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Louis Vierne’s Messe Solennelle at All Saints’ Church, Wokingham
We celebrated the feast of Christ the King on Sunday, 23.11.03 at 6.30 p.m. during the evening eucharist with the magnificent mass composed by Louis Vierne.
Vierne (1870-1937), who studied at the Conservatoire in Paris with Cesar Franck and after Franck’s death in1890 with Charles-Marie Widor, composed the Messe Solennelle in 1899; at that time Vierne had been Widor’s Assistant both at the Conservatoire as well as at Saint-Sulpice for nearly eight years. The Messe Solennelle reflects the influence of both his teachers in technical brilliance (Widor) and musical inspiration (Franck). The first performance of the mass took place at Saint-Sulpice in 1901 with Widor himself playing the organ. Vierne became organist of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in 1900. He remained organist there until he died at the console, in the middle of a recital on 2. June 1937.
The choirs of the churches of Corpus Christi, St. Paul’s and All Saints
joined forces for this service. Among those taking part were the Reverend Colin
James and Reverend Paul Cowan as celebrants, organist Martin Pottle and Director
of Music Katharina Pohl.