Bach Sommerfest 2010 takes place July 23-25 at Manhattan's Holy Trinity Lutheran Church

Marijim Thoene received a DMA in organ performance/church music from the University of Michigan in 1984. She is an active recitalist and director of music at St. John Lutheran Church in Dundee, Michigan. Her two CDs, Mystics and Spirits and Wind Song, are available through Raven Recordings. She is a frequent presenter at medieval conferences on the topic of the image of the pipe organ in medieval manuscripts.

Francine Maté has lived in Washington, D.C. for 26 years. She has been organist/choirmaster and director of the Bach Festival at Grace Episcopal Church in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. since 1998.

Thomas Marshall is instructor of organ and harpsichord at the College of William and Mary in
Williamsburg, Virginia, where he also serves as organist/associate director of music at Williamsburg
United Methodist Church. He holds degrees in organ/harpsichord performance from James Madison University and the University of Michigan. His teachers include Carol Teti, Richard McPherson, Marilyn Mason, and Edward Parmentier.

It was sad to see four days of music-
making in which each performer invested every fiber of his or her being into producing sounds that dazzled, soothed, and transported the listener come to an end; however, as the poet Kenneth Rexroth said, “It is impossible to live in a constant state of ecstasy!” Certainly the four days of the AGO national convention provided the listener with the opportunity to be swept up in ephemeral and fleeting beauty that can be recalled as sacred moments in time.
There were several pre-convention programs that set the stage for the opening program at the National Cathedral, two of which were the organ recitals on July 4 at Grace Episcopal Church in Georgetown by Thomas Marshall, who played the complete organ concertos of J. S. Bach, and at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception by Roland Maria Stangier of Essen, Germany.

July 4
Thomas Marshall
In his performance of J.S. Bach’s complete organ concerti, Thomas Marshall gave us a glimpse of a young Bach, a brilliant organ virtuoso and composer who filled his organ concerti with scintillating, pyrotechnical dances and lyrical melodies. This pre-convention event was part of the Seventeenth Bach Festival at Grace Episcopal Church in Georgetown, directed by Francine Maté, organist and choirmaster at Grace. Marshall made this music his own by adding eloquent ornaments, shaping and moving tempi. All of the concerti were played with a rhythmical vitality.
However, it was the seldom-heard Concerto in C Major, BWV 594, an arrangement of Vivaldi’s “Grosso Mogul” Concerto in D Major (op. 7, no. 5, RV 285a), which was the most riveting and tantalizing. Here the forces of the concerto form, tutti vs. soli, become a new genre for the organ—all of the movements are expanded to new dimensions and the dialogue between soli divisions are more intense. In the slow movement, Marshall added a few ornaments to the already ornamented coloratura melody and seamlessly bound the melody to the accompaniment. In the third movement, he reflected the contrasts between the formal and mannerly tutti section and the soli sections with registration that recalled full ensemble vs. gossamer strands of birdsong. Marshall’s formidable technique and sense of drama made the voices within this transparent texture shimmer. His CD, The Organ Concertos of Johann Sebastian Bach, is available through Arts Laureate, <A HREF="http://artslaureate.com">http://artslaureate.com</A&gt;.

July 5
Opening Convocation
On July 5 at 7:30 am, tour buses pulled away from the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, carrying over 2,000 organists and organ music enthusiasts to the opening convocation at the National Cathedral, featuring the Washington National Cathedral Choir, Cathedral Voices, Michael McCarthy, director of music, Scott Dettra, organist, and the Washington Symphonic Brass with Phil Snedecor, music director. The prelude music was riveting in its grandeur and freshness: Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite No. 3 (Passacaglia and Air di Corte) by Ottorino Respighi; Symphony No. 3, op. 27 (I. Finale: Allegro) by Carl Nielsen, featuring the Washington Symphonic Brass and A. Scott Wood, conductor; and a commissioned work, Theme and Variation on “Le P’ing,” by Michael Bedford, winner of the 2010 AGO/Holtkamp award in organ composition. Bedford incorporated a variety of compositional styles in his poetic interpretation the text of Psalm 19:4b–5: bird song, elements of jazz, a fiery toccata, and floating arabesque figures. The television screens that focused on the performers, especially the feet and hands of Scott Dettra, gave a welcome immediacy to the performance.
The processional hymn, Lasst uns erfreuen, was sung with great gusto as the pageantry began. Eileen Guenther, president of the American Guild of Organists, commented that the convention was really international in scope, for it included performers, lecturers, and guests from many countries. Ronald Stolk, the AGO 2010 convention coordinator, thanked all of the many volunteers who gave generously of their time and worked tirelessly in planning the convention. The commissioned hymn, Great Voice of God (music by Mary Beth Bennett, words by Shirley Erena Murray), aptly expressed the text: “Great voice of God in all your good creation, make us your instruments of blessedness.” It was introduced by a brass ensemble and percussion, and the hymn verses were sung in alternatim with the instrumental ensemble.
The Reverend Dr. Thomas H. Troeger, AGO national chaplain, spoke of his own profound love of J. S. Bach, and said there are things technology cannot solve—the need for a discerning heart and a mind to be attuned to the spirit of the living God. He concluded saying: “Every time you make music you are calling people back to the better spirit—to beauty, wonder and joy.”
The commissioned anthem, Exultate iusti by Rihards Dubra, like Michael Bedford’s anthem, is an exemplar of text painting. Here the texts of Psalm 33:1–6, 8–12, 18, and 20–20 are exquisitely reflected in multiple resources and textures: an orchestra with solos for chimes, muted trumpets, a counter tenor, a children’s choir, full chorus, kettle drum, xylophone, and organ. This score is a great addition to the repertoire of sacred music.
The service closed with the joyous and triumphal hymn, As Newborn Stars Were Stirred to Song, introduced by a brass choir, with words by Carl P. Daw, Jr. and music by John Karl Hirten. The organ voluntary, Festival Fanfare by Kenneth Leighton, was deftly played by Scott Dettra. The energy and stamina of the cathedral organist is amazing, for later in the day he would play at the Bach Vespers as well as at the opening concert at the National Cathedral, where he played Samuel Barber’s Toccata Festiva, op. 36 and the demanding organ part in Paul Paray’s Mass for the 500th Anniversary of the Death of Joan of Arc.

Workshop, Dr. Leo Rozmaryn
The workshop “From Brain to Fingertips: Neuro-Muscular Control,” given by Dr. Leo Rozmaryn, addressed the physiological processes involved in organ playing and gave some helpful advice on how to avoid injuries. Dr. Rozmaryn, a surgeon, has worked in the field of what he calls “Music Medicine” for thirty years. He pointed out how the brain of a professional keyboard musician is different from a non-musician’s brain. A keyboard player has more gray matter: the “corpus callosum”—the division between the right and left parts of the brain—is much bigger than in a non-musician. He defined the debilitating injury of focal dystonia, saying that it is a neurological disorder originating in the brain that causes loss of coordination and motor control in the hand, and that some of the following has been effective in its management: retraining, i.e., changing one’s technique by way of the Dorothy Taubman method; instrument modification; botulinum injection; and physical therapy. He praised the work of Sandy Austin, a physical therapist at Arlington Hospital, for her success in working with injured musicians.
Dr. Rozmaryn began his second session by recommending Janet Horvath’s award-winning book, Playing Less Hurt, for musicians on how to avoid injuries. He admonished organists to pay attention to their bodies, saying that when injured musicians come to him, they tell him they don’t have time to eat a balanced diet, to exercise, or to get a good night’s sleep. He advises every organist to remember they are athletes. They should have music in one hand and a gym bag in the other. In music schools in Scandinavia, musicians do aerobics after 40 minutes of practice.
He discussed a number of injuries common to organists and possible treatment modalities. Some common ailments and possible treatment included low back and neck problems due to poor, static posture for long periods of time. He suggested taking frequent breaks and avoiding drooping shoulders. To avoid carpal tunnel syndrome, he advised keeping the wrist in neutral position and to never practice for longer than 30 minutes at a time. If surgical intervention is necessary, you should not use your hands for four weeks following surgery. He suggested Richard Norris’s book on the topic, Return to Play, and the website <A HREF="http://www.theorthocentermed.com">www.theorthocentermed.com</A&gt; for doctors and hand exercises. For cubital tunnel syndrome he suggested sleeping with arms outstretched, and for thoracic outlet syndrome he suggested arm rolls.

July 6
Hymn Festival
The cavernous National City Christian Church was packed with standing room only for the hymn festival, “We Believe in One God,” led by Bruce Neswick. The prelude included five demanding hymn arrangements played by the Virginia Bronze Handbell Ensemble, directed by Carol Martin, the National Brass Quintet, and percussionists Doug Wallace and Bill Richards. Especially memorable was ‘Twas in the Moon of Wintertime, arranged by Cynthia Carlson. Here the handbells were augmented with a marimba and tiny wind chimes. The spirited and energetic commissioned work, Doxology on Conditor Alme Siderum for handbells, brass quartet, and tympani arranged by Hart Morris, set the tone for the entire festival of hymns.
Bruce Neswick’s choice of hymns and organ descants reflected his keen awareness of the best of the repertoire: Christ is made the sure foundation, descant by Richard Wayne Dirksen; The stars declare his glory, descant by Richard Proulx; Of the Father’s love begotten, introduction by Gerre Hancock and descant by David Willcocks; and Lord, you give the great commission, introduction for brass and organ, solo organ, interlude for brass and organ, and descant by Bruce Neswick. The anthem, O risen Christ, still wounded by Bruce Neswick and commissioned by Christ Church Virginia, was performed by the Cantate Chamber Singers directed by Gisèle Becker, and is another great addition to sacred literature.
The final hymn, Lord, you give the great commission, sung exuberantly by over a thousand and joined by brass and soaring organ descant, was truly the most fervent prayer imaginable: “Lord, you bless with words assuring: ‘I am with you to the end.’ Faith and hope and love restoring, may we serve as you intend, and amid the cares that claim us, hold in mind eternity.” The concluding voluntary, Neswick’s improvised toccata, was stunning and a fitting Amen to the festival of readings and hymns of the liturgical year.

Jean-Baptiste Robin and Elizabeth Blakeslee
In the elegant and historical St. John’s of Lafayette Square, Jean-Baptiste Robin, organist of the Royal Chapel in Versailles Palace, and Elizabeth Blakeslee, harpist in the National Symphony Orchestra, performed music by Debussy, Jehan Alain, Robin, and a commissioned work by Rachel Laurin with assurance and remarkable virtuosity. The delicacy and transparency of Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune transcribed for harp and organ by Robin were apparent in the dry acoustic at St. John’s. Robin performed Alain’s Trois Danses from memory and gave a meticulous rendering of the score, observing Alain’s fiendishly demanding tempi markings.
I wish Robin had written more about the “23 reflecting modes” that he created and alluded to in his program notes describing his own composition Cercles Réfléchissants (“Reflecting Circles”). The two movements he played from this work reflect his unique compositional vocabulary, which in turn hinted at mysterious shifting wind movements. In her commissioned work, Fantasia for Organ and Harp, op. 52, Rachel Laurin interwove the intimate color palettes of the harp and organ with remarkable dexterity, especially in the second movement when flutes 8′, 4′ and 2′ played in dialogue with the harp. The same balance was present in the third movement in a totally contrasting mood—triumphant chords on the organ vs. powerful chords and flourishes on the harp.

