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 Cavaille-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

Music played in the program

( Key to abbreviations)

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

WIDOR: Allegretto, fr Symphony No. 1 –Patrice Caire (1886 Merklin, revised/Sanctuaire Saint-Bonaventure, Lyon) REM CD-311168 (OLF)

WIDOR: Intermezzo, fr Symphony No. 1 –Günther Kaunzinger (1989 Jann/Waldsassen Basilica, Germany) Novalis CD-150073 (OLF)

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

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

WIDOR: Méditation, fr Symphony No. 1 –Charles Krigbaum (1928 Skinner/Woolsey Hall, Yale University, New Have, CT) AFKA CD-521

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

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

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

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

VIERNE: Allegro vivace, fr Symphony No. 1 –François-Henri Houbart (1845 Cavaillé-Coll, revised/Church of the Madeleine, Paris) Pierre Verany CD-788013 (OLF)

VIERNE: Andante, fr Symphony No. 1 –Günther Kaunzinger (1989 Jann/Waldsassen Basilica, Germany) Koch-Schwann CD-315000 (OLF)

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

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).