Charles-Marie Widor: Piano Music - Daniel Grimwood
Danacord
CD
$18.99Jul 17, 2026
Rare virtuosic piano music by French Widor Widor composed for stage, voice, orchestra, chamber ensemble, and, most famously, organ. When a composer's primary mode of expression is the king of instruments, a certain austerity can attach itself to their reputation and this is arguably the case with the popular view of Widor, because hardly any composers are simultaneously so famous and so unknown. Were it not for John R. Near, the writer of Widor's only definitive biography, who first made me aware of Widor's solo piano music, it is likely I would never have encountered it. The piano works show aspects of Widor's art less present in his seminal cycle of ten Organ Symphonies, which bear the weight of his considerable intellect and erudition; writing for piano Widor seems able to explore other, more fanciful aspects of his nature, and our understanding of this great composer is enriched by it. I have tried to select works which represent the great variety of styles to be found in his solo piano music.
After coming to prominence as resident organist of the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Iveta Apkalna has most recently been to the Far East, where in 2018 she inaugurated Asia's largest concert organ in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. She has now recorded her new album on the organ at the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying). It is an impressive instrument: Almost 10,000 pipes in over 120 registers, located in a twin organ. On the right-hand half of the stage is the great symphonic organ, which recreates the aesthetic timbre of the French Romantic style. And on the left there is the smaller "echo organ", oriented on the German Baroque repertoire. On this new album, Iveta Apkalna has compiled a programme that unites the two organs by placing the focus on the French Romantic style and making a brief foray to the father of organ music, J.S. Bach.
The Saint-Sulpice Church in Paris is home to one of the world's most famous organs, and the list of titulaires who have worked there includes such well-known composers as Charles-Marie Widor, Marcel Dupré, and, of course, Daniel Roth. Since the latter's retirement at the end of 2022, 34-year-old Karol Mossakowski, born in Torun (Poland) and a graduate of the Paris National Conservatory, has been continuing the glorious tradition of composers and organists at this church. This recording was produced in stereo and 5.1 multichannel versions in order to reproduce the sound experience in the room as realistically as possible.
Widor is a composer best known for writing the thunderous organ symphonies that echoed throughout the Church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris, where Widor was organist for over 60 years. His famous Toccata for organ continues to be a favorite piece at weddings and concert halls around the world. We share this album in order to shine a light on a quieter, more intimate side of Widor, as a composer of French solo songs and duets for voice and piano. In these songs, Widor let's go of the grandiose sounds of the cathedral organ and offers delicate, expressive meditations on human emotion, poetry, and connection. In this spirit, we invite you to join us in hearing these rarely performed and little-known works: Six duos-six duets for soprano and contralto, and Soirs d'été-eight solo songs set to the poetry of Paul Bourget.
Les Eolides & Grande Piece Symphonique - La nuit de Walpurgi
CPO
CD
$18.99Jan 30, 2026
Anyone who entitles an organ piece a Grand Pièce Symphonique should not be surprised if this very title one day is used as a benchmark to determine the legitimacy of this claimed attribute. This is exactly what the organist, composer, and pedagogue Zsigmond Szathmáry did at the behest of his young colleague Christian Schmitt when he examined the orchestral possibilities of César Franck's "great symphonic work". The result of this exploration gives us the world premiere of a concert piece in which the king of instruments and it's personified registers - i.e. The orchestra - form a captivating synthesis. Next to Franck's well-known tone poem Les Éolides (The Daughters of Aeolus), the programme includes a rarely recorded work by Charles-Marie Widor - a Walpurgis Night that easily rivals the most famous witches' dances in the Romantic literature.
Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937), one of the most influential French organists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, jokingly referred to himself as the substitute organist of the church of St. Sulpice, Paris, despite his 64-year tenure there. While best known for his ten organ symphonies, Widor composed in a wide variety of sacred and secular genres: chamber music, orchestral works, ballet, operatic music, works for piano, and most importantly for this recording, melodies. In his day, Widor won respect as a composer, organist, professor, and cultural ambassador of France. In 1890 he became Cesar Franck's immediate successor as Professor of Organ at the Paris Conservatoire, and, in 1896, he succeeded Theodore Dubois as Conservatoire Professor of Composition. Widor's students in organ and composition included such distinguished names as Marcel Dupre, Louis Vierne, Charles Tournemire, Darius Milhaud, Albert Schweitzer, and Edgard Varese. Widor composed over 100 songs which have been overshadowed by his immensely popular organ works. His genius with melody, comprehensive piano writing, and discerning poetic text settings distinguish him as a gifted song composer unusually sensitive to the capabilities of the voice. Throughout his extensive career, Widor was concerned with achieving the best possible musical result in his compositions and continually developed, revised, and republished his works. A publishing custom of the time was to group sets of six songs in a single opus number; however, the songs of each of Widor's sets are not necessarily related by poet or theme. The songs were not intended to be presented as a cohesive cycle. With that in mind, the songs in this recording are not presented by chronological opus numbers. Widor's melodies exhibit a wide variety of musical influences, from the works of the German lieder composers to French vocal genres, such as the bergerette and opera lyrique. His songs range from straight-forward strophic settings to intricate through-composed forms. Widor's harmonic language can find beauty in purely diatonic sonorities while others take advantage of the more remote modulations. Elements of Orientalism, popular in his day, color the exotic musical language and mood of several songs. Widor's songs represent his quest for a perfect marriage of music and text. His melodies feature the poetry of such beloved and respected literary figures as Victor Hugo, Theodore de Banville, Rene-Francois Sully-Prudhomme, Paul Bourget, and Pierre-Jules Theophile Gautier. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Widor - thrillingly - was inspired to include poems by women whose work he admired among his song settings. Some of them are contained in this album's offerings. To quote Widor biographer John Near, "We experience very great charm when happy fortune permits us to hear a page of Mr. Widor, harmoniously vying with Victor Hugo, Sully Prudhomme, or Paul Bourget."
Nine years after it's initial release, Arabella Steinbacher's acclaimed interpretation of two of the greatest concertos ever written for the violin is presented in an attractively priced Stereo re-issue. Steinbacher joins forces with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande under the baton of Charles Dutoit, one of the most eminent conductors of our age. Both the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and Arabella Steinbacher, a multiple award-winner, have an extensive Pentatone discography spanning more than a decade.
Bach, Bovet, Reubke & Widor: The New Mainz Cathedral Organ / Beckmann
Aeolus
SACD
$21.99Mar 17, 2023
The new organ system in Mainz Cathedral, inaugurated in August 2022, is internationally unparalleled in terms of its conception, construction, innovation, quality of craftsmanship and tonal nobility: an absolute centenary project of organ building for the thousand-year-old Mainz Cathedral! The present programme, some of which was produced as a live SACD (stereo and 5.1 surround), was assembled on the basis of the works performed at the inaugural concerts. At its centre is the nearly 30-minute organ sonata in C minor "Der 94. Psalm" by the Liszt pupil Julius Reubke. Cathedral organist Daniel Beckmann, a decisive contributor to the concept of the new instrument, brilliantly demonstrates the new possibilities of this fascinating cathedral organ.
This is Volume 7 in Centaur's recording of the complete organ works by Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937), performed by Joby Bell. All works are recorded on classic American organs; hence the title "American Classic Widor." Most importantly, these are superlative performances of an important body of organ literature. Joby Bell brings to his performances a contagious affability and a keen sensitivity toward increasing an audience's appreciation for organ music. His recital programming demonstrates a varied and interesting repertoire, always enhanced by illuminating program notes designed to embrace all audiences. Bell is featured on several recordings. Born in 1968, Joby Bell attended high school at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where he studied piano with Marian Hahn and Robert MacDonald. He earned the Bachelor of Music degree in organ and piano from Appalachian State University and the Master of Music and Doctor of musical Arts degrees in organ from Rice University.
Widor’s cycle of ten organ symphonies underwent profound development and transformation over many years. Classical elements became more obviously virtuosic and, by the time of these Op.42 symphonies, his musical language had become monumental. Symphony No. 5 in F minor is world famous for a single movement, its concluding Toccata, a moto perpetuo of astonishing brilliance, but the whole work is imbued with structural and musical genius. Striking rhythms, dynamic contrasts and technical roulades mark out Symphony No. 6 in G minor. Also included is a graceful movement from Symphony No. 8 (8.574207) that Widor later omitted.
