Ch. M. Widor plays his Toccata from V Symphony Op. 42 No. 1

Here the legendary organist plays his most-famous work, Toccata from 5th Symphony. When the recording took place, he had been already 88 years old. He many times mentioned, that Toccata was wrongly popularised, as a plain showpiece, without feeling, but with ridiculously fast tempos. Of course, here the age is a main argument, but... let's the composer speak through his music!

[@susiedoig5499]

He's 88, he wrote it, he played it, he owned it. Genius.

[@organchoirman9698]

I played this for one of Widor's students, Arthur Poister of Syracuse University and he told me Widor wants it played like this recording. He also said Widor was insulted by the know-it-all Americans that think it should be played at the speed of light. I'm proud to have the insight of the composer from this organ lesson.

[@krischan67]

It's glorious. Played at exactly the right speed, simply because he decides which speed is right.

[@Tocsin-Bang]

Most organists today, play like they want to finish yesterday. This is how it should be played, majestic and full of character. The way the maestro wanted it. Even at 88 he was still a master of composition and performance.

[@neilgordon8145]

Hé is playing the Toccata at a speed that takes into account the acoustic properties of the church. I have heard it, notes indistinguishable from one another, by being played too fast in a cathedral with an impressive. echo.

[@rongoodwin8636]

At the tempo that the composer played this Toccata, the melodic tapestries become apparent, akin to a curtain slowly undulating in a very light breeze. This is awesome and it is God's Providence that the recording has survived to the present day. Wonderful! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[@alanendel1582]

Agree

[@audibloke]

Yes, it's like they've got a bus to catch and they're already late.

[@rowgli]

It's not often you get to hear one of your favourite compositions played by the very person that created it. I love this.

[@robmarais]

This is an historic relic of great value. I am so grateful that this even exists.

[@donlunn792]

I cannot believe that certain people think this is played too slowly.He was the Composer for Gods sake.If he didn't know how to play it,who would.Unbelievable.

[@HBK-hp1gd]

Don Lunn First of all, he was 88 at the time of the recording. A piece like this takes a significant amount of physical exertion to play on a large French tracker organ. Secondly, one can hear all kinds of mistakes (wrong notes) in the performance. Thirdly, by the time he gets toward the end, his tempo is a good bit faster than when he started. Finally, he's in a huge reverberant building. Saying that this is "THE" tempo is like saying you'd play a hymn with the same tempo and articulation in Westminster Abbey as you would in a 100 seat hotel ballroom. Makes no sense.

[@donlunn792]

I think if you read through the comments,you are in the minority.I play the Organ,admittedly not as good as he could.My comment still stands,Even if it makes no sense to you.HE was the composer,HE played it how he wanted it to sound.

[@HBK-hp1gd]

Don Lunn Minority or not, my comment takes into account very important context that the other [very simplistic] comments do not. The fact is that he ends the piece at the tempo at which most good organists do in fact play it is of interest, even at age 88. All that said, a large percentage of organists who attempt this piece don't play it accurately enough to do it justice at any tempo -- and those organists do tend to be the super speed demons.

[@dixiescored60]

HBK30075 Maybe he had a good reason for upping the tempo. I think it adds to the piece. There are times in life when things move slowly & quickly. At 88, this is without doubt a masterpiece.

[@donlunn792]

Thank you Duncan.Someone else who thinks the Man who composed it,knew how to play it.I'm sure HBK will call your remark,simplistic though.Because "his" comment takes into account a very important context that the other (very simplistic ) comments do not.

[@OneEyePI]

Diane Bish plays this like she has just realised she left the iron on before coming out.

[@organbuilder272]

Nah, He pants are on fire and she can't pee until she gets off the bench.

[@barbaralennahightower9041]

What a funny and lovely way to express it.

[@Lucky4991]

OneEyePI she fucks a lot of songs up that way! It comes of harsh!

[@Kewlpipes]

She doesn't iron, all her clothes are plastic sequins.

[@mountainsong100]

Or that she had the last bus from the church...or train...

[@krischan67]

Widor is in a dimension of his own here. He knows he's old, he knows his performance won't be perfect, but he played it anyway. It's his music, he can do whatever he wants with it. And it's grand!

[@elizabethgrant70]

Sounds perfect to me....

[@originaltommy]

F*** YEAH!!!!!

[@kasha1932]

At age 88, this wonderful composer plays his own work! The tempo is HIS TEMPO! I truly believe that this is how he wanted this to be performed. If he could not play it the way he wanted it to sound, it would not be right here! MARVELOUS!!! Thanks you very much.

