FRANCK : Complete Masterworks For Organ (Michael Murray) (1990) 2CD | Two Version | APE (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

As a beneficiary of the French organ tradition -- passed on from one teacher to the next, each a luminary -- Michael Murray is keen to make his recordings as educational as they are enjoyable. In his informative liner notes, Murray describes in detail the important contribution César Franck made to French music; and his survey of the organ masterpieces shows how Franck expanded the instrument's expressive range and introduced to its literature a symphonic approach that has influenced composers from d'Indy to Messiaen. The somber Fantasy in A and the rather slight Cantabile may not impress, but the highly dramatic Pièce Héroïque gives an indication of Franck's progress toward more expansive structures. The Pièces (6), Opp. 16-21, exploit the organ's registration and dynamic possibilities as never before. Of this series, the most magnificent work is the Grande pièce symphonique, a precursor to the later organ symphonies of Widor and Vierne. Yet of all the set's selections, the Chorales (3) stand as Franck's most profound testament, a work that approaches the greatness of Bach in both contrapuntal mastery and formal design. Murray performs on the Cavaillé-Coll organ at Saint Sernin in Toulouse, an instrument that is similar in character to Franck's organ at Saint Clotilde.
CÉSAR FRANCK (1822-1890)
Tracklist 1 :
1-3.    Trois Pièces
4. Six Pièces    
Fantasy In C Major, Op. 16    (12:30)
Grande Pièce Symphonique, Op. 17
5.    Prelude, Fugue And Variation, Op. 18    9:58
6.    Prière, Op. 20    12:57
7.    Final In B-flat Major, Op. 21    11:10
Tracklist 2 :
1.    Six Pièces (Continued)    
2-6.        Pastorale, Op. 19    8:37
Grande Pièce Symphonique, Op. 17    (26:26)
7-10.    Trois Chorals
Credits :
Organ – Michael Murray 
Notas.
Recorded in Saint Sernin Basilica, Toulouse, France, July 18-21, 1989
Microphones: B&K 4006, Schoeps MK-2S
Digital Recording Processor: dbx/CTI 18-Bit A/D
Console: Studer 961
Monitor Speakers: B&W 801F
Power Amplifiers: Two Threshold Model S/1000 Stasis, Series II with optical bias
Microphone & Interconnecting Cables: Monster Cable Series I & III
Digital Editing: Sony DAE 3000
Playing Time: CD 1: 65:56; CD 2: 67:26; Total: 148:44
During the recording of the digital masters and the subsequent transfer to disc, the signal was not passed through any processing device (i.e., compression, limiting or equalization) at any step during production.