Editing Charles-Marie Widor (section)

==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 [[opera]]s and a [[ballet]], but only his works for organ are played with any regularity today. These include: ten [[Organ symphony|organ symphonies]], three [[Symphony|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 organ|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 [[Friedrich Ladegast]] 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.<ref name=":0">[http://www.classicfm.com/composers/widor/music/organ-symphony-no5-f-minor/ Classic FM – Charles-Marie Widor: Organ Symphony No.5 in F minor]. Accessed 26 December 2013</ref> 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]] "[[Psalm 118#Catholic Church|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.

{{listen |image=none |help=no |type=music |filename=Hoerprobe Goll Orgel St. Martin (Memmingen).ogg |title='''Widor's Toccata''' |description=[[Symphony for Organ No. 5 (Widor)|Symphonie pour orgue No. 5]], Op. 42, No. 1 – V. Toccata (conclusion), performed by Hans-Eberhard Roß}}
Widor's best-known piece for the organ is the final movement of his [[Symphony for Organ No. 5 (Widor)|''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 (music)|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 [[Eugène Gigout|Gigout]], [[Léon Boëllmann|Boëllmann]], [[Henri Mulet|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."<ref name="near" />