René Saorgin
Illustration — Saorgin at the console of the great organ of Monaco Cathedral (2005) René Joseph Antoine Saorgin (31 October 1928 – 16 December 2015) was a French organist.
Also recorded as Rene Saorgin
René Saorgin
Johannesclaudius · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Full name
- René Joseph Antoine Saorgin.
- Born
- 1928 · Cannes.
- Died
- 2015 · Nice.
- Nationality
- France
- Occupation
- organist · music educator · musician
- Fields
- music · organ performance
- Education
- Conservatory of Nice · Conservatoire de Paris
- Honours
- Commander of the Order of Cultural Merit
- Languages
- French
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wikidata · Q2144849 · wikipedia · René Saorgin
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Biography
Biography
René Saorgin studied at Conservatory of Nice and Conservatoire de Paris. The recorded working language is French. The field of work recorded is music and organ performance. Employment is recorded with Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate. Distinctions recorded are Commander of the Order of Cultural Merit.
Saorgin was born in Cannes and began his musical studies at the Nice Conservatoire and then went to Paris to study composition with Maurice Duruflé and Noël Gallon at the Paris Conservatoire. At the same time he took organ lessons with Gaston Litaize. Benefitting from the revival of the classical organ between 1955 and 1960, his knowledge and mastery of the instrument were essentially self-taught. His first appointment was as organist of the Church of Saint-Pierre de Montmartre in Paris. From 1954 to 1996 he was professor of organ at the National Regional Conservatoire in Nice; from 1954 to 1984 Titulaire of the main organ of the Church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Nice; from 1984 to 2005 titulaire of the main organ of the Cathedral of the Principality of Monaco. He was director of the Ajaccio Conservatoire for three years. In 1962, with Pierre Rochas, he cofounded the Académie de St. Maximin. He was the president and founder (and co-founder) of numerous organ associations, and a member of the high commission for historical monuments. Saorgin died in Nice on 16 December 2015, aged 87.
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Cannes.
Birth place
Nice.
Death place
Recordings
René Saorgin made recordings of the complete organ works of Buxtehude on historical organs, and Bach's Orgelbüchlein. He recorded the music of Frescobaldi on the Antegnati organ in Brescia and the Serassi instrument in Bastia. He also recorded the organ concertos of Michel Corrette, and early 19th century theatrical and military music on the organ at Tende. He also made numerous other recordings on the Harmonia Mundi record label. Of particular importance was his work in the discovery and creating public awareness of the organs in the former county of Nice.
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The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article René Saorgin, revision 1278693925 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
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Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Search results. www.google.com Better source needed. August 2022.
- 2.René Saorgin, a discography medieval.org
- 3.resmusica.com. L'organiste René Saorgin vient de décéder à l'âge de 87 ans. 18 December 2015.
- 4.René Saorgin Les orgues historiques du Comté de Nice (1980, Action Culturelle, Nice)
- 5.Silvano Rodi & René Saorgin Orgues historiques dans les vallées de la Roya et de la Bévéra (2003, Les Editions du Cabri, Breil-sur-Roya). (Recordings of the instruments described in this book are on the CD Lidi 0109127-03)
- 6.Philip Sawyer "An interview with René Saorgin" in Organists' Review August 2007
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 26 August 2026.
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