Loret, Clément

Annelies Focquaert (translation: Jo Sneppe)

Clément Loret descended from a family that had already for two centuries on end produced organ builders and organists. Both his father and his grandfather worked for Our Lady's church in Dendermonde and there were also family ties with the organ manufacturers Hippolyte en François-Bernard Loret. Clément received his first music lessons from his father Joseph-Jean, and already as a seven-year-old he played small pieces during Mass, while one year later he was able to take on an entire Mass.

In 1846 his father was appointed as organist in Mons, so Clément continued his studies with Jules Denefve, director of the local conservatory. In 1851 he was admitted at the Brussels Conservatory, where he took lessons from Fétis (counterpoint) and Lemmens (organ). Loret obtained his first prize diploma for organ in 1854 together with Alphonse Mailly.

In 1855 Loret got acquainted in Paris with the harmonium builder Mustel, who convinced him to settle down in Paris. Loret frequently performed as a harmonium player and consecutively became organist of the Panthéon, the parish church of Suresnes (near Paris) and Notre-Dame-des-Victoires.

In 1857 Clément Loret was engaged as organ teacher at the ‘École de Musique religieuse’ of Niedermeyer. In this capacity he played an important part in the development of the French organ school, counting among his pupils Gabriël Fauré, Léon Boëllmann and Eugène Gigout. That same year at the suggestion of Niedermeyer he became organist of Saint-Louis d’Antin, a position he held at least until 1880.

Already in 1859 with his Exercices journaliers Loret offered a sampling of his educational theory in La Maîtrise (the music magazine of the ‘École Niedermeyer’), soon followed by the two volumes of his 24 Exercices (1861) and his magnum opus Cours complet d’orgue (circa 1877-1880) in four volumes, paying attention to organ manufacturing and history, too. He also composed plenty of harmonium and piano music, songs and liturgical works, the majority published on his own account. The final piece of his composer's career is formed by Les Fêtes religieuses for organ, a collection of pieces ready for use at the major liturgical celebrations of the year.

His son Victor Loret married the daughter of Alexandre Guilmant and was one of France's best-known Egyptologists. Another son, Charles Loret, carried on his family's publishing activities.