WIDOR Organ Symphonies Vol. 3 / Christian von Blohn

Charles-Marie WIDOR (1844-1937)

Organ Symphonies Vol. 3

Symphony No. 7 In A Minor, Op. 42, No. 3 (1885) (46:44)
Symphonie Gothique, Op. 70 (1895) (32:42)

Christian von Blohn – organ

Recorded 25 August, 2019 at St. Joseph’s Chruch, Sankt Ingbert, Germany.
Cover photo: Organ of St. Joseph’s Church by Rich Serra.

Label: Naxos – 8.574206
Barcode (text): 747313420674
Series: The Organ Encyclopedia
Format: CD, Album
Country: Germany
Released: Sep 2020
Genre: Classical
Style: Romantic, Organ
Includes 8pp booklet with notes in English & German.
Playing time 79:34.

Charles-Marie Widor’s ten organ symphonies sit at the heart of his extensive oeuvre. They reveal Widor’s mastery of the form with their profundity, technical difficulty and sonorous colour. Symphony No. 7, Op. 42, No. 3 inaugurated a new, orchestral approach to the genre and encompasses dreamlike sonorities, Chopinesque melancholy and majestic bravura. The Symphonie gothique, Op. 70 makes explicit reference to Gregorian chant, developing a kind of theological ‘programme music’ that is both austere and consolatory.