David Hirst Recital Video

May 30, 2024

Guest artist David Hirst, Organist of Notre-Dame Collegiate Church, Mantes-la-Jolie (Paris), gave a midday recital on May 29, 2024, playing the Symphony No. 5 in F minor for organ, Op. 42 No. 1, by Charles-Marie Widor on the Cathedral Great Organ. Enjoy a video of his livestreamed performance.

Afternoon Recital

David Hirst, Organist of Notre-Dame Collegiate Church, Mantes-la-Jolie (Paris), France continues our Cathedral Great Organ 2024 Concert Series with a 40-minute recital on our Lively-Fulcher organ following the 12:10pm Mass on Wednesday, May 29, 2024. He will play the Symphony No. 5 in F minor for organ, Op. 42 No. 1, by Charles-Marie Widor.

The concert is free and open to the public and will be livestreamed on our YouTube Channel. Come, bring a friend, and enjoy this performance in person, or join via the livestream.

Contact: Tom Stehle, Pastoral Associate for Liturgy and Director of Music Ministries

Program

Symphony No. 5 in F minor for organ, Op. 42 No. 1,
Charles-Marie Widor (1844 - 1937)

i. Theme & Variations (Allegro vivace)
ii. Allegro cantabile
iii. Andantino quasi allegretto
iv. Adagio
V. Toccata (Allegro)

Meet the Artist

David Hirst is one of the few British organists to have integrated into the French organ world. Based near Paris, he is Organiste Titulaire of the 12th-century Collegiate Church of Mantes-la-Jolie.  He presides over the three organs of this magnificent edifice and is Artistic Director of the International Organ Festival.

As a recitalist, David performs regularly in international festivals.  Recent appearances include Chartres, Bourges and Antwerp Cathedrals, St Augustin's in Paris, the Laurenskerk in Rotterdam, and venues in the UK, Germany and Switzerland. 

David holds a master's degree in music from Cambridge University and a postgraduate diploma with distinction from the Royal Academy of Music in London where he studied organ performance under Lionel Rogg. He has also studied under Nicolas Kynaston and Thomas Trotter.

Previous organist appointments include Emmanuel College Cambridge, St Germain du Chesnay in Versailles, and St Martin-in-the-Fields, London's royal parish church. At St Martin's, he played for celebrity and royal occasions, concerts and recordings, as well as 30 BBC broadcasts in five years. 

David's discography includes the first CDs ever recorded on the 1897 grand organ by Joseph Merklin in Mantes-la-Jolie. His latest disc was issued to critical acclaim by the Priory label in 2022 ('These stylish performances are quite sublime'...Organists' Review).

www.davidhirst.org
YouTube : https://youtu.be/37M09j3q2hM

Read about the Cathedral Great Organ.