On a well-equipped organ, the swell pedal allows for the smooth crescendo and decrescendo that is the hallmark of the piece. The Adagio moves from a barely audible ppp to a shattering fff over nearly four minutes. The swell box, coupled with careful registration changes, can replicate this arc better than any other keyboard instrument.
: This is the standard, authoritative organ solo version published by G. Schirmer, Inc. . It often includes optional Hammond organ registration.