Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style, characterised by pointed arches. Examples of Romanesque architecture can be found across the continent, making it the first pan-European architectural style since Imperial Roman Architecture. The Romanesque style in England is traditionally referred to as Norman architecture.

Combining features of Western Roman and Byzantine buildings, Romanesque architecture is known by its massive quality, its thick walls, round arches, sturdy piers, groin vaults, large towers and decorative arcading. Each building has clearly defined forms and they are frequently of very regular, symmetrical plan so that the overall appearance is one of simplicity when compared with the Gothic buildings that were to follow. The style can be identified right across Europe, despite regional characteristics and different materials.

Many castles were built during this period, but they are greatly outnumbered by churches. The most significant are the great abbey churches, many of which are still standing, more or less complete and frequently in use. The enormous quantity of churches built in the Romanesque period was succeeded by the still busier period of Gothic architecture, which partly or entirely rebuilt most Romanesque churches in prosperous areas like England. The largest groups of Romanesque survivors are in areas that were less prosperous in subsequent periods, including parts of Southern France and Northern Spain. Survivals of unfortified Romanesque secular houses and palaces are far rarer, but these used and adapted the features found in church buildings, on a domestic scale.

Definition

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word "Romanesque", meaning "descended from Roman", was first used in English to designate what are now called Romance languages (first cited 1715). Architecturally, the term was first applied in French by the archaeologist Charles de Gerville or his associate Arcisse de Caumont, in 1818, to describe Western European architecture from the 5th to the 13th centuries, at a time when the actual dates of many of the buildings so described had not been ascertained. The first use in a published work is in William Gunn's ''An Inquiry into the Origin and Influence of Gothic Architecture'' (London 1819). The word was used to describe the style which was identifiably Medieval and prefigured the Gothic, yet maintained the rounded Roman arch and thus appeared to be a continuation of the Roman tradition of building.

The term is now used for the more restricted period from the late 10th to the 12th century. The term "Pre-romanesque" is sometimes applied to architecture in Germany of the Carolingian and Ottonian periods and Visigothic, Mozarab and Asturian constructions between the 8th and the 10th centuries in the Iberian Peninsula while "First Romanesque" is applied to buildings in north of Italy and Spain and parts of France that have Romanesque features but pre-date the influence of the monastery of Cluny.

History

Origins

Romanesque architecture was the first distinctive style to spread across Europe since the Roman Empire. Despite the impression of 19th century Art Historians that Romanesque architecture was a continuation of the Roman, in fact, Roman building techniques in brick and stone were largely lost in most parts of Europe, and in the more northern countries had never been adopted except for official buildings, while in Scandinavia they were unknown. There was little continuity, even in Rome, where several great Constantinian basilicas continued to stand as an inspiration to later builders. It was not the buildings of ancient Rome, but the 6th century octagonal Byzantine Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna which was to inspire the greatest building of the Dark Ages in Western Europe, the Emperor Charlemagne's Palatine Chapel, Aachen, Germany, built around the year AD 800.

Dating shortly after the Palatine Chapel is a remarkable 9th century Swiss manuscript known as the Plan of Saint Gall and showing a very detailed plan of a monastic complex, with all its various monastic buildings and their functions labelled. The largest building is the church, the plan of which is distinctly Germanic, having an apse at both ends, an arrangement which is not generally seen elsewhere. Another feature of the church is its regular proportion, the square plan of the crossing tower providing a module for the rest of the plan. These features can both be seen at the Proto-Romanesque St. Michael's Church, Hildesheim, 1001–1030.

Architecture of a Romanesque style also developed simultaneously in the north of Italy, parts of France and in the Iberian Peninsula in the 10th century and prior to the later influence of the Abbey of Cluny. The style, sometimes called "First Romanesque" or "Lombard Romanesque", is characterised by thick walls, lack of sculpture and the presence of rhythmic ornamental arches known as a Lombard band.

Politics

Charlemagne was crowned by the Pope in St. Peter's Basilica on Christmas Day in the year AD 800, with an aim to re-establishing the old Western Roman Empire. Charlemagne's political successors continued to rule much of Europe, with a gradual emergence of the separate political states which were eventually to become welded into nations, either by allegiance or defeat, the Kingdom of Germany giving rise to the Holy Roman Empire. The invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy, in 1066, saw the building of both castles and churches which reinforced the Norman presence. Several significant churches that were built at this time were founded by rulers as seats of temporal and religious power, or places of coronation and burial. These include the Abbaye-Saint-Denis, Speyer Cathedral and Westminster Abbey (where little of the Norman church now remains).

At a time when the remaining architectural structures of the Western Roman Empire were falling into decay and much of its learning and technology lost, the building of masonry domes and the carving of decorative architectural details continued unabated, though greatly evolved in style since the fall of Rome, in the enduring Byzantine Empire. The domed churches of Constantinople and Eastern Europe were to greatly affect the architecture of certain towns, particularly through trade and through the Crusades. The most notable single building which demonstrates this is St Mark's Basilica, Venice but there are many lesser known examples, particularly in France, such as the church of Saint-Front, Périgueux and Angoulême Cathedral.

Much of Europe was affected by feudalism in which peasants held tenure from local rulers over the land that they farmed in exchange for military service. The result of this was that they could be called upon, not only for local and regional spats, but to follow their lord to travel across Europe to the Crusades, if they were required to do so. The Crusades, 1095–1270, brought about a very large movement of people and, with them, ideas and trade skills, particularly those involved in the building of fortifications and the metal working needed for the provision of arms, which was also applied to the fitting and decoration of buildings. The continual movement of people, rulers, nobles, bishops, abbots, craftsmen and peasants, was an important factor in creating a homogeneity in building methods and a recognizable ''Romanesque style'', despite regional differences.

Life became generally less secure after the Carolingian period. This resulted in the building of castles at strategic points, many of them being constructed as strongholds of the Normans, descendants of the Vikings who invaded northern France in 911. Political struggles also resulted in the fortification of many towns, or the rebuilding and strengthening of walls that remained from the Roman period. One of the most notable surviving fortifications is that of the city of Carcassonne. The enclosure of towns brought about a lack of living space within the walls, and resulted in a style of town house that was tall and narrow, often surrounding communal courtyards, as at San Gimignano in Tuscany.

In Germany, the Holy Roman Emperors built a number of residences, fortified, but essentially palaces rather than castles, at strategic points and on trade routes. The Imperial Palace of Goslar (heavily restored in the 19th century) was built in the early 11th century by Otto III and Henry III, while the ruined Palace at Gelnhausen was received by Frederick Barbarossa prior to 1170. The movement of people and armies also brought about the building of bridges, some of which have survived, including the 12 century bridge at Besalú, Catalonia, the 11th century Puente de la Reina, Navarre and the Pont-Saint-Bénézet, Avignon.

Religion

Across Europe, the late 11th and 12th "centuries" saw an unprecedented growth in the number of churches. A great number of these buildings, both large and small, remain, some almost intact and in others altered almost beyond recognition in later centuries. They include many very well known churches such as Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome, the Baptistery in Florence and San Zeno Maggiore in Verona. In France, the famous abbeys of Aux Dames and Les Hommes at Caen and Mont Saint-Michel date from this period, as well as the abbeys of the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. Many cathedrals owe their foundation to this date, with others beginning as abbey churches, and later becoming cathedrals. In England, of the cathedrals of ancient foundation, all were begun in this period with the exception of Salisbury, where the monks relocated from the Norman church at Old Sarum, and several, such as Canterbury which were rebuilt on the site of Saxon churches. In Spain, the most famous church of the period is Santiago de Compostela. In Germany, the Rhine and its tributaries were the location of many Romanesque abbeys, notably Mainz, Worms, Speyer and Bamberg. In Cologne, then the largest city north of the Alps, a very important group of large city churches survives largely intact. As monasticism spread across Europe, Romanesque churches sprang up in Scotland, Scandinavia, Poland, Hungary, Sicily, Serbia and Tunisia. Several important Romanesque churches were built in the Crusader kingdoms.

