Product Review

Daniel Roth is widely acclaimed as one of the world's leading interpreters of French Romantic Organ Literature today. He is the titular organist of Saint-Sulpice in Paris, where his predecessors were the Who's Who of French organ composers and organists: Charles-Marie Widor, Marcel Dupre and Jean-Jacques Grunenwald. The world-renowned Cavaille-Coll pipe organ at Saint-Sulpice inspired all of them to artistic heights of composition and improvisation. This pipe organ is one of the few large Cavaille-Coll pipe organs that is almost as the builder would have known it at the end of the 19th century. This instrument is a perfect venue for Mr. Roth's recording of two Symphonies of Charles-Marie Widor: Symphonie No. 5 pour grand orgue, Op. 42, No. 1; and Symphonie No. 6 pour grand orgue, Op. 42, No. 2. Symphonie No. 5 ends with one of the best-known organ works, The Widor Toccata, with its unceasing cascade on the keyboards and its roaring, earthshaking pedal theme. This Toccata has great appeal to organists and non-organists alike and has been used as the recessional to many weddings. These recordings were made by the noted German recording engineer Christoph Martin Frommen and the sound quality is excellent. The physical CD is a limited quantity press. The recording is packaged in an elegant Digipak, with a 20-page booklet with notes on the Widor Symphonies by concert organist Stephen Tharp, stoplist and numerous photographs.