This one CD contains two mammoth works, each lasting more than 30 minutes. The organ symphony is a form of organ music which had its roots with Franck and the French organists beginning in the mid 19th-century. The development of the organ symphony parelleled the development of the charactertisically French (and romantic) Cavaillé-Coll pipe organ. When Charles-Marie Widor was coming into his prime, the Cavaillé-Coll organ was also at a plateau in its development. The result was a glorious combination of compositional prowess applied to an instrument with newly-gained flexibilities. Widor finished 10 organ symphonies during his lifetime, and his 5th symphony, on this CD, is arguably his most popular, owing in great part to the popular Toccata which concludes the symphony.

Some 40 or so years later, Widor's pupil, Louis Vierne, while organist at Notre Dame in Paris, carried on the tradition of organ symphonies by composing 6 of them. His 5th symphony, while founded upon the same 5 movement plan as his mentor, Widor, is yet a world apart in style. The 2 symphonies on one disc show the richness of each composer/organist and yet point out the extreme contrasts between these two generations of French virtuoso organists.

Dr. Hohman includes an extensive essay in the 20-page CD booklet which is packaged with this CD.