Charles-Marie Widor

Charles-Marie Widor
Widor, c. 1900
Born	Charles-Marie-Jean-Albert Widor (1844-02-21)21 February 1844 Lyon, France
Died	12 March 1937(1937-03-12) (aged 93) Paris, France
Nationality	French
Occupation(s)	composer, organist

Charles-Marie-Jean-Albert Widor (21 February 1844 – 12 March 1937) was a French organist, composer and teacher of the late Romantic era. As a composer he is known for his ten organ symphonies, especially the toccata of his fifth organ symphony, which is frequently played as recessional music at weddings and other celebrations.

As of 2022, he is the longest-serving organist of Saint-Sulpice in Paris, a role he held for 63 years (January 1870 – 31 December 1933). He also was organ professor at the Paris Conservatory from 1890 to 1896 (following César Franck) and then he became professor of composition at the same institution, following Théodore Dubois.

Widor was a prolific composer, writing music for organ, piano, voice and ensembles. Apart from his ten organ symphonies, he also wrote three symphonies for orchestra and organ, several songs for piano and voice, four operas and a ballet. He was one of the first composers to use the term "symphony" for some of his organ compositions, helped in this by the organs built by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll.

Life

Widor as a young organist at Saint-Sulpice, Paris, c. 1870

Widor was born in Lyon to a family of organ builders, and initially studied music there with his father, Hungarian-born François-Charles Widor, who was the titular organist of Saint-François-de-Sales from 1838 to 1889. His mother was Françoise-Elisabeth Peiron. The French organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, reviver of the art of organ building, was a friend of the Widor family; he arranged for the talented young organist to study in Brussels in 1863 with Jacques-Nicolas Lemmens for organ technique and with the elderly François-Joseph Fétis, director of the Brussels Conservatoire, for composition. After this term of study, Widor moved to Paris where he resided for the rest of his life. At the age of 24, he was appointed assistant to Camille Saint-Saëns at Église de la Madeleine.

The great Cavaillé-Coll organ at Saint-Sulpice, Paris

In January 1870, with the combined lobbying of Cavaillé-Coll, Saint-Saëns, and Charles Gounod, the 25-year-old Widor was appointed as "provisional" organist of Saint-Sulpice in Paris, the most prominent position for a French organist. The organ at St-Sulpice was Cavaillé-Coll's masterwork; the instrument's spectacular capabilities proved an inspiration to Widor. Despite his job's ostensibly "provisional" nature, Widor remained as organist at St-Sulpice for nearly 64 years until the end of 1933. He was succeeded in 1934 by his former student and assistant, Marcel Dupré.

In 1890, upon the death of César Franck, Widor succeeded him as organ professor at the Paris Conservatoire. The class he inherited was initially stunned by this new teacher, who suddenly demanded a formidable technique and a knowledge of J. S. Bach's organ works as prerequisites to effective improvisation. In 1896 he gave up this post to become composition professor at the same institution. Widor had several students in Paris who were to become famous composers and organists in their own right, most notably the aforementioned Dupré, Louis Vierne, Charles Tournemire, Darius Milhaud, Alexander Schreiner, Edgard Varèse, Hans Klotz, and the Canadian Henri Gagnon. Albert Schweitzer also studied with Widor, mainly from 1899; master and pupil later collaborated on an annotated edition of J. S. Bach's organ works, published in 1912 – 1914. Widor, whose own master Lemmens was an important Bach exponent, encouraged Schweitzer's theological exploration of Bach's music.

Among the leading organ recitalists of his time, Widor visited many different nations in this capacity, including Russia, England, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, Poland, and Switzerland. In addition, he participated in the inaugural concerts of many of Cavaillé-Coll's greatest instruments, notably the organs at Notre-Dame de Paris, Saint-Germain-des-Près, the Trocadéro, and Saint-Ouen de Rouen.

Well-known as a man of great culture and learning, Widor was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur in 1892, and reached the rank of a Grand-Officier de la Légion d'honneur in 1933. He was named to the Institut de France in 1910, and was elected "Secrétaire perpetuel" (permanent secretary) of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1914, succeeding Henry Roujon.

In 1921, Widor founded the American Conservatory at Fontainebleau with Francis-Louis Casadesus. He was the director until 1934, when he was succeeded by Maurice Ravel. His close friend, Isidor Philipp gave piano lessons there, and Nadia Boulanger taught an entire generation of new composers.

