Westminster Cathedral Choir - Viere; Widor; Dupre: Masses And Motets

Sunday 1st June 1997
Westminster Cathedral Choir - Viere; Widor; Dupre: Masses And Motets

STYLE: Choral
RATING 6 6 6 6 6 6
OUR PRODUCT CODE: 17310-
LABEL: Hyperion 66898
FORMAT: CD Album
ITEMS: 1

Reviewed by John Irvine

The "programming" of this disc may seem a little odd, but with a little background information all becomes clear. During the early part of the 19th century, French religious music had tended towards the "vulgar" in keeping with popular tastes and true musicianship and composition seemed to have died a death. Camille Saint-Saens was one of the first organist/composers to fight back as it were and he inspired others such as Charles Marie Widor, who became a pillar of the musical establishment as a Professor at the Paris Conservatoire, and who served as organist at Saint-Suplice (the foremost post in Paris) for a phenomenal 64 years. One of his assistants at Saint-Suplice was Louis Viere. Another, much later, was Marcel Dupre who also became Widor's successor. All of the music on this disc was written when their respective composers were working at Saint-Suplice. Taken together this is a very representative disc of the long road back to "quality" music undertaken by these three leading organists and composers within French musical and religious life. Performances are excellent and the music is very listenable. However, this seemed to me half way between a disc of lost treasures and a specialist release for experts. Which way you, the Cross Rhythms reader, will decide may well be a question of taste. An interesting release, an enjoyable release, but not one that would have been classed as essential for anyone's collection by any means.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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