[@judithsochor9755]

Kathleen Hazeldine j

[@djmotise]

Kathleen Hazeldine BS. He's 88. Have you ever heard Rubenstein play at 90? He plays slower and with much less energy and accuracy. You cannot tell by a recording of someone at age 88.

[@padraicfanning7055]

@@djmotise Tell that to Colette Maze, who turns *105* this July.

[@padraicfanning7055]

@@djmotise Also, have you ever heard of a Barker lever? Widor probably would have had to retire earlier than the age of 89 had the Barker lever never been invented.

[@mountainsong100]

Yes, Widor's Tempo in the Grand Style of his era ! ! ! we forget and only want to show off how fast we can play leaving musicality behind, playing as if we needed to catch the last train out of town, so we rushed through playing displaying our technique...where is the musicality ??? Metronome setting at 50 interesting. And, tracker keyboards with assistance of the Barker Leaver system...

[@tonyashbridge2910]

This sounds truly majestic at the tempo the composer himself plays it at. Sick of hearing it played too fast. Brilliant transfer of a 90 year old recording of a brilliant near 90 year old player!!

[@rufus888]

At this tempo you get to hear of the beautiful colors of each arpeggio outlining each chord. Great care was taken in writing and playing his own piece. Very diligent and steadfast.

[@mountainsong100]

Yes, and steady tempo...great pedal "a melody of it's own" in a sense...

[@missmusica82]

Sean .R I LOVE this! You can hear everything, way to many times, it’s so fast you can’t make much out of it!

[@madameschnupperfein]

That’s true indeed.

[@vanmusician]

I too love his tempo. He marked the arpeggios with slurs and staccatos which can't be done clearly if too fast. Apparently he also played the entire piece on the grande orgue manual - the crescendos and diminuendos were done by adding and subtracting the couplers to the other divisions, plus the use of the shutters of the enormous swell organ. I recently heard the first mvt. played at St. Sulpice by Daniel Roth. I'm sure Widor enjoyed it - he's buried in the crypt beneath the organ.

[@MarkAnthonyNicholson]

Thank you Mr Widor for an amazing masterpiece. At first I thought it slightly too slow -- I like it played slow. But by the end, I got it -- musically that is; this was your intention and it is majestic and beautiful.

[@paulalexander2928]

Played at this tempo it is regal and majestic. Thankyou Mr. Widor !

[@Boneyardbound]

Ulrich Janßen Today's world is much too fast, with a "I want it and I want it now,"...perhaps the internet has done that to us but,I prefer it a little faster than Widor is playing...IMO, it's a personal musical taste.

[@christianukr]

+Ulrich Janßen c'est vrai Ulrich mais dans la V.O on s'ennuie un peu ..non ??

[@Boneyardbound]

The original is always the template...

[@MrLolo5050]

+christian matuszewski Non!

[@smileallthetime299]

paul Alexander+ Played at this tempo is NOT regal and majestic, more like something you would play for a funeral. I am a master organist, and organist play the tempo faster to make it more regal and majestic as well as it is the way majority of the people want to hear it, and not just organists. I helped several large churches hire new organists, and this piece is quite popular for interviews. The Organists that played this slow, did not get hired, but those that played it faster to what we are use to and preferred, were hired. My organ teacher, she was more traditional and played the hymns and music to slow. Palm Sunday came, and she asked me to play All Glory Loud and Honor, and the whole service for pratice playing with the congregation. Her next words are "I know you, you will pick up the speed and improvised to much, and play it more majestic on full organ, and the congregation and pastors prefer the traditional so play it like I would. When the time came, she could see that I was going to do, what I feel is right. so she gave in and said..."do what you want". So the bells rang and I introduced the melody on Full Pedal, with some improvising, and played the 4 verses very festive. She was shaking her head the whole time, and in between 3rd and 4th verse I played a improvisation build up to the last verse, and she was getting angry, and I did this to all the hymns, all of a sudden the packed congregation stood up at the end of the service, turned around and gave me a standing ovation including both pastors. After service, people were asking the organist and the pastors if we enlarged the organ, and got a new fantastic organist, or a guest organist because that is just what they want for hymn singing, because before it was to slow and boring. I could see my organist teacher felt uneasy and felt out of place. She acted like her whole career was crushed. Next thing I know, the congregation asked me to be the organist, and do something more with the almost non music program. Before, the adult and youth bell, and choirs would sing/play a couple times a year, but spent a lot of time practicing for just a few times. Also no organ concerts as well, except for the one when they dedicated the new organ. So I picked things up, had the bell and choirs play much more, and not just for Christmas and Easter only. We did many more concerts with packed houses and people standing due to lack of seats, and always did collections and that money was used for the new and improved music program. It was all traditional, but far more majestic. The first year, we collected enough money to not just pay for the whole music program, but put in a totally new PA system and more mics for the music program, and expand the organ from 56 ranks to over 120 ranks with a gallery and a front Antiphonal organ. and in 3 years by the time for the final payment on the organ was made, it was paid off. We also had recording equipment installed and started making CD's. The traditional music program grew so large, so did the membership and we built a new Gothic Sanctuary that was 3 times the size as the original, and much higher, and expanded the organ from 120 to over 230 ranks. All because I played Hymns faster. The Church went from 4,200 communicate members and with 2,000 members present in 4 services on the weekends to over 2,500 members present in each service x 2 services a weekend. We had to add video and more audio in the whole church campus, because the full pre-K -12 grade school, gym, fellowship hall, chapel [old sanctuary] was a packed house, including every class room. All because I played Hymns faster. So slower is not always better or favored by every one else.