Ezequiel Menéndez
Historic Organs in Argentina
Ezequiel Menéndez gave an informative and intriguing lecture on “Historic Organs in Argentina: A Hidden Treasure” that reflected his many years of research and study on the subject. He began by stating that in Buenos Aires, within one square mile one can see organs from France, Germany, England, and Italy. During the Age of Enlightenment, Argentina was the richest country in the world, and people from all over Europe settled there and brought with them their culture, which included pipe organs from their own countries. The inventory of pipe organs in Argentina built by famous builders is impressive: there were 39 organs from Italy, one built in 1868 by Serassi for the Church of Monserrat; 101 organs from Germany; and a Cavaillé-Coll was shipped in 1885 to a Jesuit church in El Salvador and moved in 1912 to the Basilica Del Santissimo Sacramento in Buenos Aires.

July 7
Morning Prayer
Attending Morning Prayer in the large reverberant sanctuary of St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church was a beautiful way to start the day. The Psalms were sung in by the choir (the Countertop Ensemble, directed by Chris Dudley) in alternatim with the assembly. The masterful and thoughtful improvisations on the antiphons played by Ronald Stolk, director of music at St. Patrick, were a welcome contrast to the austerity of the reading of the lessons and the intoning of the Psalms and Canticles. I wished he had played more.

Worship Service for Children
The Worship Service for Children, featuring the Children’s Chorus of Washington directed by Joan Gregoryk, held in the 1860 Calvary Baptist Church, was choreographed with amazing precision. Following the organ voluntary composed and played by 22-year-old Justus Parrotta, the choir of young singers (30 girls and four boys) quietly processed down the two side aisles, and Dr. Gregoryk, without saying a word, motioned her choir to begin singing the canon Dona nobis pacem, then cued each section of the audience to join in singing the canon, which was an effective introit. A portion of the text was repeated as an antiphon throughout the singing of Psalm 85. The program—music from the Taizé Community, Mendelssohn, an African-American spiritual arranged by Moses Hogan, and Jewish song by Allan E. Naplan—was sung with enthusiasm and from memory. Dr. Gregoryk is obviously a strict taskmaster to present such a polished choir with excellent diction, good blend, and good pitch. She also communicates her joy in the music, which was mirrored in the faces of her singers. Parrotta’s spirited playing of the first movement of J.S. Bach’s Concerto in A Minor, BWV 593, was a perfect ending to this program.

Isabelle Demers
For me, Isabelle Demers’ memorized recital was one of the most memorable recitals of the convention. St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church was a perfect venue for her program: Prélude from First Symphony, op. 36 by Rachel Laurin; Three Psalm Preludes, op. 32, Set 1, No. 2, by Herbert Howells; Symphonic Chorale on “Jesu, meine Freude,” op. 87/2, Introduzione (inferno), Canzone, Fuga con Corale, by Karg-Elert; Organ Symphony No. 2, op. 20, by Louis Vierne; Scherzo and Toccata from First Symphony, op. 36 by Rachel Laurin. Demers made each work her own, investing herself in the music, from Howells’s quiet lyricism to Karg-Elert’s diabolical roar. Her brilliant technique served always to make the music soar. This gift was especially apparent in Rachel Laurin’s Toccata. The audience was dazzled by her magnificent performance.

July 8
Nathan Laube
Nathan Laube opened his recital at the National Presbyterian Church with his transcription of Johann Strauss’s Overture to Die Fledermaus. Laube’s deftness at registration was apparent as each section flowed seamlessly into another. He is a gifted dramatist, and succeeded in catching up the audience in the dance. After thunderous applause he announced that the day was his 22nd birthday, and we all promptly sang “Happy Birthday.” His performance of Joseph Jongen’s Sonata Eroïca pour Grand Orgue, op. 94, and Charles Tournemire’s L’Orgue Mystique, Cycle de Noël, Suite No. 7, op. 55, also showed him to be a master at registration as he moved smoothly from one section to another.
The tour de force of his concert was his performance of Maurice Duruflé’s Suite pour Orgue, op. 5. His playing was flawless, inspired, and for want of a better word, transporting. As an encore he played Chopin’s Etude in C-sharp Minor, op. 10, no. 4, and met with even more thunderous applause.

Isabelle Demers
Max Reger workshop
Isabelle Demers’ workshop on Max Reger’s Orgelbüchlein was held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, an elegant, isolated chapel in Rock Creek Parish, surrounded by a cemetery. Ms. Demers gave an overview of Reger’s chorale preludes, alluding to those suited for church services and those better suited for concerts. She discussed aspects of Reger’s life and how events shaped his compositional style, his quirkiness and spirituality. In her handout, she ranked each of the 52 preludes according to difficulty and listed the timing of each. It was enlightening to hear some of Reger’s chorale preludes played from memory by Ms. Demers in this reverberant space on the mechanical action organ II/27 built by Dobson.

Marijim Thoene received a DMA in organ performance/church music from the University of Michigan in 1984. She is an active recitalist and director of music at St. John Lutheran Church in Dundee, Michigan. Her two CDs, Mystics and Spirits and Wind Song, are available through Raven Recordings. She is a frequent presenter at medieval conferences on the topic of the image of the pipe organ in medieval manuscripts.

July 5
Jonathan Biggers
Jonathan Biggers, who holds the Edwin Link Endowed Professorship in Organ and Harpsichord at Binghamton University, began his program with Craig Phillips’s Fantasia on “Sine Nomine” (2007). This work was commissioned by the University of Iowa to honor Professor Delbert Disselhorst’s retirement, and is based on the tune by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Among the many interesting sections of the piece are octave “D” leaps in the fugue, which refer to Delbert Disselhorst. Dr. Biggers ended his performance of the work with a brilliantly played toccata.
The Passacaglia by Leo Sowerby (from the Symphony for Organ, 1930) is similar to Sowerby’s posthumous passacaglia, which was edited by Ronald Stalford. The earlier passacaglia from the symphony is less tight than the posthumous piece. Biggers’ interpretation, however, provided a convincing musical continuity in the multi-variation work.
National Presbyterian Church is a modern edifice that provided a stark contrast to the Gothic style of Washington National Cathedral, the site of the opening service just 1½ hours before Biggers’ recital. The present building was designed by Harold E. Wagoner, with the main sanctuary seating 1,260. The church’s cornerstone was laid by President Eisenhower on October 14, 1967; the first worship service at this site took place on September 7, 1969. The organ at National Presbyterian Church is an Aeolian-Skinner, Opus 1456, IV/115, installed in 1970. From 1987 to the present, the organ has been rebuilt and added to by the Di Gennaro-Hart Organ Company.
Biggers’ recital ended with the Reger Phantasie und Fuge d-moll, op. 135b. It was thrilling and brought the full house to a rousing standing ovation! Biggers repeated this program at 11:30 am on July 5.

Paul Jacobs
Next was a marvelous recital at St. Anne’s Catholic Church by Paul Jacobs, chairman of the organ department at Juilliard School of Music. St. Anne’s is a lovely church located a few blocks north of National Presbyterian Church. Jacobs’ recital was performed by memory, and was absolutely perfect. The 1999 Létourneau three-manual organ is in the rear gallery. I was sitting close to the gallery in the back of the church, and it was relatively easy for me to simply turn around and watch him. However, there was a giant screen in the front of the church, and by watching the big screen, Jacobs was magnified and in full view for the entire audience. The program included the Reger Sonata in D Minor, op. 60 (1901), Prelude in F Major (1912) by Nadia Boulanger, and the Franck Final, op. 21 (1866). Jacobs was treated to a rousing standing ovation at the end of his flawless performance.

Bach Vespers at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church
The Washington Bach Consort
The venue for the Bach Vespers at St. Paul’s Lutheran in Washington, D.C., was perhaps similar to what the setting might have been like in the Thomas-kirche during Bach’s tenure in Leipzig. St. Paul’s, like the Thomaskirche, has lovely stained glass. I thought the light illuminating through the stained glass on this day was very similar to the way the stained glass in the Thomaskirche looked the times I have been fortunate enough to be there.
J. Reilly Lewis, director of the Bach Consort, conducted the vespers service. Lewis has been a Bach icon on the East Coast for many years. His performances are always very musical, and his interpretation of Bach’s music is impeccable.
Scott Dettra was the organist for this service. He serves as organist and associate director of music at Washington National Cathedral, as well as assistant conductor and keyboard artist of Washington Bach Consort and the Cathedral Choral Society. Dettra was organist for the opening service at 8:30 am on Monday, organist for this service, and organist for the evening concert back at the National Cathedral. He is an outstanding musician, and his ability to seamlessly go from the cathedral organ to the Johan Deblieck continuo organ for his continuo part in the Bach cantata at St. Paul’s, up to the organ loft at St. Paul’s to play the St. Paul’s Schantz three-manual organ, and then to the cathedral again that evening, was more than remarkable.
The St. Michael’s Day Vespers service began with the organ prelude, Toccata in F, BWV 540/1 of Bach, played splendidly by Lewis. This was followed by the Bach Kyrie, BWV 233A, and the complete Cantata BWV 130, Herr Gott, dich loben alle wir. The Bach Consort, as always, sang with great exhilaration and musical conviction. All chorales in the service were sung in German by the congregation—the singing by the organists at this service was marvelous. The service also included a fine sermon, prepared especially for organists, by St. Paul’s pastor, The Reverend Dr. John Witvliet.

Opening Concert
Washington National Cathedral
The opening concert of the convention was performed at Washington National Cathedral by the Cathedral Choral Society and members of the National Gallery Orchestra conducted by J. Reilly Lewis. This program was a continuation of
J. Reilly Lewis’ 25th anniversary as conductor of the Cathedral Choral Society.
The program began with Scott Dettra performing the Toccata Festiva, op. 36 (1960) by Samuel Barber. Dettra performed this work with excitement and verve as if he had rested and prepared all day in order to wow this audience of 2,000-plus organists.
The second and major work on the program was Paul Paray’s Mass for the 500th Anniversary of the Death of Joan of Arc (1931). The acoustics of Washington National Cathedral provided the perfect venue for this monumental work. The lyricism of the Kyrie was quite beautiful, and the Cathedral Choral Society’s superbly blended voices filled the glorious space of the cathedral. Even though the cathedral was full to capacity in both the morning opening service and the concert that evening, one could hear a pin drop due to the intensity of listening that all organists possess, and which we exhibited on this day.

