Widor vs. Joby, Part 9: Symphonie gothique and Symphonie romane

This is the ninth installment in my series on my take on playing the complete works of Charles-Marie Widor. See the first post in the series for an introduction and my philosophies behind this blog series. And as always, refer to John Near’s edition for important corrections in the scores that I might not necessarily mention.

Symphonie gothique and Symphonie romane are up today. Visit my program notes on the pieces. And of course, feel free to order the recordings.

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Symphonie gothique is an epic piece I recorded on an epic organ. Just wait 'til you hear the Puer natus on the party horn in the back during the Final. Otherwise, I have no additional ‘tricks’ to offer. Widor got these later Symphonies perfect. They play themselves if you follow Widor’s registrations. Read John Near’s commentary in his edition. Without delay.

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I have played Symphonie romane more than once in performance. Each time, the profundity was palpable. It is utterly astounding how a bunch of black notes on a page can bring an entire room together, right into the palm of Widor’s hand. This piece lives in my heart, and I am glad I learned it.

This piece seems to be the prototype for various figurations and rhythmic quirks that later composers such as Vierne, Messiaen, and Duruflé used, as well. I presented some of that at a workshop at the AGO National Convention in Houston in 2016. Fascinating stuff. Maybe I’ll post that here sometime.

See my extended program notes for this piece, and read John Near’s commentary in his edition.

Movement I

Enjoy all the rhythmic trickery, and put yourself in the audience’s position of having to find the beat sometimes. Make it clear, like Widor surely did. Otherwise, follow his markings, and all will be well.

Movement II: Choral

Measure 60: I move the left hand to the Récit on the second 16th. It helps with balance.

Movement IV: Final

Measure 129, final note: If it sounds good, the horizontal reed works well here. Take it back off in the middle of beat 3 of 133 and begin a smooth decrescendo.

By the way, Widor had a formula for crescendos and decrescendos. He said that the various ‘batches’ of stops (represented on the various ventils) should be added on strong beats and retired on weak beats. Since they were almost always brought in or taken out in the same order, then you could calculate how many steps were needed and therefore when to start in one direction or the other. Works for me, but with modern piston gadgetry, we can have even more gradations and can be even more subtle and smooth, much like a German Rollschweller. If you have the technology or smart registrants, be as subtle as you like. Don't rely on the American Crescendo shoe. Rarely is that subtle enough, especially when the instrument's specification is anything but subtle in the first place. Work with what you have.

Widor vs. Joby, Part 8: Symphony No. VIII

This is the eighth installment in my series on my take on playing the complete works of Charles-Marie Widor. See the first post in the series for an introduction and my philosophies behind this blog series. And as always, refer to John Near’s edition for important corrections in the scores that I might not necessarily mention.

Symphony VIII is up today. Visit my program notes on the piece. And of course, feel free to order the recording.

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Movement I

My recording of this movement is going to drive anyone crazy who is following along with a score in their lap. This movement is the most patchworked of all in the entire recording project. I use bits and pieces from various revisions given in John Near’s edition. Good luck following along.

Movement II

The A section sounds like Mendelssohn, through and through. The B section has some of those strange registrations that Widor experimented with over the years. It’s very difficult to make it balance in the U.S.

Movement III

See John Near for various corrections. 

Measure 20: This is a canon between the hands. I choose to play the right hand on the Positif, so that the left hand canon can be heard better. Then I move the left hand to the Positif in 29 to balance with the right hand now on the Récit.

From measure 76, the hands are ‘battling’ for some of the same pitches in different rhythms. I choose to separate the hands on their own manuals so that not only can we hear all those pitches, but also the hands don’t have to work so hard. Beginning in 75, I put the right hand on the Récit and the left hand on the Positif. Then nothing changes in 83.

Measure 90: I move the left hand to the Récit, where it now belongs for the upcoming section.

Measures 152-162: Manage smooth pistons!

Measure 190: I move the left hand to the Récit on the downbeat and the right hand on the last eighth. That makes a smoother arrival into 191.

Measures 226 to the end: I use a previous revision of Widor’s. For all the patchwork I use, I always go with what I consider to be the better music each time.

Movement IV: Prelude and Variations

Widor removed the Prelude in later revisions. But it is such wonderful music that I recorded it and perform it. The Prelude is a slow-moving ‘melody chorale,’ while the Variations are more flowing. Perhaps Widor removed the Prelude because the increased slowness of the theme in the prelude (4/4) rendered it unrecognizable against the actual tune in the Variations (6/8). At any rate, consider it saved from obscurity!

The Variations are a huge, sprawling, rewarding set. Have some fun registering them, because Widor's registrations are a bit ... ho-hum. It's not often I completely ignore him, but here is one such example. I have always found it strange that Widor, having presided for so many years at France's largest and most colorful organ, was often ... so ... colorless ... about registration. We do know that he hated too many kaleidoscopic registration changes, but surely he would be amenable to more colorful basic registrations to start with. And for a movement this long with so few registration changes, I just find it wearying on the ears. I suppose this would be a good time to confess that I can't stand listening to the Bach Passacaglia on a single registration, but that's for another blog post that I probably won't write.

Movement VI: Finale

The main theme of this movement sounds like a minor-key version of "A dream is a wish your heart makes." My apologies to the older readers who now have an earworm they weren’t expecting from a discussion of Widor organ symphonies.

Measure 52: I move the left hand to the Positif during this measure. It makes life much easier to arrive in the next bar.

The final nine measures vex me. My recording is of Widor’s last revision, which includes a thrilling moment on a full C-major chord (Neapolitan, for my fellow theory nerds out there). But when I actually performed this publicly, I used an earlier revision, which has another wonderful ‘lick’ I like. I’ll probably change my mind next time, too. See John Near for all these wonderful options.

Widor vs. Joby, Part 7: Symphony No. VII

This is the seventh installment in my series on my take on playing the complete works of Charles-Marie Widor. See the first post in the series for an introduction and my philosophies behind this blog series. And as always, refer to John Near’s edition for important corrections in the scores that I might not necessarily mention.

