Louis Lambillotte - Early Life

Early Life

At the age of fifteen, he became organist in Charleroi; later he went in a similar capacity to Dinant (Belgium). In 1820 he was appointed choirmaster and organist of the Jesuit College of Saint-Acheul, Amiens. While exercising these functions he also studied the classics, and at the end of five years, in August, 1825, he entered the Society of Jesus. The thirty years of his Jesuit life were spent successively in the colleges of Saint-Acheul, Fribourg, Estavayer, Brugelette and Vaugirard (Paris). While occupied in teaching and directing music, he gave himself up more entirely to composition, with a view to enhance both the religious ceremonies and the academic entertainments in those newly founded colleges. His powers of composition were checked by the limited ability of his performers, his orchestra, like his chorus, being entirely recruited from the ranks of the students; nevertheless he provided new music for almost every occasion, producing in the course of time, besides his volumes of canticles, a large number of motets, short oratorios, masses and secular cantatas, mostly for four-part chorus and orchestra. This music became popular, especially in educational institutions. Late in life Lambillotte regretted having published those written improvisations without taking time to revise them. After his death a revision of the greater part of them was made and published (Paris, 1870) by his pupil, Jesuit father Camille de la Croix, and by Louis Dessane, organist of St. Sulpice, Paris, and afterwards of St. Francis Xavier, New York.