On the whole, my thought is that this recording presents something much more significant than very a
'important musical document, ...'
I have never found that seeking technical perfection trumps comprehension of the music, and the often somewhat flawed but never the less enjoyable and mesmerising music making can bring far greater insight. I am for example of the view that few pianists performed on the level of musicianship of Edwin Fischer, though his technique could desert him on occasion.
Best wishes from George
Good general point, but in this instance I cannot agree with you. Yes, sometimes a composer's own performance adds something tangible to our understanding of a piece of music. This really does not.
I would love to hear CMW aged, say, 60 play this. Now that wold be interesting. Even more interesting would be a rendition of the whole symphony (the first couple of movements are much more interesting musically that the Toccata). But what we have here is a guy on the brink of (very late) retirement, in
his late 80s, and most definitely past it. In fact he said at the time of the recording he was nearer the grave than the organ bench! I imagine he would have laughed if someone told him this performance was special in any way, musically.
The tempo is very variable (not, I think for reasons of insight, alas). Actually, one thing I like is that the tempo hovers around the mid 90s, not far below the crotchet = 100 that he marked on the score. This piece is almost invariably played a bit (or much) quicker. My own performance works out around 110 which feels a little more comfortable, is easier to maintain and (imho) gives the music just enough drive without being rushed.
One thing a steady tempo does allow is the opportunity to be meticulous in the execution of the little pairs of left hand semiquavers Widor was at great pains to spice the music with. They can seem random at first glance, but are clearly intentional and very carefully chosen. Sadly in this recording, many of them are fluffed owing to sheer loss of technique. Add to that the literally scores of wrong notes in the right hand.
So what we have is a very valuable document - the great CMW playing his most popular composition. But nothing more than that..
I've been familiar with this recording since the 1970s when I first learned the piece myself, and I remember the consensus in the "organ fraternity" at my music school (4 of my contemporaries are now world famous organists in their own right) apropos the quality of the playing. One thing all agreed on was the insight the slow tempo gave - it was probably played faster on average in those days than now.
I admit I
might be missing something...but you would need to give specifics (bar numbers would be fine) as to how this ancient (but not as ancient as the poor organist!!) performance brings greater insight than the myriad performances on record which are technically assured, consistent in tempo and contain all the right notes in the right order.
Cheers,
Nic.
