Grand Choeur in G, Op. 68, No. 2

Théodore-César Salomé (20 January 1834 – 26 July 1896) was born in Paris. He completed all of his musical studies at the Conservatoire de Paris, under the tutelage of François Bazin for harmony and accompaniment, and François Benoist for organ. He won several honorable awards, including: second prize in harmony (1855), second prize in organ and in harmony (1856), second and third prize in harmony and organ (1857), and second prize in harmony (1859). His cantata Atala was awarded the premier Second Grand Prix of the Prix de Rome in 1861. In the same year Théodore Dubois was awarded the first grand prize, and Eugène Anthiome and Titus Constantin won the deuxième Second Grand Prix.

He was highly regarded, and served as "Choir Organist" at La Trinite in Paris for many years.

Rather than try to squeeze in some interesting facts, I'll give the link, so you can read the whole story: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Théodore_Salomé

This brief "Grand Choeur," marked, "Tempo di Marcia ma poco animato" was composed as the 2nd in a set of five, shows the rich sound of the Ladegast full organ. Notice the "tierce-dominated" sound of the mixtures, and the full, round tone of the reeds.

French music may seem an odd choice for my first upload on this important organ, but I think this gives a good idea of the full sound of this instrument.

I plan to do some Rheinberger and Brahms later this week... ;-)