Balbastre (or Balbâtre), Claude (-Bénigne)

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Balbastre (or Balbâtre), Claude (-Bénigne)

Balbastre (or Balbâtre), Claude (-Bénigne), French organist and composer; b. Dijon, Jan. 22, 1727; d. Paris, May 9, 1799. In about 1750 he began studying with Jean-Philippe Rameau. Between 1755 and 1782 he served as organist in concerts held by the Concert Spirituel. In 1756 he was named organist at St. Roch in Paris; in 1760 he was organist at Notre-Dame de Paris, serving there three months a year. He wrote 14 piano suites based on the motifs of French Christmas songs, as well as numerous organ pieces.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire