It may seem strange to associate Charles-Marie Widor (the foremost organ virtuoso of his day) with the restrained art-form of the French mélodie. Yet it formed an important part of his output and he played a major part in its establishment as a serious art-form. He composed nearly a hundred, including the song-cycle Chansons de mer in which the sea’s constant ebb and flow, rendering all things transitory, reflects human life in its ever-changing moods. The remaining mélodies demonstrate the maturation of Widor's style in different ways.