Is the Widor Toccata finally slipping?

Organists get this all the time, from all directions:

“Do you play the Widor Toccata?”

“We had the Widor Toccata played at our wedding.”

“Oh, we just love the Widor.”

“Yeah, ah really lak thayuht Wide-Oar TAHK-uh-TAH.” (true story)

“My ordination is next June. Could you play the Widor Toccata for it?”

“My mother is coming to visit. If we were to drop in during your practice time, do you think you could play the Widor Toccata for her birthday?”

“I think the Widor would be so beautiful at Christmas time.”

“We want the Widor played during our wedding prelude so we can hear it.”

"All of us want the Widor for our funerals."

“My wife and I are having our fourth child baptized in church on December 9, and we want to hear the Widor Toccata that day for the postlude. We had that piece at our wedding, but due to his health, your predecessor was always unable to play it for the baptisms of our first three children, and we’re hoping that we can hear it at least one more time before our children grow up and use that piece at their weddings.” (tragically true story)

Now, this enthusiasm has come from individuals and probably always will. But I have sensed a difference among the community at large. In the past couple years, I have played the entire 5th Symphony in recital several times. And every time, of course, I tell audiences beforehand that this Symphony contains THE piece. I have taken a quick poll each time: “How many of you had the Widor Toccata played at your weddings or other event?” And the hands go up. 

But I have noticed that not as many hands go up as used to. Even in the past couple years, the number of hands has dwindled. And I know that the mean age of my audiences has not dropped. Whatever is going on, I’m thinking I’ll never ask again. I’m even thinking of removing mention of the Toccata’s popularity from my program notes and just letting the piece be a piece, as it was before.

The younger generation has no idea what a Widor Toccata is, and a few don’t want to know. Below are some written reviews of the piece from non-music-major essays that recently came my way. I’m quoting only from the haters, who were in the minority. But their hatred is so eloquent that it bears quoting: 

“I dislike the Toccata style and found the piece too ‘busy’ to follow along with the clashing melodies.”

“It all seemed to blend together into one indistinct mess.”

“…not very enjoyable to me at all. The way the notes were put together did not sound right to me for some reason. The organ as an instrument just sounds like noise to me sometimes, and that was especially true during this piece. The melodies and harmonies were each complex and interesting on their own, but when they were put together it seemed like too much. The whole thing sounded disorganized…I listened to several other recordings of the piece to see if I would like those better. I think I ended up hating this piece more after my doing that.”

“…very jarring to hear after the movement that came before it, and I hated it. It sounded messy and loud, even worse than the first piece of the recital was for me. I don’t know why anyone would want this played at their wedding. It was just ugly sounding to me. I listened to so many recordings of this movement trying to find just one thing I liked about it, but the only positive thing I could say was that it ended. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a visceral hatred for a piece of music that wasn’t by a Soundcloud rapper. Messy, obnoxious, and repetitive are the only words that come to mind when I think of this.”

“The unrelenting nature of the piece was not a fit for me. I enjoy using music as a catalyst to the stream of my consciousness, and often time I meditate while listening to music. The rhythmic repetition of the piece, while impressive from a performing standpoint, was just adding to my earache.”

The organ, of course, is not familiar to increasing numbers of young people. And this style of music might have a harder time reaching ears these days, let alone hearts. That is what it is. A little education goes a long way, and I’ll not give up that particular fight.

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P.S.: For the record: I try not to play the Toccata anymore for Easter or weddings or any other event unless specifically requested by someone who knows that there were more than only two organ pieces ever written.

P.P.S.: Also for the record: I certainly don’t play it on an organ that has only buzzy reeds or has as many mixture ranks as foundations. I feign a broken arm when those come along.

P.P.P.S.: And also for the record: I play it at quarter note = 100, just the way Widor marked it. Read about that here. Speed kills.