Burno Mathieu is a pupil of Marie-Claire Alain, and a splendid organist in his own right. Moreover, he chooses the ‘historic’ organ at Nancy, which still has mechanical traction, and provides a very characterful baroque palette of its own, richly displayed in the Cantiléne No.3. But the pedals are very telling, too, and the finale of No. 6 is powerfully spectacular; yet overall, inner detail is remarkably clear. The only small disappointment is the Scherzo of No. 6, where the diabolic rhythmic figure is not as ironically piquant as with Van Oosten.

Trois chefs-d’oeuvre, dont deux quasi inconnus, interprétés de surcroît par deux interprètes épatants, la fine et véhémente Valérie Aimard et le toujours poétique Cédric Tiberghien : …un disque réellement indispensable.

The work of Louis Vierne, organist at Notre-Dame de Paris and master of the symphonic instrument, is reflected here in all its rich variety: from the poetic Pièces en style libre – in previously unissued recordings appearing here for the very first time – to his final masterpiece, the monumental Sixth Symphony, via the virtuosic and world-famous Pièces de fantaisie. All are performed here on the little-recorded instrument of the Parisian church of Saint-François-Xavier by its organist Gaston Litaize, who studied with Vierne and went on to become a prolific composer himself. The recordings have been remastered in 24-bit/192kHz sound from the original tapes.

As part of the series Musique française : Découvertes 1890-1939, with pianist Stéphane Lemelin, ATMA Classique presents the Piano Quintets by French composers Louis Vierne and Gabriel Pierné. Pierné left 20 or so works of chamber music, including the Quintette en trois parties Op. 41, in E minor, for piano and strings, composed in 1916-17. This piece was dedicated to Gabriel Fauré, and premiered at the Société nationale de musique on February 22, 1919 by the Quatuor Bastide, with Gabriel Pierné on piano. In 1918, devastated and enraged by the death of his son, Louis Vierne wrote to his friend the organist Maurice Blazy: "I'm developing, as an ex-voto [a votive offering], a quintet of very large scale through which will flow abundantly the breath of my tender affection and the tragic fate of my child.