July 6
David Higgs
The United States Naval Academy
The recital by David Higgs was flawless, so very musical, and the audience of organists was so breathtakingly attentive, as was the case at all of the recitals and concerts at the convention. This organ was originally built by the Hutchins Organ Company in 1908, and rebuilt by the Möller Organ Company of Hagerstown, Maryland. Many renovations were made this past year, and the organ is currently 268 ranks with two consoles.
I typically would rather hear Bach played on a mechanical action instrument, but Higgs’s playing of the Passacaglia in C Minor, BWV 582, was a masterpiece of performance and pure musicality. His drive and care given to the monumental work was simply thrilling. The final piece on the programmed portion of the recital, Widor’s Symphony VI in G Minor, op. 42 “brought the house down” with the audience’s immediate standing ovation. How could there be more excitement to come? Ah, yes!! The encore, In a Persian Market by Albert Ketèlbey and arranged by Frank Matthews, just swept us off our feet, literally! “Persian Market” was not only “fun” music, but the magnificent organ at the Naval Academy Chapel has theatre organ stops. The polite, reserved and attentive organists of all the previous recitals and concerts, became “out of control” with enthusiasm for this piece! All the bells, drums, whistles, and stops were pulled out!
The United States Naval Academy Chapel holds 2,000 people, and of the 2,200 attendees at the convention, 2,000 of them attended Higgs’s recital. One of the many marks of great organization came at the end of the concert when the 2,000 organists were bused back to the Marriott in Washington after the concert. Kudos to Dr. Carol Guglielm for orchestrating this important, and most complicated transportation event—there were 35 buses waiting to pick up 2,000 organists after David Higgs’s program!

Pre- and post-convention events
Among the numerous pre-convention events was the first part of the 17th Annual Bach Festival at Grace Church, Georgetown, of which I am the director. My colleague and friend, Roland Stangier from Essen, Germany, performed in our Bach Festival on July 3, and 23 hours later performed a completely different program at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Professor Stangier’s recital in the Bach Festival was entitled “Bach and His European Colleagues.” Grace Church is home to an A. David Moore 1981 two-manual mechanical action instrument. Composers on Stangier’s program included Pablo Bruna (Spain), Samuel Scheidt (Germany), Andreas Kneller (North Germany), Gaspard Corrette (France), Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (Italy), Charles John Stanley (England), and J.S. Bach (Trio Sonata in D Minor). Professor Stangier, as his usual practice, ended the recital with an improvisation.
Stangier’s program was full of variety and nuance—he is a very energetic and musical performer. His performance of Bach’s trio sonata was full of ornamentation that I had never before considered. This made the work fresh and new, even though the works of Bach rarely need any new performance ideas.
I presented Professor Stangier with two themes on which to improvise that were from the concert I had performed at 3 pm in our festival that afternoon: 1) the “Nun komm der Heiden Heiland” chorale tune, and 2) the lilting flute melody from the famous “Sheep May Safely Graze.” Stangier wove these two themes into a tightly knit piece. I only wish we could have a score of his superb improvisation. However, in today’s world of the instant reproduction of just about anything, it is a nice thought to consider that an improvisation can simply be as ethereal as Washington, D.C.’s cherry blossoms.
Professor Stangier performed his basilica recital on the 172-rank, four-manual electro-pneumatic Möller organ. His program began with the four Schumann Sketches, opus 56, written in 1846. It has been in vogue for several years now for organists to write and perform their own transcriptions of orchestral works. Particularly popular is Gustav Holst’s The Planets, written in 1914. Stangier performed his transcription of “Venus, the Bringer of Peace” and “Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity”—what beautiful transcriptions to showcase both the basilica’s organ and Stangier’s playing! And, not to be forgotten as well, the inside of the basilica is breathtakingly beautiful! Following the Holst transcriptions were the Fantasie and Fugue in C Minor by Alexander Winterberger (1834–1914) and the Grand Choeur by Zsolt Gardonyi (b. 1946). Stangier ended the program with another one of his dynamic improvisations. Tonight he was given the Ubi Caritas et amor Gregorian chant and an Irish folk-song as his improvisation themes.
Jeremy Filsell performed all of Vierne’s symphonies at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Washington D.C. on the church’s 1994 44-rank Lively-Fulcher organ. Although I was back at my job at the Library of Congress on Friday, July 9 and was unable to attend Dr. Filsell’s program, this was indeed a monumental endeavor. Word from colleagues who were able to attend was that Filsell, in his usual style, performed every movement of every symphony with great splendor.
Another notable post-convention event was a performance by Isabelle Demers of her own transcription of Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet at Capitol Hill Methodist Church on July 9. From friends I know who attended, it sounds as if I missed another splendid event.

Francine Maté has lived in Washington, D.C. for 26 years. She has been organist/choirmaster and director of the Bach Festival at Grace Episcopal Church in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. since 1998.

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July 5
Kimberly Marshall
For her recital at St. Columba’s Episcopal Church on the first day of the convention, Kimberly Marshall played a well-selected program for a 1981 Flentrop organ, displaying the well-balanced specification. Her unique and outstanding knowledge of the remote corners of the literature for the organ produced a recital with great variety and interest. Dr. Marshall is a treasure among us all for her ability to combine brilliant performance with good scholarship in an intelligent and informative way. This was a delightful and perhaps surprising recital.

Jason Roberts and Michael Unger
For some with “first-day-bus-issues” sometimes associated with these very large AGO conventions, the change in order of both performers and pieces being played was confusing to latecomers to the recital at Chevy Chase Presbyterian Church. Jason Roberts, 2008 winner of the AGO National Competition in Organ Improvisation, and Michel Unger, 2008 winner of the AGO National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance, together presented a program demonstrating the true art of improvising, whether from score or indeed on the spot. Organ performers are too quick to define “improvisation” at the organ as the art of totally extemporized composition, when much is added to the printed score by the performer who can sense the improvisatory nature that CAN be brought to all music.

July 6
Diane Meredith Belcher
The recital by Diane Meredith Belcher on the Létourneau organ (2000) at the Church of the Ascension and St. Agnes was performed with elegance, showing great attention to careful and tasteful phrase development throughout. Her inclusion of a voluntary by English composer William Russell (1777–1813) was refreshing. Her performance of all six fugues on the name B-A-C-H, op. 60, of Robert Schumann, gave the audience a clear impression of the compositional prowess of this composer, now enjoying the 200th anniversary of his birth. While this music may be a bit too “academic” for the average organ recital audience, this venue gave an “organists only” audience the opportunity to hear all of these pieces well knit together in a fine and exciting performance.

The Woodley Ensemble
The Woodley Ensemble, under the artistic direction of Frank Albinder, presented a fine and varied program of choral music from many lands, including Sweden, Russia, Scotland, Israel, Estonia, England, New Zealand, Indonesia, and, of course, the United States. The ever-growing number of choral ensembles, both amateur and professional, has also given rise to the composition of unusual and wonderful music for all to experience both as performer and listener alike. The featured work for this concert was by American composer Leo Nestor—a large-scale anthem for SATB chorus and organ. While mainly for concert use in its entirety, it would be useful to find some selections from this work excerpted for use during the Pentecost season in churches as well.

This AGO national convention did an outstanding job in making a variety of workshops and seminars available. The Washington, D.C. chapter is also to be commended in its presentation of both pre-convention and post-convention events. Of particular note was the stunning performance by Julie Vidrick Evans of all six organ trio sonatas by J. S. Bach. For most organists, the inclusion of one or two of these technical masterpieces is daunting, let alone ALL of them, performed in this instance with technical mastery. The seventeenth annual Bach Festival presented by Grace Episcopal Church brings fine performances of the works of Bach and other related composers to a steadily growing audience each summer after summer, under the direction of the church’s organist/choirmaster, Francine Maté. ■

Alexander Fiseisky, born in Moscow, graduated with distinction from the Moscow Conservatoire as pianist and organist. He is an organ soloist of the Moscow State Philharmonic Society, head of the organ class at the Russian Gnessins’ Academy of Music in Moscow, and president of the Vladimir Odoyevsky Organ Center. He organized and served as artistic director for organ festivals in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kiev, and Tallinn, among others. In 1997 he was honored by President Yeltsin with the title ‘Honored Artist of the Russian Federation’. Fiseisky has given concerts in more than 30 countries. In the Bach anniversary year of 2000 he played J. S. Bach’s entire organ works, twice in the context of EXPO 2000 in Hannover, and once in a single day in Düsseldorf as a Bach marathon. Sought after as a juror in international competitions, he has directed seminars and masterclasses in Europe and the USA. He is the dedicatee of numerous compositions, including works by Mikhail Kollontai, Vladimir Ryabov, Milena Aroutyunova, and Walther Erbacher. A musicologist, he has edited anthologies of organ music of Russia and of the Baltics (Bärenreiter-Verlag). He has many recordings to his credit, including the complete organ works of J. S. Bach.

It goes without saying that the primary
task of every performer who wishes to convey the meaning of any given musical work must first be to understand the original intention of the composer. And when the works in question are those of Johann Sebastian Bach, where the invisible thread that should link us to the era in which he lived seems to be irretrievably broken, the task takes on Herculean proportions. The aim of this analysis is to attempt a correct reading of the Clavierübung III—one of the most enigmatic works in the whole literature of the organ.
This work, which was composed at the high point of the composer’s creativity (1739), impresses us by its dimensions alone. It is part of a cycle of works, comprising the Six Partitas (Part 1, composed in 1731, BWV 825–830), the French Ouverture and the Italian Concerto (Part 2, composed in 1735, BWV 831, BWV 971), as well as the Goldberg Variations (Part 4, composed in 1742, BWV 988). And the Clavierübung III itself is also a cyclical work—it consists of 21 chorale preludes and four duets framed by a prelude and a fugue in E-flat major.
Bach certainly accorded the Clavierübung III particular importance. It is no coincidence that this was the first work for organ that he had published in Leipzig. What was Bach’s purpose in writing this work, and what means did he choose to fulfil it?

The history of the composition. The intentions and aims of the composer
The Clavierübung III was written to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Luther’s visit to Leipzig and the festal Whitsun service in St. Thomas Church on the 25th of May 1539, which effectively marked the official recognition of the Reformation in Leipzig. The Clavierübung III consists essentially of arrangements of chorales from the Protestant church service, and in its structure it is reminiscent of Luther’s Catechism, which consists of two parts: the Greater Catechism deals with the principles of faith, while the Lesser Catechism is directed more towards children and the less-educated part of the population. Correspondingly, each chorale melody—with the exception of Allein Gott in der Höh’ sei Ehr’ [Glory be to God alone on high]—is presented in two versions: a greater version which uses all the resources of the organ including the pedals, and a shorter manualiter version.
And indeed, because of its special structure, the Clavierübung III has often in the past been referred to as an “Organ Catechism,” and correspondingly it is usually referred to today as the “Organ Mass.” It is clear that neither of these two names do full justice to the structure of Bach’s composition. Nor do they explain the inclusion of the four duets.
The title of the work is as follows:

Dritter Theil / der / Clavier Übung / bestehend / in / verschiedenen Vorspielen / über die / Catechismus- und andere Gesaenge, / vor die Orgel: / Denen Liebhabern, und besonders denen Kennern / von dergleichen Arbeit, zur Gemüths Ergezung / verfertiget von / Johann Sebastian Bach, / Koenigl[ich] Pohlnischen, und Churfürstl[ich] Saechs[eschen] / Hoff-Compositeur, Capellmeister, und / Directore Chori Musici in Leipzig. / In Verlegung des Authoris.