[@ractenor]

I have always said that the lightning fast speeds lost so much of the intent of the harmonic progressions. This version lets you hear every nuance. And yes, he is 88 years old, but he wrote the damn thing!

[@harriwiggins6037]

Richard Crossman well said id say!!!! :-)

[@djmotise]

Richard Crossman Composer or not, you try playing this piece on a tracker organ at age 88 and see what tempo you muster. Don't be so sure of your opinions.

[@organbuilder272]

@@djmotise This organ uses Barker Levers. Sure it is all operated by trackers but the keyboards are NOT directly connected to the wind chests.

[@cromorno8749]

@@djmotise believe me, the tempo has nothing to do with his age

[@organboi]

​​@@cromorno8749 And why should I believe you? You can hear him struggling with it. He's old and can't play it the way he conceived it. No crime.

[@tonyallen3253]

This is amazing. For those who criticise the tempo , two things to remember...1 He was 88 years old, and 2 He hated it being played too fast. He knew how to use the acoustic surroundings to draw out the true majesty of the music. Edit: I will also add the the speed would of course have been influenced by the very heavy tracker action on the organ In St Sulpice. With couplers on, it would have been very heavy for 88 year old hands to cope with!! Any way, this for me is one of the great performances, despite all of the imperfections. Compare it for example, with the massacre of the work as performed by Ms Bish!!

[@Markenanwalt]

Absolutely true! Many people forget that this is "Musique Royale" and not "Mickey Mouse"

[@leonietaylor7054]

It's the masters music he plays it how ever he want.I totally agree.I love this way.When I am exiting the temple after my wedding.So majestic!!!Or at my funeral exiting the temple.

[@leonietaylor7054]

At age 88 that was awesome!!!!

[@aroncoetzee8883]

How would he feel about the great Diane Dish and her tempo😂

[@leonietaylor7054]

And 3 it's his dam song!!!!!

[@ZitaMenyhart]

It´s a masterpiece by him. It is very deeply touching to listen to his own performance

[@reeblesnarfle5443]

Zita Menyhárt Agreed.

[@cnsedgwick]

Thank you - I agree.

[@geofffikar3417]

Could you imagine being able to have heard Liszt play?

[@ZitaMenyhart]

@@geofffikar3417 It would be great!

[@richardkallio3868]

It is a blessing that we have this recording of “the” Widor Toccata, played by none other than THE Master himself, Charles Marie Widor! This is to be treasured and, I think, ought to be an aiming point for any organists who have this piece in their repertoire.

Not sure how many times I've heard this recording now, but no one beats Widor playing his own Toccata!

[@umbertofilineri4635]

I am glad that I am not the only bassoonist who appreciates organ music!! XD

[@clovislabritannia3391]

@@umbertofilineri4635 Other bassonist here

[@NJPurling]

Dianne Bish plays everything far too fast. If I were an organist and Mr Roth had invited me sit at the console where Monsieur Widor had sat and play the same piece... I am sure i'd be a bag of nerves & in desperate need of peeing. But damn it i'd wear diapers & let nothing ruin the moment. Playing one of the most famous pieces of organ music on the same organ it was written for is an incredible honour. I am sure C.M. Widor would have known the acoustics of the church and the peculiarities of the organ and he wrote the music accordingly. Did he ever write any commentary on the manuscripts about the tempo?

[@ranavalona24]

@@NJPurling The Bish recording on KZbin should be removed. An insult to a great composer.

[@dominionlad8468]

Bish plays nothing well. She's a "show pony", like E. Power Biggs was.@@NJPurling

[@johnny.3693]

The difference between his tempo then, and the speed demons who play it now, is amazing. Especially in the pedal.

[@MrPdmus]

Poor sound quality by today's standards, fumbled chords and missing notes but, OMG I was a wreck by the end of this. Such majesty, such power, such expression. It turns a "virtuoso" piece into a true work of art. I just listened to a couple of other renditions on KZbin after this and had to cut them. They sounded trite, an ego trip for the performer. This is real music. It has made my day. Thank you.

