One on One

Grandeur and majesty. Passion and poetry. These are the elements of a new musical style that evolved in Paris in the latter 19th-century which revolutionized the art of the organ. On our next Pipedreams broadcast, we’ll hear two ‘firsts’ - two symphonic works for solo organ by Charles-Marie Widor and his pupil and, ultimately, competitor, Louis Vierne. Inspired by the sonorities of the lavish new instruments designed by master organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, both Widor, who was the first to call a composition an organ symphony, and Vierne created musical masterpieces that are both a challenge to play and a joy to hear.

Listen to the program

Program Broadcast dates:

October 30, 2000

Links and Resources

Organ builder Cavaille-coll
Santa Maria la Real, Azkoitia, Spain
Church of Saint Augustin, Paris, France
Notre Dame, Paris, specifications only
Notre Dame, Paris,
1885 Cavaillé-Coll organ at St-Etienne de Caen, France
Saint Frances de Sales, Lyon, France
1845 Cavaillé-Coll organ at L'église de la Madeleine, Paris, France
Saint Ouen, Rouen, France
Saint Ouen, Rouen, France

Music played in the program

( Key to abbreviations)

WIDOR: Prélude, from Organ Symphony No. 1 in c, Op. 13, no. 1 –Ben van Oosten (1898 Cavaillé-Coll/Church of Santa Maria la Real, Azkoitia, Spain) MG&D CD-3401

WIDOR: Allegretto, from Symphony No. 1 –Patrice Caire (1886 Merklin/Church of St. Bonaventure, Lyon, France) REM CD-311168

WIDOR: Intermezzo, from Symphony No. 1 –Günther Kaunzinger (1990 Jann/Waldsassen Basilica, Germany) Novalis CD-150073

WIDOR: Adagio, from Symphony No. 1 –Suzanne Chaisemartin (1898 Cavaillé-Coll/Church of Saint Augustin, Paris, France) Motette CD-11221

WIDOR: Marche Pontificale, from Symphony No. 1 –Hans Fagius (1976 Åkerman & Lund/Katarina Church, Stockholm, Sweden) Bis CD-471

WIDOR: Méditation, from Symphony No. 1 –Charles Krigbaum (1929 Skinner/Woolsey Hall, Yale University, New Haven, CT) AFKA CD-521

WIDOR: Finale, from Symphony No. 1 –Herman van Vliet (1890 Cavaillé-Coll/Church of Saint Ouen, Rouen, France) Festivo CD-143/4

VIERNE: Prélude, from Organ Symphony No. 1 in d, Op. 14 –Pierre Cochereau (1868 Cavaillé-Coll/Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France) Solstice CD-911

VIERNE: Fugue, from Symphony No. 1 –Marie-Claire Alain (1885 Cavaillé-Coll/Saint Etienne Abbey Church, Caen, France) Erato CD-45485

VIERNE: Pastorale, from Symphony No. 1 –Ben van Oosten (1880 Cavaillé-Coll/Church of Saint François-de-Sales, Lyon, France) MG&D CD-3211/12

VIERNE: Allegro vivace, from Symphony No. 1 –François-Henri Houbart (1845 Cavaillé-Coll/L'église de la Madeleine, Paris, France) Pierre Verany CD-788013

VIERNE: Andante, from Symphony No. 1 –Günther Kaunzinger (1990 Jann/Waldsassen Basilica, Germany) Koch-Schwann CD-315000

VIERNE: Final, from Symphony No. 1 –Michael Murray (1890 Cavaillé-Coll/Church of Saint Ouen, Rouen, France) Telarc CD-80329

The majority of the performers listed here have recorded the entire respective works by themselves, and some have essayed the complete cycle of symphonies by Widor (who wrote ten) and Vierne (who wrote six).