Charles-Marie Widor - Toccata (Cavaillé-Coll Organ of Saint-Palais)

Charles-Marie Widor - V. Toccata from Symphony No. 5 for Organ, Op. 42, No. 1
Known primarily for its final movement, the Toccata in F, Charles-Marie Widor's 5th Organ Symphony (1878) is a momentous work of five movements and 35 minutes. The famous Toccata, played here by Eddie Zheng, is one of the most well-known and loved works for the organ. It features a constant 16th note figuration in the right hand, with the left hand outlining the harmonic changes through repeated chords, while the pedals speak the thunderous and powerful theme. The rhythmic stamina of this movement is what drives the work through the kaleidoscopic range of harmonies and emotions.
Performed on the 1888 A. Cavaillé-Coll Organ of Saint-Palais, Church of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine in Saint-Palais, France on July 23rd, 2023 during the Oloron Orgues masterclass with Johann Vexo in Oloron Sainte-Marie, France.
Recorded by Annie Spink - thank you!
Organ Specifications:
orgue-aquitaine.fr/Orgue-de-S...
Eddie Zheng is a rising concert organist who is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at the Juilliard School, under the guidance of Paul Jacobs.
For more information visit www.eddiezheng.com/

[@alanboyd2953]

Someone who can play at the right speed and tempo! Bravo

[@2Hearts3]

Wow-- superb performance. Musicality, not just technicality. I love the dynamic changes, seldom heard among other. players. Bravo! 🏆👏🎹

[@dfspannie]

Absolutely beautifully played.

[@williamsibree4286]

There is beautiful modulation of timbre and mood by Zheng and he makes it very dramatic.

[@tomarmstrong1281]

Only in my imagination will I ever be able to sit in the organ loft of some grand cathedral and make such glorious music.

[@lindaatzenhoefer8536]

An outstanding organ presentation played by Mr Zheng. This song is one of my favorites. The song is a heavenly inspiration to your soul and heart. Mr Zheng's tempo was not fast, but performed with a dignified elegance of each note 🎵 and throughout the Widor organ recital. Bravo to this fine young man's performance. He has a great Future ahead in concert organ presentations. Again, Bravo.

[@christianerevert329]

You will go far, thank you for this moment !

[@jv04jm]

Absolutely brilliant! Well done! 👏 👌

[@stephenlindsay9321]

A wonderful, passionate performance!

[@danielvrolijk9272]

Finally someone who plays this normally. It's not a race to the finish line. A lot of people think it is... Great job! Good choice of tempo too. Not too fast not unbearably slow either.

[@Todd1356]

His tempo is similar to that of Johann Vexo’s.

[@RonGoodwin-de2jn]

Great phrasing and registrations!

[@oosallytomatooo1321]

I had no idea there was a Cavaillé-Coll in Saint-Palais-sur-mer ! Beautiful performance ! :)

[@carolinesaintdenis]

Finally, someone who actually phrases! And an excellent tempo and great use of voicing. Tyvm!

[@eddiezheng]

Thank you so much!

[@richardgrant7055]

FULLY agree !!

[@christianerevert329]

Great ! This is m'y preferred version almost all the organists présents on YT. This was also the music loved by my father. You are on thé good way, Eddie ! Thanks !

[@mudgebauer]

Oh Eddie! You did good. Its nice to see you found yourself in Paris. I hope you are having a great time. When will you be back in NYC¿ Must be fun touring all over the place and playing some of the great organs there. Looking forward to your next video when you get back. L .

[@markfortuin7111]

One of the best renditions of Widor’s popular toccata i’ve heard to date. Well done!

[@jdkoozer]

From MagicalPipes to This Fine Organist Fantastic Perfect Register I will now add You to my Widor collection.

[@Todd1356]

Fantastic performance!!

[@christianerevert329]

Such an artiste will go far !

[@user-qo3zp1rp2p]

Fantastic!!An extremely wonderful experience!

[@markdudley5656]

Wow! To get those dynamics and overall sound out of a smaller console with 2 manuals is really impressive! It sounds like it was played on a much larger instrument.

[@stephenwhite7079]

Truly tasteful; bravo!

[@XenWitbooi]

Continue with your personal interpretation of great organ music. Such will take you to great places.

[@BackyardBiketours]

Nice to see that great piece of music played on a manually coupled organ

[@robmarais]

I am blown away, I’m glad I found this. Your reading of Widor was powerful yet so nuanced, so intuitive to the score. Truly masterful! I am proud to subscribe.

[@eddiezheng]

Thank you so much!!

[@robmarais]

@@eddiezheng I can’t wait to see and hear what you do next!

[@robmarais]

@@eddiezheng Oh btw, I found this recording of Widor himself playing this toccata in 1932! Have a listen when you can and tell me what you think kzbin.info/www/bejne/gGnZq2R6lLGShacsi=1_anTkTq8i9xa6oq

[@bjorneidt2811]

Bravo 👍🏼

[@petervanhorssen1997]

Great performance! Realize that this organ only has 20/16 stops. Aristide knew how to build a real organ.

[@atmalife]

C'est bon. Je te suis.

[@alm9368]

Wow!

[@kevinosborne3528]

Excellent thank you

[@russelpaul27]

This was beautifully played! 👏🏾

[@WINCHANDLE]

utterly exquisite!

[@XenWitbooi]

You did good and will go places with these kind of performances

[@domorganits3767]

fantastic

[@organistpeter]

Hut ab vor dieser extrem guten Leistung! ❤

[@james.flores]

Definitely French tuning here! Thanks for recording it and a great performance.

[@eddiezheng]

Yes, summertime too! Thank you.

[@duanequenzel9447]

Very good tempo/ phrasing/ and accompanying the stiff tracker action; But, Please, Hold that final chord longer to the count of at least Ten, to allow for the building echo to reach the count of twelve! Well Done Eddie!

[@sergeguillot]

Bravo Eddie tu joues cette toccata remarquablement bien : staccato clair , accentuation dynamique et tempo allegro soutenu . Félicitations . ( alors je m'abonne ) .

[@eddiezheng]

Thank you, I appreciate your comments!!

[@stephenwhite7079]

​@@eddiezheng great performance!

[@Ainzleeriddell]

Wonderful version! Not too fast…

[@Beanie1879]

Wow, He can play that complicated piece while people are walking around him with no problem.

[@organbuilder272]

That was nicely done, Eddie. You made a little organ sound very big while you were at it. I noted that you don't often look at the score - which indicates that you have the music in your head. You are playing music, not notes from paper. I would suggest you are one of the few (3) young organists who can play anything worthwhile with some respect for music and not the metronome.

[@adolfopalaciosgonzalez9398]

Muy bien. Pero yo no lo habría grabado hasta hacerlo sin partitura.

[@quinnriutta]

His execution was flawless, I do wish the organ wasn't so out of tune, it is a bit grating on the ears.

[@toccataforte]

so good too bad that organ is so completely out of tune :)

[@mudgebauer]

Should have had more bass in the pedals 16' reed or more.

[@1900intz]

They’ve beat this composition to a pulp. Give it a rest. It’s embarrassing.