Paul Goussot

(Tournemire Prize 2011)

St Albans Cathedral

JS Bach Passacaglia, BWV 582
Improvisation: Partita diverse sopra ‘Ach wie flüchtig ach wie nichtig’
Handel Organ Concerto in F major ‘The Cuckoo and the Nightingale’, HWV 295: Larghetto – Allegro (with improvised cadenza) – Organo ad libitum – Larghetto – Allegro
Mendelssohn Prelude and fugue in E minor, arr. William Best
Widor Andante sostenuto from Gothique Symphonie
Vierne Final from Symphonie no.6
Improvisation

Paul Goussot has always tried to diversify his work as an artist by specializing in all of organ, harpsichord and improvisation.

At the age of 23, he was appointed titular of the famous Dom Bedos organ at the Abbey of St-Croix in Bordeaux. He succeeded Marie-Claire Alain, Susan Landale and François-Henri Houbart as an organ professor at the Rueil-Malmaison Conservatory and he has also been appointed professor of improvisation and continuo at the HEM of Geneva.

Born in 1984 in Bordeaux, Paul Goussot entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris at the age of 16. He gained first prizes in harpsichord, organ, harmony, counterpoint, fugue and forms, as well as prizes in continuo, improvisation and two teaching diplomas that qualified him as professor of harpsichord and organ studies. During his studies, Paul Goussot won a scholarship of the Meyer Foundation and a scholarship of the Adami.

Prize winner of the international competitions of Bruges and St-Maurice d’Agaune (Switzerland), Paul Goussot won first prize for improvisation at the international competition in Luxembourg, first prize for improvisation at the 26th St Albans International Organ Competition and, in 2012, first prize and the audience prize at the 49th international improvisation competition in Haarlem. As a result he was invited to prestigious European festivals: Musique sacrée à Notre-Dame de Paris, Festival de la Roque d’Anthéron, Bach Orgel festival Leipzig, Musik-fest Bremen, St Albans Organ Festival, Ancona, Haarlem, Lausanne.

He has performed with well-known artists such as the pianist Christian Ivaldi, the organist Olivier Latry, the violinist Marina Chiche, the comedian Benjamin Lazar / Damien Laquet, and the storyteller Elodie Fondacci. He played many concerts with the Ricercar Consort (Philippe Pierlot) and participated in a recording dedicated to Buxtehude’s cantatas.

His latest CD recorded on the Dom Bedos organ in Bordeaux received the Choc Classica award.

In October 2009, Paul Goussot was appointed First Young Artist in Residence in St Louis Cathedral in New Orleans. In the following six months he gave organ or harpsichord concerts in various towns in Louisiana as well as in Texas, and performed Poulenc’s Organ Concerto with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.

Paul Goussot’s improvisational skills play an essential role in his artistic pursuits. His growing interest in silent movies has led him to accompany several screenings at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, the Auditorium de Lyon and Toulouse les orgues.

Frequently invited as a teacher in France and abroad, Paul Goussot gaves improvisation masterclasses and workshops at the Paris Conversatory and the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.