Charles Marie Widor: Symphonie Nr. 5 f-moll op. 42,1 - 5. Toccata

[@matt21571]

One tough piece...with NO sheet music and played from memory. Beautiful.

[@willseffectpedalsandbassla8470]

By far one of the most clean and articulated versions that I have heard. I love it!

[@RBoyle-fn5hh]

His whole body is playing this piece...and from memory. What a performance, and made my hair stand on end.

[@mikecodner7444]

Sebastian's interpretation is one of the best I've heard, effortless, very smooth flowing sound.

[@emmanuelleroyer7826]

The best performance ever, I always come back to his interpretation, a subtle balancing between power and lightness. Brilliant!

[@BruceBoschek]

This is undoubtedly the gold standard performance of this magnificent work. Congratulations!

[@martinfrench4890]

This is EXACTLY how the piece needs to be played. So many renditions of it seem to act like it is a race and their skill as organists is shown by their speed, but this version just "gets" the piece. Will be listening to this version a lot in the future!

[@12345Sui]

Uhm … nope …

[@br.m]

@@12345Sui Do you have any evidence to support your claim?

[@ThomSteel]

@@br.m Widor said it himself how it had to be played, he played it himself (far slower) and he also put the tempo mark on the sheet music. Is that enough? And I don't say this because I think you can only play this piece slowly. Me too, I played it faster than it's supposed to be played. Sometimes your attitude changes or there are just different interpretations which can all be good.

[@sagenfrosch6813]

Ganz große Klasse und technisch einfach perfekt herüber gebracht. Ich liebe dieses Meisterwerk von Charles-Marie Widor. Ich danke Ihnen herzlichst für die Veröffentlichung Ihres Vortrages.

[@tomthomas5929]

One of the best interpretations I’ve heard. Speed is spot on. Heavy on the pedals, really feel the power. Great echo fade at the end.

[@rahang4126]

Check this one, the sound is not as good but the performer is great, and in my opinion it's played at the right speed: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZ6sZGemapdmaMU

[@raymondfrice]

best tempo!!!

[@jon_doran]

This is a great rendition of this piece - So often its played at breakneck speed. Here the complexity and drama of it is drawn right out. Hats off to you.

[@ange2227]

Bravo 👏🏻!!! Sensationell gespielt... Gänsehaut pur. Dankeschön.

[@aricameier4131]

I love your technique, so clean and beautifully accented in the perfect way - one of the very best performances of this piece I have heard!

[@bobcochran1072]

Clean, clear rendering. You can actually hear the apreggios. Applaud the tempo.

[@PAOLOGENERANI]

For me the best performance of this masterpiece here on KZbin! Perfect tempo and beautiful sound! Bravo!!

[@jcochrane007]

This piece was played as the recessional at my wedding in 1983. Our organist's rendition was very similar to this. I get chills listening to it. THANK YOU!!!!

[@MrSimon6356]

I will never grow tired of watching and listening yo this guy. He makes it look soo easy, no sheet music either.

[@1stecha1]

Great clarity. Exceptionally well articulated performance.

[@BRICKIEREPORT]

If there ever is a second coming of Christ I hope that this will be his intro blasting from the heavens

[@earlarchibaldcampbellofarg2875]

Not if, when.

[@tomtheflutist]

+Earl Archibald Campbell of Argyll That's your belief not a fact.

[@earlarchibaldcampbellofarg2875]

My faith is more reliable than human invented theories. If there isn't a God, then why do we exist with a personal existence and opinion? Why do we have free will? How do miracles happen? No, what I have is indeed fact, simply because people need hope, it isn't in any respect a series of well read denials, it is a necessary faith that is also a gift. God has given us His one and only begotten Son, whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. If you repent and be baptized for the remission of sins, then you will be coming out of the atheistic true denials of earthly conquest, and join in a multitude of heavenly host with the love of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. On this holy day of Easter, I challenge you this; repent and pray to God, as you may have often done as a child, and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Once you have done this, you will feel a fullfilment of heart that your spirit requires. What is stopping you? Go and accept Him, for He has been waiting for your word.

[@BixenteFabregas]

"If there isn't a God, then why do we exist with a personal existence and opinion?" Because chance. Other things that can be found on earth and elsewhere have not either personal existence or opinion or none of these two. We are here by pure chance, randomness and all. So, instead of worshipping a being that might be there or not, instead of trying to find a sense in this life because there is an afterlife (and it might be), instead of going in a forest of remote probable metaphysical beliefs, we shall act as if this monumental luck is coming only once in our mind to build a better world peopled by thoughts, arts and deeds that will survive and go beyond us. We are here... listening to Widor, Miley Cyrus or Josquin des Pres, writing poetry or an essay about thermodynamics, playing pacman or britannia, drinking ginger ale or milk with a touch of cinnamon. Loving each other regardless of their opinions, even for a brief instant, during our lifespan. We have the choice. Let our child have also this choice. Respectfully yours Bix

[@excelsior999]

Amen, brother Earl.!

