The album features symphonic works, originally for orchestra, transcribed for organ four-hands, aiming to reincorporate orchestral parts that were often removed in piano reductions.
Performer Biography
Cédric Meckler, the other performer, holds doctorates in Medicine and Neurosciences, and his research includes studying cerebral activity during music performance.
Historical Context
Symphonic works were often transcribed by composers themselves for piano four-hands or two pianos to ensure wider distribution before the advent of radio or records.
Recording & Production
The performers, Olivier Vernet and Cédric Meckler, reorchestrated these versions on the symphonic organ at Monaco Cathedral, describing it as 'colorizing' them to return to the composers' original ideas.
Composition History
Claude Debussy's Symphony, composed for piano four-hands when he was 18, was discovered by chance in 1925 and published in 1933, but he never completed its orchestration.
Performer Biography
Olivier Vernet, one of the performers, is the titular organist of Monaco Cathedral and played at the princely wedding in 2011.
Compositional Technique
French composers like Charles-Marie Widor, Louis Vierne, and César Franck adapted the symphonic form for the organ, as it was the only solo instrument capable of rivaling an orchestra's tonal range.
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