César Franck: Organ Works – Bjorn Boysen

   in Choir & Organ (Mar, 2018)
Rarely is a composer’s music and style of organ building so closely linked as with the music of César Franck and the instruments of Cavaillé-Coll. There is no shortage of recordings of Franck’s works, including using ‘authentic’ instruments; so why do we need another? Here we have the benefit of a fine player who has lived and breathed this music for decades, and perhaps few performers fully grasp the broad sweep of this symphonic music with this degree of maturity. The instrument, rebuilt by Kuhn, is more refined that anything genuinely Gallic and lacking excitement in the tutti sections. However, overall Bjørn Boysen brings us close to a symphonic ideal. …