Marcel Dupré: Symphonie-Passion Op. 23 Le monde dans l’attente du Sauveur Nativité • Crucifixion • Résurrection Charles-Marie Widor: Symphonie Gothique Op. 70 Moderato • Andante Sostenuto • Fugue (Allegro) Final (Moderato - Allegro - Moderato - Andante - Allegro) Olivier Messiaen: Le Banquet Céleste (1926) Charles-Marie Widor: Symphonie V Op. 42 No. 1 Toccata Description JAV 108 Nativities & Passions — Michael Kleinschmidt This fine recording of Dupré’s Symphonie Passion is essential listening for fans of Dupré and students of improvisation. Dupré’s monumental extemporization is beautifully rendered by Kleinschmidt, and elegantly accommodated by the resources of the Aeolian-Skinner organ of All Saints Episcopal, Worcester, Massachusetts. Kleinschmidt’s creative program notes for the Symphonie Gothique are conceived as a guided tour through the church of Saint Ouen in Rouen (the work is dedicated to the memory of Saint Ouen), as the visitor listens to the symphony. Rounding out the liturgical focus of this disc are Messiaen’s mystical "Le Banquet Celeste," and the raw sonic power of Widor’s Toccata from Symphonie V, the quintessential Easter postlude. |