Première Symphony, op. 20 - mvt 2 - Andante

Lazare Auguste Maquaire (b. October 25, 1872 in Lyon, d. July 11, 1906 in Grenoble) was a French organist and composer. Maquaire was a student of Charles-Marie Widor at the Conservatoire de Paris, then became his assistant at Saint-Sulpice.

His most important work is this piece, the First Symphony in E-flat major, Op. 20 for organ, written in 1905 and dedicated to Widor. It lasts approximately 22 minutes, is in four movements, and is permeated by a four-note motif present in the themes of all four movements. Despite the title which might suggest otherwise, there is no second symphony, as Maquaire died at the Hôtel de Savoie, Place de la Gare in Grenoble - only 33 years old.

The second movement (Andante) has the theme taken by several different solo voices in succession - Hautbois, Clarinet, Flute Harmonique, Vox Humana. A contrasting section on strings with the melody in the Pedal, then a return to the opening textures, finally ending softly.

I first uploaded this work in the early days of CB, and always wanted to revisit it - my ideas of interpretation have changed slightly, and also I used a composite instrument I'd made (I called it my "Cavaille-Clone"). It really was a pretty decent sound, but I wanted to try it on a more recent set.