[@alexanderbrown1954]

Perfect tempo! Perfect articulation! Great musicianship!

[@mstalcup]

Crisp and steady performance! Perfect toccata technique!

[@theryguggi535]

Einfach wunderbare Musik, dazu fantastisch gespielt. Ein richtiges Erlebnis, diese Orgelmusik zu hören. Das heißt, man hört sie nicht nur, sondern man spürt sie und sie reißt einen richtig mit. Man fühlt sich wie im Himmel, so sehr berührt sie einen. Vielen herzlichen Dank für diese Einspielung!

[@paty3529]

Während dieser Symphonie ( von uns gewünscht ) kamen mein Mann und ich nach unserer Trauung aus der Kirche; wunderschön !!!

[@JimMaslowski620]

Magnificent - Astounding memory - Thank you for sharing

[@georgefieldsjr.640]

The Late ,Great Charles Marie Widor would be so proud of you if he were here to hear you play his famous composition.....

[@hszica]

I believe this was the best performance ever. We could get into the deep intention of the composition. It is always a pity when, questing for exhibition of talent, the organist plays this piece faster then he should. It sounds like a noise. Here I have seen music. Congratulations and thank you so much.

[@GhostNight666]

Perfect tempo, perfect articulation and great registration.

[@1whamster]

What an absolute masterpiece and possibly the best version of this I’ve ever heard, lm sure Charles Marie Widor would almost certainly have appreciated this rendition

[@grizabellamadhatter9952]

Wunderschön,eines der schwersten und schönsten Stücke für die Orgel perfekt gespielt.

[@Retrographer]

YOu, my friend, have just nailed the right tempo!. This is (by the way the most important thing in this composition. The tempo.... Just held back, maestoso, controlled but yet flowing... Thanks for sharing this on this magnificent organ!

[@scottmathews3777]

The perfect tempo and registration to be able to hear the repeated arpeggios clearly.

[@walterwhite9094]

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Playing this wonderful rendition from memory? Stunning performance of my favourite organ piece. Just awesome in ispiring. We done indeed.

[@caresseslingham1448]

A masterful performance that you should be very proud of! Clean, detached technique that allowed us to hear every note and phrase in hands and feet application. Your gift and the transcendence that comes through the essence of gifted performers came through. A beautiful offering!

Merci, merci merci, n'est ce pas là des mains qui symboliquement sur le clavier pétrissent , façonnent la création, la glaise et qui dans ce tonnerre de Basse sépare les éléments, feu, terre , eau, air....on y entend un créateur voulant imposer à cette terre la vie, la vie qui fera ce que nous sommes, des hommes libres mais libres de leur conscience ....merci merci, j'éprouve pour cette toccata un amour de jeunesse qui ne m'a jamais quitté...merci à l'Artiste qui a su m"émouvoir par la fidélité d'interprétation apportée à cette oeuvre par son grand et beau talent et son amour de ce si bel instrument....Merci.

[@SternDrive]

Young man! You healed and toed with feeling! And with no sheet music! I am blown away. Never heard of you until now. Subscribed. More!!!

[@PureLivingJourney]

Amazing. Thank you for the hours of practice this piece required in order to give us an amazing audio experience👏👏👏

[@DAVHORNER]

Wonderful music, wonderfully played. I come back here often.

[@2live1slifewell]

After listening, on KZbin, to Widor himself playing the Toccata, only a few performances elsewhere on KZbin capture how moving and engrossing this composition is, musically and spiritually. This performance joins those select few. Not only am I able to actually hear all of the notes (is this, in part, due to the instrument, the acoustics, and the quality recording?), the necessary technical skill of this performer does not distract from the music, but enhances it. If I am understanding the history correctly, this was composed for a solemn occasion, and thus was not for calling attention to itself as a showpiece, even if, in fact, it deservedly became one. How this organist is able to exert such authority with such deftness, even gentleness and almost meditative attentiveness, is beyond my understanding. He demonstrates erudition in understanding this piece, in my view, which drew me in, not just for an exciting experience, but, more importantly, for a drama that provided an immersion into the composer's and performer's extended artistic visions of life. A breath of fresh air!

[@kyrvhy]

Thank you. this interpretation is superb. Registration -spot on, Clear, Great rhythm and No Rushing . Great job Well Done.

[@tseemka7101]

Wunderbar! Immer wieder! Jedesmal aufs neue! Dieses Stück ist unsterblich! Schade, dass es bei uns so wenige Orgeln gibt - nahezu keine - auf der man das spielen könnte... Was ein Jammer!!!!