At the age of 76, Widor married Mathilde de Montesquiou-Fézensac on 26 April 1920 at Charchigné. The 36-year-old Mathilde was a member of one of the oldest and most prominent families of Europe. They had no children; she died in 1960.

On 31 December 1933, at age 89, Widor retired from his position at Saint-Sulpice. Three years later, he suffered a stroke which paralysed the right side of his body, although he remained mentally alert to the last. He died at his home in Paris on 12 March 1937 at the age of 93, and his remains were interred in the crypt of Saint-Sulpice four days later. His tomb bears an incorrect birth year (1845).

Organ symphonies

Widor wrote music for a wide variety of instruments and ensembles (some of his songs for voice and piano are especially notable) and composed four operas and a ballet, but only his works for organ are played with any regularity today. These include: ten organ symphonies, three symphonies for orchestra with organ, Suite Latine, Trois Nouvelles Pièces, and six arrangements of works by Bach under the title Bach's Memento (1925). The organ symphonies are his most significant contribution to the organ repertoire.

It is unusual for a work written for one instrument to be assigned the term "symphony". However, Widor was at the forefront of a revival in French organ music, which utilized a new organ design pioneered by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll that was "symphonic" in style. The organ of the Baroque and Classical periods was designed to project a clear and crisp sound capable of handling contrapuntal writing. Cavaillé-Coll's organs, on the other hand, had a much warmer sound and a vast array of stops that extended the timbre of the instrument. This new style of organ, with a truly orchestral range of voicing and unprecedented abilities for smooth crescendos and diminuendos, encouraged composers to write music that was fully symphonic in scope. This trend was not limited to France, and was reflected in Germany by the organs built by Eberhard Friedrich Walcker and the works of Franz Liszt, Julius Reubke, and Max Reger.

Widor's symphonies can be divided into three groups. The first four symphonies comprise Op. 13 (1872) and are more properly termed "suites". (Widor himself called them "collections".) They represent Widor's early style. Widor made later revisions to the earlier symphonies. Some of these revisions were quite extensive.

With the Opus 42 symphonies, Widor shows his mastery and refinement of contrapuntal technique, while exploring to the fullest the capabilities of the Cavaillé-Coll organs for which these works were written. The Fifth Symphony has five movements, the last of which is the famous Toccata. The Sixth Symphony is also famous for its opening movement Allegro. The Seventh and Eighth Symphonies are the longest and least performed of Widor's Symphonies. The Seventh Symphony contains six movements, and the first version of the Eighth Symphony had seven. (Widor subsequently removed the Prélude for the 1901 edition.)

The ninth and tenth symphonies, respectively termed "Gothique" (Op. 70, of 1895) and "Romane" (Op. 73, of 1900), are much more introspective. They both derive thematic material from plainchant: Symphonie Gothique uses the Christmas Day Introit "Puer natus est" in the third and fourth movements, while the Symphonie Romane has the Easter Gradual "Haec dies" woven throughout all four movements. They also honored, respectively, the Gothic Church of St. Ouen, Rouen and the Romanesque Basilica of St. Sernin, Toulouse, with the new Cavaillé-Coll organs installed in each. The second movement of the Symphonie Gothique, entitled "Andante sostenuto", is one of Widor's most-beloved pieces. Dating from this same period, and also based on a plainsong theme, is the "Salve Regina" movement, a late addition to the much earlier second symphony.

Widor's best-known piece for the organ is the final movement of his Symphony for Organ No. 5, a toccata, which is often played as a recessional at wedding ceremonies and at the close of the Christmas Midnight Mass at Saint Peter's Basilica, Vatican City. Although the Fourth Symphony also opens with a Toccata, it is in a dramatically different (and earlier) style. The Toccata from Symphony No. 5 is the first of the toccatas characteristic of French Romantic organ music, and served as a model for later works by Gigout, Boëllmann, Mulet, Vierne and Dupré. Widor was pleased with the worldwide renown this single piece afforded him, but he was unhappy with how fast many other organists played it. Widor himself always played the Toccata rather deliberately. Many organists play it at a very fast tempo whereas Widor preferred a more controlled articulation to be involved. He recorded the piece, at St. Sulpice in his eighty-ninth year; the tempo used for the Toccata is quite slow. Isidor Philipp transcribed the Toccata for two pianos.

