Henri Mulet

Synopsis

French organist and composer

• 1878 born in Montmartre, Paris, to Gabriel Mulet, choirmaster of the basilica of Sacré-Coeur, Paris.
• 1897 took second prize in organ at the Paris Conservatory, where he studied with Widor and Guilmant.
• 1897-1912 held a succession of posts as titular organist at St Pierre-de-Montrouge (until 1901), St Eustache, Ste Marie des Batignolles (1910), St Roch (1912), and finally St Philippe du Roule in Paris.
• 1897-1912 the period in which virtually all of his organ works were composed, and nearly all of his other works as well.
• 1922 published "Les tendances néfastes et antireligieuses de l’orgue moderne; suivi d’une étude sur les mutations et les mécanismes rationnels de cet instrument." In this treatise he expressed his opposition to the modern trends (in his eyes) of reprehensible organ playing, that increasingly broke away from worship in the Catholic Church. He also, according to Oxford Music online, "made public his hostility towards certain innovations in contemporary organ-building: the proliferation of gamba and voix céleste stops, the addition of tremulants and sub- and super-octave couplers, and the disappearance of mutations and mixtures. He was quite eccentric and solitary throughout his life.
• 1924 oversaw the overhaul of the Mutin organ at St. Philippe, the most significant alteration being the addition of new mixtures.
• 1924-1931 professor at the Ecole Niedermeyer and at the Schola Cantorum.
• 1937 "burnt his manuscripts and left Paris for Provence, where disastrous financial dealings rapidly reduced him to penury." (Oxford music online)
• 1938-1958 cathedral organist in Draguignan.
• 1958-1967 an inmate of the convent of the Petites Soeurs des Pauvres, where he remained until his death.
• 1967 died in Draguignan.

For details, see the Henri Mulet article on Wikipedia.

Also see Oxford Music online: http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.erl.lib.byu.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/19306?q=henri+mulet&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit

List of Organ Works

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Opus	Title	Year
Op. ??	Tu Es Petra, from 10 Esquisses byzantines	1914-1919
Op. ??	Carillon Sortie	c. 1912
Op. ??	10 Esquisses byzantines	1914-1919
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Background and General Perspectives on Performing Mulet Organ Works

In his published treatise on organ playing, according to Oxford Music Online, "he made public his hostility towards certain innovations in contemporary organ-building: the proliferation of gamba and voix céleste stops, the addition of tremulants and sub- and super-octave couplers, and the disappearance of mutations and mixtures."

"Mulet was a champion of the symphonic organ."

"His Esquisses byzantines (1914–19) is among the most often played of his works; it is a group of ten pieces inspired by the Sacré-Coeur. His Carillon-Sortie (composed c1912) is somewhat different in nature, a moto-perpetuo fit to stand beside similar pieces by Widor, Gigout and Boëllmann."

Registration and Organs

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See the footnote in the "Notes" section at the bottom of the page

Fingering and Pedaling

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Articulation and Phrasing

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Ornamentation

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Tempo and Meter

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Scores and Editions

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Recordings

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Free Online

Mulet: Tu es Petrus, performed by Stephen Tharp

Henri Mulet, "Tu es petra et portae inferi non praevalebunt adversus te", performed by Patrick A. Scott

Pay to Listen

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Other Resources

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Notes

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