[@mikecooper5604]

it was recorded in 1932 so it wont be up to today's standards stop complaining and just listen to the great m music idiot

[@Jessyefan]

The end made me cry. As if the aged composer played his own ascension to heaven.

[@originaltommy]

So true! You make me cry in a good way.

[@BonfiglioSergio]

This recording slams the face of all those performers who play the Toccata at some speed of light, only to show their virtuoso. The great master is saying here how this piece must be played. Nothing more and nothing less. DO RESPECT THE MUSIC AND THE COMPOSER WHO WROTE IT.

[@djmotise]

Sergio Bonfiglio There is simply zero evidence that the reason he plays this tempo is NOT because of his advanced age. Stop with your speculation and confidence in what may be a false assertion.

[@pbrower2a1]

As a stand-alone piece, likely an encore following a concert of other composers' (well, usually one composer, and we all know who) works. it tempts an organist to play it fast because it is not in the context of the organ symphony, an interesting work in its own right.

[@MaxLuetgendorff]

Couldnt agree more!

[@cromorno8749]

Condivido a pieno.

[@georgefieldsjr.640]

YES ! SO TRUE !

[@cletedavis5849]

For all of you people who think this is being played too slow, you need to understand that the reverberation time in St. Sulpice is somewhere between seven and eight seconds. Anything faster than this and the music would be total mush! Widor understood his organ, his church, and his music better than any one else!

[@Retrographer]

After listening to God knows how many interpretations, and after a life in music, i can only agree that this IS the the right feeling and the right tempo. Agressive though hesitating and majestic. Never forcing, but holding back until the last breath, aand thus unleashing the massive controlled power in his comnposition. Truly epic !!

[@Retrographer]

After many years of listening this is still the right tempo. Firm, expressive and right on....

[@Knappa22]

Wow the piece has a whole other dimension somehow - I really like the slower tempo, it sounds stately and monumental, and not just like an agility showcase. He puts real feeling into it as well and varies the tempo. Thank goodness this recording of the master himself exists :)

[@patriceauffret4240]

I agree his tempo is his tempo. It brings emotion, majesty, elegance, the force, the passion, and beyond it all the true connection of the composer with his work.

[@rickcomer8497]

01:15 OMG that pedal work is amazing! At this slower speed it's like he's conjuring up a new world out of the bellows of the earth.

[@Video7Rose]

I agree with you. BTW, I think you meant "bowels" of the earth; people used to use bellows to pump air into organs for the organist. 😊

[@thomfaircloth3642]

What amazing fidelity for a recording done in the 1930s when Hi Fi had never been heard of.

[@2kfowler]

Listening to the master playing this is like a little piece of heaven.

[@organbuilder272]

More Likely a lot of Notre Dame or St. Sulpice.

[@ThomasCBooth]

The piece as played by him has great nobility and the rich harmonies and melody comes out perfectly! Wonderful to listen to this master organist and composer!!! Bravissimo

[@Nobilangelo]

The thumbs-down people do not agree with the composer, and therefore think they know better. They don't. This is magnificent.

[@dolphharmonics]

Thank you, God, for this composer, this piece, and this revelatory recording.

[@Ant-ls2pr]

Yes, it is rather slower than what one would hear nowadays. But imagine the master himself performing his own work! and we have a recording here on youtube 2016 !

[@anonymusum]

You can´t take musical performances out of the general circumstances of life. Our whole life is way faster than in those days and so is our sensibility in general. To me it´s not a coincidence that almost all old recordings are slower than today´s performances.

[@austinshackles549]

That's not necessarily a good thing, though.

[@anonymusum]

Ah - and by the way: He´s making a lot of mistakes. But due to his age that´s understandable of course.

[@TrackerAction]

Widor had had a lesson with Lemmens in which he was admonished that the true excitement in playing isn't in tempo, but rhythm. Widor recalls: "It is nothing," Lemmens said mechanically, "without will." What did he mean by "will?" I did not dare to ask him. I finally understood: it is the art of the orator, its authority manifested by the calm, the order and just proportions of the discourse. To musicians, the will shows itself above all through rhythm."

[@smileallthetime299]

Anonymusum+ Lets see what you can do at 88 years old, and see if you are authorized to talk about his mistakes. So i suggest you keep this point to yourself.

[@lindaatzenhoefer8536]

This composer was genius. He wrote this magnificent piece of music that has captured the heart,soul and ear of all musicians and those whom love organ and music of grace. What dignity, Devine music. Bravo to the composer, to the Spectacular performance.