Monasticism

The system of monasticism in which the religious become members of an order, with common ties and a common rule, living in a mutually dependent community, rather than as a group of hermits living in proximity but essentially separate, was established by the monk Benedict in the 6th century. The Benedictine Monasteries spread from Italy throughout Europe, being always by far the most numerous in England. They were followed by the Cluniac order, the Cistercians, Carthusians and Augustinian Canons. In association with the Crusades, the military orders of the Knights Hospitaller and the Knights Templar were founded.

The monasteries, which sometimes also functioned as cathedrals, and the cathedrals which had bodies of secular clergy often living in community, were a major source of power in Europe. Bishops and the abbots of important monasteries lived and functioned like princes. The monasteries were the major seats of learning of all sorts. Benedict had ordered that all the arts were to be taught and practiced in the monasteries. Within the monasteries books were transcribed by hand, and few people outside the monasteries could read or write.

In France, Burgundy was the centre of monasticism. The enormous and powerful monastery at Cluny was to have lasting effect on the layout of other monasteries and the design of their churches. Unfortunately, very little of the abbey church at Cluny remains; the "Cluny II" rebuilding of 963 onwards has completely vanished, but we have a good idea of the design of "Cluny III" from 1088–1130, which until the Renaissance remained the largest building in Europe. However, the church of St. Sernin at Toulouse, 1080–1120, has remained intact and demonstrates the regularity of Romanesque design with its modular form, its massive appearance and the repetition of the simple arched window motif.

Pilgrimage and Crusade

One of the effects of the Crusades, which were intended to wrest the Holy Places of Palestine from Islamic control, was to excite a great deal of religious fervour, which in turn inspired great building programs. The Nobility of Europe, upon safe return, thanked God by the building of a new church or the enhancement of an old one. Likewise, those who did not return from the Crusades could be suitably commemorated by their family in a work of stone and mortar.

The Crusades resulted in the transfer of, among other things, a great number of Holy Relics of saints and apostles. Many churches, like Saint-Front, Périgueux, had their own home grown saint while others, most notably Santiago de Compostela, claimed the remains and the patronage of a powerful saint, in this case one of the Twelve Apostles. Santiago de Compostela, located near the western extremity of Galicia (present day Spain) became the most important pilgrimage destination in Europe. Most of the pilgrims travelled the Way of St. James on foot, many of them barefooted as a sign of penance. They moved along one of the four main routes that passed through France, congregating for the journey at Jumièges, Paris, Vézelay, Cluny, Arles and St. Gall in Switzerland. They crossed two passes in the Pyrenees and converged into a single stream to traverse north-western Spain. Along the route they were urged on by those pilgrims returning from the journey. On each of the routes abbeys such as those at Moissac, Toulouse, Roncesvalles, Conques, Limoges and Burgos catered for the flow of people and grew wealthy from the passing trade. Saint-Benoît-du-Sault, in the Berry province, is typical of the churches that were founded on the pilgrim route.

Characteristics

The general impression given by Romanesque architecture, in both ecclesiastical and secular buildings, is one of massive solidity and strength. In contrast with both the preceding Roman and later Gothic architecture in which the load-bearing structural members are, or appear to be, columns, pilasters and arches, Romanesque architecture, in common with Byzantine architecture, relies upon its walls, or sections of walls called piers.

Romanesque architecture is often divided into two periods known as the "First Romanesque" style and the "Romanesque" style. The difference is chiefly a matter of the expertise with which the buildings were constructed. The First Romanesque employed rubble walls, smaller windows and unvaulted roofs. A greater refinement marks the Second Romanesque, along with increased use of the vault and dressed stone.

Walls

The walls of Romanesque buildings are often of massive thickness with few and comparatively small openings. They are often double shells, filled with rubble.

The building material differs greatly across Europe, depending upon the local stone and building traditions. In Italy, Poland, much of Germany and parts of the Netherlands, brick is generally used. Other areas saw extensive use of limestone, granite and flint. The building stone was often used in comparatively small and irregular pieces, bedded in thick mortar. Smooth ashlar masonry was not a distinguishing feature of the style, particularly in the earlier part of the period, but occurred chiefly where easily worked limestone was available.

Buttresses

Because of the massive nature of Romanesque walls, buttresses are not a highly significant feature, as they are in Gothic architecture. Romanesque buttresses are generally of flat square profile and do not project a great deal beyond the wall. In the case of aisled churches, barrel vaults, or half-barrel vaults over the aisles helped to buttress the nave, if it was vaulted.

In the cases where half-barrel vaults were used, they effectively became like flying buttresses. Often aisles extended through two storeys, rather than the one usual in Gothic architecture, so as to better support the weight of a vaulted nave. In the case of Durham Cathedral, flying buttresses have been employed, but are hidden inside the triforium gallery.

Arches and openings

The arches used in Romanesque architecture are nearly always semicircular, for openings such as doors and windows, for vaults and for arcades. Wide doorways are usually surmounted by a semi-circular arch, except where a door with a lintel is set into a large arched recess and surmounted by a semi-circular "lunette" with decorative carving. These doors sometimes have a carved central jamb.

Narrow doors and small windows might be surmounted by a solid stone lintel. Larger windows are nearly always arched and may be paired with two arches separated by a column, or occur as paired windows framed by a single larger arch. Occular windows are common in Italy, particularly in the facade gable and are also seen in Germany. Later Romanesque churches may have wheel windows or rose windows with plate tracery.

There are a very small number of buildings in the Romanesque style, such as Autun Cathedral in France and Monreale Cathedral in Sicily in both of which pointed arches have been used extensively, apparently for stylistic reasons. It is believed that in these cases there is a direct imitation of Islamic architecture. Other late Romanesque churches such as Durham Cathedral introduce the pointed arch in as a structural device.

Arcades

An arcade is a row of arches, supported on piers or columns. They occur in the interior of large churches, separating the nave from the aisles, and in large secular interiors spaces, such as the great hall of a castle, supporting the timbers of a roof or upper floor. Arcades also occur in cloisters and atriums, enclosing an open space.

Arcades can occur in storeys or stages. While the arcade of cloister is typically of a single stage, the arcade which divides the nave and aisles in a church is typically of two stages, with a third stage of window openings known as the clerestory rising above them. Arcading on a large scale generally fulfils a structural purpose, but it is also used, generally on a smaller scale, as a decorative feature, both internally and externally where it is frequently "blind arcading" with only a wall or a narrow passage behind it.

Piers

In Romanesque architecture, piers were often employed to support arches. They were built of masonry and square or rectangular in section, generally having a horizontal moulding representing a capital at the springing of the arch. Sometimes piers have vertical shafts attached to them, and may also have horizontal mouldings at the level of base.

Although basically rectangular, piers can often be of highly complex form, with half-segments of large hollow-core columns on the inner surface supporting the arch, or a clustered group of smaller shafts leading into the mouldings of the arch.

Piers that occur at the intersection of two large arches, such as those under the crossing of the nave and transept, are commonly cruciform in shape, each arch having its own supporting rectangular pier at right angles to the other.

Columns

Columns are an important structural feature of Romanesque architecture. Colonnettes and attached shafts are also used structurally and for decoration. Monolithic columns cut from a single piece of stone were frequently used in Italy, as they had been in Roman and Early Christian architecture. They were also used, particularly in Germany, when they alternated between more massive piers. Arcades of columns cut from single pieces are also common in structure that do not bear massive weights of masonry, such as cloisters, where they are sometimes paired.

