Organ Symphony No. 5 in A minor, Op. 47, Op. 47

Vierne's Fifth Organ Symphony (1924) is widely regarded as the darkest and most autobiographical of his six symphonies, composed in the wake of profound personal tragedy — the death of his brother René and his son Jacques — and suffused with grief, stoicism, and moments of transcendent resignation. The Allegro vivace finale is one of Vierne's most brilliant movements, a perpetuo moto of remarkable technical difficulty that brings the symphony to an exhilarating conclusion after the sustained anguish of the preceding movements. Like all six of Vierne's organ symphonies, it was composed for the great Cavaillé-Coll organ of Notre-Dame de Paris, and it rewards performance on the largest and most richly coloured instruments.