Eternal Notre-Dame
Vincent Dubois
- Label
- Warner Classics
- EAN / barcode
- 5021732818843
- Release date
- 25 September 2025
The organ of Notre-Dame: rebirth of a sonic wonder
Against all odds, the magnificent organ of Notre-Dame de Paris survived the devastating fire in the cathedral in April 2019. Although the 8,000 pipes were damaged by extinguishing water and lead dust, after a complete cleaning and restoration it is ready to be played again at the reopening of the church in December 2024.
Vincent Dubois, one of the four titular organists of Notre-Dame and professor of organ and improvisation in Saarbrücken, has now recorded the versatile album Eternal Notre Dame to demonstrate the technical, musical and expressive diversity of this monumental instrument. The sonorous program also honors the organ's heritage: works by Louis Vierne,
Pierre Cochereau and Claude Balbastre, as well as an arrangement (of Rimski-Korsakovs brilliant "The Flight of the Bumblebee") by Léonce de Saint-Martin, represent the former titular organists of Notre-Dame; Dubois himself contributed a transcription of three movements from Ravel's suite "Le Tombeau de Couperin". There are also pieces by César Franck and Charles Widor, who both participated in the inauguration of the organ in 1868. The program is completed by the work of J.S. Bach that defines the organ as an instrument par excellence: the imposing Toccata and Fugue in D minor.
Tracklist
- 01 Bach, JS: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565: I. Toccata 02:19
- 02 Bach, JS: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565: II. Fugue 05:54
- 03 Bach, JS: 6 Choräle von verschiedener Art "Schübler-Choräle": No. 1, Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 645 04:24
- 04 Bach, JS: Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir, BWV 29: Sinfonia (Arr. Dupré for Organ) 04:17
- 05 Widor: Organ Symphony No. 5 in F Minor, Op. 42 No. 1: V. Toccata 06:15
- 06 Franck: Prélude, fugue et variation, Op. 18, FWV 30: I. Prélude 04:02
- 07 Franck: Prélude, fugue et variation, Op. 18, FWV 30: II. Fugue 02:42
- 08 Franck: Prélude, fugue et variation, Op. 18, FWV 30: III. Variation 03:04
- 09 Vierne: 24 Pièces de fantaisie, Suite No. 3, Op. 54: VI. Carillon de Westminster 07:08
- 10 Vierne: 24 Pièces de fantaisie, Suite No. 4, Op. 55: IV. Naïades 05:27
- 11 Rachmaninov: Morceaux de fantaisie, Op. 3: No. 2, Prelude in C-Sharp Minor "The Bells of Moscow" (Arr. Vierne for Organ) 05:24
- 12 Rimsky-Korsakov: The Tale of Tsar Saltan, Act 3: The Flight of the Bumblebee (Arr. De Saint-Martin for Organ) 01:33
- 13 Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin, M. 68: IV. Rigaudon (Arr. Dubois for Organ) 03:41
- 14 Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin, M. 68: V. Menuet (Arr. Dubois for Organ) 05:35
- 15 Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin, M. 68: VI. Toccata (Arr. Dubois for Organ) 04:30
- 16 Cochereau: Boléro sur un thème de Charles Racquet 12:44
- 17 Balbastre: Marche des Marseillois et l'air Ça-ira 05:08
Source: MusicBrainz