This is Volume 6 in Centaur's complete traversal of the organ works of Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937), performed on classic American organs by Joby Bell. Joby Bell brings to his performances a contagious affability and a keen sensitivity toward increasing an audience's appreciation for organ music. His recital programming demonstrates a varied and interesting repertoire, always enhanced by illuminating program notes designed to emrace all audiences. Bell is featured on several recordings. Born in 1968, Joby Bell attended high school at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where he studied piano with Marian Hahn and Robert MacDonald. He earned the Bachelor of Music degree in organ and piano from Appalachian State University and the Master of Music and Doctor of musical Arts degrees in organ from Rice University.
Widor: Organ Symphonies, Vol. 4 / Christian Von Blohn
Naxos
CD
$9.99$19.99Save 50%Nov 27, 2020
Widor’s cycle of organ symphonies sits at the heart of his compositional achievement. They are vivid and innovative – none more so than Symphony No. 8 in B major, which takes performer and listener alike to the limits of the genre: its glittering sonorities, lyric intensity and technical power offer a tour-de-force of organ writing. The artfully woven Symphonie romane, the last of the ten, utilizes a Gregorian chorale in music of increasing splendor, melancholy and, finally, sublime peace. Christian von Blohn graduated from the Musikakademie Saarbrücken in 1987 with a first-class degree in Church Music and also with a degree in Music Education, majoring in the organ. Since 1993, von Blohn has been deanery music director for the diocese of Speyer and currently provides musical supervision for the two St Ingbert parishes of St Hildegard and St Josef. He recorded Vol. 3 in this series (8.574206), featuring Symphony No. 7, Op. 42, No. 3 and Symphonie gothique, Op. 70, released in September 2020.
This is Volume 5 in Centaur's traversal of the complete organ works of Widor, performed by Joby Bell. The works in this series are performed on five magnificent Aeolian-Skinner and E.M. Skinner instruments; hence, the "American Classic" label. Since 2004, professor Joby Bell has served on the faculty of the Hayes School of Music, where he teaches organ and church music studies. His church music teaching emphasizes the practical knowledge needed for a solid undergraduate foundation toward successful work and further studies in sacred music. His organ teaching specializes in practice techniques, memorization, service playing, choral accompanying, and maintaining grace under pressure – lessons always best taught by example.
This is Volume 4 in Centaur's traversal of the complete organ works of Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937), performed by Joby Bell. This is clearly going to be the seminal recording of these works. Since 2004, professor Joby Bell has served on the faculty of the Hayes School of Music, where he teaches organ and church music studies. His church music teaching emphasizes the practical knowledge needed for a solid undergraduate foundation toward successful work and further studies in sacred music. His organ teaching specializes in practice techniques, memorization, service playing, choral accompanying, and maintaining grace under pressure – lessons always best taught by example. Dr. Bell is known for "the breadth of his repertoire, technical virtuosity, and for the personal warmth which shines through in his performances." His acclaimed blog at deals with a comprehensive range of organ-related topics including teaching philosophies, recital preparation, church music, and professional concerns.
Widor: Organ Symphonies, Vol. 3 / Christian Von Blohn
Naxos
CD
$9.99$19.99Save 50%Sep 11, 2020
Charles-Marie Widor’s ten organ symphonies sit at the heart of his extensive oeuvre. They reveal Widor’s mastery of the form with their profundity, technical difficulty and sonorous color. Symphony No. 7, Op. 42, No. 3 inaugurated a new, orchestral approach to the genre and encompasses dreamlike sonorities, Chopinesque melancholy and majestic bravura. The Symphonie gothique, Op. 70 makes explicit reference to Gregorian chant, developing a kind of theological ‘programme music’ that is both austere and consolatory.
