(1914 - 1987)
This musician, a native of Neuchâtel, studied the organ with Louis Kelterborn, then Charles Faller (Prix de virtuosité in 1938), harmony with Charles Humbert, counterpoint and composition with Paul Benner, then became a disciple of Marcel Dupré. He never hid the admiration and gratitude he felt for his teachers. From 1934 on he was organist in Corcelles (canton of Neuchâtel), from 1938 to 1942 in the city church in Bienne. From 1942 onwards, his center of activity was Neuchâtel, where he was organist of the Collegiate church, taught singing in schools, piano at the high school, as well as organ, harmony, analysis, counterpoint and composition at the Conservatory. He gave many concerts in Switzerland, France and Germany, with the accent on contemporary and Swiss music. His output shows a mastery of architecture; he manages to place all the subtleties of counterpoint at the service of expression. His writing is usually Polytonal or modal, with original themes and subtle rhythms. Indebted to the French approach, his style reveals a rich and generous personality with a profoundly sincere spirituality.
