Jéhan Alain

Jehan-Ariste Paul Alain ( [ʒɑn aʁist alɛ̃] ; 3 February 1911 – 20 June 1940) was a French organist , composer and soldier. Born into a family of musicians, he learned the organ from his father and a host of other teachers, becoming a composer at 18, and composing until the outbreak of the Second World War 10 years later. His compositional style was influenced by the musical language of the earlier Claude Debussy , as well as his interest in music, dance and philosophy of the far east. At the outbreak of the Second World War , Alain became a dispatch rider in the Eighth Motorised Armour Division of the French Army; he took part in the Battle of Saumur , in which he was killed.

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