The name of Charles Tournemire is a minor one, even in the history of French music, and you won’t find much about him in the standard reference books. Nor are you likely to get a great deal of opportunity to hear his music: only two of the works on this disc have been published in printed form, and Sagesse is the only one to have been recorded before. The disc would thus be valuable for that reason alone.

Charles Tournemire (1870-1939) was a mystic composer who expressed his faith through his works, the most important of which is L’Orgue mystique (The Mystic Organ). The present recording, however, proposes the rare and fascinating piano cycle Douze Préludes-Poèmes, Op. 58 (Twelve Prelude-Poems). Composed in Paris between March 17 and May 21, 1932, these Prelude-Poems form a mystic vision of man’s life-long relationship with his Creator. The pianist Lise Boucher performs this magnificent and original music, which is both an extension of Debussy and a foreshadowing of Messiaen.

The organ music of Charles Tournemire (1870–1939) is a revelation… The Triple Choral (1910) is a key work in his journey to individuality. Organist Vincent Boucher’s performance is well paced and his expressive rubato is tasteful… Boucher employs to full advantage the magnificent Casavant organ and acoustics of the Church of St. John the Baptist in Montreal; the sound on this recording is glorious… Boucher captures the improvisational feel of Tournemire’s style in the second [selection from L'Orgue mystique] — music that is unearthly at times, seemingly in-the-moment explorations conveying striking visions… Three brief Postludes for antiphons of the Magnificat round out this deeply reflective disc.