Widor Toccata - Church Organ at St John's

[cazzie511]

Is it a similar instrument to the Sydney Town Hall organ?

Best wishes, cazzie511

[cazzie511]

i like this very much! Thank you! cazzie511

[cazzie511]

i like this very much! Thank you! CMW52

[marxx06]

Unbelievable, very nice play. I think he like music :)

It's one of the best versions i ever heard

[Riezz73]

YESS.. this is good.. thumbs up for the correct speed

[fmdtech]

could you please tell me where I can get a copy of the sheet music played here, would very much appreciate your help. Thanks

[orgmus]

Thankyou so much for playing this wonderful piece at the right speed. Widor never played it as though he was anxious to make a quick get away. I get very annoyed when I hear it rushed as though it's some competition to see who can play it fastest.

Well done sir!!

[aublutiger]

Wow...this is one of the few people playing at the proper speed...awesome..thx for sharing

[Geersification]

we have a Wicks opus #56 1911 in our Church of St. Rose of Lima Quincy. we just restored it. It is all original with its original blower 1898.

Wicks could not even restore it, I called a Mr. Philip Hoenig of Ft. madison,Iowa. of Hoenig Organ Company.

[edge3220]

Awesome! I don't know Widor too horrible much but that's really good. I've tried learning the organ but found much harder than the piano. Your good.

[silverstartrucker]

Weak sound alas...

[gb5uq]

At last a version wherein every note can be clearly heard, played at the tempo style the composer intended..superb and thank you.

[SmallGrayBox]

That is just Awesome!!!

[DeltaAlphaDeltaOne]

I think this is the best of the 8 or so I have heard tonight. I have forgotten about this great piece for almost 20 years. How I do not know.

[Owdfolkie]

Brilliant! Too many people spoil this piece by playing it too fast... CMW couldn't have played it fast at St Sulspice, this brings out the beauty of the piece with superb control. Love it!

My only criticism as a sound recordist (and organist!) is the mic placement... though that may well have been dictated by the layout of the building.

[zaogirlo5]

Amazing!

[altyd15]

this man is amazing

[tmsenzig]

I love this piece played at a slower tempo like this....very majestic! I did a research paper on Widor a couple of years ago and found that he often complained of the excessive tempo that organists usually play this at!

[ahmelmahe]

Finally, a superb organist and musician who understands Widor. Bravo sir. PS: Great instrument in a great room.

[organEd]

Well done! Isn't this Norman Johnston, an organ professor from Sydney, Australia. He's got to be close to 90 years old. I've been watching his videos. Experience in spades. If I remember right quite a number of Australian organists have studies with him.

[mrspenn1611]

yes and reading from sheets too, now most need practice at this! there were one or two mistakes but hey and wow

[ianno89]

This man did awesome. respect

[Reesman95]

I'm 12 and can play it and Where did you get the recording of Widor? Please tell me.

[parison48]

Widor's original recording was found on an EMI France compilation of 5CD's and included recordings by Bonnet and Vierne as well.

The title of the collection is

''Orgues et organiste francais du XX siecle'

catalogue number

7243 5 74866 2 0

[BeFrSc]

is that recording the one when Widor was 80, or the one earlier on?

[vernon361970]

this  is better you can actually hear the organ sing here

[Reesman95]

Finaly, someone who understands it's about accuracey and how the composer wrote it more so than speed and how you want to play it. Great Job for all of your recordings

[Heli3000]

It is a great performance of a very difficcut piece. Thanks.

[totallyamused]

Great performance! Played with maturity and confidence. I am a 53 y/o hurch organist and have always enjoyed this piece but could not learn it well enough to play publicly. It's difficult for the average organist to coordinate the stuccato with the legato with the hands while the feet play the ominous sounding theme. Hope to hear more from you ...

[gooseholla]

Actually, his tempo marks were about 108- 118 beats per minute... not racing off as most people do.

[pianoandpipes]

Yes, Widor did play it slowly. However, he was in a pretty live space for one. Also, this is a simplified version...Widor had a lot more notes to play..

[colinmb7546]

How might I go about finding that? I can't find that recording of the Tocatta and Symphonie "Gothique" anywhere, although I have at least found the fact that it was recorded. I have no clue where to look, to be fair, but still doesn't mean I haven't tried and found nada.

[Thor876]

go to Amazon and search for "composers in person" "widor."

This CD contains recordings by Widor, Dupre, Vierne, etc. If you can't get it, PM me your email address and I'll upload the two recordings to a streaming site where you can listen to it and download it.

[goobleglob]

wow, i'd love to hear that. i've sent you my email.

[octave4]

Organ Historical Society will have records of almost anything you want.

[michaeljholme]

Obviously a competent organist. I enjoyed this, it is one of those frequently asked for pieces that unfortunately my father can't play (he's an organist at two churches and can be seen playing the piano on my channel).

Regards,

Mike

[PrincessKimberly]

Yes! I love this piece. I had my organist play it as the recessional at my wedding.

[Shogunmiyuchan]

not bad at all;great piece to play, should be in every organist's repertoire if it wasn't so damn hard to play!!

[ccoraxfan]

Widor Toccata, condensed version! At that tempo, the whole thing would be well over five minutes long.

[NWalterstorf]

Actually, Widor frequently complained that his pieces were being performed too fast. I believe it was Virgil Fox who began what's known as the "Rush", playing pieces as fast as possible.

This tempo can also be found performed by Vincent Dubois at St. Sulpice, France. Run a youtube search for "Vincent Dubois". :)

[Thor876]

I have a recording of Widor himself playing this piece, and this is the exact pace at which he plays it!

[Jm4steam]

Nice, what is the make/year of the instrument?

[LaurieAlex]

It is a William Hill & Son 1885 3/34 electro-pneumatic Pipe Organ, and we are at St John's Anglican Church, Darlinghurst, Sydney, Australia.