This is Volume 3 in Centaur's ongoing series of the complete organ works of Charles-Marie Widor (1844 - 1937), performed by Joby Bell. This recorded cycle is a labor of love for Joby Bell, who has a special affinity for Widor's works. Since 2004, professor Joby Bell has served on the faculty of the Hayes School of Music, where he teaches organ and church music studies. His church music teaching emphasizes the practical knowledge needed for a solid undergraduate foundation toward successful work and further studies in sacred music. His organ teaching specializes in practice techniques, memorization, service playing, choral accompanying, and maintaining grace under pressure - lessons always best taught by example. Dr. Bell is known for "the breadth of his repertoire, technical virtuosity, and for the personal warmth which shines through in his performances. " His acclaimed blog at www. JobyBell. Org deals with a comprehensive range of organ-related topics including teaching philosophies, recital preparation, church music, and professional concerns.
This is the second volume in Centaur's ongoing series of the complete organ works of Charles-Marie Widor, performed by Joby Bell. This installment features the Symphony No. 2 in D, and the Symphony No. 3 in E minor. Since 2004, professor Joby Bell has served on the faculty of the Hayes School of Music at Appalachian State University, where he teaches organ and church music studies. His church music teaching emphasizes the practical knowledge needed for a solid undergraduate foundation toward successful work and further studies in sacred music. His organ teaching specializes in practice techniques, memorization, service playing, choral accompanying, and maintaining grace under pressure – lessons always best taught by example. Dr. Bell is known for "the breadth of his repertoire, technical virtuosity, and for the personal warmth which shines through in his performances." His acclaimed blog at deals with a comprehensive range of organ-related topics including teaching philosophies, recital preparation, church music, and professional concerns.
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 can be heard on Track 6.
This is Volume 1 in what will be the complete organ works of Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937). In this series, five magnificent Aeolian-Skinner and E.M. Skinner instruments render Widor symphonies and other works with an "American Classic" accent. Joby Bell clearly loves these works, and proves to be an ideal performer for them. Organist Joby Bell brings to his performances a contagious affability and a keen sensitivity toward increasing an audience's appreciation for organ music. His recital programming demonstrates a varied and interesting repertoire, always enhanced by illuminating program notes designed to embrace all audiences. His acclaimed blog deals with a comprehensive range of organ-related topics including teaching philosophies, recital preparation, church music, and professional concerns.
During his unprecedented 64 years as organist at Saint-Sulpice in Paris, Charles-Marie Widor developed a powerfully symphonic approach to music for the organ, finding new combinations of color, sonority and texture. The ten symphonies for organ are central to his repertory for the instrument. Featured on this first volume are the Symphony No. 1 in C minor, with its homage to Bach, luminous and ceremonial and with virtuoso flourishes; and the Symphony No. 2 in D major offering a fascinating series of contrasts with some spectacular effects. Wolfgang Rubsam plays at the restored E.M. Skinner instrument at The University of Chicago, the largest pipe organ in Midwest America.
Joseph Nolan follows his five internationally acclaimed volumes of the Complete Organ Symphonies of Charles-Marie Widor with a collection of the composer's other works for solo organ. The release includes his Trois Nouvelles Pieces, March americaine and Marche Nuptiale and Memento - a collection of transcriptions of works by J.S. Bach. This release completes a collection of 6 albums that span Widor's complete solo organ works, performed by Nolan on period Cavaille-Coll organs from the French churches of St. Sernin, Toulouse, St. Francois-de Sales, Lyon and La Madeleine, Paris.
The fourth volume in our series of Charles-Marie Widor's Organ Symphonies, performed by Joseph Nolan on the magnificent Cavaille-Coll organ of L'eglise de la Madeleine, Paris. Widor showed early talent for the organ; for decades he was the embodiment of it's might and splendor across the Gallic domain - his 'Organ Symphonies' were genre-defining in their influence. Joseph Nolan is an internationally renowned organist, acclaimed as 'brilliant and such an astute musician' (Gramophone UK).
The third volume in our series of Charles-Marie Widor’s Organ Symphonies, performed by Joseph Nolan on the magnificent Cavaillé-Coll organ of L’église de la Madeleine, Paris. Bridging the generations from Mendelssohn to Messiaen, Empire to Republic, Widor was born to the organ. His Lyonnaise kinsfolk were organ-builders, he showed early talent for the instrument, and for decades was the embodiment of its might and splendour across the Gallic domain - his ‘Organ Symphonies’ were genre-defining in their influence.