Symphony VII is up today. Visit my program notes on the piece. And of course, feel free to order the recording. 

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Movement I

The main theme of this movement is one of Widor’s most angular. I feel this movement foretells the Vierne Second and Third Symphonies. Compare the first movements of those symphonies with this one and see if you agree. And compare Vierne’s Hymne au Soleil, while you’re at it.

Measure 34: Tempo 108 is FAR too fast. Don’t try that at home.

Measure 40, left hand penultimate note: I feel that should be an E. And honestly, I don’t remember what I recorded.

Measures 126-131: I envision an echo effect there, with the Great playing with the Pedal and the Récit playing the rest in between.

Measures 148-154: I bring the left hand motives into relief by playing them on the Great. All left hand upstems I play on the Great; all downstems with the right hand on the Positif. I also keep the right hand on the Positif through 154. I prefer that dialogical descent before the hands join back together in 157.

Movement II: Choral

Measure 105: I just can’t bring myself to full a tempo. It makes the sextuplets frantic. Had Widor called for just a Flute or something light there, it would be more workable, I feel.

Measures 118-119: Wagner!

Measures 126-127: Isolde! Siegfried Idyll!

Movement III

Measure 95: I move the left hand to the Positif for better balance. Notice what that helps achieve next:

Measures 112-115: Widor needs adjacent manuals for the right hand to help with the left hand’s chords, but he has had the left hand on the Great since 86, which for him was two manuals away, which is ‘un-thumb-able.’ However, with my ‘fix’ in measure 95 (above) in the English/American manual configuration, all is well. 

Measures 116-154: I reverse the hands throughout that entire section, to cut down on crossing. That also makes mm. 125, 134, and 141 easier to arrive on.

Measure 173: I think the left hand should be on the Positif for balance and to facilitate the right hand’s thumbing down from the Récit in 181-182.

Measure 196: If my Positif solution in measure 173 is helpful, then 196 is a good place to move the left hand to the Great. Then it can couple as indicated in 207.

Measures 241-244: same problem as 112-115.

Movement IV

Measure 52: I remove Great-Ped.

Measure 52: Widor indicates Positif above the score, suggesting right hand only. But both hands need to ‘share’ the sixteenths. I move the left hand to the Positif on the final four sixteenths.

Measure 98: I agree with the addition of all the Pedal couplers, but I wait until 99, when the notes begin to move. Otherwise the Pedal drones too heavily before the Pedal gets interesting.

Measure 105: I play the left hand on the Positif until 109, when I move it to the Great. That creates a smoother crescendo.

Measure 116: I move the left hand to the Positif in the middle of the second beat, to continue the decrescendo.

Measures 128-131: Wagner! 

Measures 128-131: I play the left hand on the Great. It brings it out into relief and also avoids finger/voice collisions among all those notes.

Movement V

The Récit has only flutes 8 and 4. I see little need to couple those to the Pedal, and I see no need to operate the box during the passages with hands on the Great. One probably will not hear those Récit flutes swelling in and out against full foundations on the Great. Save your energy!

Movement VI: Finale

You’ll need lots of pistons to manage the ups and downs of dynamics. The smoother, the better.

The beginning puts me in mind of Vierne’s occasional modality. The hands ignore the third of the chord, the V chord is minor v, etc. Then notice at 33 the continued similarity with the Final to the Vierne Second Symphony: after the huge opening, then there is a subdued but faster and rhythmic main theme on the Récit. One wonders if any of this was accidental on Vierne’s part.

Measures 123-125: I play the left hand on the Positif to avoid voice/finger collisions. This works better if the Positif is under expression and closed tight.

Measures 215-216, 223-224, 227-228: I play the left hand on the Positif to avoid collisions between fingers.

Measures 235-end: John Near’s edition gives Widor’s various revisions for the ending. I feel Widor’s final revision wanders around too much. I recorded Widor’s first major revision, which I find utterly thrilling, despite some fairly jarring octave parallelisms between the Pedal and the lowest manual voice. Call it hubris if you like, but see if you can figure out what I did on my recording to ‘fix’ those, and then ask yourself honestly if you would have noticed otherwise.

Widor vs. Joby, Part 6: Symphony No. VI

This is the sixth installment in my series on my take on playing the complete works of Charles-Marie Widor. See the first post in the series for an introduction and my philosophies behind this blog series. And as always, refer to John Near’s edition for important corrections in the scores that I might not necessarily mention.

Symphony VI is up today. Visit my program notes on the piece. And of course, feel free to order the recording.

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Movement 1

Measure 80: I move the left hand to the Récit there. I don't see the need to have that melody in so much relief by leaving it on the Gt.

Measures 94-98: I like to keep those right hand chords legato, which would necessitate some assistance from the left hand. But the left hand is usually not in the neighborhood to help out. Solution? Pedal plays left hand in these measures, with all necessary Pedal couplers on and no pedal stops. I do that all the time in Franck.

Measures 139-140: nice place for a Tuba on all but the chords. Worked awfully well at St. Mark’s in Shreveport!

Measures 141-142: nice place for a Tuba on all notes, if it sounds good. (And again, it certainly did in Shreveport.)

Measure 244, beat 4: I know this might be considered hubris, but I leave out the Pedal low C. It makes for a smoother transition into "running out of notes" on B in the next measure. Give it a try.

Measures 250-252: More hubris: I see no need to play the right-foot notes. I restore the upper octave on the quarter note in 252. It makes for a more exciting finish to add those notes back in there. It also allows low C to speak more fully in 250-251, without the foot having to leave to get to G.

Movement II

Work carefully – there are a lot of notes and a lot of voices needing beautiful, independent treatments.

Movement III: Intermezzo

Become a machine and keep the staccato absolutely spotless. Allow the organ and/or the acoustics to determine the tempo, and live with that. Once you have tempo and articulation under control, then you can make music. 

Measures 87-98: Widor has been fastidious about staccato markings up to this point but doesn’t mark left hand and Pedal staccato in these few measures. But at the organ, a suddenly longer note means a suddenly louder note. The sudden presence of legato eighth notes in this sea of staccato sixteenths would draw all attention to those notes. That would be nice with a real melody, but the problem here is that the left hand and Pedal are accompanimental and don’t deserve all the attention. Therefore, with apologies to Widor for making assumptions, it makes more sense to keep them sempre staccato to prevent them from completely vanquishing the right hand. Ditto these same measures in the recap.

