Adolphe Marty

Adolphe Marty (29 September 1865 – 28 October 1942) was a French organist, improviser, composer and music educator who was blind for most of his life.

Born in Albi, he became blind at the age of 2.5 years old. He entered the Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles of Paris in 1874 and worked the organ with Louis Lebel (1831-1888).

From 1884 to 1886, he followed courses in music composition with Ernest Guiraud and pipe organ with César Franck at the Conservatoire de Paris (CNSM) where he won the first prize of organ in 1886. He was the first blind man to achieve this feat at the CNSM.

In 1888, he succeeded Louis Lebel as organ teacher at the Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles where he taught until 1930, notably to Louis Vierne, Augustin Barié, Paul Allix, André Marchal, Jean Langlais and Gaston Litaize. Léonce de Saint-Martin also worked with him privately.

An organist at Saint-Paul d'Orléans from 1887 to 1888, he became titular of the great organ Fermis of the église Saint-François-Xavier of Paris in 1891, a position he held until 1941.

He was closely linked to the Puget organ builders of which he inaugurated a number of instruments, such as that of the Albi Cathedral, on 20 November 1904.

Marty died on in Valence-d'Albigeois, Tarn department, on 28 October 1942.