https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=NntIQKBvJlk&list=OLAK5uy_kGmKoZQ6j8Ai1lIuUR3a-
DgbgVQWGDh_c&index=25 Le Chant Intérieur: “Se Consumer En Sa Divine Presence”

Fr Dom Paul Benoit

http://danwebs.com/dpb/

Dom Paul Benoit, O.S.B. (1893-1979)

Dom Paul Benoit, O.S.B. was an organist, composer, and Roman Catholic priest, who lived as a
member of the Benedictine community at the Abbey of St. Maurice et St. Maur, at Clervaux, in
Luxembourg. Dom Paul Benoit's compositions never leave the realm of tonality, albeit often modal.
His works frequently draw from the melodies of Gregorian chant, making them easily palatable by all
ears. Dom Paul acknowledged the influence of the French impressionist works of Claude Debussy and
Maurice Ravel upon his organ compositions. As a result, Dom Paul's works are some what unique for
the organ in bearing a pervasive imprint of impressionism. The large body of French romantic and
contemporary organ literature comprises a well known collection of repertoire for the instrument. Yet
far more meager is the list of organ compositions that can lay claim to the subtlety or transcendence of
the impressionists. Dom Paul Benoit's organ compositions, in addition to being excellent liturgical
music, form a unique and worthy contribution to the body of literature for the instrument. Dom Paul
Benoit is pictured at the Abbey's three manual 1907 Cavaillé-Coll.

"His published scores do not even represent half of his production" ...liner notes from the recording
by Carlo Hommel"

A Brief Sketch of the Life of Dom Paul Benoit, O.S.B. http://danwebs.com/dpb/benoit06.html

Paul Marie Joseph Benoit (1893 Nancy, France - 1979 the Abbey of St. Maurice et St. Maur, Clervaux,
Luxembourg)

Early years: Paul Marie Joseph Benoit's first music lessons were on the piano around the age of seven
with his mother as his teacher. As a youngster his first compositions were for piano, cello and violin, as
his brothers were studying these instruments. Dom Paul, in part was self-taught. He was a chorister in
the cathedral schola. As a boy in the village of Nancy, Dom Paul studied first with a local organist, then
later continued with Mlle. Hess, daughter of the cathedral organist.

Life at the Abbey: Dom Paul Benoit took the vows of Benedictine life following the First World War and
was ordained to the priesthood in 1925. Dom Paul is the person on the left in the adjacent picture. The
"DOM" in Fr. Benoit 's name is the traditional title which for centuries has been given to Benedictine
monks after their profession, coming from the Latin word "Dominus" meaning "master". This is not
"master" taken to mean "Lord"; rather, it is in the context found in many cultures where those who
master a craft or aspire to spiritual enlightenment are addressed as "master" by their students.

The abbot of the community gave Dom Paul permission to study with the organist of the Cathedral of
Versailles, M. Pierson. It was during this time that Benoit studied the works of Bach and became most
fascinated with the organ works of Vierne.

Benoit became the organist for the abbey in 1933. His knowledge of counterpoint was self-taught from
his study of Bach's organ compositions. It was also at this time that Dom Paul began to take seriously
his work at composition - primarily as a solution to the abbey's lack of available organ scores. The
publication of his work was initially the result of encouragement from individuals who heard the organ
improvisations which Dom Paul would perform for Mass on feast days.

The abbey's organ which Benoit wrote for was a three manual Cavaille-Coll, dedicated in 1907 by
Alexander Guilmant, at the Paris Exhibition. See the page Cavaillé-Coll Organ at the Abbey also part
of this website specifically describing the organ. Ironically, much of Paul Benoit's actual
compositional work was apparently done in a single room cottage on abbey grounds.
Compositional style: The influence of Gregorian chant and modality in Dom Paul's compositions are
immediately obvious.