[@BruceCox]

One important aspect of rhythm for an organ, in my opinion, is the hall in which it is situated. A piece may sound garbled if played too quickly or too slowly with respect to a hall's reverberation period. The perfect rhythm for a piece like this is, to some degree, dependent on the hall and the skill of the performer in exploiting it. In this performance, Widor nails it. I feel that this is what makes it so very moving and majestic as compared to other performances.

[@clarifaco]

Yes, the accoustic environment is the fundamental aspect that sets the Pace/Tempo

[@kentallyn2880]

I have made comment during a previous visit; nonetheless, I am moved at each visit to bring attention to the perfection wrought in this performance. Each nuance is micro-managed like a surgeon with a scalpel. I can hear the emphasized quarter note of the left hand renewed each beat leading to the pedal entrance, amongst myriad others. This is, without doubt, THE BEST tempo, (actually played with perfect allegro...go figure).

[@Retrographer]

Quote: "without feeling, but with ridiculously fast tempos" And this is so right, and what you so often hear.. In this masterpiece tempo is evrything.....

[@BonfiglioSergio]

One good reason to try to gain Heaven is to go to Widor concertos....

[@reeblesnarfle5443]

Sergio Bonfiglio amen, brother!

[@crazyorganist1609]

Amen

[@christianweber2334]

I have always wanted this to be the recessional at my funeral.

[@craigsoaries3340]

One cannot refute the manner and tempo set by the composer himself. I have played this piece for 45 years, since high school, and love this pace allowing the organist to really bring the grandeur and beauty out of the composition!!

[@richardhennessy5827]

I mastered this piece (the opinion of my extraordinary teacher who I almost drove crazy) at age 18 along with the Bach Toccata in D minor. I then went off to college and pretty much never returned to the keyboard. It was the recessional played at our wedding in 1971. It's interesting that my feet still know where to go when listening to the Widor. I think the tempo here is perfect. All too many musicians make the music about themselves instead of the work.

[@wanorman2007]

Amazing how he is able to play that whole piece without taking his hands out of his lap. 😉

[@richardgrant7055]

Probably the first sensible comment I've read................

[@rotunda57]

It's all played on the pedals

[@lukereilly207]

in know right?! such a cool video

[@anthonyfountain5316]

Organists were better instructed then.

[@LACAarchitect]

the first rule of organ playing - economy of movement

[@dieselheart001]

This is truly the definitive performance of this work- Widor performing Widor. Can you imagine if he had access to a pristinely maintained instrument commensurate to this one, or if he could have performed this after the organ was restored to full capacity? This is epic as it stands. Anything else is mere conjecture.

[@mariorebhan914]

I wish, Diane Bish saw this... 🤣😏

[@WAX6428]

WIDOR HATED his toccata when it was played fast, this IS the CORRECT tempo. Widor once commented to an American organist who played his “toccata" that he played it too fast. Widor never heard the man play, it was an observation he made from knowing three things: he was an American, he was an organist, and he played Widor’s Toccata. Now, if that is all Widor needed to know, chances are most take it to fast. Also, while I was studying with Mme, Durufle’ , she echoed that Widor’s wishes in regards to tempo were slower. No reason arguing with idiots who’d burn a barn down if it meant they wouldn’t have to clean it. Lazy intellects are just that, lazy but no real intellect. It’s is documented in BOOKS that Widor wanted a slower tempo, but far be it for me to expect the hyperbolic to ever pick one up beyond using one for a door stop.

[@TheBaritoneCrooner]

You listen to the maestro himself play his own work and the first question that comes to mind is: why does every organist since Widor have to play this at the speed of an express train running late? This is great at this tempo. It adds to the suspense of the work. And WOW, I was unaware of an actual recording by the master himself. Bravo!

[@NJFordPops08005]

It depends on the acoustic. In a very reverberant acoustic, this tempo is awesome. But in very dry rooms, faster may work better.

[@GentianAly]

My father used to play this piece and this is exactly how he played it with majesty and such colour. I have listened to many recordings of this wonderful work before, in all it's many interpretations, but I have never heard anyone play it like Dad did.This is so so special to find this and to hear that he played it just like the composer would have wished. A special and wonderful moment, thank you so much for posting this. Truly amazing !

[@KevinTheCaravanner]

We are so privileged this recording exists. It’s a magnificent piece played by the master. I don’t understand why anyone would want to play it faster as it loses some of its majesty. This is perfect.

[@moritzaufenanger2537]

I know im a little late, but sure his age plays a big role and in his younger years he probably could’ve played it faster, but the question is did he ever want to? Saint Sulpice is a huge church so playing it a little slower makes sense so the notes aren’t sounding like a huge wave coming in, but I think Widor meant his Toccata to be something epic like a king sitting on his throne. The Diane Bish horse race version sounds more like a Formula one car. Widor probably knew the best what he wanted to express with that masterpiece, and even tho he was 88, if he meant to play it a little faster he probably could’ve.

