The published output of Jean Langlais (1907-1991) is vast and varied. However, players return most often to two pieces (Incantation pour Un jour saint and Hymne d'action des Graces - Te Deum) and two of the three suites - those three recorded here. No one is more qualified to record this repertoire than Pierre Cogen, for he was not only a pupil of Langlais (like Langlais' second wife, Marie-Louise Jacquet-Langlais) but co-titulaire from 1976 to 1987 with the maitre at Ste-Clotilde, and then Langlais successor until 1994, when he retired from his various posts at the age of 63. Frequently hearing Langlais play these pieces, Cogen performed them numerous times in the composer's presence - including at his funeral in Ste-Clotilde in May 1991. For this seminal recording it may seem odd that Pierre Cogen has chosen a new German organ, but one glance at the specification will reveal an almost ideal stoplist for Langlais' works. Built in the French romantic style, but with several of the later elements which the music of Langlais, Messiaen, Fleury, Dupré, Duruflé and Marchal calls for, and including an enclosed Positiv, the organ is beautifully voiced with exceptional purity and warmth of tone. The acoustic is very similar to that of Ste-Clotilde, as is the relative impact of the organ in the building (as far as one can tell). The interpretations are impossible to fault and can surely be regarded as definitive. Highly recommended.