Daniel Chorzempa performed one of the best versions of the 1st Organ Symphony Finale by Louis Vierne in 1987, and was out of print for a while (now available from Archiv though), but apparently is now back in print again! Recorded on the Cavaille-Coll organ at the church of Saint-Sernin in Toulouse, France. My slideshow reflects my experience of this grand and magnificent music, one of my favorite organ works. At the beginning, "bustling" broken chords over the exhuberant theme played in the pedals remind me of a galloping horse, and later on the music soars like an airplane performing acrobatic moves over vast and breathtaking scenery. It also reminds me of Wagner's mythical Valkyrie warriors flying down the Rhine. The main theme itself is similar to the opening bars of La Marseillaise, the French national anthem, and this "very French" romantic composer seems to have infused this music with patriotic passion and the modern revolutionary spirit of freedom and progress. (In fact, Vierne biographer Rollin Smith, who performed Widor's Romane Symphony Final that I also posted here on my channel, confirmed in a 2020 interview that Vierne himself referred to his First Symphony Final as "my Marseillaise".) When the theme returns, the chords become triplets, symbolizing more-modern means of transportation, but still a wild ride. And the revolutionary spirit continues.
For more info see my Vierne website at
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See my list of organ favorites with links to You Tube:
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You can still get this CD now at
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See also the original Phillips label now on UMG

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