Widor: Organ Symphonies, Vol 4 - Symphony No 8, Op 42, No 4 Symphonie romane, Op 73 (Christian von Blohn)

Widor's cycle of organ symphonies sits at the heart of his compositional achievement. They are vivid and innovative-none more so than Symphony No. 8 in B major, which takes performer and listener alike to the limits of the genre: its glittering sonorities, lyric intensity and technical power offer a tour-de-force of organ writing. The artfully woven Symphonie romane, the last of the ten, utilises a Gregorian chorale in music of increasing splendour, melancholy and, finally, sublime peace.