Symphonie 3 - i. Allegro Maestoso

This powerful opening movement of Vierne's third Symphonie for organ has a metronome marking of crotchet=120 and later 126. This seems remarkably quick and most players feel a maestoso beat rather than allegro! Rollin Smith in his book 'Louis Vierne Organist of Notre Dame Cathedral' suggests that Vierne may have misread his metronome, reading the figure below the slider.This would give a real reading as 92. Yet how many musicians know a 120 beat instinctively (double a second). Vierne is also known to be a meticulous editor of his scores, especially metronome markings! What do you think? The piece is recorded at home by Robert Fielding using the Caen Cavaille-Coll set on Hauptwerk.