Prière des mages, op. 212 (1971/81)

Jean Langlais (1907–1991) — Prière des mages, op. 212 (1971/81) for organ

The French composer Jean Langlais (1907–1991) was born in La Fontenelle (near Mont Saint-Michel) and was educated at the National Institute for the Blind and the Paris Conservatory. He studied with André Marchal, Marcel Dupré, Paul Dukas, and Charles Tournemire. Langlais served as organiste titulaire of the Basilica of Sainte-Clotilde in Paris from 1945 until 1988. He performed many recital tours throughout Europe and the United States, and taught at the Schola Cantorum in Paris from 1961 to 1976. As a composer, Langlais published hundreds of works, most of which are for the organ.

“Prière des mages, op. 212” (1971/81) was written at the suggestion of Thomas Daniel Schlee and adapted by the composer from the first section of his “Organ Concerto No. 3, ‘Reaction’ (1971)” during the process of the concerto’s revision. It is dedicated to Langlais’s protégé Naji Hakim.

Published by Universal Edition in “The New Organ Album I”