Movements IV and V:

No comments, believe it or not. Just do what Widor says. And check John Near for a couple little note corrections.

Widor vs. Joby, Part 5: Symphony No. V

This is the fifth installment in my series on my take on playing the complete works of Charles-Marie Widor. See the first post in the series for an introduction and my philosophies behind this blog series. And as always, refer to John Near’s edition for important corrections in the scores that I might not necessarily mention.

Symphony V is up today. Visit my program notes on the piece. And of course, feel free to order the recording. 

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I have played this entire piece countless times in recital. Audiences routinely report to me a new perspective on the Toccata, not only when they hear the rest of the Symphony in front of it, but also when they hear it played at Widor's desired tempo.(!)

Movement I

“Franckian” problems abound in the more chordal passages in this movement. When to tie? When to play legato? When to break? I started that discussion with Symphony I, mvt. VI. I’ll not enumerate the myriad decisions I have made here but would encourage you to listen very carefully and make good decisions for yourself. Note Widor’s staccatos vs. slurs. The rest has to be decided.

Measures 12, 17, 263, and 267: Remember the ‘trill discussion’ for Symphony IV, mvt I? Well, we need to have it again. Most performers execute the trills in these measures as mere pre-beat grace notes. I feel they need more substance than that, and I try to squeeze at least two ‘wiggles’ out of them. And I can’t resist commencing them on the beat, which is contrary to the prevailing style of the day (pre-beat).

Measure 114: This section need not be a stampede. Even my producer told me to slow down. Imagine.

Measure 125: That is a nasty manual change. Not only do the hands have to exchange manuals, but also the left hand has to displace a tenth in the process. I have three solutions to offer:

1) Take your time and change manuals. Easy. Maintaining a solid tempo will not be possible, so take your time and make it musical. But if you want to impress others who play this movement, try these two additional, more radical solutions:

2) I make the manual change earlier, on the 4th beat of 124, where the fingers are in a better position to "reach" for their next manual. But in the process, I also exchange parts, where the right hand now plays the notes written for the left hand and vice versa. Beginning on that beat, the left hand now plays the upper treble clef on the Récit, and the right hand plays the lower treble clef on the Positif. The notes are still being played on the proper manual, just by the opposite hand for four beats. By the time I reach beat 4 of 125, the hands are already on the manual where they are headed, and they can resume their own written parts once again.

3) An even more radical solution is to exchange the hands’ parts as above, but now starting in 121. Then at 125, they just exchange parts rather than exchange manuals.

Measure 164, beat 4: I remove Great-Ped to keep it from droning while the hands are on the Positif. I restore the coupler on beat 4 of 168. I remove it again in 176, beat 4.

Movement II

Widor originally wrote this as a ‘da capo’ movement, where the entire first section returns following the B section. In his revision, which most people play, he shortens the return. While I love measures 39-70 and their homage to Mendelssohn, I agree with Widor that the movement is too long with a full da capo, and I recorded his shortened version.

This movement also contains an example of a brief ‘prelude’ to the movement proper. The first system is one of those tiny, short passages that Widor writes only once and never refers to again. And it is not based on a motive from the movement. Similar treatments come to mind, such as the opening to Symphony VII, movement III, or the opening of Symphony VIII, movement V, or the closing of that same movement, or the very end of Symphony III. A lot of those examples are good music that we never hear again. I particularly lament the mere single dose of the opening to Symphony VII, movement III.

Measures 124-126 and 291-292: many performers go double time there, I've discovered. Count carefully!

Movement III

The opening sounds like “Heart & Soul.” Sorry, couldn’t resist.

Movement IV

Aside from large chordal sections in the more epic movements, Widor tended to write contrapuntally, and this non-epic movement is a near-perfect exercise in four- and five-part harmony. Throughout the movement, pay attention to the notes you feel should be tied and the ones you feel should break. Sometimes, the part writing is such that many voices break at a time, which sounds like too much of an 'event.' At other times, not enough movement in the voices costs momentum in the overall pace. Listen carefully.

Measures 7 and 8: each of those measures contains parallel fifths.(!) Each example is from beat 2 into beat 3, between tenor and alto. Normally, I would ‘fix’ that, as I did in measure 222 of the Franck B Minor Choral, but I leave these alone.

Measure 21: It would be clever to bring the tenor out in relief on another manual, but you’d need very long fingers to do the ‘thumbing.’ It's possible only if the manuals are constructed close enough together on the console.

Measures 25-27: You’ll need to make a number of decisions about which notes to break and which notes to tie. And notice how carefully Widor chooses the note values in the left hand in 27.

Movement V: Toccata

Very little need be said, other than ‘slow down.’ Consult John Near for Widor’s final wishes regarding articulation and tempo. Once you ‘lean on’ the first note of each measure the way Widor ultimately decided to ask for, you’ll understand just how powerful that really is, particularly in the recap. Don’t bother trying to achieve that same effect in a dead room; save your energy for other pieces.

Widor vs. Joby, Part 4: Symphony No. IV

This is the fourth installment in my series on my take on playing the complete works of Charles-Marie Widor. See the first post in the series for an introduction and my philosophies behind this blog series. And as always, refer to John Near’s edition for important corrections in the scores that I might not necessarily mention.

Symphony IV is up today. Visit my program notes on the piece. And of course, feel free to order the recording.

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Symphony IV was my least favorite at recording time, but hey -- a guy can change his mind.

Movement I: Toccata

No, not that Toccata. The first two movements are an ‘old-style’ Toccata and Fugue, Widor’s nod to his pedagogical forebear J.S. Bach. (We won’t go into how tenuous that pedagogical pedigree is, but the two do share a mind for technical details, that’s for sure.)

There are quite a number of corrections in John Near’s edition. Depending on which version you’re playing from, you may be missing some ornaments, and you may have lots of wrong notes in measures 35-37, among other places.

