Where's Widor?

[Mandryka]

[Mandryka]

Just wanted a place to note how much I'm enjoying the violin sonata with Hans Maile and Horst Goebel on Thorophon.

[DaveF]

Love it - and I hope Cato's 'Like' means that Where's Wally is a global phenomenon.

As a fluent Francophone, @Mandryka, can you clarify whether he's Wee-dor or Vee-dor (the latter seems to be the usual British pronunciation, but I'm guessing that the former, along the lines of Watteau, is probably correct)?

My own Widor story: at the wedding of a couple of friends of mine (before I knew them, so I didn't witness it), the bride, who is a bassoonist, apparently made her entry to an arrangement of The Toccata for 8 of the things.  Whether sounds of turning were heard from the crypt of St-Sulpice is not recorded.

[Mandryka]

V I think @DaveF - but my accent is a bit like Winston Churchill's

[Wanderer]

Vee-dor

That's the correct pronunciation.

[pjme]

I'm not so sure about the prononciation of Widor as "Veedor (cfr. King Vidor).

Afaik, this name is extremely rare in France and may well be of German origin. (One of Charles Marie's ancestors was born in Rouffach (Rufach)  Haut Rhin).
Jean Widor , organ builder in Rufach, born ca 1775.)



https://fr.howtopronounce.com/french/charles-marie-widor-1#google_vignette

In francophone Belgium the W is always pronounced as an english W. In France most words starting with a W are pronounced as V. But I'm not sure about words of foreign origin....

on France Musique (organ programme) I hear a clear "Vee - dor".  Forvo leaves me undecided....

https://forvo.com/search/Widor/#google_vignette

[pjme]