[@organbuilder272]

Bingo, Moritz. Well said, sir.

[@750VFRRules]

It must be now, over a year ago that i first commented on the people who are critical of this work.Here we are over a year on and it is still happening !! How can you be critical of the composer playing his own work.I don't care how old he was,or if his fingers were stiff with age,and i don't care how good anyone else thinks they are as an organist.HE, was the composer,and i am certain that if he was unable to play this piece as he wished to,or as he composed it, he would not have recorded it.

[@poppyrowland1385]

People critical of this are total boneheads. It’s otherworldly fabulous!

[@hartleymartin]

The arguments over tempos will never cease. I like it at this speed because you get to hear more of the music. Some organists play it so fast they might as well be mashing their fists into the manuals because the sound doesn't get to blossom from the organ.

[@CLASSICALFAN100]

And I thought Tempe was in Arizona...lol

[@mountainsong100]

often think of Irving Berlin's comment..."where's the melody" here one gets it all, manuals accompanying the grand Pedal theme as it comes and goes...

[@leonietaylor7054]

Yall better stop shading my girl Diane Bish😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@georgefieldsjr.640]

The Professional Him self... Playing his Magnificent master peice !

[@paulofaustralia3965]

it doesnt get any better than this seven absolute minutes of widor magic.

[@ivittdickinson7516]

Thank you Mr Widor for shpwing us the way

[@davidberry211]

I can't understand those who feel this tempo is slow. Are they on methamphetamines?. No one in their right mind would play it faster in an acoustic like this: even at this tempo it's difficult to make out individual notes. M. Widor knew what he was doing.

[@crazyorganist1609]

Exactly

[@BRICKIEREPORT]

This is the theme song or soundtrack to the second coming of Christ

[@causabon99]

+cloma clim I know, I was there.

[@susanneosterholt3770]

cloma clim YESS! Must be!

[@carlnoble5286]

I agree - and Mr. Widor AND JS Bach are playing it!

[@caroltanksley3436]

that is a great concept. That I can picture!

[@organbuilder272]

Ahh, - I don't think there will be a second coming. Train service has been cancelled, airlines have cancelled and there is no shuttle. The Russians wouldn't sell JC a ticket in any case. Forget it. Just play it at recitals. SOunds good.

[@richardwhitehouse8762]

This was one of those marvelously random KZbin finds that was new to me. When this started I thought "blimey this is slow". But as you listen it becomes a different piece to the one you think you know. It's not the sound track to some fairground attraction, it has scope and majesty, hardly surprising given the instrument and the setting. It also interesting that the tempo stays absolutely rock steady. There are no sudden rits or lurches. Thank you for sharing.

[@thomasmausbach8733]

I must say that hearing the Organ in St Sulpice in Paris was a highlight of my life. Widor was a genius.

[@gregreynolds5698]

Agreed! Sophie Veronique Choplin played it for me!! "por vous, for you" she said to me at the console. An experience I shall never forget

[@darleneweil6158]

I love and play this piece and believe me at his tempo it is much harder to control the music and get in time faster is easier but not better.

[@Tonewheeldude]

With the correct Tempo!!!

[@Iczerman-hl2zt]

The Organist at My church who agrees with the above tempo quipped " People think you can't play it if you don't play it fast."

[@Iloerk]

FINALLY a recording with good tempo

[@Patriciad50]

This is an absolutely wonderful recording from 1932

[@warrenpugh7844]

Patricia Davidson Come on Madam. You are aging this old chap. This piece blinds us to other works of his. His quads and triplets blend too much for me, but that beautiful man wrote it and I am eternally grateful.. WASP

[@20a10v]

This has made me see slow performances differently. Given that, is probably one of the best performances of the Toccata I’ve heard (I know he’s the composer, but still) especially at his age of 88.

[@locke11216]

this is one of the most beautiful and moving pieces of organ music i have ever been blessed to experience.

[@JBNemeth]

It is a majestic piece piece for the soul to soar........... Just goes to show you age is not necessarily a factor in creating beauty and wonder!

[@reeblesnarfle5443]

Joan Nemeth Bless you, sister, for your observation.

[@Telemaker]

The best played i ever heard! Widor on his own organ. That is the right way to play! What a Genius!!! Widor is one of the best organ player thar ever lived!

[@ChristineBrown-r3m]

I am a professional violinist and although my instrument should be the most sacred to me, it isn't... The organ is the closest that we will come to touching Heaven... Widor brought Heaven to Earth!