Over his long career, Widor returned again and again to edit his earlier music, even after publication. His biographer, John Near, reports: "Ultimately, it was discovered that over a period of about sixty years, as many as eight different editions were issued for some of the symphonies."

Compositions

Rough dates of composition/publication are in brackets, along with the original publisher, if known.

Orchestral works

Composition	Year	Publisher	Instruments
Ouverture portugaise	1865	Crescendo Music Publications	organ, wind ensemble and orchestra
Symphony No. 1, Op. 16	1870	Auguste Durand	orchestra
Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 39	1876	Julien Hamelle	piano and orchestra
Violin Concerto	1877	???	violin and orchestra
Cello Concerto, Op. 41	1882	Julien Hamelle	cello and orchestra
Symphonie pour orgue et orchestre, Op. 42	1882	repr. A-R Editions	organ and orchestra (arr. by Widor of movements from Op. 42)
Chant séculaire, Op. 49	1881	Julien Hamelle	soprano solo, chorus and orchestra
Symphony No. 2, Op. 54	1882	Heugel	orchestra
La Nuit de Walpurgis, Op. 60	1887	Julien Hamelle	chorus and orchestra
Fantaisie, Op. 62	1889	Auguste Durand	piano and orchestra
Suite, from Conte d'avril, Op. 64	1892	Heugel	orchestra
Symphony No. 3, Op. 69	1894	Schott	organ and orchestra
Choral et variations, Op. 74	1900	Éditions Alphonse Leduc	harp and orchestra
Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 77	1906	Heugel	piano and orchestra
Sinfonia sacra, Op. 81	1908	Otto Junne	organ and orchestra
Symphonie antique, Op. 83	1911	Heugel	soloists, chorus, organ and orchestra
Ouverture espagnole	1897	Heugel	orchestra

Organ solo

Composition	Year	Publisher
Symphonie pour orgue No. 1, Op. 13 No. 1 Prélude Allegretto Adagio Intermezzo Marche pontificale (revised 1887) Méditation (revised 1887) Final	1872 (revised 1887, 1901 and 1918)	Julien Hamelle
Symphonie pour orgue No. 2, Op. 13 No. 2 præludium circulare Pastorale Andante Scherzo (version 1872 La Chasse – revision 1901 Salve Regina) Adagio Final	1872 (revised 1901)	Julien Hamelle
Symphonie pour orgue No. 3, Op. 13 No. 3 Prélude Minuetto Marcia Adagio Final (the 1872 version has a Fugue instead of the Final)	1872 (revised 1887, 1901 and 1918)	Julien Hamelle
Symphonie pour orgue No. 4, Op. 13 No. 4 Toccata Fugue Andante cantabile Scherzo Adagio Final	1872 (revised 1887, 1901 and 1920)	Julien Hamelle
Marche américaine (transc. by Marcel Dupré: No. 11 from 12 Feuillets d'album, Op. 31	???	Julien Hamelle
Symphonie pour orgue No. 5, Op. 42 No. 1 Allegro vivace Allegro cantabile Andantino quasi allegretto Adagio Toccata	1879 (revised 1901 and 1918)	Julien Hamelle
Symphonie pour orgue No. 6, Op. 42 No. 2 Allegro Adagio Intermezzo Cantabile Final	1879	Julien Hamelle
Symphonie pour orgue No. 7, Op. 42 No. 3 Moderato Choral Andante Allegro ma non troppo Lento Final	1887 (revised 1900-1 and 1918)	Julien Hamelle
Symphonie pour orgue No. 8, Op. 42 No. 4 Allegro risoluto Moderato cantabile Allegro Prélude (later removed) Variations Adagio Final	1887	Julien Hamelle
Marche nuptiale, Op. 64 (1892) (transc., from Conte d'avril, Schott)	1892	???
Symphonie gothique pour orgue [No. 9], Op. 70 Moderato Andante sostenuto Allegro Moderato (Final)	1895	Schott
Symphonie romane pour orgue [No. 10], Op. 73 Moderato Choral Cantilène Final	1900	Julien Hamelle
Bach's memento	1925	Julien Hamelle
Suite latine, Op. 86	1927	Auguste Durand
Trois Nouvelles pièces, Op. 87	1934	Auguste Durand

