I loved Widor's Toccata from the first time I heard it back in 1970 and had it played when I walked out of the church with my beautiful wife in 1978 (we are still married 46 years later and I am still in love with her). This is the first time I have heard a recording of his 5th Organ Symphony in its entirety. I have to say that this recording has blown me away. It was played with such feeling and emotion which is a great credit to Donald Hunt. The Instrument (being the nearest one to the human voice) is just magnicent. Thank you for giving me such pleasure at the memories of my wedding day.
Dear Donald, thank you very much for the high-quality and pure performance of Vidors symphony, with good and correct rhythm and well-chosen organ registers 👑
So good to hear the whole symphony instead of just the spectacular toccata. Such fine technique--I liked the thumbing and fingering of two manuals by the right hand in the Cantabile. And a big salute to the technical people who used such a variety of interesting camera angles.
Finally a well rounded performance of the whole symphony, especially the Toacatta. The allegro vivace often gets a fair treatment, but to hear the Final movement at what I consider to be the correct speed and so articulated is so pleasing to listen to as opposed to the usual sloppy race to the finish.
BRAVO, Mr. Hunt ! !!!!!!!! Gorgeous Concert. To end with a STUNNING Toccata such as you executed - just beyond exhilarating ! Thank you Thank you. All the best, marcia
I'm in total admiration of the tempo you selected - allowing the technique to shine. It's so tempting to play this at a quicker tempo that doesn't allow each pipe to "speak properly", which defeats the purpose of a toccata, in my opinion. I feel that the film crew here must be given recognition, as it was sensitively and superbly done from many angles. It's impossible for the human eye to catch everything that it wants when a brilliant organist such as yourself is playing! Thank you so much for all that went into this performance and video.
Thank you, Scott. The filming was done by Roll.Focus productions in Victoria BC (rollfocus.com/), and the editing was done by Mark McDonald, Assistant Director of Music at the cathedral. Incidentally, he has a recording of The Planets on the organ done around the same time. You can check it out here: ruclips.net/video/um2CxBeZSy0/видео.html
Having heard the entire symphony several times I can say that the final movement was spot on in every detail especially tempo. There is a difference in hearing the French organists like Ospital, Ouvrard and Latry and Péninsule playing the other movements when it comes to the phrasing it’s just a bit more finessed but this was very good and I like the instrument. Thanks for the video
Fantastic interpretation, calm, romantic, well articulated. The sound recording is superb, clear and powerful. One of the best Widor fifth performance I have heard.
Very impressive interpretation. One of the best I ever heard. Thanks. Interprétation très impressionnante avec une maîtrise technique et une interprétation hors pair. Merci. CC
What an exciting concert! Beautifully played, and beautifully filmed. Thank you, Donald, and thanks to the whole team who made this virtual concert just as exciting as a live concert . . . and maybe even more so with the bird's eye view of the pipes, the console, and the performer!
Thank you for this. What a fabulous organ and organist combo! I’ve watched this a few times to get my “concert” fix during this pandemic. Thanks so much. Peace to you from Winnipeg
Caesar Franck is the father of the organ symphony with THE GRAND PIECE SYMPHONIC - Not to mention the other 11 surviving pieces. Widor was Franck's STUDENT. There is not a shred of doubt that Widor wrote 9 symphonies (a few of which are not heard and others rarely played). This piece has stood the test of time and public appeal - but only the toccata. In general the entire piece is rarely heard. This is a real shame. That must be a new organ, It sounds as though there are no basses to the celests. But it does have a French sound to it. The movement before the toccata is beautifully done. Electric stop action. You can always tell be the crash instead of the Whump sound of a pneumatic console. Nice pace on the Toccata.
@@olivierbrault2037 You missed my point in your haste to point out a subtle and meaningless error. For all practical purposes wrote one symphony - the 5th and you don't hear much of that either. THAT IS MY POINT.
Very nice performance! Thanks! The slow tempo in the toccata is not very common today. The piece gets a more majestic character. It seems it was intended that way, as judged from an old performance of Widor himself: ruclips.net/video/J8vz1D_L_OE/видео.htmlsi=q-oiOaOxogxV1x5j
Thanks for listening and for your astute comments. Yes, I've always preferred the somewhat slower tempo in the Toccata. Reminds me of the architectural pillars in great cathedrals. -Donald
Cet instrument ne sonne pas vraiment comme un CAVAILLE COLL pour lequel cette symphonie a été écrite : cela manque de rondeur et de profondeur même si l'interprète est excellent...