Salvaged columns

In Italy, during this period, a great number of antique Roman columns were salvaged and reused in the interiors and on the porticos of churches. The most durable of these columns are of marble and have the stone horizontally bedded. The majority are vertically bedded and are sometimes of a variety of colours. They may have retained their original Roman capitals, generally of the Corinthian or Roman Composite style. Some buildings, like Santa Maria in Cosmedin (illustrated above) and the atrium at San Clemente in Rome, may have an odd assortment of columns in which large capitals are placed on short columns and small capitals are placed on taller columns to even the height. Architectural compromises of this type are seen where materials have been salvaged from a number of buildings. Salvaged columns were also used to a lesser extent in France.

Drum columns

In most parts of Europe, Romanesque columns were massive, as they supported thick upper walls with small windows, and sometimes heavy vaults. The most common method of construction was to build them out of stone cylinders called drums, as in the crypt at Speyer Cathedral.

Hollow core columns

Where really massive columns were called for, such as those at Durham Cathedral, they were constructed of ashlar masonry and the hollow core was filled with rubble. These huge untapered columns are sometimes ornamented with incised decorations.

Alternation

A common characteristic of Romanesque buildings, occurring both in churches and in the arcades which separate large interior spaces of castles, is the alternation of piers and columns.

The most simple form that this takes is to have a column between each adjoining pier. Sometimes the columns are in multiples of two or three. At St. Michael's, Hildesheim, an ABBA alternation occurs in the nave while an ABA alternation can be seen in the transepts.

At Jumièges there are tall drum columns between piers each of which has a half-column supporting the arch. There are many variations on this theme, most notably at Durham Cathedral where the mouldings and shafts of the piers are of exceptional richness and the huge masonry columns are deeply incised with geometric patterns.

Often the arrangement was made more complex by the complexity of the piers themselves, so that it was not piers and columns that alternated, but rather, piers of entirely different form from each other, such as those of Sant' Ambrogio, Milan where the nature of the vault dictated that the alternate piers bore a great deal more weight than the intermediate ones and are thus very much larger.

Capitals

The foliate Corinthian style provided the inspiration for many Romanesque capitals, and the accuracy with which they were carved depended very much on the availability of original models, those in Italian churches such as Pisa Cathedral and southern France being much closer to the Classical than those in England.

The Corinthian capital is essentially round at the bottom where it sits on a circular column and square at the top, where it supports the wall or arch. This form of capital was maintained in the general proportions and outline of the Romanesque capital. This was achieved most simply by cutting a rectangular cube and taking the four lower corners off at an angle so that the block was square at the top, but octagonal at the bottom, as can be seen at St. Michael's Hildesheim. This shaped lent itself to a wide variety of superficial treatments, sometimes foliate in imitation of the source, but often figurative. In Northern Europe the foliate capitals generally bear far more resemblance to the intricacies of manuscript illumination than to Classical sources. In parts of France and Italy there are strong links to the pierced capitals of Byzantine architecture. It is in the figurative capitals that the greatest originality is shown. While some are dependent on manuscripts illustrations of Biblical scenes and depictions of beasts and monsters, others are lively scenes of the legends of local saints.

The capitals, while retaining the form of a square top and a round bottom, were often compressed into little more than a bulging cushion-shape. This is particularly the case on large masonry columns, or on large columns that alternate with piers as at Durham.

Vaults and roofs

The majority of buildings have wooden roofs, generally of a simple ''truss'', ''tie beam'' or ''king post'' form. In the case of trussed rafter roofs, they are sometimes lined with wooden ceilings in three sections like those which survive at Ely and Peterborough cathedrals in England. In churches, typically the aisles are vaulted, but the nave is roofed with timber, as is the case at both Peterborough and Ely. In Italy where open wooden roofs are common, and tie beams frequently occur in conjunction with vaults, the timbers have often been decorated as at San Miniato al Monte, Florence.

Vaults of stone or brick took on several different forms and showed marked development during the period, evolving into the pointed ribbed arch which is characteristic of Gothic architecture.

Barrel vault

The simplest type of vaulted roof is the barrel vault in which a single arched surface extends from wall to wall, the length of the space to be vaulted, for example, the nave of a church. An important example, which retains Medieval paintings, is the vault of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe, France, of the early 12th century. However, the barrel vault generally required the support of solid walls, or walls in which the windows were very small.

Groin vault

Groin vaults occur in early Romanesque buildings, notably at Speyer Cathedral where the high vault of about 1060 is the first employment in Romanesque architecture of this type of vault for a wide nave. In later buildings employing ribbed vaultings, groin vaults are most frequently used for the less visible and smaller vaults, particularly in crypts and aisles. A groin vault is almost always square in plan and is constructed of two barrel vaults intersecting at right angles. Unlike a ribbed vault, the entire arch is a structural member. Groin vaults are frequently separated by transverse arched ribs of low profile as at Speyer and Santiago de Compostela. At La Madeleine, Vézelay, the ribs are square in section, strongly projecting and polychrome.

Ribbed vault

In ribbed vaults, not only are there ribs spanning the vaulted area transversely, but each vaulted bay has diagonal ribs. In a ribbed vault, the ribs are the structural members, and the spaces between them can be filled with lighter, non-structural material.

Because Romanesque arches are nearly always semi-circular, the structural and design problem inherent in the ribbed vault is that the diagonal span is larger and therefore higher than the transverse span. The Romanesque builders used a number of solutions to this problem. One was to have the centre point where the diagonal ribs met as the highest point, with the infil of all the surfaces sloping upwards towards it, in a domical manner. This solution was employed in Italy at San Michele, Pavia and Sant' Ambrogio, Milan.

Another solution was to stilt the transverse ribs, or depress the diagonal ribs so that the centreline of the vault was horizontal, like a that of a barrel vault. The latter solution was used on the sexpartite vaults at both the Saint-Étienne, (Abbaye-aux-Hommes) and Sainte-Trinité, (Abbaye-les-Dames) at Caen, France, in the late 11th and early 12th centuries.

Pointed arched vault

Late in the Romanesque period another solution came into use for regulating the height of diagonal and transverse ribs. This was to use arches of the same diameter for both horizontal and transverse ribs, causing the transverse ribs to meet at a point. This is seen most notably at Durham Cathedral in northern England, dating from 1128. Durham is a cathedral of massive Romanesque proportions and appearance, yet its builders introduced several structural features which were new to architectural design and were to later to be hallmark features of the Gothic. Another Gothic structural feature employed at Durham is the flying buttress. However, these are hidden beneath the roofs of the aisles. The earliest pointed vault in France is that of the narthex of La Madeleine, Vézelay, dating from 1130.

Decoration

Architectural embellishment

Arcading is the single most significant decorative feature of Romanesque architecture. It occurs in a variety of forms, from the Lombard band which is a row of small arches that appear to support a roofline or course, to shallow blind arcading often a feature of English architecture and seen in great variety at Ely Cathedral, to the open dwarf gallery, first used at Speyer Cathedral and widely adopted in Italy as seen on both Pisa Cathedral and its famous Leaning Tower. Arcades could be used to great effect, both externally and internally, as exemplified by the church of Santa Maria della Pieve, in Arezzo.

Architectural sculpture

The Romanesque period produced a profusion of sculptural ornamentation. This most frequently took a purely geometric form and was particularly applied to mouldings, both straight courses and the curved moldings of arches. In La Madeleine, Vezelay, for example, the polychrome ribs of the vault are all edged with narrow filets of pierced stone. Similar decoration occurs around the arches of the nave and along the horizontal course separating arcade and clerestory. Combined with the pierced carving of the capitals, this gives a delicacy and refinement to the interior.