Careful with the tempo. Sixty is perfect, which you will discover in the thirty-second and sixty-fourth notes to come. Those need to be crystal clear, and a too-fast tempo will destroy them.

Okay, we need to talk about Widor’s trills. By his time, ornaments were executed before the beat and beginning on the main note, whereas in “earlier” times, they were executed on the beat and on auxiliaries. Perhaps most folks play the trills in measures 6, 8, 10, 12, etc., as little more than pre-beat grace notes consisting of the main note and the upper neighbor and back. I have trouble accepting that as Widor's intention. I like to think that had he meant that, he would have written the actual grace notes. (We’ll have this conversation again for the trills in the beginning of Symphony V.) At any rate, I try to get at least two “wiggles” out of each trill in this Toccata. That requires musical time, but the good news there is that Widor had no patience for scurrying. And knowing that he is nodding backward to Bach with these first two movements, I sometimes can’t resist beginning ornaments on the beat. Who will find it in their heart to forgive me?

Measures 13-16 and other places: Careful with dotted eighths followed by two thirty-seconds. Make sure that the 32nds sound like real rhythms and not like arbitrary grace notes. Widor made his choice of notation between the two, so keep the rhythm clean accordingly.

Measure 18: Maintaining legato is easier in the beginning of this measure than the end. The later notes there and going into m. 19 (also 48-49) have a martial flavor, and I feel a certain liberty to detach them, despite Widor's absence of such markings. I know that I have been preaching the legato gospel, but even I can’t resist temptation sometimes.

Measure 21 into 22: To eliminate hand crossing, I find it easier to play the last two notes of the right hand with the left hand and play the Great chords with the right hand. Ditto measure 23 into 24.

Measure 32: I crescendo to prepare for the mezzo forte in 33. Notice that the crescendo can then continue naturally with the changing manuals.

Measures 38-39: The left hand has the recap melody there, and so I keep the right hand on the Positif to allow the left hand ‘out.’ I restore the right hand to the Great on beat 3 of measure 39.

Measures 46-47: John Near has an interesting notion about some possible engraving craziness there. I choose to play these measures a piacere but with the beat never far away.

Movement II: Fugue

Measures 14, 16, 21, 23: If you’ll refer to John Near’s edition, you’ll find some manual change options that Widor indicated in different pencil colors in his revisions. For the record, I like what Widor indicated ‘in blue.’

Movement III: Andante cantabile

Although original, this movement sounds like a Scottish folk tune that Widor borrowed. I have trouble keeping the grace notes in Widorian style, pre-beat. They just seem to want to be played on the beat most times, to my ear, as in the tune “Her name was Barbara Allen.”

Measures 27, 31, 39: The alignment of the sixteenth with the final triplet would not be unheard of. One always has to be careful with those, lest they sound frantic otherwise.

Measure 48: The change of Great registration will be heard in the Pedal, since that coupler is still on. I mitigate that by removing the coupler in 47. I also make the move to the céleste on the final three eighths of 47. It makes a smoother transition to the new registration.

Measure 57, beats 2-3: the octave parallelism between melody and first tenor seems particularly glaring to me. There are lots of little parallelisms in this entire passage, but none quite as “loud” to my ear as this one. I left it unchanged, despite the theory professor sitting on my shoulder.

Measure 58: The Pedal’s second note sounds ‘good’ as good goes, but it seems it ought to remain D-flat. Again, the theory professor on my shoulder says, “A V7 chord is weakened if it proceeds to V.”

Measure 64: Holding all those Récit notes is impossible if the manuals are not adjacent for thumbing, which they were not for Widor. But what's a Frenchman to do? But even if the manuals are adjacent, the notes Widor is asking to be sustained on the Récit are spread past a normal handspan, when one has to sacrifice a finger to hold the melody A-flat on the other manual. I had just enough finger length for the left hand to hold the first five sixteenths (from F up through Ab). But what's the non-contortionist to do?

Movement IV: Scherzo

The registration for this movement was the most problematic of all in my recordings. It’s virtually inaudible, and for all the notes that have to be practiced for this movement, it's almost not worth it! Seriously, I had to open the box quite a bit, because the Great 16' kept covering up the Récit closed tight.

Measures 53-54 and 188-189: I'll bet that if Widor had had high F# and G on his pedalboard, he would have written them in the Pedal here. So I recorded it that way! Given the sparse registration, it amounted to only one extra pipe per note. So don’t have me arrested.

Measure 116, beat 4: The Pedal rhythm in the upper voice is different from its sisters in measures 100, 104, and 120. Error? Composer prerogative? I recorded it as written.

Measures 130-135: An expressive Positif is assumed here, but Widor didn't have that. I suppose he could have played those measures on similar stops on his Récit and then made a quick change in 135.

Measures 242-243: Those reaches in the right hand are impossible without some left hand assistance just before the leap, which would have to be offered from an adjacent manual. Man I/II Transfer to the rescue once again. But what's a Frenchman to do?

Movement V: Adagio

The organ where I recorded this piece has a “nanny goat” stop (Widor’s pejorative term for the voix humaine, which he nevertheless calls for here).

Measures 53 and 57: I reduce the Pedal and/or Pedal couplers to balance. As always.

Measure 68: It is possible to assume the right hand lower voice remains legato while the upper is staccato. When Widor goes to the trouble to give two voices separate stems, he also uses separate articulations. But not always. Sigh.

Measures 102, 103, 107, 108: In a slow tempo, staccato could mean three-quarter value, rather than half value. I opt here for three-quarter value, holding those quarter notes for a dotted eighth, rather than an eighth. It gives them a little more ‘bloom.’

Movement VI: Finale

The cadences (measures 14-18, 58-62, and 135-140) in this movement are taken directly from Mendelssohn (whether or not Widor would admit to it!). I’d say the even more uncanny Mendelssohn moment is the second movement of Symphony VIII, but we’ll get there later.

This is another one of those movements where manual chord detachment may be assumed due to the grand style but is never so marked. I opt for detachment on quarter notes and dotted rhythms, and legato for eighth notes.

