Alain: Complete Organ Works - Jean-Baptiste Robin, Jehan Alain

In his short life (1911-40) Jehan Alain composed some of the most fresh and original music for organ. The influences of composers such as Duruflé and Dutilleux mingle with Gregorian Chant and jazz and the exotic – the latter Alain discovered at the Colonial Exposition of 1931. Interestingly, many of the organ works were conceived for other forms – orchestra in the case of the Trois Dances, String Quintet for the Suite for Organ: Introduction and Variations for example. Many of the works started life as piano pieces, or for small chamber ensemble.

This 3CD set contains recordings made in the 1930s of the composer performing his Les Fetes de l’annee Israelite and Synagogue Music – fascinating historical documents.