In an interview with Paul W. Hagan ("Homage to Dom Paul Benoit"; by Paul W. Hagan, Music the
AGO/RCCO Magazine; February 1977, page 38), Dom Paul Benoit attributes his inspiration to the
influences of Bach (contrapuntal themes), Vierne (chromaticism), Debussy (free rhythmic structure),
and Ravel (chromatids). A note of sincere (if belated) thanks must be extended to both Paul Hagan and
Music the AGO/RCCO Magazine (now "The American Organist") for seeking out Dom Paul before his
death and publishing the interview. The interview was given when Dom Paul was 83, at which time
Dom Paul felt he was too old to compose anymore. Dom Paul's languages were French and German.
Paul Hagan refers to Dom Paul charmingly as a "kind and gentle monk", whose later years were
focused on monitoring government meteorological instruments which were located on the abbey's
lands. .

Dom Paul Benoit and Impressionism http://danwebs.com/dpb/benoit07.html

Dom Paul Benoit acknowledged the influence of four major composers' works upon his compositional
style: Bach, Vierne, Debussy and Ravel. While the organ is an expected medium for the styles of J. S.
Bach and Louis Vierne, the organ is something of an unexpected medium to embrace the styles of
Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel. Bach's works may have served as a foundation for Dom Paul's
composition studies and Vierne's works as a romantic vantage point from which Benoit became
enamored with chromaticism; however, Dom Paul's work clearly shares with Debussy and Ravel
several compositional elements that are the fabric of impressionism. Even though elements of
Debussy's style and Ravel's style are visible in Dom Paul's work, truth is best served by
acknowledging that Debussy composed in the style of Debussy, Ravel in the style of Ravel, and Benoit
in the style of Benoit. This parallel diversity is characteristic among the impressionist composers.

Romanticism is credited with hitting its zenith in Richard Wagner. Several composers who followed
Wagner's time felt it was time for a respite from the storm and hence their need to flee from the
intensity of the emotion expressed in romanticism.

The constraints of romanticism often included: a.) melody and harmony remaining weightily within the
confines of tonality as far as it could be pushed, and b.) musical form rigidly adhering to the accepted
structures.

Those who rebelled fell into two groups, the expressionists and the impressionists. Indicative of the
expressionists were Alban Berg, Anton von Webern, and "Arnie" Schoenberg - hmmm... a "12-tone"
Mass, ...let's not go there for now. On the other path, the works of Claude Debussy became the
cornerstone of the musical impressionism. A list of others who were evolving at the same time
includes Frederick Delieus, Charles Martin Loeffler, Manuel De Falla, Eric Satie, and Maurice Ravel.
The most striking observation one can make collectively about their work is that they all are very
different - yet similar in their transition away from romanticism. Their art interacted to redirect each
other - all of their paths crossed in Paris. They were bent on softening the hold traditional tonality had
on music. They were not allergic to parallel movement within the voices of a composition. They did
not hesitate to modify any compositional technique of the romantics to fit their impressionist ends.
They were not married to the structure of traditional forms. Beauty and naturalness of expression were
still a musical priority. Most important, they tried everything they could find to explore new sound
textures - modes, pentatonic scales, the whole tone scale, and so forth.

So where are we? With the impressionists we find ourselves surrounded by more gentle textures,
whose elusive harmonies evoke the ethereal. Melodies without strong tonal direction, placed against
more transparent background textures. "Modal friendly" as opposed to "only major and minor spoken
here". Meter exercises a far more gentle hold on the flow of the music.
Parallelism with chordal harmonies using the 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths. Maurice Ravel's works can even
be accused of falling under the spell of jazz, which is known from his self confessed fascination with the
medium. Ah, ...Paris after the turn of the 20th century!

These impressionistic elements consistently prevade the fabric of Dom Paul's organ compositions,
even though his works were composed substantially later than the beginning of the twentieth century.
What is unique to impressionism with Dom Paul's music is that it was written for the organ, not
historically the instrument of choice for the typical impressionist, and that it was written to embrace the
flow of the liturgy, not historically an impressionistic stage setting. His compositions are chant based,
which is home turf for the modes. His textures ooze with parallelism and suspensions that skillfully
utilize 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths. Dom Paul's music maintains metrical movement, yet is imbued with a
mood of timelessness. His use of sustained notes, or sustained chords, against other moving voices,
and his use of sequential suspensions, vaguely remind one of the texture of Debussy's sustained pedal
effects for the piano.