[Third Part of the Clavierübung consisting of various preludes on the Catechism and other Hymns for the organ: for amateurs, and especially for connoisseurs of such work, for the refreshment of their souls, executed by Johann Sebastian Bach, Royal Polish and Electoral Saxon Court Composer, Capellmeister, and Directore Chori Musici in Leipzig. Published by the author.]

Bach here follows the example of his predecessor at St. Thomas Church, Johann Kuhnau (1660–1722), and modestly calls his work Clavierübung [Keyboard Exercise].2 He thereby encourages us, through diligent practice (Übung in German), to understanding his purpose in writing this work.
Let us accept this invitation.
The first question, even after a cursory look at Bach’s work, is probably “What does it represent in this compositional form? Are we to understand it as a unified dramatic whole or as a collection of diverse pieces for the keyboard?”
Characteristically, the usual concert practice suggests that the Clavierübung III is not seen as an integral work: virtually nobody plays the whole composition in its published form.3 But the question nevertheless remains: Is there really no suggestion of an overall dramatic structure within the work?
An analysis would help us to answer this question. But before we tackle it, we should—even very generally—look at some characteristics of the musical aesthetics and Bach’s particular compositional style during the period when he was working on the Clavierübung III.

The theological and philosophical basis of the work of J. S. Bach
Bach’s personal philosophy was heavily influenced by the philosophical ideas and the personality of Martin Luther (1483–1546). Books written by Luther accounted for a quarter of all the books in Bach’s private library. According to the personal inventory that was made after his death, Bach owned two complete editions of the works of Martin Luther in Latin and German, as well as works of his successors: Abraham Calov, Martin Chemnitz, Johannes Olearius, and others.4 The title page of an earlier version of the Clavier-Büchlein für Anna Magdalena Bach5 bears a note giving the title of the work as Anti-Calvinismus by August Pfeiffer, written in Bach’s own hand.
It is well known that Luther was a well-educated musician.6 In contrast to the majority of the reformers in the 16th century, Luther considered music to be a form of divine revelation. In the foreword to Georg Rhau’s anthology Symphoniae iucundae7 he wrote: “In summa: Die edle Musika ist nach Gottes Wort der höchste Schatz auf Erden.“8 [Summing up: Noble music is the greatest treasure on earth next to the Word of God.] He is quoted in the Encomion musices as giving a similar definition: “Musika ist eine schöne, liebliche Gabe Gottes, sie hat mich oft also erweckt und bewegt, daß ich Lust zu predigen gewonnen habe...”9 [One of the finest and noblest gifts of God is music. It has often aroused and moved me so that I have gained a desire to preach . . . ] And in a letter to Ludwig Senfl of 4 October 1530 we find the following lines in his handwriting:
Et plane judico, nec pudet asserere, post theologiam esse nullam artem, quae musicae possit aequari, cum ipsa sola post theologiam id praestet, quod alioqui sola theologia praestat, scilicet quietem et animum laetum…10
[I plainly judge, and do not hesitate to affirm, that except for theology there is no art that could be put on the same level with music, since except for theology, (music) alone produces what otherwise only theology can do, namely, a calm and joyful disposition.11]
Luther’s views were akin to those of Bach. Like the great reformer, Bach saw the world of music and the world of theology as very closely connected.12 A short handwritten treatise concerning figured bass, which Bach wrote while working on the Clavierübung III, is introduced with the following words:
Der Generalbaß ist das vollkommenste Fundament der Music welcher [auf einem Clavier] mit beyden Händen gespielt wird dergestalt das die lincke Hand die vorgeschriebenen Noten spielet die rechte aber Con- und Dissonantien darzu greift damit dieses eine wohlklingende Harmonie gebe zur Ehre Gottes und zulässiger Ergötzung des Gemüths und soll wie aller Music, also auch des General Basses Finis und End Uhrsache anders nicht, als nur zu Gottes Ehre und Recreation des Gemüths seyn. Wo dieses ists keine eigentliche Music sondern ein Teuflisches Geplerr und Geleyr.13
[The thorough-bass is the most perfect foundation of music. It is played with both hands on a keyboard instrument in such a way that the left hand plays the written notes, while the right hand strikes consonances and dissonances, so that this results in full-sounding Harmonie to the Honor of God and the permissible delight of the soul. The ultimate end or final goal of all music, including the thorough-bass, shall be nothing but for the Honor of God and the renewal of the soul. Where these factors are not taken in consideration, there is no true music, rather, devilish bawling and droning.14]

When Bach at the age of 23 left Mühl-hausen, he declared that the Endzweck [ultimate aim] of his creative work would be the regulirte kirchen music zu Gottes Ehren [regulated church music to the glory of God].15
One can further assess the musical and aesthetic views of the composer with the help of his annotations in the margins of a Bible that was published by Abraham Calov (1681–1682) in Wittenberg.16 These marginalia are quite valuable—they allow us to catch a glimpse of the personal views of their writer and open up his world for us.
Already in Exodus, Chapter 15, where the prophetess Miriam sings of the wonderful deeds of God, we can read in Bach’s own hand: “N.B. Erstes Vorspiel auf 2 Chören zur Ehre Gottes zu musiciren.” [N.B.: First prelude for two choirs to be sung to the glory of God.] As a comment on First Chronicles 29, v. 2117 we find the following statement by the composer:

Ein herrlicher Beweiß, daß neben andern Anstalten des Gottesdienstes, besonders auch die Musica von Gottes Geist durch David mit angeordnet worden.
[Splendid proof that, besides other arrangements for worship, music too was instituted through David by the Spirit of God.]18
First Chronicles 26 describes the choosing of musicians for the temple. Bach’s comment: “Dieses Capitel ist das wahre Fundament aller Gott gefälligen Kirchen Music.” [This chapter is the true foundation of all church music pleasing to God.]
And one final quote: Second Chronicles, chapter 5 contains the passage:

. . . it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the LORD, and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the LORD “For he is good; for his steadfast love endures for ever,” the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God. (2 Chronicles 5:13–14)19

Bach annotates this text with a remarkable comment that has programmatic significance and shows not only his relationship to the composing, performing, and hearing of music, but also to the activities of a church musician in general: “Bey einer andächtigen Musique ist allezeit Gott mit seiner Gnaden Gegenwart.“ [Where there is devotional music, God with His grace is always present.]
These examples suffice to clarify where we must start if we wish to analyze the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Albert Schweitzer wrote in his masterful fashion: “Music is an act of worship with Bach… For him, art was religion...”20 The orthodox Lutheran Bach, who was born and raised in Eisenach, Luther’s own town, where the façade of the main church of St. George was decorated with the Protestant motto “A mighty fortress is our God,” transcended in his music the boundaries of confession and creed. “In the last resort, however, Bach’s real religion was not orthodox Lutheranism, but mysticism. In his innermost essence he belongs to the history of German mysticism.”21
This mystical sensitivity to the presence of God and the desire to give witness to Him through music, coupled with his dazzling talent, enabled Bach in his later works to develop an astonishing artistic fusion, the likes of which had not been seen in the world’s cultural history.
In 1747 Bach was admitted to the Societät der musikalischen Wissenschaften [Society of the Musical Sciences], which his one-time pupil, the philosopher and music author Lorenz Christoph Mizler von Koloff (1711–1778), had founded.22 Mizler, a friend of Bach’s, was strongly influenced by Pythagorism and the rational philosophy of both G. W. Leibnitz (1646–1716) and Christian Wolff (1679–1754). He saw music as a mathematical science.23
The very fact that Bach accepted Mizler’s invitation to join the Societät der musikalischen Wissenschaften is in itself significant. The composer obviously sympathized with Pythagoras’s ideas concerning the universe and its perfect harmony: a harmony that, according to the teachings of the ancient philosopher and mathematician, was expressed in numbers,24 and shared the convictions of his progenies.
J. S. Bach became the fourteenth member of the Society after G. F. Telemann (6) and G. F. Handel (11), together with other well-known scholars and philosophers. Following the established tradition, upon joining the Society he contributed a mite of his own. In addition to the Canonic variations on “Vom Himmel hoch, da komm’ ich her” (BWV 769), the composer also donated a portrait of himself to the Society, which had been painted in 1746 by Elias Gottlob Hausmann. A microanalysis of the music manuscript that appears in this painting has been made by Friedrich Smend. The results have thrown light on significant aspects of Bach’s compositional methods, which until the middle of the twentieth century had not attracted much attention by scholars.25
Smend’s publication gave new impetus to investigating numerology in the works of the Cantor of St. Thomas Church in Leipzig.26 It is not without interest that the researchers first found support in the writings of Christian theologians, but later more and more in the works of the ancient philosophers.27