In England, such decoration could be discrete, as at Hereford and Peterborough cathedrals, or have a sense of massive energy as at Durham where the diagonal ribs of the vaults are all outlined with chevrons, the mouldings of the nave arcade are carved with several layers of the same and the huge columns are deeply incised with a variety of geometric patterns creating an impression of directional movement. These features combine to create one of the richest and most dynamic interiors of the Romanesque period. Although much sculptural ornament was sometimes applied to the interiors of churches, the focus of such decoration was generally the west front, and in particular, the portals. Chevrons and other geometric ornaments, referred to by 19th century writers as "barbaric ornament" are most frequently found on the mouldings of the central door. Stylized foliage often appears, sometimes deeply carved and curling outward after the manner of the acanthus leaves on Corinthian capitals, but also carved in shallow relief and spiral patterns, imitating the intricacies of manuscript illuminations. In general, the style of ornament was more classical in Italy, such as that seen around the door of San Giusto in Lucca, and more "barbaric" in England, Germany and Scandinavia, such as that seen at Speyer Cathedral. France produced a great range of ornament, with particularly fine interwoven and spiralling vines in the "manuscript" style occurring at Saint-Sernin, Toulouse.

Figurative sculpture

With the fall of the Roman Empire, the tradition of carving large works in stone and sculpting figures in bronze died out. The best-known surviving large sculptural work of Proto-Romanesque Europe is the life-size wooden Crucifix commissioned by Archbishop Gero of Cologne in about 960–65. During the 11th and 12th centuries, figurative sculpture flourished in a distinctly Romanesque style which can be recognised across Europe, although the most spectacular sculptural projects are concentrated in South-Western France, Northern Spain and Italy.

Major figurative decoration occurs particularly around the portals of cathedrals and churches, ornamenting the tympanum, lintels, jambs and central posts. The tympanum is typically decorated with the imagery of Christ in Majesty with the symbols of the Four Evangelists, drawn directly from the gilt covers of medieval Gospel Books. This style of doorway occurs in many places and continued into the Gothic period. A rare survival in England is that of the "Prior's Door" at Ely Cathedral. In South-Western France, many have survived, with impressive examples at Saint-Pierre, Moissac, Souillac, and La Madaleine, Vézelay – all daughter houses of Cluny, with extensive other sculpture remaining in cloisters and other buildings. Nearby, Autun Cathedral has a Last Judgement of great rarity in that it has uniquely been signed by its creator, Giselbertus.

It is a feature of Romanesque art, both in manuscript illumination and sculptural decoration, that figures are contorted to fit the space that they occupy. Among the many examples that exist, one of the finest is the figure of the Prophet Jeremiah from the pillar of the portal of the Abbey of Saint-Pierre, Moissac, France, from about 1130. A significant motif of Romanesque design is the spiral, a form which is applied to both plant motifs and drapery in Romanesque sculpture. An outstanding example of its use in drapery is that of the central figure of Christ at La Madaleine, Vezelay.

Many of the smaller sculptural works, particularly capitals, are Biblical in subject and include scenes of Creation and the Fall of Man, episodes from the life of Christ and those Old Testament scenes which prefigure his Death and Resurrection, such as Jonah and the Whale and Daniel in the Lions' Den. Many Nativity scenes occur, the theme of the Three Kings being particularly popular. The cloisters of Santo Domingo de Silos Abbey in Northern Spain, and Moissac are fine examples surviving complete.

Murals

The large wall surfaces and plain, curving vaults of the Romanesque period lent themselves to mural decoration. Unfortunately, many of these early wall paintings have been destroyed by damp or the walls have been replastered and painted over. In England, France and the Netherlands such pictures were systematically destroyed in bouts of Reformation iconoclasm. In other countries they have suffered from war, neglect and changing fashion.

A classic scheme for the full painted decoration of a church, derived from earlier examples often in mosaic, had, as its focal point in the semi-dome of the apse, Christ in Majesty or Christ the Redeemer enthroned within a mandorla and framed by the four winged beasts, symbols of the Four Evangelists, comparing directly with examples from the gilt covers or the illuminations of Gospel Books of the period. If the Virgin Mary was the dedicatee of the church, she might replace Christ here. On the apse walls below would be saints and apostles, perhaps including narrative scenes, for example of the saint to whom the church was dedicated. On the sanctuary arch were figures of apostles, prophets or the twenty-four "elders of the Apocalypse", looking in towards a bust of Christ, or his symbol the Lamb, at the top of the arch. The north wall of the nave would contain narrative scenes from the Old Testament, and the south wall from the New Testament. On the rear west wall would be a Last Judgement, with an enthroned and judging Christ at the top. One of the most intact schemes to exist is that at Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe in France. The long barrel vault of the nave provides an excellent surface for fresco, and is decorated with scenes of the Old Testament, showing the Creation, the Fall of Man and other stories including a lively depiction of Noah's Ark complete with a fearsome figurehead and numerous windows through with can be seen the Noah and his family on the upper deck, birds on the middle deck, while on the lower are the pairs of animals. Another scene shows with great vigour the swamping of Pharaoh's army by the Red Sea. The scheme extends to other parts of the church, with the martyrdom of the local saints shown in the crypt, and Apocalypse in the narthex and Christ in Majesty. The range of colours employed is limited to light blue-green, yellow ochre, reddish brown and black. Similar paintings exist in Serbia, Spain, Germany, Italy and elsewhere in France.

Stained glass

The oldest-known fragments of medieval pictorial stained glass appear to date from the 10th century. The earliest intact figures are five prophet windows at Augsburg, dating from the late 11th century. The figures, though stiff and formalised, demonstrate considerable proficiency in design, both pictorially and in the functional use of the glass, indicating that their maker was well accustomed to the medium. At Canterbury and Chartres Cathedrals, a number of panels of the 12th century have survived, including, at Canterbury, a figure of Adam digging, and another of his son Seth from a series of Ancestors of Christ. Adam represents a highly naturalistic and lively portrayal, while in the figure of Seth, the robes have been used to great decorative effect, similar to the best stone carving of the period.

Most of the magnificent stained glass of France, including the famous windows of Chartres, date from the 13th century. Far fewer large windows remain intact from the 12th century. One such is the Crucifixion of Poitiers, a remarkable composition which rises through three stages, the lowest with a quatrefoil depicting the Martyrdom of St Peter, the largest central stage dominated by the crucifixion and the upper stage showing the Ascension of Christ in a mandorla. The figure of the crucified Christ is already showing the Gothic curve. The window is described by George Seddon as being of "unforgettable beauty".

Ecclesiastical architecture

Plan and section

Many parish churches, abbey churches and cathedrals are in the Romanesque style, or were originally built in the Romanesque style and have subsequently undergone changes. The simplest Romanesque churches are aisless halls with a projecting apse at the chancel end, or sometimes, particularly in England, a projecting rectangular chancel with a chancel arch that might be decorated with mouldings. More ambitious churches have aisles separated from the nave by arcades.

Abbey and cathedral churches generally follow the Latin Cross plan. In England, the extension eastward may be long, while in Italy it is often short or non-existent, the church being of T plan, sometimes with apses on the transept ends as well as to the east. In France the church of St Front, Périgueux, appears to have been modelled on St. Mark's Basilica, Venice or the Byzantine Church of the Holy Apostles and is of a Greek cross plan with five domes. In the same region, Angoulême Cathedral is an aisless church of the Latin cross plan, more usual in France, but is also roofed with domes. In Germany, Romanesque churches are often of distinctive form, having apses at both east and west ends, the main entrance being central to one side. It is probable that this form came about to accommodate a baptistery at the west end.

In section, the typical aisled church or cathedral has a nave with a single aisle on either side. The nave and aisles are separated by an arcade carried on piers or on columns. The roof of the aisle and the outer walls help to buttress the upper walls and vault of the nave, if present. Above the aisle roof are a row of windows known as the clerestory, which give light to the nave. During the Romanesque period there was a development from this two-stage elevation to a three-stage elevation in which there is a gallery, known as a ''triforium'', between the arcade and the clerestory. This varies from a simple blind arcade decorating the walls, to a narrow arcaded passage, to a fully developed second story with a row of windows lighting the gallery.

