Louis Marchand - Life

Life

Marchand was born in Lyon. Évrard Titon du Tillet, writing in 1732, described Marchand's father as a "mediocre organist". The son, however, was a child prodigy. According to the same source, Louis became organist of the Nevers Cathedral when he was just 14 years old; Titon du Tillet also states that ten years later, at the age of 24, Marchand obtained a similar position at the Auxerre Cathedral, but contemporary sources seem to indicate that the biographer was wrong, and Marchand settled in Paris before he turned 20. He married a Parisian, Marie Angélique Denis, in 1689, and worked as organist in numerous churches until 1707–8, when he became one of the King's organists at the court. Between 1713 and 1717 Marchand went on a long concert tour of Germany; after he returned, he settled in Paris once again and worked as organist at Église des Cordeliers until his death, augmenting his income with teaching.

Marchand was one of the most famous French virtuosi of his day. Virtually all contemporary sources speak very highly of his organ and harpsichord skills, and some may exaggerate, consciously or not, the way Titon du Tillet did when he spoke of the Auxerre Cathedral appointment. For instance, one account mentions that Marchand was not required to compete for the position of the organist to the King (as was customary). Another claims that, when Marchand first arrived at Paris, he was offered literally all posts that were vacant at the time. Marchand's skills as a performer were enough to fuel speculations in the press, but apparently he also possessed a volatile, flamboyant personality, and was a very difficult person with whom to work. For example, in 1691 Marchand attempted to displace Jean-François Dandrieu's uncle, Pierre Dandrieu, from the latter's position at St Barthélemy, by implying Dandrieu left a prostitute pregnant. Around 1717 he contested with François Couperin for the authorship of Les bergeries, a very popular piece from Couperin's Second livre de clavecin, published that year. Marchand was also rumored to be unfaithful to his wife and also beat her. The couple separated in 1701, but for many years after this, Marie Angélique kept suing the composer for financial settlement. When Marchand left for Germany in 1713, it may have been to escape from his wife's legal threats—however, Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg reported that Marchand left because Louis XIV exiled the composer for "impertinence." Still another account claims that after Marchand's wife had left him, Louis XIV ordered half the composer's salary to be withheld and paid to her. Marchand, in response, broke off in the middle of a mass where he was playing and, when the king questioned him, responded, "Sire, if my wife gets half my salary, she may play half the service."

Perhaps the most famous anecdote about Marchand is the account of the competition he was supposed to have with Johann Sebastian Bach in Dresden in September 1717. According to Marpurg, Jakob Adlung, and other German sources (the story is not found in any French documents), the two composers were to have a contest in harpsichord performance, and Marchand fled before Bach's arrival, apparently out of fear of being defeated. This story, retold with various embellishments by Bach's later biographers such as Johann Nikolaus Forkel, was only subjected to close scrutiny by late 20th century scholars; no conclusive proof exists that Marchand ran away, or even that he knew the competition was to take place.