[@dominionlad8468]

Wow! Had no idea he intended it to be played "adagio". If only the recording fidelity of the 1930s had been better. However, this recording is simply amazing!!!

[@iraidacarpin]

Played by the composer and master !

[@dieselheart001]

I'm just happy to hear this work performed by its creator. Widor performing Widor. This is the "ne plus ultra" interpretation of the Toccata. Thank you for sharing this musical treasure with the world.

[@kyotokid4]

...I have an old stereo recording from the 1960s of this work performed on the Cavaille Coll organ at St Sernin where the organist (Xavier Darasse) performed it much closer to Mr. Widor's tempo and phrasing. Makes a tremendous difference as the work takes on a totally grand and stately character and hearing a clean recording of it in a large cathedral with that lovely reed chorus is incredibly moving. I took to performing it at the same tempo and once even used it as a recessional.

[@AlanBjorndal]

His Toccata. His speed. It's not slow, it ends precisely when HE wanted it to.😅

[@madameschnupperfein]

I’m really touched by this: hearing the maestro himself play his milestone piece in organ literature 🤩 I wish I will be able to play the organ like this when I’m 88 😳 Hats off to Mr. Widor for this composition and rendition.

[@MaxLuetgendorff]

And this is living proof that you mustn’t rush this piece like some do. That’s awesome!

[@ddoyle11]

This is the tempo at which this piece should be played! Where all of the notes are paraded out in majesty and perfect formation, not rushed through like patrons fleeing a burning theater.

[@smudger671]

Pretty good sound for 1932.

[@damienderbes1962]

Listening to this track with an high.end DAC and audio system reveals what old technologies were able to perform, even with limited bandwidth and dynamic. Amazing !

[@samko59]

I am very eclectic in my musical tastes, but I have a particular affinity for Renaissance and Baroque music and, particularly, compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. This Widor Toccata composition is, however, one of my greatest favorites of all time. Bravo e Bravissimo!!!

[@davidgooding810]

Uhm . . . an "affinity" for Bach is not exactly "eclectic." He's arguably the greatest musical genius who ever lived.

[@Vingul]

@@davidgooding810 redundant comment. Notice the "but".

[@arthurjdale8684]

He would turn over in his grave hearing the high speed version by Diane Bish !!!

[@smileallthetime299]

Arthur J dale+ Are you a master organist? Have you recorded over 2,000 episodes for TV traveling all over the world? Have you even written your versions of improvisations? I did not think so. She plays it just as it was meant to be played, Just because YOU prefer the slower tempo, does not mean it is the right one.

[@GregoravAasgard]

Tim Pieper It's typical... Americans are just such destructive to classical music... I feel sorry for you.

[@smileallthetime299]

Gregor av Asgaard+ So typical the west always blame EVERYTHING on the Americans for EVERYTHING, and you all THINK you are better then Americans, and do not tell me that is not true. Look how destructive you are to human beings in the East, always blaming us, always calling us stupid. That is full ignorance AND hate, on your part, NOT ours. Just think what Jesus is saying about people like you. Yet, it is the East country that is helping out your countries from national disasters and helping your people, Wile you sit there and just the Eastern people. People that came from the West a long time ago, all part of your for-fathers.

[@smileallthetime299]

Gregor av Asgaard+ You do realize you just said the same thing? Meaning does not change just because you change the wording.

[@MrBoywonder1985]

Diane Bish is a wonderful musician and person; Arthur is a moron.

[@patriciaboardman3868]

The tempo is unrushed snd majestic as it should be. Age doesn't slow tempo. Such ignorance of other reviewers is embarrassing. Who knows better how to perform a work of art than the artist himself? No one has authority to criticize a composer's performance of his own work.

[@TheVaughan5]

Although what you say should make sense it's a fact that musicians, and this applies especially to conductors, do slow the tempo of performances as they get older there are countless instances of this on record. Also, William Walton, as an example, quite frankly admitted that although he conducted many of this own compositions there were others who could more successfully portray exactly what he intended.

[@DrJuice1]

cameronpaul i'm not arguing with your general statement, but i think i remember reading that Widor specifically said that he disliked the fact that toccata had come to imply quick tempo and that that was not the original purpose or meaning of the form (if you can call toccata a form). i assumed that this toccata was his response to uptempo toccati. i could be mistaken

[@DrJuice1]

DrJuice1 ahh nevermind, the uploader already mentioned it in the description. i hadn't noticed that

[@HBK-hp1gd]

Patricia Boardman First of all, he was 88 at the time of the recording. A piece like this takes a significant amount of physical exertion to play on a large French tracker organ. Age most certainly slows tempo. I know many organists who comment about not being able to play at the speed they used to, but still enjoy the piece so they play it as they are able. Secondly, one can hear all kinds of mistakes (wrong notes) in the performance. Age can also affect accuracy. Thirdly, by the time he gets toward the end, his tempo is a good bit faster than when he started. Finally, he's in a huge reverberant building. Saying that this is "THE" tempo is like saying you'd play a hymn with the same tempo and articulation in Westminster Abbey as you would in a 100 seat hotel ballroom. Makes no sense.