Church and cathedral east ends

The eastern end of a Romanesque church is almost always semi-circular, with either a high chancel surrounded by an ambulatory as in France, or a square end from which an apse projects as in Germany and Italy. Where square ends exist in English churches, they are probably influenced by Anglo Saxon churches. Peterborough and Norwich Cathedrals have retained round east ends in the French style. However, in France, simple churches without apses and with no decorative features were built by the Cistercians who also founded many houses in England, frequently in remote areas.

Church and cathedral facades and external decoration

Romanesque church facades, generally to the west end of the building, are usually symmetrical, have a large central portal made significant by its mouldings or porch and an arrangement of arched-topped windows. In Italy there is often a single central ocular window. The common decorative feature is arcading.

Smaller churches often have a single tower which is usually placed to the western end, in France or England, either centrally or to one side, while larger churches and cathedrals often have two.

In France, Saint-Étienne, Caen presents the model of a large French Romanesque facade. It is a symmetrical arrangement of nave flanked by two tall towers each with two buttress of low flat profile which divide the facade into three vertical units. The three horizontal stages are marked by a large door set within an arch in each of the three vertical sections. The wider central section has two tiers of three identical windows, while in the outer tiers there are two tiers of single windows, giving emphasis to the mass of the towers. The towers rise through three tiers, the lowest of tall blind arcading, the next of arcading pierced by two narrow windows and the third of two large windows, divided into two lights by a colonnette.

This facade can be seen as the foundation for many other buildings, including both French and English Gothic churches. While the form is typical of northern France, its various components were common to many Romanesque churches of the period across Europe. Similar facades are found in Portugal. In England, Southwell Cathedral has maintained this form, despite the insertion of a huge Gothic window between the towers. Lincoln and Durham must once have looked like this. In Germany, the Limburg Cathedral has a rich variety of openings and arcades in horizontal storeys of varying heights. The churches of San Zeno Maggiore, Verona and San Michele, Pavia present two types of facade that are typical of Italian Romanesque, that which reveals the architectural form of the building, and that which screens it. At San Zeno, the components of nave and aisles are made clear by the vertical shafts which rise to the level of the central gable and by the varying roof levels. At San Miniato al Monte the definition of the architectural parts is made even clearer by the polychrome marble, a feature of many Italian Medieval facades, particularly in Tuscany. At San Michele the vertical definition is present as at San Zeno, but the rooflines are screened behind a single large gable decorated with stepped arcading. At Santa Maria della Pieve, Arezzo, this screening is carried even further, as the roofline is horizontal and the arcading rises in many different levels while the colonettes which support them have a great diversity of decoration.

Church towers

Towers were an important feature of Romanesque churches and a great number of them are still standing. They take a variety of forms: square, circular and octagonal, and are positioned differently in relation to the church building in different countries. In northern France, two large towers, such as those at Caen, were to become an integral part of the facade of any large abbey or cathedral. In central and southern France this is more variable and large churches may have one tower or a central tower. Large churches of Spain and Portugal usually have two towers.

Many abbeys of France, such as that at Cluny, had many towers of varied forms. This is also common in Germany, where the apses were sometimes framed with circular towers and the crossing surmounted by an octagonal tower as at Worms Cathedral. Large paired towers of square plan could also occur on the transept ends, such as those at Tournai Cathedral in Belgium. In Germany, where four towers frequently occur, they often have spires which may be four or eight sided, or the distinctive ''Rhenish helm'' shape seen on the cathedrals of Limburg or Speyer. It is also common to see bell or onion-shaped spires of the Baroque period surmounting Romanesque towers in central and Eastern Europe.

In England, for large abbeys and cathedral buildings, three towers were favoured, with the central tower being the tallest. This was often not achieved, through the slow process of the building stages, and in many cases the upper parts of the tower were not completed until centuries later as at Durham and Lincoln. Large Norman towers exist at the cathedrals of Durham, Exeter, Southwell, Norwich and Tewkesbury Abbey. Such towers were often topped during the late Medieval period with a Gothic spire of wooden construction covered with lead, copper or shingles. In the case of Norwich Cathedral, the huge, ornate, 12th century crossing-tower received a 15th century masonry spire rising to a height of 320 feet and remaining to this day.

In Italy towers are almost always free standing and the position is often dictated by the landform of the site, rather than aesthetics. This is the case in nearly all Italian churches both large and small, except in Sicily where a number of churches were founded by the Norman rulers and are more French in appearance.

As a general rule, large Romanesque towers are square with corner buttresses of low profile, rising without diminishing through the various stages. Towers are usually marked into clearly defined stages by horizontal courses. As the towers rise, the number and size of openings increases as can be seen on the right tower of the transept of Tournai Cathedral where two narrow slits in the fourth level from the top becomes a single window, then two windows, then three windows at the uppermost level. This sort of arrangement is particularly noticeable on the towers of Italian churches, which are usually built of brick and may have no other ornament. Two fine examples occur at Lucca, at the church of San Frediano and at the ''Duomo''. It is also seen in Spain.

In Italy, there are a number of large free-standing towers which are circular, the most famous of these being the Leaning Tower of Pisa. In other countries where circular towers occur, such as Germany, they are usually paired and often flank an apse. Circular towers are uncommon in England, but occur throughout the Early Medieval period in Ireland.

Polygonal towers were often used on crossings and occur in France, Germany, Italy and Spain such as that of the Old Cathedral, Salamanca, which is covered by a dome supported on a ribbed vault.

Smaller churches sometimes had bell-gables instead of towers, a feature which, according to some authors, is characteristic of the simplicity of much architecture in the Romanesque style.

Transitional style

During the 12th century, features that were to become typical of Gothic architecture began to appear. It is not uncommon, for example, for a part of building that has been constructed over a lengthy period extending into the 12th century, to have very similar arcading of both semi-circular and pointed shape, or windows that are identical in height and width, but in which the later ones are pointed. This can be seen on the towers of Tournai Cathedral and on the western towers and facade at Ely Cathedral. Other variations that appear to hover between Romanesque and Gothic occur, such as the facade designed by Abbot Suger at the Abbey of Saint-Denis which retains much that is Romanesque in its appearance, and the Facade of Laon Cathedral which, despite its Gothic form, has round arches.

Romanesque influence

Paris and its surrounding area were quick to adopt the Gothic style of Abbot Suger Abbey of Saint-Denis in the 12th century but other parts of France were slower to take it up, and provincial churches continued to be built in the heavy manner and rubble stone of the Romanesque, even when the openings were treated with the fashionable pointed arch.

In England, the Romanesque groundplan, which in that country commonly had a very long nave, continued to affect the style of building of cathedrals and those large abbey churches which were also to become cathedrals in the 16th century. Despite the fact that English cathedrals were rebuilt in many stages, substantial areas of Norman building can be seen in many of them, particularly in the nave arcades. In the case of Winchester Cathedral, the Gothic arches were literally carved out of the existent Norman piers.

In Italy, although many churches such as Florence Cathedral and Santa Maria Novella were built in the Gothic style, sturdy columns with capitals of a modified Corinthian form continued to be used. The pointed vault was utilised where convenient, but it is commonly interspersed with semicircular arches and vaults wherever they conveniently fit. The facades of Gothic churches in Italy are not always easily distinguishable from the Romanesque.

Germany was not quick to adopt the Gothic style, and when it did so, often the buildings were modelled very directly upon French cathedrals, as Cologne Cathedral was modelled on Amiens. The smaller churches and abbeys continued to be constructed in a more provincial Romanesque manner, the date only being registered by the pointed window openings.

Romanesque castles, houses and other buildings

The Romanesque period was a time of great development in the design and construction of defensive architecture. After churches and the monastic buildings with which they are often associated, castles are the most numerous type of building of the period. While most are in ruins through the action of war and politics, others, like William the Conqueror's White Tower within the Tower of London have remained almost intact.

