Langlais: Organ Music, Vol. 2 - CD

Blind from the age of two, a prodigiouslygifted student, Jean Langlais (1907-91)produced an immense quantity of music. Hisorgan works alone exceed in number thoseof JS Bach. Many have hardly ever beenperformed. Perhaps not more than half adozen works are regularly played orrecorded today, which is what makes thisnew complete survey of his organ music soinvaluable, as the authoritative document ofa high point in the distinguished lineage ofthe French organ heritage.The second volume of this complete surveyopens with the third and last of his organsymphonies, among the most imposing andyet overlooked of his major works. Morefamiliar are the Gregorian-inspired Suitemedievale, the Triptyque, and the TriptyqueGrégorien, whose flowing melodies share aspirit of Catholic mysticism with briefermeditations such as the Prière des Mages,the Incantation pour un Jour Saint and thePalm-Sunday voluntary Dominica in Palmis.As a collection of character pieces, Mosaiqueshows off Langlais's versatility, by turnssolemn and joyful, songful and stormy. Thissheer variety of form alone makes him standout among French 20th-century composersfor the organ. Throughout his life, Langlaiswrote in many different styles and, true to his ideal,still retained the ability to surprise.This major project has been undertaken jointly bythe Italian organists Giorgio Benati, Fausto Caporaliand Alessandro Perin. Benati is a former student ofLanglais, and Caporali has a string of successfulFrench organ recordings to his credit. They havemade these new recordings on Italian instruments,lending Langlais an 'Italian accent' while faithfullyobserving his expressive and registration markings inhis scores. Booklet notes for each piece have beenwritten by Giorgio Benati.