Widor: Toccata from Symphony n° 5 played by Widor himself

[notredameswarrior1]

i have to agree with gtimny. but even though this is a really slow pace this is quite awsome. i wish you could get a recording of him doing his 6th symphony allegro. i would love to here that.

[gtimny]

Widor was nearly 90 when he made this recording and he struggles here and there. Musically, I'm pretty sure this tempo is a concession to his advanced age and not an indication of what he intended the tempo to be. The very reverberant St. S would also be a factor. Anyway, he marked the score Allegro in a 4/2 time signature and various editors have added metronome markings from 100 to 120 to the quarter. This is about 88, which is younger than he was when he made it so I suppose it's only fair!