In some regions, particularly Germany, large palaces were built for rulers and bishops. Local lords built great halls in the countryside, while rich merchants built grand town houses. In Italy, city councils constructed town halls, while wealthy cities of Northern Europe protected their trading interests with warehouses and commercial premises. All over Europe, dwellers of the town and country built houses to live in, some of which, sturdily constructed in stone, have remained to this day with sufficient of their form and details intact to give a picture of the style of domestic architecture that was in fashion at the time.

Examples of all these types of buildings can be found scattered across Europe, sometimes as isolated survivals like the two merchants' houses on opposite sides of Steep Hill in Lincoln, England, and sometimes giving form to a whole medieval city like San Gimignano in Tuscany, Italy. These buildings are the subject of a separate article.

Romanesque Revival

During the 19th century, when Gothic Revival architecture was fashionable, buildings were occasionally designed in the Romanesque style. There are a number of Romanesque Revival churches, dating from as early as the 1830s and continuing into the 20th century where the massive and "brutal" quality of the Romanesque style was appreciated and designed in brick. The Natural History Museum, London designed by Alfred Waterhouse, 1879, on the other hand, is a Romanesque revival building which makes full use of the decorative potential of Romanesque arcading and architectural sculpture. The Romanesque appearance has been achieved while freely adapting an overall style to suit the function of the building. The columns of the foyer, for example, give an impression of incised geometric design similar to those of Durham Cathedral. However, the sources of the incised patterns are the trunks of palms, cycads and tropical tree ferns. The animal motifs, of which there are many, include rare and exotic species. The type of modern buildings for which the Romanesque style was most frequently adapted was the warehouse, where a lack of large windows and an appearance of great strength and stability were desirable features. These buildings, generally of brick, frequently have flattened buttresses rising to wide arches at the upper levels after the manner of some Italian Romanesque facades. This style was adapted to suit commercial buildings by opening the spaces between the arches into large windows, the brick walls becoming a shell to a building that was essentially of modern steel-frame construction, the architect Henry Hobson Richardson giving his name to the style, Richardsonian Romanesque. Good examples of the style are Marshall Fields store, Chicago by H.H.Richardson, 1885, and the Chadwick Lead Works in Boston USA by William Preston, 1887. The style also lent itself to the building of cloth mills, steelworks and powerstations.

Notes and references

Bibliography

V.I. Atroshenko and Judith Collins, ''The Origins of the Romanesque'', Lund Humphries, London, 1985, ISBN 085331487X

Rolf Toman, ''Romanesque: Architecture, Sculpture, Painting'', Könemann, (1997), ISBN 3-89508-447-6

Banister Fletcher, ''A History of Architecture on the Comparative method'' (2001). Elsevier Science & Technology. ISBN 0-7506-2267-9.

Helen Gardner; Fred S. Kleiner, Christin J. Mamiya, ''Gardner's Art through the Ages''. Thomson Wadsworth, (2004) ISBN 0-15-505090-7.

George Holmes, editor, ''The Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval Europe'', Oxford University Press, (1992) ISBN 0-19-820073-0

René Huyghe, ''Larousse Encyclopedia of Byzantine and Medieval Art'', Paul Hamlyn, (1958)

François Ischer, ''Building the Great Cathedrals''. Harry N. Abrams, (1998). ISBN 0-8109-4017-5.

Nikolaus Pevsner, ''An Outline of European Architecture''. Pelican Books (1964)

John Beckwith, ''Early Medieval Art'', Thames and Hudson, (1964)

Peter Kidson, The Medieval World'', Paul Hamlyn, (1967)

T. Francis Bumpus,, ''The Cathedrals and Churches of Belgium'', T. Werner Laurie. (1928)

Alec Clifton-Taylor, ''The Cathedrals of England'', Thames and Hudson (1967)

John Harvey, ''English Cathedrals'', Batsford (1961).

Trewin Copplestone, ''World Architecture'', and Illustrated History'', Paul Hamlyn, (1963)

See also

List of Romanesque architecture

Regional characteristics of Romanesque architecture

Romanesque secular and domestic architecture

Romanesque art

Romanesque sculpture

External links

Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland

Overview of French Romanesque art

French Romanesque art through 300 places (fr)(es)(en)(it)

Romanesque Churches in Southern Burgundy

Italian, French and Spanish Romanesque art (it) (fr) (es) (en)

Spanish and Zamora´s Romanesque art, easy navigation{es}

Spanish Romanesque art{es}

Círculo Románico - Visigothic, Mozarabic and Romanesque art in Europe

Romanesque Churches in Portugal

The Nine Romanesque Churches of the Vall de Boi - Pyrenees {en}

Satan in the Groin - exhibitionist carvings on mediæval churches

An illustrated article by Peter Hubert on the cusped arch

Corrèze Illustrated history (French)

The Encyclopedia of Romanesque Art in Spain {es}: a work in progress

Saint-Trophime Digital Media Archive (creative commons-licensed HD documentation) on the Romanesque Church of St. Trophime, using data from a World Monuments Fund/CyArk research partnership

Category:Medieval architecture Category:Architectural styles Category:Medieval art Category:Roman Catholic Church architecture *

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

Life

Widor was born in Lyon, to a family of organ builders, and initially studied music there with his father, François-Charles Widor, titular organist of Saint-François-de-Sales from 1838 to 1889. The French organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, reviver of the art of organ building, was a friend of the Widor family; he arranged for the talented young organist to study in Brussels in 1863 with Jacques-Nicolas Lemmens for organ technique and with the elderly François-Joseph Fétis, director of the Brussels Conservatoire, for composition. After this term of study Widor moved to Paris, where he would make his home for the rest of his life. At the age of 24 he was appointed assistant to Camille Saint-Saëns at Église de la Madeleine.

In January 1870, with the combined lobbying of Cavaillé-Coll, Saint-Saëns, and Charles Gounod, the 25-year-old Widor was appointed as "provisional" organist of Saint-Sulpice in Paris, the most prominent position for a French organist. The organ at St-Sulpice was Cavaillé-Coll's masterwork; the instrument's spectacular capabilities proved an inspiration to Widor. Despite his job's ostensibly "provisional" nature, Widor remained as organist at St-Sulpice for nearly 64 years, until the end of 1933. He was succeeded in 1934 by his former student and assistant, Marcel Dupré.

In 1890, upon the death of César Franck, Widor succeeded him as organ professor at the Paris Conservatoire. The class he inherited was initially stunned by this new teacher, who suddenly demanded a formidable technique and a knowledge of J.S. Bach's organ works as prerequisites to effective improvisation. Later (1896), he gave up this post to become composition professor at the same institution. Widor had several students in Paris who were to become famous composers and organists in their own right, most notably the aforementioned Dupré, Louis Vierne, Charles Tournemire, Darius Milhaud, Alexander Schreiner, Edgard Varèse, and the Canadian Henri Gagnon. Albert Schweitzer also studied with Widor, mainly from 1899; master and pupil collaborated on an annotated edition of J. S. Bach's organ works published in 1912-14. Widor, whose own master Lemmens was an important Bach exponent, encouraged Schweitzer's theological exploration of Bach's music.

Among the leading organ recitalists of his time, Widor visited in this capacity many different nations, including Russia, England, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, Poland and Switzerland. In addition he participated in the inaugural concerts of many of Cavaillé-Coll's greatest instruments, notably Notre-Dame de Paris, Saint-Germain-des-Près, the Trocadéro and Saint-Ouen de Rouen.

Well-known as a man of great culture and learning, Widor was made a chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur in 1892, named to the Institut de France in 1910, and was elected "Secrétaire perpetuel" (permanent secretary) of the Académie des Beaux-Arts on July 18, 1914, succeeding Henry Roujon.

