G.-F. IMBERT

Germain Fuzet, known as “Imbert”, was born in Avignon in 1813. He worked in that town as organist at the collegiate church of Saint-Pierre, choirmaster of the Congrégation des Jeunes-Filles de la Paroisse, linked to the same church, professor of music at the Petit Séminaire and founder, in 1860, of a choral society. He left behind a large body of religious works which reflect the changing face of Catholic piety during the French Restoration and the second half of the 19th century. His catalogue primarily includes a large number of organ accompaniments for the canticles of the Virgin Mary, revealing the rise in Marian devotion typical of the period (see in particular his Cinq Cantiques à Marie to words by Roumanille and his Six Cantiques du mois de Marie setting texts by Abbé Gonnet; as well as his Stabat Maters). Following in the tradition of provincial carols under the French Ancien Régime and owing to renewed interest in this musical and religious genre, Imbert’s work also includes several collections devoted to the celebration of the Nativity (see his Huit Noëls à l’Enfant Jésus, his Treize Noëls pour trois voix égales, as well as two other collections of twelve pieces). Like many religious composers of his time, Imbert also produced motets composed on the text of the hymn, O Salutaris Hostia, written by Thomas Aquinas. Alongside works destined for the celebration of daily services and religious festivals, there are works for extra-liturgical purposes, including a pastoral in three scenes entitled Bethléem, a cantata performed in Orange (Les Triomphateurs) and some religious songs of uncertain use (including Providence). At his funeral, on 12 September 1886, a Requiem of his own composition was performed by the Orphéon du Vaucluse. Imbert taught several composers from Avignon, including Jules Goudareau (1843-1934) and Albert Petit (1850-1929).