Louis Vierne (1870-1937) was a French organist, teacher, and composer, most well known for his six organ symphonies and his position as organist of Notre Dame de Paris from 1900 until his death in 1937. Vierne is very well known among organists, but his influence on the wider reach of French music is difficult to quantify. Though he lived in Paris through the whole decade of the 1920s, it appears that he didn’t have as much interaction with some of the influential musicians in Paris of the time such as Stravinsky, Poulenc, or Milhaud. Vierne could potentially be labelled as an outsider because he was widely influential in the organ scene in France and around the world, but in the larger sphere of art music he was mainly an outsider.
The first source that highlights his contributions to the world of French music is his collection of personal memoirs, called Mes Souvenirs. In his writings he details his musical development and his interactions with many other musicians and peers throughout his life.1 Throughout the memoirs he focuses mainly on the interactions he had at the Paris Conservatory and the Schola Cantorum (where he studied and taught), as well as his relationships with fellow organists and composers, as well as his job at the Cathedral of Notre Dame. When he focuses on these specific topics, we can assume that he considered them the most important aspects of his life and that his reach mostly extended to people who played organ.
The second source comes from the journal The American Organist, in 1980 there was a special issue published on the life of Louis Vierne. The article is a memory of Louis Vierne written by Maurice Durufle, one of the students of Vierne.2 The fact that The American Organist devoted a whole issue to the memory of Louis Vierne highlights his role as one of the leaders of the French organ tradition late into the 20th century and to today. The French organ tradition dated back to Widor and Faure of the late 19th century and continued with Vierne, Dupre, Durufle, and Messiaen. Today among organists French organ music is highly regarded and are usually among the most commonly performed works.