In 1921, Widor founded the American Conservatory at Fontainebleau with Francis-Louis Casadesus. He was the Director until 1934, when he was succeeded by Maurice Ravel. His close friend, Isidor Philipp gave piano lessons there, and Nadia Boulanger taught an entire generation of new composers.

At the age of 76, Widor married Mathilde de Montesquiou-Fézensac on April 26, 1920 at Charchigné. The 36-year-old Mathilde was a member of one of the oldest and most prominent families of Europe. She died in 1960: there were no children from this union.

On December 31, 1933, Widor resigned his position at Saint-Sulpice. Three years later he suffered a stroke which paralysed the right side of his body, although he remained mentally alert to the last. He died at his home in Paris on March 12, 1937 and his remains were interred in the crypt of Saint-Sulpice four days later.

Organ Symphonies

Widor wrote music for a wide variety of instruments and ensembles (some of his songs for voice and piano are especially notable) and composed four operas and a ballet, but only his works for organ are played with any regularity today. These include: ten Organ Symphonies, three Symphonies for orchestra with organ, ''Suite Latine'', ''Trois Nouvelles Pièces'', and six arrangements of works by Bach under the title ''Bach's Memento'' (1925). The organ symphonies are his most significant contribution to the organ repertoire.

It seems unusual to assign the term "symphony" to a work written for one instrument. However, Widor was at the forefront of a revival in French organ music, which had sunk to its nadir during the early nineteenth century. A prime mover in this revival was Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, who pioneered a new organ that was "symphonic" in style. The organ of the Baroque and Classical periods was designed to project a clear and crisp sound capable of handling contrapuntal writing. Cavaillé-Coll's organs had a much warmer sound, ideal for the homophonic style of writing that now predominated, and a vast array of stops that extended the ''timbre'' of the instrument. This new style of organ, with a truly orchestral range of voicing and unprecedented abilities for smooth crescendos and diminuendos, encouraged composers to write music that was truly symphonic in scope. This trend was not limited to France, and was reflected in Germany by the organs built by Eberhard Friedrich Walcker and the works of Franz Liszt, Julius Reubke, and Max Reger.

Widor's symphonies can be divided into three groups. The first four symphonies comprise Op. 13 (1872) and are more properly termed "suites" (Widor himself called them "collections".) They represent Widor's early style. Widor made later revisions to the earlier symphonies. Some of these revisions were quite extensive.

With the Opus 42 symphonies Widor shows his mastery and refinement of contrapuntal technique while exploring to the fullest the capabilities of the Cavaillé-Coll organs for which these works were written. The Fifth Symphony has five movements, the last of which is the famous Toccata. The Sixth Symphony is also famous for its opening movement. The Seventh and Eighth Symphonies are the longest and least performed of Widor's Symphonies. The Seventh Symphony contains six movements, and the first version of the Eighth Symphony had seven (Widor subsequently removed the Prélude for the 1901 edition).

The ninth and tenth symphonies, respectively termed "Gothique" (Op. 70, of 1895) and "Romane" (Op. 73, of 1900), are much more introspective. They both derive thematic material from plainchant: Symphonie Gothique uses the Christmas Day Introit "Puer natus est" in the third and fourth movements, while the Symphonie Romane has the Easter Gradual "Haec dies" woven throughout all four movements. They also honored, respectively, the Gothic Church of St. Ouen, Rouen and the Romanesque Basilica of St. Sernin, Toulouse, with the new Cavaillé-Coll organs installed in each. The second movement of the Symphonie Gothique, entitled "Andante sostenuto", is one of Widor's most-beloved pieces. Dating from this same period, and also based on a plainsong theme, is the "Salve Regina" movement, a late addition to the much earlier second symphony.

Widor's best-known single piece for the organ is the final movement, Toccata, from his Symphony for Organ No. 5, which is often played as a recessional at wedding ceremonies and even at the close of the Christmas Midnight Mass at Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican City, Rome). Although the Fourth Symphony also opens with a Toccata, it is in a dramatically different (and earlier) style. The Toccata from Symphony No. 5 is the first of the toccatas characteristic of French Romantic organ music, and served as a model for later works by Boëllmann, Mulet, and Dupré. Widor was pleased with the worldwide renown this single piece afforded him, but he was unhappy with how fast many other organists played it. Widor himself always played the ''Toccata'' rather deliberately. Many organists play it at a very fast tempo whereas Widor preferred a more controlled articulation to be involved. He recorded the piece, at St. Sulpice in his eighty-ninth year: the tempo used for the Toccata is quite slow. Isidor Philipp transcribed the Toccata for two pianos.

Over his career Widor returned again and again to edit his earlier music, even after publication. His biographer John Near reports: "Ultimately, it was discovered that over a period of about sixty years, as many as eight different editions were issued for some of the symphonies." (ref. Near)

Compositions

Rough dates of composition/publication are in brackets, along with the original publisher, if known.

Organ solo

Symphonie pour orgue No. 1 op. 13 no. 1 (1872, Hamelle)

Symphonie pour orgue No. 2 op. 13 no. 2 (1872, Hamelle)

Symphonie pour orgue No. 3 op. 13 no. 3 (1872, Hamelle)

Symphonie pour orgue No. 4 op. 13 no. 4 (1872, Hamelle)

Marche américaine (transc. by Marcel Dupré: no. 11 from 12 Feuillets d’Album op. 31, Hamelle)

Symphonie pour orgue No. 5 op. 42 no. 1 (1879, Hamelle)

Symphonie pour orgue No. 6 op. 42 no. 2 (1879, Hamelle)

Symphonie pour orgue No. 7 op. 42 no. 3 (1887, Hamelle)

Symphonie pour orgue No. 8 op. 42 no. 4 (1887, Hamelle)

Marche Nuptiale op. 64 (1892) (transc., from Conte d'Avril, Schott)

Symphonie Gothique pour orgue [No. 9], op. 70 (1895, Schott)

Symphonie Romane pour orgue [No. 10], op. 73 (1900, Hamelle)

Bach's Memento (1925, Hamelle)

Suite Latine op. 86 (1927, Durand)

Trois Nouvelles Pièces op. 87 (1934, Durand)

Piano solo

Variations de concert sur un thème original op. 1 (1867, Heugel)

Sérénade op. 3 no. 4 (arr. Leistner) (Hamelle)

Airs de ballet op. 4 (1868, Hamelle)

Scherzo-valse op. 5 (1868, Hamelle)

La Barque (Fantaisie italienne) op. 6 (1877, Durand)

Le Corricolo (Fantaisie italienne) op. 6 (1877, Durand)

Caprice op. 9 (1868, Hamelle)

3 Valses op. 11 (1871, Hamelle)

Impromptu op. 12 (1871, Hamelle)

6 Morceaux de salon op. 15 (1872, Hamelle)

Prelude, andante et final op. 17 (1874, Hamelle)

Scènes de bal op. 20 (1875, Hamelle)

6 Valses caractéristiques op. 26 (1877, Hamelle)

Variations sur un thème original op. 29 (revision of op. 1) (1877, Hamelle)

12 Feuillets d’album op. 31 (1877, Hamelle)

Six Valses op. 33 (Hamelle)

Dans les bois op. 44 (1880, Hamelle)

Pages intimes op.48 (1879, Hamelle)

Suite polonaise op. 51 (1881, Hamelle)

Suite op. 58 (1887, Hamelle)

Carnaval, douze pièces pour piano op. 61 (1889, Hamelle)

Nocturne, from Contes d'Avril op. 64

[5 Valses] op. 71 (1894, Hamelle)

Suite Écossaise op.78 (1905, Joseph Williams)

Introduction (Hamelle)

Intermezzo (Hamelle)

Chamber works

6 Duos op. 3 - Piano and Harmonium (1867, Regnier-Canaux/Renaud/Pérégally & Parvy/Schott)

Humoresque op. 3 no. 1 - Violin, Violoncello and Piano (arr. Widor) (Pérégally & Parvy)

