Striving for Perfection: A New Widor Source

Abstract

Abstract:Charles-Marie Widor was a detail-oriented composer and an even more meticulous editor of his own works, returning to his pieces time after time to make slight alterations and sometimes replace entire sections. This habit is especially true of the second movement of his Symphonie I, Allegretto. Widor produced numerous versions, three of which were published over a span of almost fifty years. Each version differs in various respects, from slight alterations of voicing to replacing entire passages.A newly discovered manuscript in the Riemenschneider Bach Institute (RBI) of Baldwin Wallace University may represent a possible middle point among the three published versions. The manuscript, which includes only the central portion of the Allegretto, was found in the collection of Dr. Albert Riemenschneider, Widor's student and close friend. A thorough comparison of this manuscript to the three published versions (edited by John Near and also held in the RBI) reveals that it is not identical to any one published version. While sections of each published version are comparable to the manuscript, it includes additional, new material that does not appear in any modern edition.Correspondence between Widor and Riemenschneider indicates that Widor often requested Riemenschneider's advice when composing and that Riemenschneider would play and make revisions of Widor's works in front of the composer. The manuscript appears to be in the hand of Riemenschneider or his copyist and exhibits a snapshot of the process of revision, which may represent either Widor's ideas, Riemenschneider's, or a collaboration between the two. This unique and previously unknown manuscript represents an important addition to our understanding of the numerous revisions of Widor's Allegretto.