Widor: Symphonie No.8 in B, No.4 : Finale _ D’Arcy Trinkwon

The ever grand and aristocratic Widor is here at the height of his powers, his writing having achieved the zenith of his symphonic style... Lasting 50 minutes, his monumental eighth symphony is often compared in organ repertoire stature to Beethoven’s ‘Hammerklavier’ Sonata for piano, and Albert Schweitzer remarked that it was ‘daringly orchestral in concept’. Published in 1887, it shows Widor’s profound knowledge and assimilation of all musical developments and tastes which surrounded him. The Finale is in effect a powerful, grand and heroic march, its decided air of indignity enforced by striding rhythm and energy. The emotion of turmoil is never far from the surface, continuing until the very final bar... The harmonic stability of the piece is constantly being pushed to its limits (and is thus quite edgy), and the startlingly unexpected modulation in the final bars before the final resolution produces an heart-stopping effect. My teacher Odile Pierre (who you can find playing the complete work from Notre-Dame on YT) loved this work... A real character, with a hilarious (and frequently very irreverent humour), she one day scribbled down the following limmerick on a shopping bag in a cafe when we were out and about another French organist who was never nice to, or about, her: “Aoh! (À l’octave grave ) Aoh! Mais regardez don comme je joue bien Y’a vraiment que moi qui joue si bien J’ai le feu sacré, une grande technique Un gros chignon, des hauts talons etc...” Hmmmm... I several clues... (but it is NOT Demessieux, who she admired greatly and succeeded as the organist of the Madeleine)... Maybe one day I’ll reveal the secret, both now being dead... The voluntary, Worth Abbey, 21 August 2023.