Thanks for your compliments on my performance @marinmili75. The Wolff is a wonderful instrument that does lots of different styles well. It's very good at South German baroque repertoire. But I agree with you, playing this work on a Cavaillé Coll would have been preferable! -Donald
Excellente interprétation de cette symphonie. Le tempo de la toccata est parfait. Il permet d'entendre l'articulation demandée par Widor. Grand merci !
I loved Widor's Toccata from the first time I heard it back in 1970 and had it played when I walked out of the church with my beautiful wife in 1978 (we are still married 46 years later and I am still in love with her). This is the first time I have heard a recording of his 5th Organ Symphony in its entirety. I have to say that this recording has blown me away. It was played with such feeling and emotion which is a great credit to Donald Hunt. The Instrument (being the nearest one to the human voice) is just magnicent. Thank you for giving me such pleasure at the memories of my wedding day.
Thank you, Roger, for your compliments. I'm glad you enjoyed the video! -Donald
Cool guy playing powerful glorious instrument!
Dear Donald, thank you very much for the high-quality and pure performance of Vidors symphony, with good and correct rhythm and well-chosen organ registers 👑
You're welcome! It was a pleasure making the recording! - Donald
Fantastic and beautiful interpretation. I'm surprised this video hasn't hundreds of thousands of views
Thank you Juan. Feel free to share it around. I'd love to get some more views! - Donald
01:55 i. Allegro vivace
13:20 ii. Allegro cantabile
20:55 iii. Andantino quasi allegretto
29:30 iv. Adagio
36:05 v. Toccata: Allegro
Very, very nice to hear the entire symphony. Thank you for posting.
Thank you for listening. - Donald
I like the connection between the organist and the instrument and the composition. This adds to the ambiance considerably.
Yeah!!! Glorious.
Exemplary performance! I've heard this work many times in many places and I believe this is now my favorite.
So good to hear the whole symphony instead of just the spectacular toccata. Such fine technique--I liked the thumbing and fingering of two manuals by the right hand in the Cantabile. And a big salute to the technical people who used such a variety of interesting camera angles.
Finally a well rounded performance of the whole symphony, especially the Toacatta. The allegro vivace often gets a fair treatment, but to hear the Final movement at what I consider to be the correct speed and so articulated is so pleasing to listen to as opposed to the usual sloppy race to the finish.
Thanks for listening and commenting, Steve. Glad you enjoyed it! - Donald
BRAVO, Mr. Hunt ! !!!!!!!! Gorgeous Concert. To end with a STUNNING Toccata such as you executed - just beyond exhilarating ! Thank you Thank you. All the best, marcia
Thank you, Marcia! - Donald
Beautiful and very clear recording, I am hearing some emphasis unnoticed before. Thank you for the respect for the composition.
Many thanks. I know of two occasions in Britain when the Widor organ symphonies were performed as a cycle.
Absolutely wonderful. Thank you
Thanks! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. -Donald
I'm in total admiration of the tempo you selected - allowing the technique to shine. It's so tempting to play this at a quicker tempo that doesn't allow each pipe to "speak properly", which defeats the purpose of a toccata, in my opinion. I feel that the film crew here must be given recognition, as it was sensitively and superbly done from many angles. It's impossible for the human eye to catch everything that it wants when a brilliant organist such as yourself is playing! Thank you so much for all that went into this performance and video.
Thank you, Scott. The filming was done by Roll.Focus productions in Victoria BC (rollfocus.com/), and the editing was done by Mark McDonald, Assistant Director of Music at the cathedral. Incidentally, he has a recording of The Planets on the organ done around the same time. You can check it out here: ruclips.net/video/um2CxBeZSy0/видео.html
Bravo, Donald! Quite likely, I have never heard the whole symphony before. Thank you.
Having heard the entire symphony several times I can say that the final movement was spot on in every detail especially tempo. There is a difference in hearing the French organists like Ospital, Ouvrard and Latry and Péninsule playing the other movements when it comes to the phrasing it’s just a bit more finessed but this was very good and I like the instrument. Thanks for the video
Thank you for the great audio quality! Love this performance where every attempt is made to make each note audible!
Sencillamente espectacular
Yes! No rushing
You are a master because you make playing look so easy. Organ Symphony #5 is one of my favorite organ pieces by Widor.
absolutely breathtaking
what an experience It was like being there
simply wonderful
*Interpreted with superb musicality on a wonderful instrument. A joy to hear and watch.*
Great performance and great sound quality!!!!!
