Widor, Thou Goest #1945
…despite that ruthless Biblical reference, today we follow the lead of the great composer of organ symphonies, Charles-Marie Widor.
Hour 1
CHARLES-MARIE WIDOR: Organ Symphony No. 8 in B, Op. 42, no. 4 (each of the work’s seven movements is played by a different artist on a different instrument):
Allegro risoluto (i.) –Frédéric Ledroit (1863 Cavaillé-Coll/St. Etienne, Mulhouse) Scarbo 1102
Moderato cantabile (ii.) –Joseph Nolan (1845 Cavaillé-Coll/La Madeleine, Paris) Signum 337
Allegro (iii) –Charles Echols (2007 Casavant/Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church, Saint Paul, MN) PD Archive (r. 2009). The remainder of the symphony is heard in the second hour of today’s program.
WIDOR: Symphony No. 3, Op. 69 for Organ & Orchestra –Bamberg Symphony/Stefan Solyom; Christian Schmitt (1993 Jann/Keilberth Hall, Bamberg, Germany) cpo 777 678
Filler – Symphony Opus 69 (first movement conclusion)
Hour 2
WIDOR: Psalm 83, Op. 23, no. 1 –Les Petits Chanteurs du Mont-Royal; Les Chantres Musiciens/Gilbert Patenaud; Vincent Boucher (1960 Beckerath/St. Joseph Oratory, Montreal, Quebec) ATMA 2718
WIDOR: Trois Chansons de Mer; Pâle étoile du soir –Anne-Marie Rodde, soprano; Noël Lee, piano. Etcetera 1094
WIDOR: Organ Symphony No. 8 in B, Op. 42, no. 4 (continued):
Prelude (iva.) –Ben van Oosten (1890 Cavaillé-Coll/St. Ouen, Rouen) MG&D 316 0405
Variations (ivb.) –Pierre Pincemaille (1885 Cavaillé-Coll/St. Etienne, Caen) Solstice 184
Adagio (v.) –Hans Fagius (1995 Åkerman & Lund/Kallio Church, Helsinki) Bis 1007
Finale(vi.) –Christian Schmitt (1890 Cavaillé-Coll/St, Ouen Abbey, Rouen) cpo 777 706
Filler – Symphony Op. 69 (finale)
We recommend John R. Near’s excellent biography: Widor, A Life Beyond the Toccata, issued by the University of Rochester Press.