Measures 71-74: I recorded an earlier revision for these measures, given in John Near’s appendices for this Symphony. History allows us to do that now, especially if the earlier version is just too good to miss.

Measure 87: The Pedal is fully coupled, but the hands are only on the Récit. One might think that the Pedal has some sort of melody there, but it’s not so. And so OFF with the Pedal couplers!

Widor vs. Joby, Part 3: Symphony No. III

This is the third installment in my series on my take on playing the complete works of Charles-Marie Widor. See the first post in the series for an introduction and my philosophies behind this blog series. And as always, refer to John Near’s edition for important corrections in the scores that I might not necessarily mention. 

Symphony III is up today. Visit my program notes on the piece. And of course, feel free to order the recording.

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For what it’s worth, this Symphony works beautifully as a complete and rather profound Lenten series recital. (On the other hand, the last time I played it, no one applauded – I believe they saw the name ‘Widor’ in the program and were expecting the Toccata. Sorry, wrong number.)

Movement I: Prélude

Since the American Positif tends to be weak (or conversely, since the Récit and Great are often strong enough), I don't bother with the Pos-Ped coupler in this movement. I toggle the other Pedal couplers on and off quite a bit to maintain proper balance, noted below.

Widor calls for the Pedal 4-foot, but that is often too heavy against the Récit or Positif passages. Be willing to substitute something else or leave it out entirely. Couplers to the Pedal can serve as upperwork enough.

Measure 29: Widor calls for piano. Rather than subito, I choose to close the box gently during measure 28.

Measure 41: I remove the Pedal couplers to balance better against the Positif in 42.

Measure 48: I restore Réc-Ped.

Measure 53: I restore Great-Ped.

Measure 59, beat 6: I remove Réc-Ped, so that the change to the Clarinette is not heard in the Pedal and for better balance with the Positif in 62.

Measure 67: I restore the Pedal couplers (except the Positif, as explained above).

Measure 89, beat 2 or so: I remove the Great-Ped to balance.

Measure 96, beat 2: I restore the Great-Ped.

Measure 115: I remove the Great-Ped.

Measure 138, beat 2: I restore the Great-Ped.

The above is a lot of fussy changes, but in the interest of balance, it’s not too much to ask. I have never played this movement at St-Sulpice; perhaps Widor’s original indications work better there...

Movement II: Minuetto

This movement is hard! You’ll need to do your wrist flexibility exercises. :)

Watch and listen to the staccatos carefully. 

The balance between the manuals will be tricky, especially at measure 54, where the feet can do nothing more about it if it’s not perfect.

Movement III: Marcia

If your audience is expecting the Toccata, tell them to look here!

You’ll need lots of general pistons to achieve smooth crescendos (53-57, 123-127) and decrescendos (72-75).

Measures 29-30 and 40-41: I hear Wagner there. Widor liked Wagner’s work, and although compelling, there is no guarantee that any similarities were deliberate.

Movement V: Final

This may or may not be important, but Widor spells this one ‘Final,’ whereas he may spell it ‘Finale’ in other works.

Measure 2: Notice that the fermata was in measure 1. Measure 2 should resume tempo, and the chord should then be released just right to propel into what follows. I wouldn’t hold the fermata any longer than it takes to close the box. If you hold it too long, it becomes its own event, which is unnecessary there.

This movement was a mature addition in a later revision, and so it is more sophisticated in its writing and expectations. Throughout this movement, take Widor at his word when it comes to rhythms. Release every note exactly where he writes it. Notice how carefully he ties notes and completes beats with eighth rests. That is tedious work, and he doesn’t go to that trouble for the fun of it. We should pay attention.

Measure 49, beat 7: I remove the Great-Ped, to keep it from droning too heavily during the Positif/Récit passage. I restore it in 51 for the Pedal melody. From there, that coupler goes on and off several times: off in 59; on in 64; off in 125; on in 133, last beat; off in 150, beat 7.

Measure 151: I remove the Réc-Ped in preparation for the piano ahead.

In the States, chances are good that the Positif [Choir] is too weak to hold its own with a melody against the Récit. Therefore, I will play the left hand on the (perhaps reduced) Great in measures 169-171, 173-175. At 177, place the left hand where it sounds best to you. It does not have any melodic interest there, but you may need it to remain where it was before, in order to hear clean rhythm on those descending notes.

Measure 181: This coda is one of those gut-wrenching moments that will stay with you; it is transcendent music. You may want to experiment with a reduced Récit there. Sometimes full Swell reeds and mixtures are just too much for the solemnity of this coda. I remove the mixture and the 2-foot and any 4-foot reeds. That leaves the 16-, 8-, and 4-foot fluework, the Trumpet, and the Oboe. Depending on voicing, I may remove one of those reeds.

Widor vs. Joby, Part 2: Symphony No. II

This is the second installment in my series on my take on playing the complete works of Charles-Marie Widor. See the first post in the series for an introduction and my philosophies behind this blog series. And as always, refer to John Near’s edition for important corrections in the scores that I might not necessarily mention.

Symphony II is up today. Visit my program notes on the piece. And of course, feel free to order the recording.

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Movement I: Praeludium Circulare

Interesting that Widor gives this movement a Latin subtitle, rather than French. He did nothing lightly, and so there is probably a message there. Perhaps it’s a nod toward the movement he added in a later revision, the Salve Regina?

This movement unfolds with a repeating motive, much like a motive you’ll catch over and over in a movie score. I have only one comment for this movement: In measure 37, Widor appears to indicate the move to the Great on the C natural in the soprano. I make the move on the next note, the Db. It allows a smoother transition for the fingers and prevents that C from sounding so important for so long.

Movement II: Pastorale

This movement is probably the most salon-like of the ‘salon’ style these early Symphonies are accused of having. The melody here is unabashed in its charm and downright impishness.

Measures 2-4 exhibit the nagging issue of staccatos marked and unmarked. In this measure, the left hand staccatos suddenly disappear. Knowing Widor’s fastidiousness about articulations, I feel that is not an oversight. Had he intended the staccatos to continue, he would have either written them (more likely) or indicated simile or some such. Look through the movement at the other staccatos that he indicates and does not leave to chance. Therefore, I play the unmarked notes in this movement legato unless otherwise instructed. I have never heard anyone do it that way, but that seems more faithful to Widor than to make assumptions.

