Henri Mulet

Henri Gabriel Mulet (17 October 1878 – 20 September 1967) was a French

Biography

Mulet was born on 17 October 1878 in Paris. His father Gabriel Léon Mulet was choirmaster of

Mulet's most notable works are for organ: the Esquisses byzantines (1914-1919) and the Carillon-Sortie (1911/12). The former, a set of ten pieces, was a recollection of the Romano-Byzantine architectural style of Sacré-Cœur and five of the pieces are named after some of its features, including "Campanile" (bell-tower) and "Chapelle des Morts" (chapel of the dead). The Carillon has been called "one of the great showpieces of French Romantic organ music".[2] Mulet's complete organ works were recorded in a set of two CDs in 1989, played by Paul Derett.^[3]

In 1922 Mulet published "Les tendances et antireligieuses néfastes de l'orgue moderne", an attack on modern schools of organ building; this was followed by similar essays. He deplored the trend to create organs which he felt were more appropriate for the cinema than for church: the organ was "a

In 1937, Mulet, following a financial crisis, destroyed his manuscripts and many of his possessions and left Paris for Draguignan (Var). There he continued as a church organist until 1958, often in poverty (his wife opened a toy-shop in the hope of increasing their income). Ill-health led Mulet and his wife, Isabelle-Emilie-Marie (née Rochereau) to retire to a convent in Draguignan, where he died in 1967.^[1][2][4]

Works

Mulet's compositions include:^[5]

Organ

• Méditation religieuse, 1896?
• Prière, 1902?
• Carillon-Sortie, Procure Générale, 1911 or 1912?
• Offertoire funèbre
• Petit offertoire - Maurice Senart, 1912 reprinted by Edition: "Le Grand Orgue"
• Sortie douce - Maurice Senart, 1912 reprinted by Edition: "Le Grand Orgue"
• Offertoire sur un Alléluia grégorien, pour la fête du Très-Saint-Rosaire
• Esquisses Byzantines (10 pieces), 1914–19, including the popular Tu es petra ("Thou art the rock")

Harmonium

• Angelus (a transcription of his earlier orchestral work "San Salvator").
• Offertoire
• Sortie

Orchestral

• Dans la vallée du tombeau (Souvenir de Lombardie), symphonic poem, 1908
• La Toussaint, symphonic poem, 1909
• Fantaisie pastorale, 1911
• Paysage d’hiver
• Paysages crépusculaires
• Scherzo-Marche
• Petite suite sur des airs populaires français
• Souvenirs de Lombardie

Vocal

• O mon Jésus (hymn), 1900
• L’aigu bruissement, voice and piano, 1904
• Laudate dominum, four voices and organ, 1904
• Soleils couchants, voice and piano, 1904
• Ave Maria, three voices & organ, 1910
• Les deux étoiles, voice and piano, 1910
• Le dernier des Maourys, voice and piano, 1911
• Le talion, voice and orchestra, 1912 (on a text by LeConte de Lisle).

Chamber and instrumental

• Danse afghane, piano, 1904
• 2 noëls, oboe or clarinet & piano, 1904
• Danse persane, piano, 1910
• Petit lied très facile, harpsichord or piano, 1910

Essays

• Les tendances et antireligieuses néfastes de l'orgue modern. Congres General de Musique Sacree, Strassbourg 26-31 Juillet 1921.
• Étude sur le role des mutations et la composition rationelle du Plein-Jeu dans un grand orgue, Strassbourg 26-31 Juillet 1921.

References

Notes

Sources

• Bate, Jennifer (1980). "Mulet, Henri", in
  ISBN 0333231112
• Nickol, Christopher (1989). "Complete Mulet". The Musical Times, Vol. 130, No. 1757, p. 439. (subscription required)
• Plender, Aidan (October 1981). "Henri Mulet, 1878-1967". The Musical Times, Vol. 122, No. 1664, p. 697 and 699. (subscription required)
• Simeone, Nigel (2000). Paris--a Musical Gazetteer, p. 165. Yale University Press.
  ISBN 0300080549
• Dimitroulis Ioannis (2012) "Mulet, Henri", in Henri Mulet, ed. Flu Press Gerd Numitor (Ed.)
  ISBN 9786137058275