Features of J. S. Bach’s compositional method
Albert Schweitzer defined Bach as a phenomenon in the history of music: “Bach is . . . a terminal point . . . everything merely leads up to him.”28 Indeed the works of the Cantor of St. Thomas make use not only of the fruits of earlier achievements in composition, but they are also the consummation of the most characteristic tendencies in the music of his own time. He makes use of a plethora of past and present expressive techniques and puts them at the disposal of one single goal: the creation of “devotional music.”
So what exactly were the artistic methods used by J. S. Bach as a composer?
Victor Hugo once described Gothic cathedrals as “symphonies in stone.” If we apply this quotation to the works of Bach, we could say that his larger compositions are “Gothic cathedrals” in music. And when one looks more closely at how Bach approached a new composition we can actually find quite close parallels to architecture. One could contrast, for example, Bach’s methods with the processes current in Viennese Classicism. Whereas in the latter period composition proceeded in a “linear” fashion, beginning from the melody in one of the voices, the methods of Bach’s time started from quite a different point. First of all, the composer laid down a concept of the entire work, or—to use the architectural analogy—he created a “ground-plan.” Then he proceeded to fill in the details. An example of this method is provided by the Orgelbüchlein [Little Organ Book] (BWV 599–644).
This working method gave free rein to the composer’s imagination. The proportions of the composition and its “saturation” with both obvious and more hidden details—factors that played an important role in determining the overall sense of the work—could easily be incorporated in the composition from its very beginning. Great importance was attached to Affektenlehre [Doctrine of the Affections], musical-rhetorical figures, and numerology.
Bach was without a doubt a brilliant “musical architect.” There is no room in his works for anything non-essential. He worked in a similar fashion to the architects of the Middle Ages: every detail has its origin in the concept governing the whole. And as with the medieval builders, much of this work remains, even today, shrouded in mystery. There are always new avenues opening up in these seemingly well-known works for new generations of interpreters to explore.
One can of course only penetrate more deeply into this musical architecture of most of Bach’s works if the connection to the words of the chorales used by the composer is taken into account. Johann Gotthilf Ziegler (1688–1747), a pupil of Bach, wrote in 1746: “Herr Capellmeister Bach, who is still living, instructed me when playing hymns, not to treat the melody as if it alone were important, but to play them taking into account the affect of the words.”29
Johann Mattheson (1681–1764) described music as sounding speech. Naturally this form of speech required its own lexicon in the shape of the definite progressions of musical notes bearing the semantic meaning—the motives, or musical-rhetorical figures, as they are called. These were quoted by Bach’s cousin, Johann Gottfried Walther (1684–1748), in his Musicalisches Lexicon [Music Encyclopaedia] (1732) and in the Praecepta der Musicalischen Composition [Principles of Musical Composition] (1708). Another important compositional aspect was the use of rhetorical laws in the construction of the musical structure, so that the composition began to resemble a religious sermon. As already mentioned, the Affektenlehre [Doctrine of the Affections], which depended upon the use of unequal temperament and the resulting different emotional character of the various keys, played an important role in composition,30 as did, surrounded as it was by an air of mystery, numerology with its different levels of meaning.
One of these levels is to be found in allegorical symbolism. Andreas Werckmeister (1645–1706) gave the following meanings to the first eight numbers in Musikalische Paradoxal-Discourse:31 1 – God, unity; 2 – The Word, God the Son; 3 – The Holy Spirit; 4 – The world of angels; 5 – Symbol of Mankind (“sensual Mankind” [Numerus sensualis]); 6 – Third Person of the Godhead (3×2);32 7 – Symbol of purity and peace; 8 – Symbol of wholeness and perfection.
Another level is that of semantic symbolism. For example, the number 7 symbolises the Seven Last Words on the Cross.
A third level is that of cabbalistic symbolism. Each letter of the alphabet stands for a particular number: a = 1, b = 2, c = 3 and so forth. The letters i and j share the number 9, while u and v are both attributed to the number 20. This means that particular combinations of letters each have a corresponding number. For example, the number 14 is the sum of the numerical values of the letters BACH. Thus the number 14 (or similar numbers, such as 140 or 1.4) would be associated with the composer Bach, whose name was assembled from these individual letters.
Numbers were also used as a constructive element, whereby the harmonic proportions of the ratios of simple numbers, which had been known since Pythagoras’s time, were incorporated into the composition. In addition, the proportio divina, the “Golden mean,” was also used. Naturally Bach was a consummate master of all these creative methods and he used them constantly in his compositions. The most obvious example is the Clavierübung III, which occupies a key position among all Bach’s works for the organ.
Let us examine the structure of this composition more closely.

The chorale preludes
The central part of the work under consideration, as Bach’s title-page suggests, is the collection of chorale preludes. This collection covers not only the essential elements of the Protestant liturgy but also of Luther’s Catechism.
Kyrie, Gott Vater in Ewigkeit – Christe, aller Welt Trost – Kyrie, Gott heiliger Geist [Kyrie, God the Father, eternal – Christ, consolation of all the world – Kyrie, God the Holy Spirit] (BWV 669–674)
The triad of the first chorales creates a sense of unity. The models for these autonomous works were certain verses of the Gregorian chorale Kyrie fons bonitatis (10th century),33 which display the characteristic of a refrain. (Example 1) Such a compositional method is seldom found among Bach’s organ works. In the context of Kyrie – Christe – Kyrie it allowed the composer to establish by means of music the essence of the “one and indivisible” Holy Trinity.34
The first motif of the cantus firmus is characterized by a stepwise progression. In the final statement of the cantus firmus (which is the same in all three compositions), note the upwards leap over a fifth. It is perhaps of interest to note that both the stepwise movement on the one hand and the prominent role of the fifth on the other (elements that determine the mood of the first chorales of the Clavierübung III) play an important part in the dramatic construction of the whole work.
The unity of the initial Kyrie – Christe – Kyrie is underlined by the fact that they are written in a single compositional style—the stile antico. Hermann Keller described them as “Orgelmotetten kunst-vollster Art” [The most highly artistic motets for organ].35 The music suggests greatness and quiet strength. The movement of the accompanying voices working out the motifs of the cantus firmus is linear. The cantus firmus, which is kept in longer note values, appears successively in the soprano (Kyrie, Gott Vater in Ewigkeit), in the tenor (Christe, aller Welt Trost), and in the bass (Kyrie, Gott heiliger Geist), and thus symbolizes in similar fashion the three Persons of the Trinity: God the Father, who is above all, who holds all in being; Jesus Christ, the mediator between God and humankind; and the life-giving Holy Spirit.
The epic element appears organically tied to the inner dynamics of the Kyrie – Christe – Kyrie. The contemplative character of the first chorale gives way to a feeling of emotional turbulence in the second chorale. The third chorale is energy-laden, an effect achieved by the introduction of a fifth voice, the acceleration of the musical structure, and the use of chromatics.
The end of the chorale Kyrie, Gott heiliger Geist is quite remarkable: against the backdrop of the final statement of the cantus firmus in the pedals, a tie overflowing with chromatic dissonances appears in the upper voices. These six-and-a-half bars differ quite markedly from all that has gone before. The sound as it were illustrates the text, which at this point contains a plea for mercy. The word eleison is accompanied by an ostinato, which climbs in seconds and by a chromatic figura parrhesia. The music suggests a certain personal involvement. It is significant that one finds the motif BACH in crab motion here (although it appears in other notes), and finally encounters the signature of the composer: CH-BA in the alto of the penultimate bar. (Example 2)
There are altogether 60 bars in the chorale prelude Kyrie, Gott heiliger Geist, which matches Werckmeister’s concept well.36 And there is of course the additional association with the creation of the world (the six days of God’s creative work).37 It is worth mentioning that in the first prelude of the Clavierübung III the numerical symbol for the name Bach already occurs more than once. The subsequent statement of the theme in the chorale Kyrie, Gott Vater in Ewigkeit is not only emphasized by the use of parallel thirds, but also by its extension to 14 notes (the numerical value of the letters BACH).38 And the cantus firmus in the chorale prelude Kyrie, Gott heiliger Geist has a total of 41 notes (JSBACH).
The three manualiter Kyries, each in the form of a small fughetta, all elaborate the opening motif of the appropriate verse of the chorale. Each following chorale begins in the soprano with the last note of the preceding chorale, which serves to underline the inner unity of the three manualiter pieces Kyrie – Christe – Kyrie.
An interesting aspect, which is seldom found within Bach’s organ works, is how the keys of the six pieces we have looked at are related. Each of them has at least two tonal centers. We should not let the key signature with three flats of the greater chorale preludes Kyrie – Christe – Kyrie confuse us: the rules of musical notation would certainly have allowed these preludes to have been written with only two flats. It would appear that the composer intentionally adopted three flats in order to strengthen the association with the Holy Trinity.

Allein Gott in der Höh’ sei Ehr’
[Glory be to God alone on high] (BWV 675–677)
A special feature of the following section of the Clavierübung III is the fact that it has three different preludes on the chorale Allein Gott in der Höh’ sei Ehr’—the Protestant version of the Gloria in excelsis from the Gregorian Mass for Easter Sunday. An explanation for this phenomenon must be sought in the text of the chorale itself,39 as it sings the praises of the Holy Trinity. Correspondingly, Bach includes three preludes here, each of which is a very individually elaborated piece in three-part texture.
In the first prelude, elegant and rhythmical canon-like outer voices surround the cantus firmus in the alto. The next prelude is executed as a trio sonata with pedal obligato. The cantus firmus appears from time to time in one or other of the voices of this exquisite trio and blends with the natural flow of the music.40 The last chorale prelude is a small fugato in the manner of an Italian versetto, based on the first notes of the cantus firmus.41 All in all, these three versions of the angel’s praise Allein Gott in der Höh’ sei Ehr’ create a feeling of incorporality and immateriality, convincing us by their clarity and purity, and creating an impression of harmony and perfection.
In this section of the Clavierübung III there is a small, at first glance insignificant, compositional detail that is, however, very interesting when seen from the perspective of the dramatic construction of the whole. The keys of the chorale preludes—F major, G major, and A major—form an ascending motif that is the basis for all three preludes on Allein Gott in der Höh’ sei Ehr’. The composer must assuredly have chosen this sequence of keys with the aim of thus uniting the whole cycle. Numerology reveals another interesting aspect—the numerical values of F, G, and A (6 +7 + 1) comes to 14, the same value as BACH.

Dies sind die heil’gen zehn Gebot’ [These are the holy Ten Commandments] (BWV 678–679)
Following the lead of Luther’s Catechism, Bach now begins an extensive section of the Clavierübung III with arrangements of the Gregorian chorale on an Old Testament theme, Dies sind die heil’gen zehn Gebot’.42 This is the last pair of chorales in a major key for the remainder of the cycle and the only time that Bach uses the same key for two consecutive compositions—Mixolydian G major, which is one of the purest keys in unequal temperament. It is significant that in both the Orgelbüchlein and in Cantata 77, the chorale melody Dies sind die heil’gen zehn Gebot’ is also written in this key.
The greater chorale prelude is developed as a composition for five voices, with the cantus firmus appearing a total of five times as a canon in the tenor. Thus it appears ten times in all, symbolizing an obedient response to the Law.43
The beginning of the prelude is wonderful: over a pedalpoint we hear, emerging out of the stillness, the motif of three descending notes, which we encountered earlier in the piece, worked out as a canon in the upper voices. The measured diatonic motion, the prepared suspensions, the surrounding motifs, and the ascending triads—these are just some of the musical means the composer has used to create a world of unspoiled purity, order, and harmony, in which the unsullied inhabitants of Paradise were at home before the Fall. (Example 3)
A change in character occurs in the fifth bar44 with the introduction of a figura suspirans45 and a motif of ‘falling seconds’, supplemented by a descending chromatic figura parrhesia motif in the alto. (Example 4)
Now the music is dominated by grief, sorrow, and misfortune.46 A change occurs once more in the sixth bar with the introduction of a figura kyklosis or figura circulatio in the alto47 (Example 5), which enriches the fabric with its new nuances. Thus with the help of symbolic motifs that are organically woven into the very fabric of the music, the composer brings us closer to the meaning of the chorale.
The First Commandment, which Luther in his Great Catechism deems to be the most important, is interpreted in the second verse of the chorale:

Ich bin allein dein Gott, der Herr,
kein Götter sollst du haben mehr,
du sollst mir ganz vertrauen dich,
von Herzens Grund lieben mich,
Kyrieleis.

[I alone am your God, your Lord,
No other Gods shall you have,
You shall put your whole trust in me,
Love me from the depth of your heart.
Kyrieleis.]