[@14reger]

I absolutely agree, Patricia. This century rushes everything fast, and people most of the time don't like slow tempos. Hurry hurry and again hurry. So is music. There are so many details in the score that you almost lose them all when playing fast in a big room as St.Sulpice.

[@rmeyer76]

I love how this tempo allows Mr. Widor to nuance and shape the LH part. WOW!

[@Leighmarie33]

i agree with you 100 percent. hearing this clip with the man himself, performing at age 88 (an age that, in that era, many couldn't walk anymore let alone have all four limbs moving at the same time but with different tasks)gives me goose bumps as if I'm actually being a part of his performance at that time. i only wish I could have really been there in person. I love this piece of work and it tickles my brain receptors through my ears :)

[@scottguy5452]

Imagine living from 1844 to 1937. Such changes!

[@samko59]

This is just magnificent! I didn't know a recording existed of the Master himself playing his own great piece. I completely agree that this is the tempo it should be played at, especially in such a vast venue as St. Sulpice. Thank you so much for this, for this has been and will be continually an opportunity to hear the composer speak to me!

[@rednekokie]

It is so good to hear this piece as the composer wrote it. So many people treat it as if it were a South American Samba, which obliterates the message the composition sets forth. Thank you.

[@seanc5314]

This tempo makes the scale feel so much grander. It feels like a Symphony (imagine that)!

[@achitophel5852]

There is so much that can be picked up from this and applied to playing it today. Of course, it's not technically perfect but anyone failing to detect the soul of the composer in the way he is playing this isn't fit to play it himself..

[@gabrielecodotto6486]

I agree with Patricia... he's a master at work and he's the legend! The best organist of 19th century! Great Charles Marie Widor!

[@socialite1283]

The remarkable thing is that recording technology was sufficiently advanced enough, altho' still relatively primitive, to be able to capture the tonal scope of a pipe organ that size in a building that large. It also sounded like he didn't cross hands like so many organists do - he let the chords and arpeggios move between hands on the one manual.

[@Organistcomposer21]

I think that this is by far one of the very BEST recordings of this piece. At this slow tempo, we can feel the "grandeur" and the majesty of this great toccata. Thank you Widor!

[@davidholmes9756]

The speed allows the articulation to breathe that speed merchants miss. The classic recording of Jeanne Demessieux at Liverpool RC Cathedral where the strong accents were in the wrong places demonstrates it.

[@lewisjenkin9457]

Beautifully performed. An inspiration!

[@aliasdeputydog]

:Dianne Bish. Please note that THIS is how this beautiful music should be played.

[@Paulsouthward]

Unbelievable. Brilliant - fascinating. How music should be played.

[@SarumChoirmaster]

Many composers of the 18th and 19th centuries have repeatedly stated that too many performers and students play their compositions too fast. Liszt was the exception only in that he was a show off.

[@staffanlingarde3431]

The recording was made during the night to avoid noice from the traffic. The recording people was afraid to trouble the composer to much. After the session Widor leapt down the stairs att said "That's that, now let´s take a walk".

[@harryhaden7238]

Perfect. Modern trengs to play a piece as fast as possible ruins the music.

[@GaryGP40]

I was just reading about this recording in The American Organist and I was eager to find a recording of this by the man himself, this does not disappoint, despite the age. Great recording and thanks for sharing!! I know how particular Widor was about how his music was performed and to hear the composer performing it *as he wished it to be played* is amazing. So few recordings exist of the masters performing their own works as they wished them to be heard and played. And he was 88 when this was recorded! Sources also say he was playing this from memory and doing his own registrations also while it was being recorded (he didn't even want to record it, but thankfully changed his mind and it was preserved). Thanks again for sharing this, it brought a lot of sense of completion to the extensive article on the Toccata in TAO (Sept. 2022 edition)

[@FletchScopes]

If the Composer himself is playing this piece..then he can play at whatever speed he pleases..I think he should know what tempo his work should be played at by any half-decent organist..not armchair critics...THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL rendition

[@barbaratrehy4742]

Wow! spine-tingling to listen to at this tempo - even more to know that this is the composer himself. I've only ever heard much faster performances and didn't know this existed. Thank you GrandCorps.

[@DominusTemporal]

A most enjoyable performance. Thank you for taking the time to upload this.