Ditto measures 7-8, 59-66, 74-77, 94, 96, etc. Again, it’s no trouble for Widor to add those little dots on these relatively few notes, had he wanted them. On the other hand, it would have been helpfully indisputable for him to have indicated legato, just to make sure! Next time I see him, I’ll ask him.

Measure 18: Changing Positif stops there as Widor indicates would affect the Pedal still playing, since Pos-Ped has been on since measure 9. I delay that registration change until beat 2 in measure 19. Then the Pedal may be adjusted to taste for measure 21.

Measures 30-31: I remove couplers and maybe a stop or two to create a diminuendo into 32. Then I re-adjust the Pedal for 34.

Measure 42 should be on the Récit, and the Pedal should balance appropriately. John Near’s research confirms that. Be sure to check his edition for important corrections, always.

Measure 50: Ditto from measure 18, but I also reduce the Pedal during that time, anyway, to prepare for the piano in 52.

Measure 85 should continue the dialog between Great and Swell. Again, see John Near.

Measures 92-97: The Great Flute (left hand and unenclosed) seems a little strong against the Oboe (right hand and fully closed). I feel a return to the opening registration is in order there. That would necessitate reducing the Pedal and/or removing the Great-Ped, plus moving the left hand back to the Positif at some point, which I choose to do on beat 10 of measure 92.

Movement III

To my ear, measures 4, 8, 40, etc., beg for a full break between phrases. But Widor doesn’t call for a break there, which we have to remember when dealing with these French guys. Franck excepted, when they want you to break, they’ll write a rest or a breath mark. Otherwise, legato it is. That is also why I go to so much trouble to smooth out manual changes, as well. Examples in this movement of opportunities for smooth manual changes are measures 67-68, 69-70, 76, etc. I believe that too many performers add a full break when they see a change of manual, but it’s no more than adding instruments in an orchestration – just because the trumpets are coming in does not mean the winds need to take a breath and the strings stop their bows!

Measure 127, beat 3: I add Great-Ped. I remove it again in 131. Again, I am always ‘managing’ Pedal couplers to keep things in balance. On Widor’s instrument and similar, that probably is not so necessary, but he would understand – so long as things sound good, he would be happy with any changes made. I should note here that he would not approve of constant registration changes just for different colors (hint, hint), but he would certainly approve of reducing the Pedal to fit.

Movement IV: Salve Regina

This movement is one of those later additions that doesn’t fit with the other movements in the least. This movement is completely serious, while the rest of the Symphony is, to my ear, the lightest of all. Nevertheless, I recorded this movement and not the original Scherzo it replaced. It was a decision between the more stylistically congruous movement (scherzo) vs. the better music (Salve Regina). Perhaps I could have recorded both, but that didn’t feel like a good fit, either. We’ll have this conversation again, with a different result, with the Eighth Symphony. This conversation brings up the ‘purist’ approach to recording every note Widor wrote for solo organ vs. recording every piece the way he left it, while leaving out the sillier pieces (such as the Marche Nuptiale and Marche Americaine, which I refused to record!).

Movement VI: Finale

This piece is more wickedly detailed than many would care to admit. We have the recurring vague staccato issue, which in this case is that the final note of a slur (second note of each measure at the beginning here) should not be shortened unless specifically marked. But then that would create a rhythmic mismatch between the hands: on the second beat of each measure in the beginning, the left hand has a fully-held quarter note, while the right hand is now in staccato eighths. But Widor would not want to hear separate releases of chords – he considered that ragged. Therefore, I do shorten the left hand second beat by an eighth, releasing it with the fourth eighth note in the right hand. Sound like rocket science by now? Just listen carefully and make good decisions. If Widor had wanted the left hand second beat to be super short, he would have taken the time to notate it so.

Measure 9: The stacc. indicated there should instead be simile. See John Near.

Measures 17-18 and 21-22: The hands are not uniformly marked staccato, neither against each other nor against the patterns already established in the first few measures. But we can make the assumption to continue as previously marked. Widor sometimes marked only the first few instances and left it to the publisher to continue. See John Near.

Measure 28-30: I suppose most performers separate the manual chords and play the Pedal legato, but the argument may be made that Widor's lack of articulations demands legato. However, we all know that sometimes full-chord writing makes legato impossible, such as the march movement in Symphony III or the first movement, measures 220ff, in Symphony V. But even when legato is possible (and it is possible here), the character may allow an unwritten liberty to detach such obviously martial chords. Me? I split the difference, detaching measures 28-29 and playing the cadence into 30 legato. Ditto for the similar sections later on: measures 48-50 and 98-100.

Measures 150-152: Many performers make the ties as instructed but detach everything else, even the companion whole notes. But again, in the strict sense of ‘all legato unless otherwise instructed or otherwise impossible,’ I’d say the entire whole-note chords might be better served legato. By maintaining the top note of the whole-note chords, you achieve sort of an ‘echo’ effect against the topmost soprano in the right hand.

Widor vs. Joby, Part 1: Symphony No. I

This is the first installment in a series on my take on playing the complete works of Charles-Marie Widor. See the first post in the series for an introduction and my philosophies behind this blog series. And as always, refer to John Near’s edition for important corrections in the scores that I might not necessarily mention.

Symphony I is up today. Visit my program notes on the piece. And of course, feel free to order the recording.

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Widor never hesitated to revise earlier works. He revised the first eight organ Symphonies a number of times over the years, yielding multiple editions. From one perspective, revision was a good thing, as it increased his baseline maturity across more works. On the other hand, it sometimes left a large work with uneven style or lapses in quality, not to mention a new crop of engraving errors at every turn. John R. Near to the rescue, with his exhaustive edition of all the organ Symphonies, available from A-R Editions. Get out your credit card and get the entire set.

