Symphony No. 5 for Organ in F minor, Op. 42 No. 1
by Charles-Marie Widor
The fifth of Widor's ten organ symphonies, composed for the great Cavaillé-Coll organ at Saint-Sulpice in Paris where Widor served as titular organist for sixty-four years. The final movement — the celebrated Toccata — has achieved iconic status independent of its parent work, but the complete symphony rewards sustained attention: its five movements chart a vast harmonic and expressive journey from a brooding Allegro vivace through a radiant Adagio and a scherzo-like Andantino, culminating in the relentless sixteenth-note perpetuum mobile of the Toccata. The work exploits the full resources of the French Romantic organ and defined the genre of the symphonie pour orgue.
Editions
Hamelle
Charles-Marie Widor, 1887
Original Hamelle publication; the authoritative first edition supervised by the composer and still widely used in French conservatoires.
Alphonse Leduc
Charles-Marie Widor, 1901
Revised edition incorporating Widor's own corrections and refinements; the standard performing text for much of the twentieth century.
Schott Music
Hans Fagius, 2006
Modern critical edition with full scholarly commentary, fingering and registration suggestions, and historical context for Widor's organ symphony cycle.