Félix Fourdrain

Félix Fourdrain (3 February 1880 - 23 October 1923) was a French organist and composer. He is chiefly known for his operas. Many of them were written in collaboration with librettists and poets Arthur Bernède and Paul de Choudens; the best of which are La Glaneuse (Grand Théâtre de Lyon, 1909), Madame Roland (Théâtre des Arts de Rouen, 1913), and Vercingétorix (Opéra de Nice, 1912). His masterpiece, La légende du Point d'Argentan, premiered at the Opéra-Comique in Paris in 1903.

Born in Nice, Fourdrain had his earliest musical training at the Ecole de Musique Classique et Religieuse (L'École Niedermeyer) in Paris. He then studied with Alexandre Guilmant and Charles-Marie Widor at the Conservatoire de Paris where he was awarded a premiere prix for organ performance in 1900. He was appointed "organiste titulaire" at the Sainte-Elisabeth-de-Hongrie church in Paris and worked there between 1900 and 1905 approximately, publishing "Improvisations", a collection of organ compositions. He pursued further studies in music composition with Jules Massenet, who became his close friend and mentor. He also took on his own students, including Joseph-Arthur Bernier, Clotilde Coulombe, and Georges-Émile Tanguay. He died in Paris at the age of 43.

Birth and Death Data: Born Nice (city and commune in Alpes-Maritimes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France), Died October 23, 1923 (Paris (capital city and largest city of France) )

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1920 - 1945

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor LCS-100350 12-in. (33-1/3 rpm) 4/6/1936 Nocturne Martin W. Bush ; Mable Allen Smails Female vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor LCS-100352 12-in. (33-1/3 rpm) 4/6/1936 Love's festival Martin W. Bush ; Mable Allen Smails Female vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor PBS-061280 10-in. 5/29/1941 Carnaval Donald Dickson ; William Hughes Baritone vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor D5RB-0023 10-in. 1/5/1945 Chevauchée cosaque Richard Crooks ; Maximilian Pilzer ; Victor Orchestra Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Columbia 86623 10-in. approximately September 1920 L'heure délicieuse Blanche Gauthier Female vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Columbia W108404 10-in. October 1927 L'angélus Arthur Michaud Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra composer  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Fourdrain, Félix," accessed January 20, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/108670.

Fourdrain, Félix. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 20, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/108670.

"Fourdrain, Félix." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 20 January 2026.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/108670

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