Final (Symphonie après Vierne)

This recording features the four manual extension of the Caen sample set.

One of the joys of being exposed to unfamiliar compositions is the unexpected surprises that may greet you when you decide to perform them.

Although I had heard this symphony on Contrebombarde.com, when I decided to perform it I discovered that the piece had been written between the years 1975 and 1978 and after completion had been put in a drawer and forgotten. After the publisher Jonathan Orwig approached David Canfield to ask if he had ever written any organ symphonies, he reached in the drawer and sent the score to Jonathan.

When I contacted David Canfield about placing my performance on YouTube and mentioned my scheduled performance of the work on September 14 in Lewiston, Maine, he remarked that this would be the world premier and that he and his wife Carole would be traveling from Bloomington, Indiana to attend.

Although this work takes its primary inspiration from Louis Vierne, one can see the influence of later french composers like Pierre Cochereau in these movements.

The remaining three movements will be posted in the days ahead.