Fantaisie in C (from 'Six Piéces')

For some time now I have been learning the twelve great pieces of Cesar Franck and I decided that as a project for 2025 I will record them month by month.

As you can imagine quite some thought has gone in to deciding in which order to record them…I promise you that it isn’t arbitrary…and, indeed, on which organ.

So here goes, with my first recording, the under played and heard Fantaisie (in C), the first of the Six Pieces.

When I first started to consider this piece, I could understand why it might not enjoy the popularity or reputation of other works, however, it deserves our attention.

Right, don’t read anymore, listen to it!

I have chosen the organ of St Omer for the Six Pieces as it is not dissimilar in size to Ste Clotilde and the positif is similar in volume/presence to the Grand Orgue as was the case at Ste Clotilde, even if rather earlier.

As a dear friend (and a much wiser man) said to me, just yesterday:
“My feeling with Franck is that it’s a lifelong journey and when you record or perform it, it is a snap shot of where on that journey you are.”

So this is a snap shot of where I was yesterday!