February 21 - Charles-Marie Widor (The Musical Birthday Series, 3rd Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for February 21 are here: Charlotte Church (2020) and Nina Simone; Charles-Marie Widor (2021)

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Charles-Marie Widor (21 February 1844 – 12 March 1937) was a French organist, composer, and teacher.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enough Is Enough

If you are ever tempted to explore

The symphonies for organ by Widor,

You’ll find that he wrote ten (that’s half a score),

And no one ever wished that there were more.

But if you like to pull out all the stops,

Or if you’re into showing off your chops,

They may be just the thing, but even then,

You’ll still be glad that there are only ten.

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Generation Gap

He was the longest-serving organist of Saint-Sulpice in Paris, a role he held for 63 years. – adapted from Wikipedia

At Saint-Sulpice for sixty years

   Widor had complete control;

And young aspirants lived with fears

   He’d never leave that famous role.

They muddled through their stifled careers,

   While dreaming of that Cavaillé-Coll . 

 

 

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