Composer: Charles-Marie Jean Albert Widor
Performer: Wolfgang Rübsam
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Naxos
Release: 2020
Size: 1.27 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Organ Symphony No. 3 in E minor, Op. 13 No. 3
01. I. Prélude
02. II. Minuetto
03. III. Marcia
04. IV. Adagio
05. V. Finale
06. Scherzo ‘La Chasse’ from Symphonie II
Organ Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 13 No. 4
07. I. Toccata
08. II. Fugue
09. III. Andante cantabile
10. IV. Scherzo
11. V. Adagio
12. VI. Finale
Charles-Marie Widor was a hugely influential and venerated musician in his day, and his innovative organ symphonies are both a pinnacle of the repertoire and a testament to his creative and technical mastery of the instrument. These spectacular works are in the grand Romantic manner, but Widor was keenly aware of his musical ancestry, referring to music of the past such as Bach’s St Matthew Passion in the opening of the Third Symphony. The Scherzo of the Fourth Symphony is one of Widor’s finest symphonic movements, exploring the organ’s sonic beauties. The original E major Scherzo from the Symphony No. 2, which Widor subsequently replaced with a Salve Regina (see Volume 1: 8.574161), can be heard on Track 6.