César Franck’s significance for French musical life in the period of High Romanticism was considerable. He came to be regarded as one of the greatest of his time, as performer, composer, and, in due course, as professor of organ at the conservatory in Paris.

Through his friendship with Liszt, Franck was encouraged to study the music of Beethoven, Bach and Wagner — three composers who each clearly left their mark on his compositions. It was especially after 1859 that Franck found his distinct voice: the new Cavaillé-Coll organ, which had just been installed in the Basilica of Saint Clotilde, was an important source of inspiration for the recently appointed “titulaire”.

The first decades of the 19th century saw a decline for the organ in France. The abundant repertoire of 18th-century French organ music had all but sunk into oblivion. What one heard for the most part was improvisation, often based on music that was popular at the time, opera in particular, and, above all, Rossini. When French music began to turn away from its hitherto one-sided focus on opera and towards chamber music and symphonic works in the 1870s, Franck was a central source of inspiration.

This double CD features some of Franck’s greatest organ works, performed on the Kuhn organ in Uranienborg Church.

Bjørn Boysen was born in Oslo in 1943 and is considered to be one of Norway’s leading recital organists. His performing career has taken him all over Norway and to many European countries.