Vierne first performed Carillon de Westminster at Notre Dame, Paris on 29 November 1927 for the ending of Forty Hours at the cathedral.

Vierne's student, Henri Doyen, observed that it was "... one of the rare times when I saw the clergy and faithful not sortie ... Everyone, to the great desperation of the verger and sacristans 'who had never seen anything like it', waited quietly until the end, and a number of people improvised a little ovation for the maître when he came down from the tribune.

"[3] When playing the piece today, the organist should keep in mind a number of guidelines typical to a Vierne performance.

The Westminster tune within the piece is played on the Positif and Récit coupled, so as to give the theme substantial prominence over the pedal and harmony lines.

For performance of Carillon de Westminster at Notre Dame, breath between phrases would have to be longer in order to remain clear than in a smaller setting.

The right-hand is split into one-bar phrases but it is not clear whether this was intended by Vierne (his manuscripts are notoriously difficult to read due to his sight).