[@malcolmwalker7129]

Best rendition I have heard. You are fantastic!

[@johnellis4399]

What a wonderful tempo - thanks for posting

[@eswidderbockchen3895]

super gespielt - großes Kompliment (das war immer der Favourit für Hochzeitsgottesdienst ;))

[@msas2003]

Wir hatten es als Auszug gewünscht. Auch mit nur einer gedackten 16 Fuß Orgel im Pedal und ohne schwellwerk klang es super. Obwohl der Organist Zweifel hatte 😅

[@ATLRCFlyer]

Oh and if anyone is wondering, where he’s playing, this is not in a church. This is in a private living room. The console alone is 1760 lbs or 800kg and took 8 people to carry into the house. He can simulate 15 different instruments (probably more by now) from around the world. The prospect upfront is non functional. Every tone comes from samples from a computer in a cabinet below the console and there is a retractable touch screen to the right of the organist to select a different organ. Very impressive.

[@BellyJae]

This is my absolute favorite piece ever written for the organ and you played it so beautifully! Made me cry! Ich liebe! Viele Danke! :')

[@andresdecos9424]

finally the right tempo. I grew up going to a cathedral where we heard this a few times a year, and during the era when video games music sounded eerily similar to this type of organ music, even though written a hundred years apart in time... LOL :-)

[@plinkerjon]

Bravo!!! Wonderfully performed piece. Being such a technical piece you have much heart and skill. My mother a Methodist minister has always loved this piece too. Thank you for sharing this with the world and bless you!

[@mikecurtis3333]

A very talented young man. I just love the heavy pedal. It's the only way to play this piece.

[@kahuna514]

Excellent..!! Perfect tempo, and you memorized it. That is the mark of a true Musician, who performs with confidence.

[@agatamacioek617]

this is incredible !!! soooo beautiful!!!

[@clcroxx1830]

This is one of my earliest childhood memories. I remember my dad playing this piece over and over again every time a service finished. :) You did an amazing job!

[@vandelanges]

great performance , the sound of the pedals wow !

[@atriele]

Excellent! I truly think this is the best performance I have heard on KZbin.

[@wljmrbill]

very clean and crisp performance.Love the sound of your virtual instrument's rendition.

[@bobcochran2890]

So nice to hear the clean articulation and the individual ostinato notes. It makes a huge difference. Beautiful performance.

[@uknetboy]

A beautiful rendition of one of the best pieces ever composed for the organ. Personally I think the tempo was perfect and you are entitled to impose your own interpretation on the piece!

[@frf2791]

Grandios! Danke für die Freude, die Sie schenken...

[@wilfriedkrups4888]

sehr schön...super gespielt...dieses Stück höre ich sehr gerne...von Widor...

[@Music_By_Mike]

Also ich muss sagen, ganz ganz tolle Arbeit! Das Stück von Widor hat durch dein Spiel einen schönen fröhlichen und ausdrucksstarken Charakter bekommen!! Mit zu meinen Favoriten! Bravo!

[@billhamilton]

Overwhelming! The best performance I've heard (or seen). I didn't think anyone could beat Virgil Fox, who recorded this back in the 1950s. Bravo, Sebastian!

[@Linda-oz1ny]

Ich liebe es und könnte stundenlang zuhören. Gänsehaut.😇

[@socalbeeguy8041]

Best rendition of this I have found so far on the Tube, just GREAT!!!

[@jimbroome-blanchard7357]

Personally I'm IMPRESSED anyone can memorize a work like that.

[@ThomSteel]

You don't really memorize a piece, it happens automatically but not with all pieces. The melody is in your fingers.

[@ernstpolleter9395]

Absolut Great the Wedding my Mom went into church some 60 years before….

[@jackkay9126]

Bravo 👏 I thoroughly enjoyed your rendition!!

[@dickyfisher9249]

Perfect tempo most play to fast for some reason. Thanks dude. AWESOME ORGANIST.

[@DonaldRennie]

After watching 7 or 8 of these... This one is the best. Very technical and artistic. Perfect tempo! Perfect expression! Big thumbs up!

[@bjornw827]

Brilliant 🤩 Intonation, Tempo, Technik sind perfekt umgesetzt.

[@krisbolle5128]

Splendid performance, young man! I must have watched this three times this evening

[@sneaks01]

This blows me away every time I watch it!! Total memory!

[@miguelmorales7126]

Hermosa tocata. El pedal, magnífico. Gracias por esta interpretación, muy clara.

[@LukeX777X]

Einfach nur toll !!! Beste Performance von Widors Toccata auf KZbin! Und die Mini Schnitzer machen Dich menschlich und das Stück besonders warmherzig! Echt super!

[@MrBanzoid]

This performance gave me the chills.

[@150schmi]

👍👍👍👍 Danke für diese knapp 6 Minuten!

