Suite Gothique

Léon Boëllmann, as a favoured student of Gigout, moved in the best circles of the French musical world, and as a pleasing personality, he made friends of many artists and was able to give concerts both in Paris and the provinces. Boëllmann became known as "a dedicated teacher, trenchant critic, gifted composer and successful performer...who coaxed pleasing sounds out of recalcitrant instruments." Boëllmann also wrote musical criticism for L'art musical under the pseudonym "le Révérend Père Léon" and "un Garçon de la salle Pleyel."
During the sixteen years of his professional life, Boëllmann composed about 160 pieces in all genres. Faithful to the style of Franck and an admirer of Saint-Saëns, Boëllmann yet exhibits a turn-of-the-century Post-romantic aesthetic, which especially in his organ works, demonstrates "remarkable sonorities." His best-known composition is Suite Gothique (1895), now a staple of the organ repertoire, especially its concluding Toccata, a piece "of moderate difficulty but brilliant effect," which has a dramatic minor theme and a rhythmic emphasis that made it popular even in Boëllmann's own day. [thanks to Classic Cat https://www.classiccat.net/boellmann__l/biography.php

I thought that this would be great fun to play on this wonderful organ, but I was also keen to lend it the sort of weight and seriousness in my preparation as I gave my Franck series.

I have attempted to find the more French Symphonic sonorities of this organ, but without eschewing all the "universal" sounds at one's finger tips. Please forgive the infelicities in the Toccata!