Symphony for Organ No. 5

The Symphony for Organ No. 5 in F minor, Op. 42, No. 1, was composed by Charles-Marie Widor in 1879, with numerous revisions published by the composer in later years. The full symphony lasts for about 35 minutes.

Structure

The piece consists of five movements:

1. Allegro vivace
2. Allegro cantabile
3. Andantino quasi allegretto
4. Adagio
5. Toccata

Final movement

The fifth movement, in F major, is often referred to as just Widor's Toccata because it is his most famous piece. It lasts around six minutes. Its fame in part comes from its use as recessional music at wedding ceremonies. After Widor's example, other composers adopted the toccata as a popular genre in French Romantic organ music.

The melody of Widor's Toccata is based upon an arrangement of rapid staccato arpeggios which form phrases, initially in F, moving in fifths through to C major, G major, etc. Each phrase consists of one bar. The melody is complemented by syncopated chords, forming an accented rhythm against the perpetual arpeggio motif. The phrases are contextualised by a descending bass line, often beginning with the 7th tone of each phrase key. For example, where the phrase consists of an arpeggio in C major, the bass line begins with a B-flat. The arpeggios eventually modulate through all twelve keys, until Widor brings the symphony to a close with fff block chords in the final three bars.

Usage at royal weddings

Denmark

• Princess Margrethe and Henri de Laborde de Monpezat on 10 June 1967 at the Church of Holmen
• Prince Joachim and Alexandra Christina Manley on 18 November 1995 at Frederiksborg Palace Church
• Prince Frederick and Mary Donaldson on 14 May 2004 at Copenhagen Cathedral

Britain

• Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon and Antony Armstrong-Jones on 6 May 1960 at Westminster Abbey
• Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Katharine Worsley on 8 June 1961 at York Minster
• Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips on 14 November 1973 at Westminster Abbey
• Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Sophie Rhys-Jones on 19 June 1999 at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle
• Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine Middleton on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey

Norway

• Princess Märtha Louise and Ari Behn on 24 May 2002 at Nidaros Cathedral

Renditions of the works

Video Recordings

• Performed by J Clegg in the United Kingdom
• Performed by F Hohman at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Newark, New Jersey)
• Performed by the composer at the Église Saint-Sulpice, Paris

Audio Recordings

• Conclusion of the First Movement played by Marcel Dupré on the Alexandra Palace organ, 7 March 1930 (direct link to MP3 file).

External links

• Symphony for Organ No. 5 in F minor: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Soul Music - Radio 4 programme in March 2006