All that to say that each Symphony “grew” on me in different ways. Had Widor left them all unaltered over time, I would probably have a predictably greater fondness for the later works, maybe even disdain for the salon-like youthfulness of the earlier ones. But with glimpses of mature genius in the earlier works due to his revisions, there are pockets of sheer bliss in all these pieces. Therefore, as it turns out, the First Symphony is one of my favorites. It is a bit long and dense, so I'm not yet sure if I could keep an audience's attention for the entire work, but I might try one of these days. As I told John Near, “The Fugue alone is utterly miraculous.”

Movement I, Prélude

Beginning: Widor calls for Réc-Ped but not Réc-Great. The Récit has only flutes 8 and 4 in the beginning, but on Widor’s instrument (and all over France) that’s audible enough to make a difference! He wanted only 8-foot on the Great, and that’s that. Here in the States, coupling the Swell 4-foot flute is not is not such a big deal because on many organs, that stop is either inaudible (therefore useless) or stentorian (therefore useless).

The articulation in the very first measures gets some rather interesting treatments. Some performers interpolate staccato on notes where Widor didn’t write them. He marked only the third and fourth notes of each four-note group in the Pedal staccato. That means that the second note into the third note is still legato. Had Widor wanted the last slurred note (the second) shortened, he would have added a staccato marking to it.

Furthermore, the manuals have no staccatos written; therefore they are legato. Had Widor intended anything else, he would have been fastidious about the markings. He made no assumptions when he wrote staccato throughout the entire movement in the Pedal. Therefore, there is no reason for him to assume that the performer would do the same thing in the manuals without specific instruction. Lesson: the French are very particular about their articulations. If you break after a slur when it is not so marked, you’re mixing German and British spices into French soup, and that’s not allowed!

Measure 21: Don’t hold the first beat any longer than one beat, so that the Positif entrance can be heard.

Measure 25: For matters of balance, I remove Great-Ped for this section, restoring it in measure 38. Widor didn’t mind such adjustments; someone like him was certainly cognizant that no two organs are alike. If the balance is good, then Widor would be pleased. I’ll be saying that a thousand times in this series.

Measure 29: The hands return to the Great there, but I don’t restore the Great-Ped coupler just yet. It makes a nicer appearance in 38, where it begins the ‘fugue’ subject again, this time against all three manuals coupled together (for the first time).

Measure 38: I add more Pedal here, just because.

Measure 70: This is the ‘recap.’ I prepare it by taking seriously the marked crescendo in 67 and by holding back in 69. Notice that the hands have not yet returned to the Great there – the Pedal begins the recap, as it began the movement.

Measure 80: Widor suggests full Swell (Récit) there, plus fully closed box. But he has left the decision of exactly when to close the box up to the performer. I close the box gradually throughout measures 78-79. But Widor also does not indicate exactly when to add full Swell. That has to be decided carefully, because it will affect any notes being played at the time. The third beat of 80 seems an obvious place so that the soprano can begin the phrase, but to add it there would render the third beat too much of an ‘event’ in the left hand and Pedal. I choose to add it precisely on the fourth beat, where something new is beginning in the soprano. It would be nice to add it on the downbeat of 80, where the left hand begins a new statement of the main theme, but again, that would render the right hand and Pedal suddenly too ‘important.’ Perhaps another organist might play that left hand statement on another manual with a grander registration. That would be a little fussy but okay with me.

Movement II

Careful getting too sentimental with this movement. The music is sentimental enough and risks being overblown if you sentimentalize the rhythm, as well. Widor was all about balance and cleanliness, not wallowing!

Measure 15: I reduce the Pedal to balance the Positif.

Measure 19: Caution: right hand remains on the Great.

Measures 23-28 are tricky. Too fast, and they sound frantic. Too free, and they sound directionless. Those measures just have to be perfect, I guess! In all seriousness, these measures might have to be your primary determiner of the opening tempo, so that the fast notes are in perfect proportion and sound like they actually belong.

Measures 44-54: Depending on which edition you’re using, you may need some corrections of quite a few notes. See John Near’s edition.

Measure 53: I remove Great-Ped for balance against the Récit. (There is a note being held there in the corrected version.) 

Measure 136: I add Réc-Ped for better balance during the Récit crescendo. I continue to ‘toggle’ Pedal couplers on and off throughout this movement and throughout all the Symphonies; by now, you get the idea. It’s always about balance, and Widor knew that.

Measure 164 into 165: Widor has a vague notation there in the left hand. The lower E-flat is tied. To most eyes, that means ‘break the other notes,’ right? But not so fast: 1) the right hand was given a quarter rest – why not the upper notes of the left hand? Widor appears to want them treated differently (as in not broken?). 2) The higher E-flat in the left hand may tie to 165 – it’s not important enough to break, as if it were a melody of some sort. And if you do break it but not the D-flat under it, then the D-flat suddenly takes on more importance than it deserves. 3) The other two voices in the left hand may move legato into 165. Experiment with all this. Don’t forget: from Widor onward, legato unless otherwise instructed.

Movement III: Intermezzo

My brain thinks ‘soothing’ when it sees ‘intermezzo.’ Not at all so here. Neither in Symphony 6.

Widor left out the Pedal coupler indications at the beginning, but it should probably be Great and Réc to Pedal. He also left out manual coupler indications. See John Near, and see what the music says to you, too. And again, I’ll change Pedal couplers here and there to balance.

Notice that Widor places a tenuto on the first note of each measure. He also did something similar in his revision of the famous Toccata. He is trying not only to give each downbeat some strength, but he’s also trying to help the performer understand that ‘excessive speed kills.’ His metronome marking is far too fast, not only for the acoustics he was used to but also for the pipes to speak. It was common for him and others to extol the rapid repeat rate of Cavaillé-Coll actions, which was indeed nice, but the pipes themselves will still need some time to move the air and speak completely. My tempo is approximately 108 on my recording. Acoustic and organ action will always dictate the proper tempo, and Widor knew that.

Measure 47: I close the Réc there, to hear a more pronounced dialogue with the Positif.

Movement IV: Adagio

Throughout this movement, I use the Pedal to help with wide left hand reaches. It requires lots of pistons to cancel Pedal stops and add the necessary couplers so that it sounds like the left hand, and then to return the Pedal to its own function. But I am a champion of legato at all costs, and so I use the technology available to me. Were I ever to play this piece in France, I would owe my registrants a nice dinner afterward.