Coda: Dom Paul Benoit's music for organ mystically transports one aloft like gently rising incense, yet
always with a faint aroma of the contemporary. The textures of his grandiose moments skilfully
maintain a transparency that avoids any excessive thickness. His gentlier moments consistently evoke
an "other worldly" peace, with almost a healing quality in their warmth - a most appropriate musical
texture for our time, ...or any time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Benoit_%28composer%29

Paul Benoit was born December 9, 1893 in Nancy, France.

During World War I, Benoit first began to feel called to the vocation of a Benedictine monk. After the
Armistice of 1918, he entered a retreat at the Benedictine Abbey of St. Maurice and St. Maur, at
Clervaux in Luxembourg, and he joined the abbey in 1919. After the taking his vows (1921) and being
ordained into priesthood (1926), he was called Dom Paul Benoit. "Dom" is the traditional title given to
Benedictines after their vows.

Benoit had begun music lessons at the age of seven, taking piano lessons from his mother. He took
organ lessons from Mademoiselle Hess, the daughter of the organist of Notre Dame Cathedral in
Nancy. After his priestly ordination, he studied the organ with Albert Leblanc, the former organist of
Notre Dame Cathedral in Luxembourg. He then studied with Augustin Pierson, organist at St. Louis
Cathedral in Versailles, whose brother was also a monk at Clervaux. There he was introduced to the
music of Johann Sebastian Bach and Louis Vierne, who influenced his own work. During that time, he
gave organ lessons to organists in the area of Clervaux.

In 1931, Benoit took over as organist of the Mutin-Cavaillé-Coll organ (3 manuals, 20 stops) at the
abbey, replacing his predecessor who suffered from health problems. Although he had already
composed small pieces as a child, it was at this time that he began composing seriously. In an
autobiography[citation needed], he said that he drew inspiration from J.S Bach (counterpoint), Louis
Vierne (chromaticism), Claude Debussy (free rhythmic structure) and Maurice Ravel (chromaticism).
His main source of inspiration was Gregorian chant, who he heard daily in the monastic liturgy.
Benoit's compositional style can be described as melodic-pentatonic. He skillfully uses ninths,
elevenths, and thirteenths, and the melody is often set against sustained chords. On the advice of his
spiritual director, Benoit used his personal prayer time in his monastic cell for composing, because he
could be close to God in this way. Benoit composed only for God, and he never performed a public
concert.

In 1945, Benoit met Chopiney Georges, who had just moved to the Abbey of Clairvaux, and who
became his assistant at the organ, and a good friend. Chopiney wrote in his obituary of Benoit that in
addition to music, Benoit - much like Olivier Messiaen - had a great love for plants and animals. He
liked to take walks in the forest to admire the wetlands and watch animals (birds, butterflies, and even
insects.) He was also involved in running a small weather station.
As described by Chopiney, Benoit had a complex personality. On the one hand, he was a shy,
sensitive, and timid man, who had a great need for love and appreciation, yet had difficulty relating to
other people. On the other hand, he was sometimes jealous and could be very dominant, even
authoritarian, although he was fundamentally a deeply humble man. He also had a sentimental streak,
with a certain naiveté and enthusiasm. Chopiney concludes his article with the following words:
"French: “En définitive, Dom Benoît ne fut jamais rien d'autre qu'un enfant. [...] Il avait une âme d'enfant,
limpide, naïve et candide." (English: "In the end, Dom Benoit was never anything other than a child [...]
He had a child's soul, pure, naive and innocent.")

Benoit died on April 10, 1979 in Clervaux and left behind a great body of work for the organ, much of
which has not yet been published.

Abbey of Clervaux, Luxembourg (where Fr Dom Paul Benoit was based)

Fr Paul Benoit (on the right)

Fr Dom Paul Benoit (on the Crevaux Abbey’s three manual 1907 Cavaille-Coll).