Cantabile op. 3 no. 2 - Violin, Violoncello and Piano (arr. Widor) (Pérégally & Parvy)

Nocturne op. 3 no. 3 - Violin, Violoncello and Piano (arr. Widor) (Pérégally & Parvy)

Sérénade op. 3 no. 4 - Violin, Violoncello and Piano (arr. Widor) (Pérégally & Parvy)

Piano Quintet No. 1 op. 7 (1868, Hamelle)

Sérénade op. 10 (1870, Hamelle) - Piano, Flute, Violin, Cello and Harmonium

Piano Trio op. 19 - Piano, Violin and Cello (1875, Hamelle)

3 Pieces op. 21 - Cello and Piano (1875, Hamelle)

Suite op. 34 - Flute and Piano (1877, Hamelle; 1898, Heugel)

Romance op. 46 - Violin and Piano

Sonate No. 1 op. 50 - Violin and Piano (1881, Hamelle)

Soirs d'Alsace - 4 Duos op. 52 - Violin, Cello and Piano (1881, Hamelle)

Cavatine op. 57 - Violin and Piano (1887, Hamelle)

Piano Quartet op. 66 - Violin, Viola, Cello and Piano (1891, Durand)

Piano Quintet No. 2 op. 68 - 2 Violins, Viola, Cello and Piano (1894, Durand)

Introduction et Rondo op. 72 - Clarinet and Piano (1898, Leduc)

Suite op. 76 - Violin and Piano (1903, Hamelle)

Sonate op.79 - Violin and Piano (1906, Heugel)

Sonate op. 80 - Cello and Piano (1907, Heugel)

Salvum fac populum tuum op. 84 - 3 Trumpets, 3 Trombones, Drum and Organ (1917, Heugel)

4 Pièces - Violin, Cello and Piano (1890)

3 Pièces - Oboe and Piano (1891)

Suite - Cello and Piano (1912)

Suite Florentine - Flute or Violin and Piano (1920)

Symphonic works

Symphony No. 1 op. 16 (1870, Durand) - Orchestra

Piano Concerto No. 1 op. 39 (1876, Hamelle) - Orchestra and Piano solo

Cello Concerto op. 41 (1882, Hamelle) - Orchestra and Cello solo

Symphonie pour orgue et orchestre op. 42 (1882, A-R Editions) - Orchestra and Organ solo (arr. by Widor of movements from Op. 42)

Chant séculaire op. 49 - (1881, Hamelle) - Soprano solo, Chorus and Orchestra

Symphony No. 2 op. 54 (1882, Heugel) - Orchestra

La nuit de Walpurgis - poeme symphonique op. 60 (1887, Hamelle) - Chorus and Orchestra

Fantaisie op. 62 (1889, Durand) - Piano and Orchestra

Suite, from Conte d'avril op. 64 (1892, Heugel) - Orchestra

Symphony No. 3 op. 69 (1894, Schott) - Organ and Orchestra

Choral et Variations op. 74 (1900, Leduc) - Harp and Orchestra

Piano Concerto No. 2 op. 77 (1906, Heugel) - Piano and Orchestra

Sinfonia sacra op. 81 (1908, Otto Junne) - Organ and Orchestra

Symphonie antique op. 83 (1911, Heugel) - Soloists, Chorus, Organ and Orchestra

Ouverture espagnole (1897, Heugel) - Orchestra

Songs and choral works

O Salutaris op. 8 (1868, Hamelle) - Contralto or Baritone, Violin, Cello and Organ

6 Mélodies op. 14 (1872, Hamelle)- Voice and Piano

Tantum ergo op. 18 no. 1 (1874, Hamelle) - Baritone Choir, SATB Choir and Organ

Regina coeli op. 18 no. 2 (1874, Hamelle) - Baritone Choir, SATB Choir and Organ

6 Mélodies op. 22 (1875, Hamelle) - Voice and Piano

Quam dilecta tabernacula tua op. 23 no. 1 (1876, Hamelle) - Baritone Choir, SATB Choir, Choir Organ and Grand Organ

Tu es Petrus op. 23 no. 2 (1876, Hamelle) - Baritone Choir, SATB Choir, Choir Organ and Grand Organ

Surrexit a mortuis (Sacerdos et pontifex) op. 23 no. 3 (1876, Hamelle) - SATB Choir, Choir Organ and Grand Organ

Ave Maria op. 24 (1877, Hamelle) - Mezzo-Soprano, Harp and Organ

3 Choruses op. 25 (1876, Hamelle) - SATB Choir

3 Mélodies op. 28 - (1876, Hamelle) - Voice and Piano

2 Duos op. 30 - (1876, Hamelle) - Soprano, Contralto and Piano

3 Mélodies italiennes op. 32 (1877, Hamelle) - Voice and Piano

3 Mélodies italiennes op. 35 (1878, Hamelle) - Voice and Piano

Messe op. 36 (1878, Hamelle) - Baritone Choir, SATB Choir, Choir Organ and Grand Organ

6 Mélodies op. 37 (1877, Hamelle) - Voice and Piano

2 Duos op. 40 (1876, Hamelle) - Soprano, Contralto and Piano

6 Mélodies op. 43 (1878, Hamelle) - Voice and Piano

6 Mélodies op. 47 (1879, Hamelle) - Voice and Piano

6 Mélodies op. 53 (1881, Hamelle) - Voice and Piano

Ave Maria op. 59 (1884, Hamelle) - Voice, Harp and Organ

O salutaris op. 63[bis] (1889, Hamelle) - Voice, Violin, Cello and Organ

Soirs d'été op. 63 (1889, Durand) - Voice and Piano

Ecce Joanna, Alleluia! (Schola Cantorum) - SATB Choir and Organ

Psalm 112 (1879, Hamelle) - Baritone Choir, SATB Choir, Choir Organ, Grand Organ and Orchestra

Chansons de mer op. 75 (1902)

Da Pacem (1930, Durand) - SATB Choir and Organ or Piano

Non Credo (1890, Durand) - Voice and Piano

Stage music

Le capitaine Loys (ca. 1878, unpublished) - Comic opera

La korrigane (1880, Hamelle) - Ballet

Maître Ambros : drame lyrique en 4 actes et 5 tableaux de François Coppée & Auguste Dorchain Op.56 (piano reduction published by Heugel, 1886) - Opera

Conte d'avril op. 64 (1885; 1891, Heugel) - Incidental music

Les pêcheurs de Saint-Jean : drame lyrique en 4 actes (1895; 1904, Heugel) - Opera

Nerto : drame lyrique en 4 actes (1924, Heugel) - Opera

Writings

Technique de l'orchestre moderne faisant suite au Traité d'instrumentation de H. Berlioz (1904, Paris: Lemoine)

L'Orgue moderne, la décadence dans la facture contemporaine (1928, Paris: Durand)

References

——— (2011). ''Widor: A Life Beyond the Toccata.'' Series: Eastman Studies in Music, v. 83. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press (ISBN 978-1-580-46369-0)

Hobbs, Alain (1988). Charles-Marie Widor (1844–1937). L’Orgue, Cahiers et mémoires, no. 40. L’Association des Amis de l’Orgue.

External links

(Embellishments), John R. Near, ''The Complete Organ Symphonies of Charles-Marie Widor''

Toccata in F from Symphony No. 5 interactive hypermedia (Shockwave Player required) at the BinAural Collaborative Hypertext

Performances of organ works by Charles-Marie Widor in MIDI format at Logos Virtual Library

Category:1844 births Category:1937 deaths Category:People from Lyon Category:Composers for pipe organ Category:French composers Category:Organ improvisers Category:French classical organists Category:20th-century classical composers Category:Romantic composers Category:Opera composers Category:Academics of the Conservatoire de Paris Category:Members of the Académie des beaux-arts Category:French people of Hungarian descent Category:Honorary Members of the Royal Philharmonic Society

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