There is much evidence that precisely these lines were the starting point for Bach’s plan for the whole composition.
It is interesting to note that where the text speaks of “the love of God that comes out of the depths of the heart,” Bach interrupts the cantus firmus (bars 48–50) and increases the number of repetitions from ten to twelve. The motivation for this change can best be seen as an attempt to create a connection between the Old and New Testaments, whose interpreters in the new Christian congregations were the twelve Apostles. And Bach will follow the same intention to connect, through the symbolic comparison of the numbers ten and twelve, the Mosaic Law and the teachings of Jesus again in the Eucharist part, the conclusion of the chorale prelude section of the Clavierübung III.
It is well known that in the New Testament the Commandment of Love takes on decisive significance: “Jesus answered . . . you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30). The composer underlines the importance of this commandment with the help of special methods that are introduced at key points. When the word Herz [Heart] appears in the chorale text, Bach highlights it (in bars 46-47) with two groups of 16th notes, and when the words lieben mich [love me] appear in bars 51–52, he uses the heterolepsis, a musical rhetorical figure that creates the effect of two being united in one.48 Thus the composer uses musical means to portray the tangible content of the text. (Example 6)
Numerology plays an especially important role in the chorale prelude Dies sind die heil’gen zehn Gebot’.49 The chorale prelude has 60 bars (corresponding to the six days of creation). A pause first appears in the pedal after 37 notes, which can be seen as the Labarum, or Chi-Ro Christogram.50 The next pause comes after 60 further notes (another apparent reference to the creation of the cosmos). The subsequent melodic structure of the pedal line up to the pedalpoint in bar 29, which creates the illusion of a reprise, contains 47 notes. In the first bar, after the pause (bar 21), we encounter a leap of two octaves in the pedal, covering the entire range of the pedal, which is very unusual. (Example 7)
It is well known that Bach often referred to the Psalter, as did Luther in his Catechism. Psalm 47:2 states: “For the LORD, the Most High, is awesome, a great king over all the earth.” The text of the cantus firmus quoted at the point of the two octave leap is: Kein Götter sollst du haben mehr [No other Gods shall you have]. Michael Radulescu suggests that we should see the leap as an original “musical comment” by the composer, which, though hidden behind the abstract numerological symbolism, is to be understood as a distinct statement: “I am larger than life, I am your King.”51
The subsequent phrase in the pedal contains 147 notes. When Luther in his Catechism explains the meaning of the Ten Commandments, he quotes Psalm 147:11: “But the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.” By introducing the number 147 into his chorale prelude Dies sind die heil’gen zehn Gebot’, Bach is underlining the actuality of the psalmist’s words quoted by Luther for the theme of the Decalogue.
The final notes of the cantus firmus in the second tenor are accompanied by a descending counterpoint in the first tenor, beginning with a chromatic figura parrhesia, which contains 12 notes (bars 57–60). The last phrase in the pedal consists of 14 notes (BACH), which is preceded by two short phrases of five notes each.
After all the above we can concur with those experts who suggest that the basic idea behind this work is love for the Creator.52 Additional confirmation for the correctness of this view is the number 315, which is the sum of all notes in the pedal. Albrecht Clement considers this number to be the numerical expression of the phrase Du sollt Gott, deinen Herren, lieben. [Literally: “You should love God, your Lord” as a direct rendering of the Luther Bible’s translation of Mark 12:30.]53
Characteristically, Bach introduces this summons in the title of Cantata 77, whose opening chorus is built upon the theme of the chorale prelude Dies sind die heil’gen zehn Gebot’, viz.

Du sollt Gott deinen Herren lieben
24 + 73 + 59 + 49 + 65 + 45 = 315

The manual fughetta on the chorale Dies sind die heil’gen zehn Gebot’, written in the form of a gigue, is also dominated by the number 10, although it also contains other interesting numerical allusions.
First of all, it is a four-voice fughetta and the theme is presented ten times (4×10 = 40). The same relationship can be seen in the exposition of the fughetta: ten bars of four dotted eighth notes (10×4 = 40). The theme runs for ten beats. Thus we see the same relationship in the exposition: 10×4 = 40. The theme in the second exposition is presented in inversion and in a shortened form (six beats). The relationship is correspondingly 6×4 = 24. And finally, the last two stretti quotations of the theme (bars 32–35) give us the relationship 8×2 = 16, as the theme here is eight beats long. It is not difficult to see that the addition of 24 and 16 results in the key number 40, which is apparently a reference to the Jewish people’s forty years of wandering in the wilderness before being given the stone tablets with the Decalogue.
The theme has a most interesting structure. It consists of two parts: the main melody of the chorale emerging from a repeated ostinato note and its leaps (six beats), and stepwise motifs over a fifth (four beats). (Example 8) Christoph Albrecht described the theme figuratively as a musical picture of a “raised warning forefinger.”54 But numerology allows us to find deeper connotation in it. The second part of the theme contains 14 notes (BACH). One could consider this as a mere coincidence, were it not that we meet the melody with this numerical symbol again at other central formative points in this little piece.
This second part of the melody occurs as a theme in its own right in the 41st beat of the fughetta (JSBACH), where it fills out the eleventh bar at the junction between the two expositions. Again, this melody is consistently developed in the 14 bars that separate the two concluding quotations of the theme from the second exposition. And we would finally add that the number 14 is underlined by the sum total of all the beats in this chorale prelude: they all add up to 140.
Without a doubt it would be the very height of negligence for a performer who is looking for an authentic interpretation to ignore the manifold recurrence in the composition of the name of its creator. The composer of the manual version of Dies sind die heil’gen zehn Gebot’ obviously had definite reasons for weaving his name again and again into the musical fabric of the work.
Let us boldly assume that in this work Bach wishes to embody the idea of the divine Commandments as the cornerstone of his own life. The tenfold repeated theme of the chorale Dies sind die heil’gen zehn Gebot’ and the numerical symbol 40 harbor the idea of the Commandments. Their importance for Bach personally is attested to by the composer’s repeated use of the symbol 14.

This article will be continued.

During his career Joel Kuznik has served as a college organist and professor, a church musician, a pastor, and as a business executive on Fifth Avenue, Wall Street, and at MetLife. After several years of retirement from business, he resumed writing for professional journals, something he had done since his college days. After attending the Bachfest 2003 in Leipzig, he again began writing articles and reviews. With over 60 pieces in print ranging from reviews of concerts and festivals, travelogues, books on church music, concert hall organs, CDs and DVDs, he was recognized and named to the Music Critics Association of North America (MCANA) in May 2005. He is also a member of the American Bach Society and serves on the board of the Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity in New York City, where he has lived for 32 years. His organ teachers were Austin C. Lovelace, Frederick Swann, Ronald Arnatt, David Craighead, Jean Langlais, Marie-Madeleine Duruflé-Chevalier, and Anton Heiller. As a member of the AGO, he has served as dean of the Ft. Wayne chapter, on the executive board of the New York City chapter, and on the national financial board. He holds a BA summa cum laude from Concordia Sr. College (formerly at Ft. Wayne), a Min.Div and STM from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and a MM from Eastman School of Music.

Latest Bach manuscript discovery:
Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält, BWV 1128
The discovery of a Bach manuscript always raises curiosity and excites expectant interest. This latest work, an organ chorale fantasia just discovered in March, is a reminder that new revelations can come at any time from any source.
Bach’s copy of the Calov Bible was found in an attic in Frankenmuth, Michigan in 1934, but forgotten until after WWII, in 1962. More recently in 1999, after a 20-year detective hunt worthy of a spy mystery and with a tip from an East German librarian, Christian Wolff tracked down C.P.E. Bach’s estate, with 5,100 musical manuscripts, to Kiev. Originally in the Berlin State Library, the Russian army absconded with this treasure trove of manuscripts after the war. Included were works by Johann Sebastian, among which were his last work, a motet he apparently prepared for his own funeral.
In 2004 an aria by Bach was found in Weimar in a box of birthday cards among holdings of the Anna Amalia Library, just months before it was destroyed by fire. Two years later in 2006 from the same Weimar library, researchers also found Bach’s oldest manuscripts in his own hand: organ works by Buxtehude and Reinken he copied at the age of fifteen. Most recently in March of 2008, a newly discovered organ work was found in an estate sale in Leipzig, in a sense, right under the nose of the musicians at St. Thomas!
This is a double review. The first discusses the organ score and reveals a fascinating history of teacher-student transmission, estate sales, alert and not-so-alert librarians, savvy editors, guesswork and unanswered questions. Much like studies in genealogy, one can trace documented history back only so far and, in this case, only to the mid-nineteenth century, 100 years after Bach. The second review on the CD, featuring both the organ fantasia and the cantata based on the same chorale, was released on June 13, 2008 at the opening concert of the Leipzig Bachfest and shares Ullrich Böhme’s experience of studying and preparing a first performance of a Bach work. How many have had that opportunity!
Obviously this is not the end of the story. No doubt surprises and discoveries still await detection by sharp-sighted scholars and through pure serendipity.

Bach, Johann Sebastian, Choralfantasie für Orgel [2 Manuale und Pedal] über “Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält,” BWV 1128, First Edition, edited by Stephan Blaut and Michael Pacholke with a foreword by Hans-Joachim Schulze. 2008, Ortus Musikverlag, Kassel, 24 pp., €13.50; <www.ortus-musikverlag.de/&gt;.

Contents
Prologue by Schulze, musicologist and former director of the Bach-Archiv Leipzig. Critical report on Source A (Halle, Martin Luther University, University-State Library of Sachsen-Anhalt, with signature) and Source B (Leipzig, Bach-Archiv, no signature) with score variants noted. Chorale melody from Wittenberg (1533, perhaps 1529) and eight-verse text by Justus Jonas (1493–1555) based on Psalm 124. Facsimiles of cover page and first page of musical score. Critical edition, based on Source A: 85 bars, pp. 1–9.