[@christopherlawn5367]

Great playing, tempo spot on, able to hear all semiquavers etc, love it

[@elstonbdavis9681]

Brilliant,,,,,one of THE best,,,,,,Thank you!!!!

[@francinegutwilik1250]

Bravo...fantastiche...! Please perform this in Winnipeg!

[@lewingeorge6919]

Bisher habe ich diese gesucht! Immer höre ich in Essen Dom nur so, weiß nicht. Jeap~~~!

[@mecromar]

Breathtaking! And the Mixtuur/Hauptwerk/Cavaille-Coll is just incredible!

[@Longwood29000]

Es gefällt mir außerordentlich gut. Vielen Dank.

[@christopherlawn5367]

Great tempo, allowing everything to be heard, very well done.

[@sttommore]

My pastor asked me to look into this piece, and after viewing six very technically sound performances, I declare this the winner. (Such authority, I know) Other organists/organs don't seem to have the right temperament, or -- like the oft cited Diane Bish performance -- simply play it altogether too fast. Just because the musician is able to play it faster doesn't mean it ought to be played faster.

[@mesenteria]

sttommore I hope you saw David Di Fiore's truly outstanding performance here on youtube. I judge it to be the best posted of all that I have viewed. Dian Bish destroyed it...baffling.

[@sttommore]

I hadn't, but now I did. He is very clean, and his articulation on the pedals was outstanding. I'd go so far as to say he made the organ his voice -- it was a more expressive performance than I've heard elsewhere. Really impressive work. I didn't like the instrument as much, or at least the quality of the recording, but the performance was absolutely top-notch.

[@kas5965]

+sttommore I wholeheartedly agree with the last sentence of your original post. Some people seem to think that the musician is so talented and grand simply because they are able to play the piece at an absurd speed. Those people, in my eyes, don't know how to slow down, analyze and actually LISTEN to the music, not just the sound coming from the instrument. I too have noticed through listening to other interpretations of this piece that this one in particular is the best. I listen to if quite often, almost daily if I can.

[@mudgebauer]

One of the best videos of this piece is the Sacred Heart Basilica in Newark New Jersey. Diane Bishop ruined it. I never hear her play so bad.

[@bazwookie]

my personal preference on this classic piece is played by frederick hohman at the basilica in new jersey ,but this young genius comes close

[@franciscoantonio4321]

Hermosísimo, muchas gracias. Los tonos bajos y super bajos están preciosos.

[@kjamespeace]

Herzlichen Dank aus Wiesbaden ... LIKE Nr.2364 hier!

[@martinjf467]

Bloody amazing performance! Thank you.

[@tmsenzig]

You are a true master of the organ. Thanks for sharing!

[@kolnidrei4623]

Il est à l'aise ce gars-là. Magnifique! Quelle belle musique!

[@Skyprise]

Прекрасно! Все паузы и прикосновения выдержанны именно по смыслу! Спасибо! !!

[@sergeip2002]

Sebastian. Best tempo ever

[@MrBanzoid]

BRILLIANT performance, thank you. I'm quite familiar with this epic piece, and I heard notes that I haven't heard in other performances on YT.

[@BonfiglioSergio]

I've always thought that a good reason to try to gain Heaven is to go to Widor concertos...

[@suitbertglocke5020]

Just two words : "RESPECT" , "Awesome". You are definitely the best organist i've ever heard . Greetings from Germany : )

[@ATLRCFlyer]

One thing to note is that the arpeggio changes from the right hand to the left and then back to the right hand. That is a challenge in itself for a lot of people.

[@p.steini]

Ein geniales Werk, genial vorgetragen!

[@lucieleimbach]

Beautifully played. 🎼🎹

[@dieselheart001]

Magnificent sound, beautiful French console. I wish I had one of these in my home!

[@mikecurtis3333]

I just hope you live in a very large barn with a 32ft ceiling.

[@JazzyJunior]

What a beautiful performance! Sound is also splendid on that system.

[@ddoyle11]

Beautiful transition at 2:16. Very well done!

[@haisergyn]

This organ is the Abbey of St. Etienne in Caen (Sonus Paradisi). Excellent presentation! It is the best version there is! Congratulations !!!!

[@haisergyn]

@Storee Denson The organ is Caen. Look at this 2011 recording and compare it with the sound of this organ in the video. The Metz organ has a strong reverb. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eGnYfKt3aa5njM0 kzbin.info/www/bejne/n2mQn3Z6jc-MqJY

[@victoremanuel130]

Oh my GOD. Tears in my etyes. Amazing!

[@odinson9686]

i like to think that i know my widor, and this is in my opinion one of the best interpretations of this toccata that i have come across. give this man a better instrument in order to do both the performer and the composition justice.

[@rin67630]

A better Instrument? Are you joking?