Thanks, David! -Donald
Greetings from the UK. Lovely series, thank you for sharing. Robert Denton (Michael Denton’s (Saanich) Brother)
Fantastic interpretation, calm, romantic, well articulated. The sound recording is superb, clear and powerful. One of the best Widor fifth performance I have heard.
La toccata est jouée dans le bon tempo. Merci
Absolutely amazing performance!! Thank you for uploading this
Bravo!!!!
Amazing performance... thank you for this music. Complimenti!!!!
Beautiful performance of this great symphony.
Thanks, George -- glad you enjoyed it! -Donald
Bravo, splendid play
Very impressive interpretation. One of the best I ever heard. Thanks. Interprétation très impressionnante avec une maîtrise technique et une interprétation hors pair. Merci. CC
What an exciting concert! Beautifully played, and beautifully filmed. Thank you, Donald, and thanks to the whole team who made this virtual concert just as exciting as a live concert . . . and maybe even more so with the bird's eye view of the pipes, the console, and the performer!
Thank you for this. What a fabulous organ and organist combo! I’ve watched this a few times to get my “concert” fix during this pandemic. Thanks so much. Peace to you from Winnipeg
Wonderful performance.
Caesar Franck is the father of the organ symphony with THE GRAND PIECE SYMPHONIC - Not to mention the other 11 surviving pieces. Widor was Franck's STUDENT. There is not a shred of doubt that Widor wrote 9 symphonies (a few of which are not heard and others rarely played). This piece has stood the test of time and public appeal - but only the toccata. In general the entire piece is rarely heard. This is a real shame.
That must be a new organ, It sounds as though there are no basses to the celests. But it does have a French sound to it. The movement before the toccata is beautifully done. Electric stop action. You can always tell be the crash instead of the Whump sound of a pneumatic console. Nice pace on the Toccata.
@@olivierbrault2037 You missed my point in your haste to point out a subtle and meaningless error. For all practical purposes wrote one symphony - the 5th and you don't hear much of that either. THAT IS MY POINT.
Superb and beautiful interpretation. I’m currently working my way through the piece on organ
Thanks Graham - I'm glad you enjoyed my performance. Enjoy playing it yourself! - Donald
Grazie!
Phenomenal performance! Your technique is exquisite!
Thank you, @charleshiggs7537. I owe the technique to my teacher, John Grew, at McGill University.
Love this. I could listen to it every day. You put such feeling into the performance.
40:06 - THAT is what you call 'Pulling out all stops'!
Playing all Symphony V live at this level is a marathon!
Grandioso
We actually did some editing to get it this good! But thanks for your comments. - Donald
São indescritíveis as sensações físicas e emocionais que me acometem quando ouço essa peça. Obrigado por compartilhar conosco, Mr. Hunt! Congrats!
Gracias! - Donald
Wunderschön. Alles.
Danke! - Donald
gorgeous!!!
Thank you!- Donald
Fantastic!
Thanks, Alice! - Donald
loving this performance, so calm and beautiful!!! thanks for sharing!!
Thank you! - Donald
For me one of the greatest and most brilliant organ works. Unfortunately, far too little is known. And played brilliantly here too.
Thank you!
Wolff Organ Company op. 47 89 ranks (2005)
Wolff builds some great instruments
Fye
36:00 Toccata
WHO BUILT THE ORGAN?
The organ is by Hellmuth Wolff (Laval, Quebec), built in 2005
Very nice performance! Thanks! The slow tempo in the toccata is not very common today. The piece gets a more majestic character. It seems it was intended that way, as judged from an old performance of Widor himself: ruclips.net/video/J8vz1D_L_OE/видео.htmlsi=q-oiOaOxogxV1x5j
Thanks for listening and for your astute comments. Yes, I've always preferred the somewhat slower tempo in the Toccata. Reminds me of the architectural pillars in great cathedrals. -Donald
Christ Chruch? Oooops
Why does he kinda look like Widor too????😂😂
You think so? Widor was a handsome man, so I'll take that as a compliment! - Donald
Cet instrument ne sonne pas vraiment comme un CAVAILLE COLL pour lequel cette symphonie a été écrite : cela manque de rondeur et de profondeur même si l'interprète est excellent...
Thanks for your compliments on my performance @marinmili75. The Wolff is a wonderful instrument that does lots of different styles well. It's very good at South German baroque repertoire. But I agree with you, playing this work on a Cavaillé Coll would have been preferable! -Donald
Excellente interprétation de cette symphonie. Le tempo de la toccata est parfait. Il permet d'entendre l'articulation demandée par Widor. Grand merci !
Merci beaucoup! -Donald