00:00 Verset 7 : a powerful fanfare on all the reeds
01:27 Verset 4 : a dark meditation on foundations 16-8-4, which evokes Vierne.
03:15 Verset 10 : a mischievous scherzo (improvised scherzos were one of Cochereau’s renowned specialities)
05:14 Verset 5 : a kind of a modern “Tierce en taille” with a nostalgic melody
07:28 Verset 8 : a ricercare on the plenum, quite dissonant and almost atonal in its last part
09:13 : Verset 9 : an whirling agitato on foundations 8’
11:32 : Verset 2 : a poetic and melancholic prelude on strings 16-8-4
13:35 : Verset 13 : the last verset could only be an energetic toccata on the tutti :-)
Pierre Cochereau was organist of Notre-Dame from 1955 to 1984. He died in 1984 four months before his 60th birthday. He was a great and famous organist (perhaps the last one widely known outside the organ world), and still more than that as an improviser.
The musical world is fond of anniversaries but, sadly, there was a great silence for the 40th anniversary of Cochereau’s death. So, this upload intends to be a modest and respectful tribute to an organist who enchanted my young years more than any other one, first by his recordings and then when I had opportunities to hear him live at Notre-Dame. When he improvised the Sortie, many people remained in the cathedral to listen and, when finished, went out with an enchanted smile on their face.
To be followed on comment 1
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