Chamber work

Composition	Year	Publisher	Instruments
6 duos, Op. 3	1867	Regnier-Canaux/Renaud/Pérégally & Parvy/Schott	piano and harmonium
Piano Quintet No. 1, Op. 7	1868	Julien Hamelle	piano
Sérénade, Op. 10	1870	Julien Hamelle	flute, violin, cello, piano and harmonium
Piano Trio, Op. 19	1875	Julien Hamelle	piano
3 Pièces, Op. 21	1875	Julien Hamelle	cello and piano
Suite, Op. 34	1877; 1898	Julien Hamelle (1870) Heugel (1898)	flute and piano
Romance, Op. 46	???	???	violin and piano
Sonate No. 1, Op. 50	1881	Julien Hamelle	violin and piano
Soirs d'Alsace (4 Duos), Op. 52	1881	Julien Hamelle	violin, cello and piano
Cavatine, Op. 57	1887	Julien Hamelle	violin and piano
Piano Quartet, Op. 66	1891	Auguste Durand	piano
Piano Quintet No. 2, Op. 68	1894	Auguste Durand	piano
Introduction et rondo, Op. 72	1898	Éditions Alphonse Leduc	clarinet and piano
Suite, Op. 76	1903	Julien Hamelle	violin and piano
Sonate, Op. 79	1906	Heugel	violin and piano
Sonate, Op. 80	1907	Heugel	cello and piano
Salvum fac populum tuum, Op. 84	1916	Heugel	3 trumpets, 3 trombones, drum and organ
4 Pièces	1890	???	violin, cello and piano
3 Pièces	1891	???	oboe and piano
Suite	1912	???	cello and piano
Suite florentine	1920	???	violin and piano

(Salvum fac populum tuum Op. 84 is also known in english as "Lord, Save Thy People")

Piano solo

Composition	Year	Publisher
Variations de concert sur un thème original, Op. 1	1867	Heugel
Sérénade, Op. 3 No. 4 (arr. Leistner)	???	Julien Hamelle
Airs de ballet, Op. 4	1868	Julien Hamelle
Scherzo-valse, Op. 5	1868	Julien Hamelle
La Barque (Fantaisie italienne), Op. 6	1877	Auguste Durand
Le Corricolo (Fantaisie italienne), Op. 6	1877	Auguste Durand
Caprice, Op. 9	1868	Julien Hamelle
3 Valses, Op. 11	1871	Julien Hamelle
Impromptu, Op. 12	1871	Julien Hamelle
6 Morceaux de salon, Op. 15	1872	Julien Hamelle
Prélude, andante et final, Op. 17	1874	Julien Hamelle
Scènes de bal, Op. 20	1875	Julien Hamelle
6 Valses caractéristiques, Op. 26	1877	Julien Hamelle
Variations sur un thème original, Op. 29 (revision of op. 1)	1877	Julien Hamelle
12 Feuillets d'album, Op. 31	1877	Julien Hamelle
5 Valses, Op. 33	???	Julien Hamelle
Dans les bois, Op. 44	1880	Julien Hamelle
Pages intimes, Op. 48	1879	Julien Hamelle
Suite polonaise, Op. 51	1881	Julien Hamelle
Suite, Op. 58	1887	Julien Hamelle
Carnaval, 12 pièces, Op. 61	1889	Julien Hamelle
Nocturne, from Contes d'avril, Op. 64	???	???
5 Valses, Op. 71	1894	Julien Hamelle
Suite écossaise, Op. 78	1905	Joseph Williams
Introduction	???	Julien Hamelle
Intermezzo	???	Julien Hamelle

