral Works: Her choral pieces include Messe de Saint-Dominique for a choir singing without instruments.
• Voice and Orchestra: She wrote larger works for solo singers, choirs, and full orchestras, such as the oratorio La Messiade.

Other Compositions

• Symphonic Orchestra: She composed a piece for a full orchestra called Marana Thâ.
• Ballet: She even created a ballet titled Cecca, la Bohémienne ensorcelée (Cecca, the Bewitched Gypsy Woman).
• Transcriptions: She arranged famous works by Johann Sebastian Bach, like his Musical Offering and Goldberg Variations, for the organ.

Educational Works

Rolande Falcinelli also wrote books to help others learn music. Her Initiation à l'orgue (Introduction to the Organ) and École de la Technique Moderne de l'Orgue (School of Modern Organ Technique) are examples of her teaching materials.

See also

In Spanish: Rolande Falcinelli para niños