Measure 25, beat 4: I remove the Great-Ped for balance. Ditto measure 44.

Measure 64, beat 8: I move the right hand to the Récit there. It makes a smoother transition.

Measure 67: According to the location of his directive within the staves, Widor asks both hands to move to the Positif. But the notes are so thick with ties there that there is no ‘clean’ way to do that. Therefore, I never move the left hand at all, and I move the right hand to the Positif in measure 68, beat 3 (tied to 4). That also creates the fringe benefit of matching more closely Widor’s similar manual terracing beginning in measure 71, this time with Great against Positif.

Movement V: Marche Pontificale

Shameless piece! Don't be shy.

Measure 24: For my recording, I’m afraid I misread this measure as the first measure of the first ending, which meant that for the second ending, I skipped it and went straight to m. 29. But when I discovered my error, I still kind of preferred my way! And so the error remains on the recording. Widor, please forgive me.

Measure 68: I smooth out this manual change by moving the left hand to the Great for the last three sixteenths.

Measures 77-81: use your pistons generously for a smooth crescendo! Ditto 180-190.

Measure 104: I play the alto voice on the Positif to enhance the diminuendo.

Measure 153: Widor does a most curious thing here, using the Pedal to assist the left hand with large leaps. I don’t recall that he ever does that again. I reduce the Pedal and add all the Pedal couplers so that the 'drop-off' for the lower notes is not terribly noticeable. It was nice of Widor to write that measure that way to assist the left hand with those wide leaps, but if he’s just using the Pedal to help with those quick notes, then I feel the registration should match more closely. Furthermore, he doesn't always show such mercy with wide leaps, such as in Symphony IV, movement 3, measure 36, left hand, or Symphony IV, movement 4, measures 242-243, right hand.

Measure 220: The left hand jump into measure 221 is treacherous, and I don't like shortening the final sixteenth triplet to get there. I smooth that out by moving the lowest manual voice of 220 to the Pedal so that the Pedal is now in octaves. That glides smoothly into 221, where the Pedal is already in octaves. Sneaky am I.

Movement VI: Méditation

This movement lays bare a recurring decision between when to break and when to tie/legato. The repeated dotted quarters of the first few bars are easy enough to perform, but in measure 4, where there is now presumably legato motion available between notes, does one play legato when possible and break repeated notes? Or does one retain the fully broken notes that the first three measures established? My ear wants to maintain that broken feel as a gentle "pulse" for the piece, even though the presence of moving notes makes breaking no longer necessary. Nevertheless, for my recording I took the “purist” approach: In measure 7, from the first chord into the second, I took the upper and middle left hand notes legato and broke the lowest note. Moving into the next chord, I tied the Cb as instructed, broke the Gb, and played the Eb to Db legato. There are many, many examples in this movement (and the entire genre) of that ‘division of labor’ within a single chord, where each voice may require separate treatment depending on its role in the moment, and I feel too many performers don't pay enough attention to details like that. I like to think that no amount of obsession with those details is too much.

Movement VII: Finale

Measures 57-61: Widor moves both hands to the Positif, but given the fugue subject in the left hand beginning in measure 58, I prefer to move only the left hand. My right hand will join on the Positif in 62.

Measures 80-81: lots of pistons!

Measure 106: For my recording, I gave in to a nagging desire to end this piece without so many reeds in the Great and Pedal. Widor doesn’t indicate a decrescendo, but on the particular organ I recorded on, it just sounded better to back off for the end, just like Widor did at the end of the Gothique and the Romane. Widor forgive me -- I don't re-write your music so boldly very often!

Eat your vegetables

Imagine the youngster who has the fingers for the Widor Toccata. Then imagine the logic that says, “All they have to do now is add some Pedal and a few pistons and the box, and they are on their way, wowing the family and the congregation and eventually an audience.” To that, I would reply, “So when will clean staccato, console technique, good rhythm, and the notated reality of 100 bpm be dealt with? And how long will we allow this kid to continue blasting through that piece at Widor’s expense, before a teacher steps in to clean it up?” If that kid makes her local reputation playing all the usual flashy finger flingers, then she will never be held down to re-learn them properly as a professional. And that would be a disservice to her.

Of all instruments I have seen training in up close, virtuosic organ pieces creep into the beginner’s repertoire the earliest. I know of NO violin teacher who would allow a beginner to tackle the Mendelssohn Concerto. I know of NO voice teacher who would allow anyone under the age of about 25 to begin tackling Wagner. During my very first organ lessons as a high schooler, I was assigned the Franck Prelude, Fugue and Variation, a couple movements of Couperin, and BWV 549. Good fingers or not, I just can’t imagine handing those to anyone who hasn’t studied the organ for at least a year or two. The notes are only the beginning. Technique needs to be the vegetables our young students have to eat in order to play well and to know what it takes to be called “well.”

Then there is the favorite "beginner's" piece, the Vierne Westminster Carillon, which is a nightmare to get just right, even for a professional (or at least for the professionals who are paying attention). But the granddaddy of them all is the Final from the Vierne First Symphony. Everyone adores that opening melody, so powerful in the pedal, with those cascading manual figurations. So impressive and thrilling, right?. But the informed decisions that have to be made regarding slurring and detaching in that piece are utterly staggering. And after that, the other ten pages have to be dealt with. But no one seems to care, so long as we get to that final pedal flourish and those last three chords. All at poor, dead Vierne’s expense. Meanwhile, the student is never given a clue about how to improve the piece -- it's used only to impress.

Snacks are not vegetables: Those five tired chords from “Phantom of the Opera” do not constitute a whole piece. The opening mordent in BWV 565 is not enough for the junior high schooler who can play it to be called “awesome” or “the coolest.” Youngsters need to eat their vegetables. If they can play the whole piece as well as they play the worn-out parts, THEN they’ll be awesome and the coolest. And the teacher who has insisted on that vegetarian diet will be the coolest of all.

Suppertime!