History
How is it that an organ work by Bach was just discovered and authenticated March 15, 2008 after it had passed through so many hands, including collectors, musicians, editors and auction houses?
According to Schulze’s foreword, this is what is known to date. The first public record of this chorale fantasia is 1845, almost 100 years after Bach’s death, listed among organ pieces by “Sebastian Bach” in the estate auction for Johann Nicolaus Julius Kötschau (1788–1845), once organist at St. Mary’s in Halle/Salle. According to public record, he acquired the pieces in an 1814 auction along with the “Clavier-Büchlein of Wilhelm Friedemann” (1720), Bach’s son and once an organist in Halle, who had passed the scores on to his distant relative and student Johann Christian (1743–1814), known as the “Clavier-Bach.” Kötschau, who apparently was reluctant to share his prize collection, eventually relented, first loaning it to Mendelssohn (1840) and then Leipzig publishers C. F. Peters (1843). However, there is no evidence that anyone recognized the significance of what they saw.
In the 1845 auction of Kötschau’s estate, the manuscript, along with other Bach works, was acquired by Friedrich August Gotthold (1778–1858), a former member of the Sing-Akademie Berlin and then director of the Collegium in Königsberg, East Prussia. In 1852, in order to preserve his collection, he donated it to the Königsberg Library, but it only drew attention 25 years later when Joseph Müller, in spite of opposition from superiors, prepared a catalogue, which on p. 93 lists “24 books of organ compositions by J. S. Bach,” of which fascicle No. 5 lists “Fantasia Sopra il Corale ‘Wo Gott der Herr nicht bey uns hält’ pro Organo à 2 Clav. e Pedale.”
This got the attention of Wilhelm Rust (1822–1892), who had it sent on a library loan to Berlin, where he copied it. This transcription of September 8, 1877 has become “Source A” of this edition, and it is unknown whether Rust, as editor of 26 volumes of the 46-volume Bach-Gesamtausgabe, intended to include it. He resigned over conflicts, particularly with Philipp Spitta, but got even in 1878, in a sense, by sharing the composition with Spitta’s rival Carl Hermann Bittner, whose Vol. IV of his second edition of
“J. S. Bach” (Dresden 1880 / Berlin 1881) includes “141. Wo Gott der Herr nicht bey uns hält. Fantasia sopra il Chorale G-moll. (Königsberger Bibliothek.)” For whatever reason the chorale fantasia was not included in the Gesamtausgabe, so Wolfgang Schmieder in his Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (Leipzig 1950) put a fragment of it in an appendix (BWV Anh. II 71).
After Rust’s death in 1892, a large part of his collection went to his student, Erich Prieger (1849–1913), who wrote an extensive essay in 1885 on “Wilhelm Rust and His Bach Edition.” Prieger’s collection in turn was put up for auction after WW I in three sections, one of which went in 1924 to the Cologne book dealer M. Lempertz and refers to many copies of “Bachiana” from the 18th and 19th centuries, including in Lot No. 157 with Rust’s collection of manuscripts.
In summary, the transmission was from Wilhelm Friedemann to Johann Christian to Kötschau, and then from Gotthold to the Königsberg Library to Rust to Prieger, and ultimately from Cologne to . . . .

Discovery
When on March 15, 2008 the Leipzig auction firm of Johannes Wend offered Lot No. 153 with “manuscripts from the estate of Wilhelm Rust. Mostly compositions of his own or arrangements of works by Bach . . . ,” no one could have anticipated that this included parts of Prieger’s collection and the chorale fantasia BWV Anh. II 71. The Rust items were acquired by the University-State Museum of Halle/Salle, and finally due to the fastidious work of two editors, Stephan Blaut and Michael Pacholke of Halle University, the chorale fantasia was authenticated and has become BWV 1128!
This edition is based on two 19th-century manuscripts: “Source A” by Rust and “Source B,” a copy made by Ernst Naumann sometime after 1890 in the collection of the Bach-Archiv Leipzig. Researchers, according to Schulze, are still hopeful that Kötschau’s copy survived WW II and is still to be found, perhaps in a Russian library.
On June 13, 2008, Ullrich Böhme, organist, St. Thomas, played the first Leipzig performance of BWV 1128 at the opening concert of the Bachfest, which included Bach’s Cantata 178 on the same chorale, sung by the St. Thomas Choir. The same day a CD by Rondeau Production with both compositions and works by Rust was released. The score by Ortus was published on June 10, showing how rapidly new works can be distributed worldwide.
The chorale still exists in German hymnals, but apparently has not survived in American Lutheran usage. The work, a large-scale fantasia believed to date from 1705–1710, is of moderate difficulty in four contrapuntal voices scored for Rückpositiv, Oberwerk and Pedal. After an introductory section, the ornamented chorale appears in the R.H. beginning with bar 12, proceeding verse by verse with interludes, chromaticism and echo sections. It concludes with a coda in a flurry typical of stylus phantasticus, all of which should make this “new work” very exciting indeed for Bach fans.

Bach, Johann Sebastian, Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält. The Newly Discovered Organ Work: Choralefantasia BWV 1128. Organ and choral works by Ammerbach, J. S. Bach, Rust, and Schein. Ullrich Böhme, organist, on the Bach Organ at Leipzig’s St. Thomas Church. St. Thomas Choir with the Gewandhaus Orchestra; Georg Christoph Biller, cantor and conductor. 2008, Rondeau Production ROP6023, 50 minutes, €15.95; brochure 39 pp.; <http://www.rondeau.de/&gt;.
Imagine being the organist of St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, picking up the newspaper on March 16, 2008 and reading the headline, “Undiscovered Organ Work by Johann Sebastian Bach Found in Halle.” So Ullrich Böhme begins his very personal essay, “From Mühlhausen to St. Thomas in Leipzig” (brochure, pp. 6–7). He was further intrigued when he learned the work had been found among scores belonging to a predecessor at St. Thomas, Wilhelm Rust (organist, then cantor 1878–1892), and purchased for 2,500 euros by two scholars from nearby University of Halle. The paper claimed they “snatched away a true sensation from Leipzig,” when in fact the chorale had a close connection to Halle. The melody of the chorale had been written by Justus Jonas, a friend of Luther and the reformer of Halle serving as pastor of St. Mary’s.
The Bach-Archiv did not have a copy of the piece, but by April 28 Böhme received the score from the publisher, Ortus. He spent the next day at home studying and practicing, and then on evening of April 30 he played the work on the Bach Organ at St. Thomas, experimenting with tempos and registrations. It is probable that Bach played this piece himself, but he also may have given it to one of his sons or students to play on July 30, 1724 as a prelude to the Cantata BWV 178 on the same chorale for the eighth Sunday after Trinity. Böhme believes this is confirmed because in Bach’s time the choir and orchestra performed in the lower “Kammerton,” whereas the organs at St. Thomas were tuned a step higher in “Chorton,” so the pitches g- and a-minor match.
The work, a chorale fantasia, reflects influence of the North German composers Buxtehude, Reinken, and Bruhns. Three other examples of this genre by Bach are heard on the CD: the familiar Ein feste Burg (BWV 720), Christ lag in Todesbanden (BWV 718), and Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern (BWV 739).
There is only one organ that Bach played (including those in Lübeck and Hanover) for which BWV 1128 could have been written because of the requirements for a Rückpositiv, Oberwerk, Pedal and the extent of the manual ranges. That is the Wender organ at St. Blasius in Mühlhausen, where Bach served between 1707 and 1708. The original organ has not survived, but a copy with the same specification was built in the late 1950s.
Additional compositions on the chorale, all by former St. Thomas organists or cantors, are a Tabulatur by Ammerbach (organist, 1550–1597); duet by St. Thomas Choir Boys from Opella nova by Johann Schein (cantor, 1616–1630); and Cantata BWV 178 by J. S. Bach (cantor, 1723–1750). Also included are two pieces by Wilhelm Rust (organist, 1878–80 and cantor, 1880–1892): Motet for Two Four-Voiced Choirs, op. 40, on “Aus der Tiefe ruf ich, Herr, zu dir” and an organ fantasia, op. 40/3 on “Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend.”
The handsome brochure is replete with photos and information in addition to Böhme’s personal account: fascinating program notes by Martin Petzoldt (Head of the Neue Bachgesellschaft and Professor of Systematic Theology at the University of Leipzig); cantata text for BWV 178; biographies for Böhme, Biller, Susanne Krumbiegel (alto), Martin Petzold (tenor), and Mathias Weichert (bass); background on the St. Thomas Choir and Gewandhaus Orchestra; and finally the specification and history of the 2000 Bach Organ by Gerald Woehl.
What is eminently apparent in these compositions and performances is a devotional consciousness of the text and the earnest intent to reflect its meaning. The performers are all steeped in the Bach milieu and tradition, performing Bach week after week, year after year in worship and concert. Böhme’s playing is equally elegant and eloquent, ever confident, yet always sensitive to the chorale text, realizing the Lutheran approach, which is never performance for its own sake, but music as a servant of theology and worship. While this CD largely features organ music and Böhme’s extraordinary playing, the other performers—St. Thomas Choir and Gewandhaus Orchestra under Cantor Georg Christoph Biller—are, as expected, exceptional. This CD and its brochure should certainly pique the interest, as Bach would say, of both “Kenner und Liebhaber” (professionals and music lovers).

Thanks to Ullrich Böhme, Organist, St. Thomas Church, Leipzig, who provided invaluable information, including contacts for getting the score and the CD within ten days of its first performance in Leipzig on June 13 and providing the specification of the Wender organ in Mühlhausen.

Musical examples used with permission from the publisher ortus musikverlag.

Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, July 13–18, 2008

Frank Rippl is a graduate of Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Miriam Clapp Duncan and Wolfgang Rübsam. He is co-founder of the Appleton Boychoir, coordinator of the Lunchtime Organ Recital Series in the Appleton, Wisconsin area, and has been organist/choirmaster at All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Appleton since 1971.

On the day before I was to leave for the Organ Historical Society’s 53rd National Convention, I was eating a sandwich and reading the paper. I never read my horoscope, but for some reason I happened to glance at mine (Cancer) and was startled to read: “You’re being taken to beautiful places where there is great attention to detail and where you are enveloped in someone else’s grand vision. Sit back and enjoy the unfolding spectacle.” That got my attention. I had been to Seattle many times before and knew many of the instruments we were to hear, but OHS conventions always put a different spin on things and shine a spotlight on the instruments themselves. I couldn’t wait to experience “someone else’s grand vision” of those instruments and the buildings in which they stand, and, of course, the many outstanding players and builders in the Pacific Northwest. It is, as our handbook stated: “A Young Yet Vibrant History.” Each registrant had received the OHS Seattle 2008 Organ Atlas in the mail before we left on our respective journeys to the West Coast: 174 lavishly illustrated and painstakingly researched pages on the venues and instruments we would visit. The team that put this colorful document together is to be congratulated. So, thus armed, we were ready and eager to get started.

Sunday, July 13
We began with some pre-convention activities on Sunday night. The weather was perfect: a clear sky and temperatures in the low 70s as our buses climbed through the Capitol Hill neighborhood to St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral overlooking Puget Sound. St. Mark’s was to have been a grand Gothic structure, but the stock market crash of the late 1920s brought those dreams to a halt. They were left with what is now lovingly called “The Holy Box.” But it is still grand in its own way and with great acoustics.
Once inside, convention chair David Dahl welcomed us, calling it “a gathering of the family.” There were 310 of us greeting old friends and meeting new ones from all over the world with a common interest: love of the organ.

