Although there is no shortage of compelling recordings of César Franck’s Trois Chorals, it is good to hear this excellent new performance by Peter Stevens, assistant organist at Westminster Cathedral, set within the context of organ music by Franck’s pupil, biographer and later successor as organist of the Basilica of Sainte-Clotilde in Paris, Charles Tournemire (1870-1939).

From Tournemire’s massive collection of Gregorian chant-based liturgical pieces L’orgue mystique, Peter Stevens has chosen three substantial works, starting with the Triptyque In Festo SS Trinitatis, a floating cloud of atmospheric sweetness, full of quasi-orchestral detail. In the Postlude Immaculata Conceptio Beatae Virginis Mariae, Stevens savours the six-part counterpoint, which features extensive double-pedalling technique and Tournemire’s greater use of daring chromatic harmony, all wrapped up in an incense-laden, votive meander. In its softer moments there is a faint rumble from London’s traffic. A craving for livelier music is satisfied by the Diptyque Purificatio Beatae Virginis Mariae, full of lovely melting moments and a strong sense of improvisatory propulsion. Here one can sense strongly the impetus that would lead to Duruflé and the earlier, uncomplicated Messiaen.

Franck’s Chorals are late works, composed within an intensive two-month period, each lasting around 14 minutes. The first is renowned for its big hand stretches – all under Stevens’s full control. This is a highly cohesive interpretation, paying strict adherence to the detailed registration markings. One of the highlights of the B minor second Choral is the warm glow from the soft 32-foot pedal register, though the Westminster Cathedral acoustic occasionally swallows the effect of repeated notes, which require more definition. The final Choral is perhaps the best known of the three, full of simmering energy. Stevens manages to let the chorale melody sing through, while shaping the developing toccata to a thrilling A major conclusion.

The recorded sound is warm and close enough to reveal most essential details, and for those who prefer their French organ music without that slightly salty sourness of French reeds, this new disc would be my top recommendation.