César Franck / Wolfgang Hochstein (arr.) Domine, non secundum (FWV 66)

Der Vater erkannte früh seine Begabung und gab ihn 1831 zur musikalischen Ausbildung an das Konservatorium Lüttich in Belgien. Vier Jahre später zog die Familie nach Paris, wo der fünfzehnjährige César ebenfalls am Konservatorium aufgenommen wurde und in die Klavierklasse Pierre-Joseph-Guillaume Zimmermanns kam. Auch besuchte er die Klassen in Kontrapunkt bei Aimé Ambroise Simon Leborne, Komposition bei Henri-Montan Berton und Orgel bei François Benoist. In dieser Zeit entstanden seine ersten kammermusikalischen Werke, wie die 3 trios concertants für Violine, Violoncello und Klavier. 1858 wurde er Titularorganist in der Ste. Clotilde-Kirche in Paris, für welche er ein eigenes Repertoire komponierte. Darunter befindet sich u.a. das Oratorium über Die Sieben Worte Jesu am Kreuz 1859, welches beim Carus-Verlag erhältlich ist.
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Denis Rouger gained his initial musical experience as the son of a Parisian family of musicians and during his studies at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where he received first prizes in harmony, fugue and counterpoint.

He was a lecturer and choirmaster at the University of Paris-Sorbonne for 20 years and choirmaster at Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral for 10 years. He is honorary conductor of the Parisian church La Madeleine. He also collaborates with numerous ensembles in Germany. He has been invited as a guest conductor by radio choirs, the Balthasar-Neumann-Chor, the Baden-Württemberg State Youth Choir and the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. Concerts have taken him to Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Switzerland (Lucerne Festival).

He gives master classes in Sweden, Bulgaria, France, Germany, as well as in Switzerland.

Denis Rouger has been Professor of Choral Conducting at the Stuttgart State University of Music and Performing Arts since 2011. The chamber choir he founded at the university in the fall of 2011 won first prize at the International Choir Competition in Mosbach (Germany) in 2014.

In addition to his work as a choirmaster, he composes and arranges French and German songs for choir. His arrangements on the CDs Kennst Du das Land ... and ... wo die Zitronen blühn (Carus) were well received by the press and radio. In collaboration with Carus-Verlag, he has edited the choir book Französische Chormusik, which received the German Music Edition Award “Best Edition” in 2019.

In 2016, Denis Rouger founded the figure humaine kammerchor (www.figurehumaine.de), with which he regularly gives concerts at renowned festivals.

Personal details

Personal details