ABSTRACT
A survey of organists working in Parisian churches from the second half of the nineteenth century onwards reveals a remarkable historical continuity. Several of the finest organs designed by Cavaille-Coll were already installed in Parisian churches and the musical consequence of this revival in organ building was that churches were able to attract significant composers and performers as titulaires. Charles Tournemire occupies a remarkable place, perhaps a unique one, in the development of French organ music: a devoted Franck pupil whose own harmonic freedom, highly imaginative integration of plainsong, and profound sense of the organist's role in the liturgy were to have a lasting impact on younger composers. Cesar Franck composed his first major works for organ, the Six pieces, in 1856–64, derived from improvisations he played at the end of Mass. Olivier Messiaen's works for organ stand as the most outstanding and original contribution to the instrument's repertoire by any twentieth-century composer.