Songs and choral works

Composition	Year	Publisher	Instruments
O Salutaris, Op. 8	1868	Julien Hamelle	contralto or baritone, violin, cello and organ
6 Mélodies, Op. 14	1872	Julien Hamelle	voice and piano
Tantum ergo, Op. 18 No. 1	1874	Julien Hamelle	baritone, chorus and organ
Regina coeli, Op. 18 No. 2	1874	Julien Hamelle	baritone, chorus and organ
6 Mélodies, Op. 22	1875	Julien Hamelle	voice and piano
Quam dilecta tabernacula tua, Op. 23 No. 1	1876	Julien Hamelle	baritone, chorus and organ
Tu es Petrus, Op. 23 No. 2	1876	Julien Hamelle	baritone, chorus and organ
Surrexit a mortuis (Sacerdos et pontifex), Op. 23 No. 3	1876	Julien Hamelle	chorus and organ
Ave Maria, Op. 24	1877	Julien Hamelle	mezzo, harp and organ
3 Choruses, Op. 25	1876	Julien Hamelle	SATB choir
3 Mélodies, Op. 28	1876	Julien Hamelle	voice and piano
2 Duos, Op. 30	1876	Julien Hamelle	soprano, contralto and piano
3 Mélodies italiennes, Op. 32	1877	Julien Hamelle	voice and piano
3 Mélodies italiennes, Op. 35	1878	Julien Hamelle	voice and piano
Messe, Op. 36	1878	Julien Hamelle	baritone chorus, SATB chorus and two organs
6 Mélodies, Op. 37	1877	Julien Hamelle	voice and piano
2 Duos, Op. 40	1876	Julien Hamelle	soprano, contralto and piano
6 Mélodies, Op. 43	1878	Julien Hamelle	voice and piano
6 Mélodies, Op. 47	1879	Julien Hamelle	voice and piano
6 Mélodies, Op. 53	1881	Julien Hamelle	voice and piano
Ave Maria, Op. 59	1884	Julien Hamelle	voice, harp and organ
O salutaris, Op. 63[bis]	1889	Julien Hamelle	voice, violin, cello and organ
Soirs d'été, Op. 63	1889	Auguste Durand	voice and piano
Ecce Joanna, Alleluia!	???	Schola Cantorum	SATB choir and organ
Psalm 112	1879	Julien Hamelle	baritone, chorus, organ and orchestra
Chansons de mer, Op. 75	1902	???	???
Da pacem	1930	Auguste Durand	SATB choir and organ or piano
Non credo	1930	Auguste Durand	voice and piano

Stage music

Composition	Year	Publisher	Stage Music Type
Le Capitaine Loys	c. 1878	unpublished	comic opera
La Korrigane	1880	Julien Hamelle	ballet
Maître Ambros, Op. 56	1886	piano reduction published by Heugel	opera
Conte d'avril, Op. 64	1885; 1891	Heugel	incidental music
Les Pêcheurs de Saint-Jean	1895; 1904	Heugel	opera
Nerto	1924	Heugel	opera

Writings

• Technique de l'orchestre moderne faisant suite au Traité d'instrumentation de H. Berlioz (1904, Paris: Lemoine)
• L'Orgue moderne, la décadence dans la facture contemporaine (1928, Paris: Durand)
• Vieilles Chansons pour les Petits Enfants: avec Accompagnements de Ch. M. Widor From the Collections at the Library of Congress

Recordings

• Complete organ works by Ben van Oosten
• The 10 symphonies for organ, by Pierre Pincemaille, on 10 Cavaillé-Coll organs - Solstice SOCD 181-185.
• 3^rd, 6^th et 10^th symphonies for organ, performed by Marc Dubugnon at the Swiss Reformed Church of Saint Martin, in Vevey, the three symphonies on YouTube

References

• Hall, Charles J. (2002). Chronology of Western Classical Music. New York: Routledge/Taylor&Francis. p. 1154. ISBN 0-415-94217-9.
• ——— (2011). Widor: A Life Beyond the Toccata. Series: Eastman Studies in Music, v. 83. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press (ISBN 978-1-580-46369-0)
• Oosten, Ben van (1997). Charles-Marie Widor : Vater der Orgelsymphonie (in German). Paderborn : Verlag Peter Ewers. ISBN 3-928243-04-7.
• Thomson, Andrew; Aprahamian, Felix (1989). The life and times of Charles-Marie Widor: 1844-1937. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-816186-7.
• "Library of Congress Catalog". Retrieved 3 January 2007.
• "Dreilaenderkatalog im Gateway Bayern" (in German). Archived from the original on 1 January 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2007.
• "Opera Composers site at Stanford". Retrieved 3 January 2007.
• Hobbs, Alain (1988). Charles-Marie Widor (1844–1937). L’Orgue, Cahiers et mémoires, No. 40. L’Association des Amis de l’Orgue.

External links

• (Embellishments), John R. Near, The Complete Organ Symphonies of Charles-Marie Widor
• Toccata in F from Symphony No. 5 interactive hypermedia (Shockwave Player required) at the BinAural Collaborative Hypertext
• Performances of organ works by Charles-Marie Widor in MIDI format at Logos Virtual Library
• Free scores by Charles-Marie Widor at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
• The Mutopia Project has compositions by Charles-Marie Widor
• Works by Charles-Marie Widor at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about Charles-Marie Widor at the Internet Archive