Franck, C: Cantabile, M36

Tournemire’s revelatory improvisations and interpretations link his master César Franck to Messiaen. A profound and volatile mystic, his avant-garde experimentation emerges from plainchant and modes. These rare recordings document the only surviving sounds of the organ Franck played on for thirty one years before it was rebuilt in 1933.

The Twelve Pieces for Organ of César Franck is a definitive collection of the composer’s works for organ, performed by the Montreal-based organist and composer Pierre Grandmaison, himself a protégé of Maurice Duruflé. Franck’s extraordinary compositions revolutionized the organ repertoire and laid the foundations for future composers, including Widor, Vierne, Tournemire and Dupré. These works were recorded in Montréal’s Notre-Dame Basilica on the magnificent Casavant organ, which has been played by all the great 20th-century French organists. The Notre-Dame instrument was the first 4-manual (81 stops) Casavant organ, and the largest in the country at the time of its installation in 1891. A must-have recording for all organ music enthusiasts!