Credits:

Vierne(1870-1937)

Description:

Rare organ recordings of Vierne by blind organist Gaston Litaize Gaston Litaize, born August 11, 1909, is an organist and composer from Vosges, France. Blinded soon after his birth, he went from the Youth School for the Blind in Nancy to the National Youth School for the Blind in Paris and then to the Conservatoire de Paris. He studied with Marcel Dupré, Georges Cossard, Henri Bussel, and Maurice Emmanuel. In 1936, he won the Rossini Prize for "Fra Angelico" and in 1938, the Grand Prix de Rome for his cantata "The King's Ring. In 1939, he became a professor at the National School for the Blind and Young Adults, a position he held for more than 30 years until 1946, when he accepted a position as organist at the Abbey of St. François Xavier in Paris, where he also became organ teacher at the National School for the Blind and Young Adults. As an organist, he made many concert tours and made French church music widely known, and from 1975 he became professor of organ at the Conservatoire de St. Maude Fosse, where he trained younger organists. He also served as organist for life at St. Notre-Dame Delacroix Church in Menilmontane and St. Xavier Cathedral, and as director of the religious music department of the French National Broadcasting Company.The work of Louis Vierne, organist of Notre Dame and master of symphonies for solo organ, is reflected here in its rich variety, including the poetic "24 Pieces in a Free Style." His last masterpiece, Organ Symphony No. 6, is one of his most fantastic works. All are performed on the organ of the Saint-François Xavier church, and this masterful performance by Gaston Litaize, who studied with Vierne, has been remastered at 24bit/192kHz from the original 2020 master tapes and is now available on CD for the first time. Warner Music Japan

Tracklisting:

1.24 Pieces de fantaisie, Suite No. 1, Op. 51~No. 1: Prelude
2.24 Pieces de fantaisie, Suite No. 1, Op. 51~No. 2: Andantino
3.24 Pieces de fantaisie, Suite No. 1, Op. 51~No. 3: Caprice
4.24 Pieces de fantaisie, Suite No. 1, Op. 51~No. 4: Intermezzo
5.24 Pieces de fantaisie, Suite No. 1, Op. 51~No. 5: Requiem aeternam
6.24 Pieces de fantaisie, Suite No. 1, Op. 51~No. 6: Marche nuptiale
7.24 Pieces de fantaisie, Suite No. 2, Op. 53~No. 1: Lamento
8.24 Pieces de fantaisie, Suite No. 2, Op. 53~No. 2: Sicilienne
9.24 Pieces de fantaisie, Suite No. 2, Op. 53~No. 3: Hymne au soleil
10.24 Pieces de fantaisie, Suite No. 2, Op. 53~No. 4: Feux follets
11.24 Pieces de fantaisie, Suite No. 2, Op. 53~No. 5: Clair de lune
12.24 Pieces de fantaisie, Suite No. 2, Op. 53~No. 6: Toccata
13.24 Pieces en style libre, Op. 31~No. 1: Preambule
14.24 Pieces en style libre, Op. 31~No. 2: Cortege
15.24 Pieces en style libre, Op. 31~No.17: Lied
16.24 Pieces en style libre, Op. 31~No. 18: Marche funebre
17.24 Pieces en style libre, Op. 31~No. 19: Berceuse (sur les paroles classiques)
18.24 Pieces en style libre, Op. 31~No. 20: Pastorale
19.24 Pieces en style libre, Op. 31~No. 21: Carillon sur la sonnerie du carillon de la chapelle du chateau de Longpont (Aisne)
20.24 Pieces en style libre, Op. 31~No. 22: Elegie
21.24 Pieces en style libre, Op. 31~No. 23: Epithalame
22.24 Pieces en style libre, Op. 31~No. 24: Postlude