Joseph Nolan is an internationally renowned organist, acclaimed as ‘brilliant and such an astute musician’ (Gramophone UK). He was appointed to Her Majesty’s Chapels Royal, St James’s Palace in 2004, and has since been invited to perform and record in some of the world’s premiere venues – including the refurbished Organ of Buckingham Palace Ballroom and the Organ of Saint- Sulpice in Paris.
"Gothic music meets Gothic organ here in performances that encompass a broad expressive spectrum from quiet meditation to dramatic thunder and lightning.” The Times
Volume 1 in a new collection of Charles-Marie Widor’s Organ Symphonies, performed by Joseph Nolan on the magnificent Cavaillé-Coll organ of L'église de la Madeleine, Paris. Bridging the generations from Mendelssohn to Messiaen, Empire to Republic, Widor was born to the organ. His Lyonnaise kinsfolk were organ-builders, he showed early talent for the instrument, and for decades was the embodiment of its might and splendour across the Gallic domain - his ‘Organ Symphonies’ were genre-defining in their influence.
Joseph Nolan is an internationally renowned organist, acclaimed as ‘brilliant and such an astute musician’ (Gramophone UK). He was appointed to Her Majesty’s Chapels Royal, St James’s Palace in 2004, and has since been invited to perform and record in some of the world’s premiere venues - including the refurbished Organ of Buckingham Palace Ballroom (SIGCD114) and the Organ of Saint-Sulpice in Paris (SIGCD167). The Cavaillé-Coll Organ of La Madeleine, Paris is a similarly renowned instrument, with former chief-organists including Camille Saint-Säens and Gabriel Fauré.
“These performances are full of spontaneity yet for all Nolan’s brilliance he allows the requirements of the composer always to take priority. The sympathy and expression that Nolan gives to this music and the assurance of his results will undoubtedly give this recital a special place amongst organ collectors” Musicweb International (for SIGCD167 – The Organ of Saint-Sulpice, Paris)
A highly enjoyable, and, thanks to the organ, rather remarkable release.
This is a good potpourri-style introduction to the organ works of Charles-Marie Widor. Too often he is of course only remembered for the infamous Toccata from the end of the fifth symphony, all too frequently so poorly played. Good then for the general music enthusiast to have a budget price introduction to some other corners of the Widor oeuvre many of which deserve to be better known than the Toccata. The implication however, that Naxos’s vast Organ Encyclopaedia isn’t going to include a complete Widor cycle strikes me as particularly unfortunate. This is especially true given that Naxos’s library does include a complete Rheinberger cycle.
The most interesting element of this disc though is the choice of instrument. I wrote in glowing terms here about Martin Pasi’s extraordinary dual-temperament instrument in Omaha in the context of Julia Brown’s Buxtehude recording. That was recorded – mostly, I think - in meantone using the 28 stops of the organ available in that temperament. Perhaps more of a challenge to these historically-informed super-eclectic American organs is how they handle repertoire such as that on the present recording. It makes for fascinating listening!
If I’m honest, some of the sounds here are not sounds one associates with the world of Widor. However only occasionally - the mixture at the beginning of track 2 for instance - does an aesthetic clash wander into one’s consciousness enough for it to be uncomfortable. Other idiosyncrasies - the flexible winding – surely there could be a more effective stabiliser for this sort of repertoire - and even the pure thirds in the well-tempered tuning - listen to those big C major chords in the Marche Pontificale! - maybe take a little getting used to, but I managed. The overriding impression of this disc is of an organ of simply enormous panache and personality. The warmth of the 8’ stops, the effectiveness of the swell box, the sheer grunt of the pedal reeds – all are extraordinary. Pasi’s organ doesn’t really evoke Rouen, but it is a work of sheer brilliance. To quote the late, great Stephen Bicknell: “the work of Brombaugh, Fritts, Pasi, Taylor and Boody and even Fritts-Richards operates at a level of artistic quality that simply does not apply in Europe any more, despite the beacons offered by, say, Ahrend and Aubertin.” He wasn’t wrong.
The organ seems to inspire Robert Delcamp to better performances than I’ve enjoyed on his previous Naxos discs - on much lesser instruments. Occasionally still a little ‘square’, his flair for French repertoire is undeniable, and I can therefore recommend this is as a highly enjoyable, and, thanks to the organ, rather remarkable release.
