John Fenstermaker - John Fenstermaker plays French Organ Music (2014) [DSD64]

Ever since the twelfth century when Léonin and Pérotin as organists of Notre-Dame in Paris helped make France the musical center of western civilization, the organ in France has maintained a vitality and popularity peculiar to that country. The rich melodic mine of Gregorian chant, the unbroken emphasis on liturgical improvisation, the imaginative and innovative developments in organ building: all these have been factors in a strong tradition which has produced such composers and performers as Francois Couperin, César Franck and Olivier Messiaen. This recording is a sampling of the last two and one-half centuries of French organ music. Grace Cathedral is an especially appropriate setting