We came this night, of course, to hear the landmark 4-m 1965 Flentrop organ, with its spectacular and breathtaking 32′ copper façade, in a concert by Thomas Joyce, the assistant organist at St. Mark’s, followed by Compline. Joyce played Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky (1870–1937) as transcribed by Keith Johns. He managed to make this very romantic score work quite well on this beautiful mid-20th century organ with all its neo-baroque accents. My favorite was “Bydlo,” the ever-nearing ox cart thundering past us with its great weight, and then disappearing over the hill; the snarling reeds were very effective. The humor in “The Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks” was most engaging. The organ sparkled as tiny beaks struggled to break through their encasing shells. The majesty of “The Great Gate of Kiev” brought the piece to an end. The sweeping acoustics of this great church and the underpinning of the mighty and blazing reeds and the 32′ stops lifted us from from our pews. It was a brilliant performance.
There was a 40-minute intermission of sorts between concert and Compline. Halfway through this interval, David Dahl invited us to enter into a spirit of silence prior to the beautiful and famous Compline service, sung each Sunday evening since 1955 at St. Mark’s by a volunteer choir of about fifteen men. It usually attracts anywhere from 500–1000 young people who stretch out on the floor or the pews, some bringing bedrolls. They absorb the simple beauty of the chants and the readings. It is broadcast live over KING-FM radio, and can be heard worldwide via the Internet.
We became silent as the hundreds of young people joined us. The sun set, the lights dimmed, candles were lit. There were no “praise” bands, no guitars, no drums. The choir entered wearing black cassocks and long white surplices. They stood in the back of the church in a corner. They were led by Peter Hallock, Canon Precentor Emeritus, who founded the choir and is composer of much of the music they sing. The chanting was elegant and refined but never precious. The tuning in the homophonic sections was perfect. The beautiful anthem was Canon Hallock’s If We Could Shut the Gate, scored for male voices, violin, and organ. It was a tranquil and quietly spiritual end to the first day.

Monday, July 14
Our hotel was the Holiday Inn at the airport, standing in a cluster of airport hotels, including one called “The Clarion Hotel.” My room had a great view of Mount Rainier rising majestically over the “Clarion.” We had a great rate of $82.00 per night, which included a lavish breakfast. Trouble was, we always had an 8:00 a.m. departure. So, if we wished to dine in what was a rather small dining area, we had to be down there by 6:00!

Monday morning took us into downtown Seattle to Benaroya Concert Hall to hear Carole Terry demonstrate the large 3-m concert hall organ by C. B. Fisk. The simple façade of this organ includes some of the open wood pipes of the 32′ Prestant. I’m not normally a big fan of wooden façade pipes, but these blended well with the browns and tans of the Benaroya complex; also in the 32′ department: Untersatz 32′, Tuba Profunda 32′, and Grosse Quinte 102⁄3′. The room is notorious for its poor bass response and generally dry acoustic, so all that 32′ tone proved to be necessary to fill out the bottom of the range.
David Dahl introduced Ms. Terry as “Seattle’s First Lady of the Organ.” She began her program with Dahl’s fine Fanfare Introduction: The National Anthem, which we then sang. She continued with three chorale preludes by Bach, putting various solo voices on display: the reeds, the cornet, and the flutes. Next was William Bolcom’s Sweet Hour of Prayer, in which we heard the Fisk’s strings and foundation stops. Then three pieces from François Couperin’s Messe pour les Convents: Plein Jeu, Premier Couplet du Gloria; Duo sur les Tierces, Troisième Couplet; and Chromorne sur la Taille, Cinquième Couplet, which showed that this versatile organ can speak French quite well. Sowerby’s beautiful Air with Variations showed off the Swell strings, the Solo Clarinet, and later the Flauto Mirabilis. These were full-throated and wonderful pipes! Carole Terry’s last piece was the opening Allegro Vivace from Widor’s Symphonie No. 5. This heavily land-mined piece caused her to stumble slightly a few times, but she managed to bring it off. Her melodic lines were nicely delineated. She chose her literature and registrations well. None of us could come away from this recital complaining that we didn’t hear a fine demonstration of this important instrument—part of a new generation of American concert hall organs.

We then crossed Lake Washington on the Pontoon Bridge and climbed quite high above Puget Sound through well-manicured properties to Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Edmonds, Washington, to hear the church’s 1887 Geo. Kilgen & Son organ, the only surviving 3-m Kilgen tracker. Christopher Marks, assistant professor of organ at the University of Nebraska, was our soloist. Holy Rosary is a modern church built in the round, with the organ standing to the right of the altar. The organ came from the First Baptist Church in Los Angeles, and was relocated to Holy Rosary in 1980 via the Organ Clearing House.
Marks opened with a toccata from Première Suite pour Grand-Orgue (1900) by Felix Borowski (1872–1956, a son of Polish immigrants), which began on the Swell with shades closed, and built to a fortissimo. Another piece by Borowski followed: Allegretto-Allegro leggiero from his Third Sonata (1924), which demonstrated some of the soft sounds of this lovely organ. Two andantes by American-trained organist George F. Bristow (1829–1898) from his Six Pieces for the Organ (1883) were followed by a hymn by Thomas Hastings: “Hail to the Brightness of Zion’s Glad Morning” to the tune Wesley by Lowell Mason. He closed with four selections from Seth Bingham’s Seven Preludes or Postludes on Lowell Mason Hymns (1945), which sounded just dandy on this organ. He played Nos. 1, 2, 4, & 5; the first was based on the hymn we had just sung. I especially liked #4: “Watchman, Tell Us of the Night.” He used the reeds to great effect. I recommend these pieces! Marks, a fine player, gave us a great OHS recital with well-chosen literature to demonstrate the many lovely sounds of this organ.
Our fleet of buses took us to the attractive Trinity Lutheran Church in Lynnwood, Washington, where we were served a tasty box lunch. At 1:00, the tireless convention chairman David Dahl gave a fascinating address: “Tracker Organbuilding in the Pacific Northwest.” He traced the arrival of American tracker organs from the East Coast in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the mid-20th century, European tracker organs were brought in. The famous Flentrop at St. Mark’s Cathedral in Seattle is a good example. There were others, too: St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Medina has a Metzler from 1971. But late in the 20th century, the Pacific Northwest began to get its own voice from builders such as John Brombaugh, Paul Fritts, and Martin Pasi.

We would hear many fine instruments by these gentlemen and others. In fact, one of them stood to Dahl’s right: Martin Pasi’s beautiful Opus 4 from 1995. This 2-m, 30-stop, mechanical action organ is in a freestanding black walnut case, with eight Italianate arches serving to frame the façade pipes. It was demonstrated by Julia Brown, who was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and received her graduate-level training in organ at Northwestern University studying with Wolfgang Rübsam. She opened with a jolly Noël by Jean-Francois Dandrieu, then two fantasias by Louis Couperin. A charming chorale prelude by Scheidemann was then played on the clear 4′ flutes. Next was a beautiful chorale prelude on Wie schön leuchet der Morgenstern by Niels Gade (1817–1890), leading into the hymn by the same name, which she and the organ led with great ease and grace. Another Noël followed, this one by José Jesus Estrada (1817–1890): Noel en estilo frances del siglo XVIII, which demonstrated more of this wonderful organ’s stops including the Zimbelstern. Brown closed her recital with Buxtehude’s Praeludium in F, BuxWV, in which we heard the fine influence of Professor Rübsam. This was another outstanding recital.
Our buses took us back on the road for a visit to Blessed Sacrament Church in Seattle. The huge building, with gorgeous gardens and a school across the street, loomed large in the neighborhood. The organ stood in the left transept. It came from St. Dominic’s Roman Catholic Church in San Francisco, and was installed in Blessed Sacrament in 2005. The organ began life as an instrument by Henry Erben for a church in Nyack, New York, and was rebuilt by Francis J. N. Tallman (1860–1950), who essentially made it a new instrument. It was rebuilt again in 1914 by Michael A. Clark, and then moved to San Francisco. St. Dominic’s decided after remodeling that the organ no longer met their needs, so it ended up at Blessed Sacrament.
We had arrived early, so Scott Huntington gave us an impromptu introduction to the history of this fascinating instrument as only he can. That, plus the first-rate account of this organ written in the convention atlas by Stephen Pinel, provided us with unusually thorough preparation for the concert.
Our performer was OHS favorite George Bozeman. He began his demonstration of this 2-m, 15-stop organ with
C. P. E. Bach’s Sonate in G Minor, Wq 70/6, perfectly suited to this fine organ. The hymn was “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” (tune Beecher). He then played his own transcription of Four Sketches, op. 15, by Amy Beach (1867–1944), quite intoxicating and evocative: “In Autumn,” “Phantoms,” “Dreaming,” and “Fire-flies.” George, if you haven’t published these pieces, please do! The music and your performance were both great!

Our next stop was a happy return to St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral back on Capitol Hill. We had time to peruse the fine cathedral shop, where we were given a 10% discount. We also had a cocktail party with delicious snacks on the cathedral grounds, followed by a fine Bastille Day French meal in Bloedel Hall. We took turns entering the beautiful Thomsen Chapel, the only part of the cathedral that was finished in Gothic style (one can only imagine what the whole building would have looked like had it been finished), which now contains a jewel of an organ by Paul Fritts & Co., Opus 22, 2003. This 2-m and pedal, 18-stop organ sits in the west balcony and fills the room with its beauty. Thomas Joyce, assistant organist at the cathedral, played brief demonstrations for us. He is a charming young man with a great future.
But the major event of the evening was in the cathedral itself: a brilliant concert by J. Melvin Butler (who, I’m told, is also a superb violist!), canon organist and choirmaster of St. Mark’s. He opened with a dazzling performance of Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in G Minor, BWV 535. Mel Butler’s talented fingers and toes and the marvelous clarity of the Flentrop organ made the music sing. Two selections from Bach’s Leipzig Chorales followed: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 661, in which we heard the solo line on a small cornet with a gentle tremolo; and O Lamm Gottes unschuldig, BWV 656. In the middle section, the upperwork glimmered like light glancing off faceted gemstones. The majestic finale (with the cantus firmus in the pedal) was pure muscularity. The first half of the program ended with Buxtehude’s chorale fantasia on Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g’mein, BuxWV 210. It was first-rate playing by one of Seattle’s best organists on an organ that never fails to thrill.
The second half began with Fanfare for Organ by Richard Proulx, which ran a good circuit through the many trumpet stops, vertical and horizontal. It was followed by In Quiet Joy from a composer new to me: Mark Winges, b. 1951. Lovely flutes and deep-water pedal 16′ stops supported the occasional soft solo reed, then turned to quiet strings briefly, and went on as before. The strings returned supporting a solo flute. It is an exquisite piece. The hymn “When in our music God is glorified,” sung to the tune Kaytlyn by Joseph Downing (1982), was followed by Canon Butler’s Fantasy on “Kaytlyn,” a fine piece with moments of quiet and introspection, ending gently with two rings from a chime.
Butler rounded off his program with two pieces by the great 20th-century American organist and composer Leo Sowerby: Arioso and Toccata. Arioso, with its plaintive call from a quiet reed stop, gave us a sense of serenity tinged with longing. It is a masterpiece, and Butler brought out each poignant nuance. By way of contrast, Sowerby’s fiery Toccata drew the evening and first full day to a rousing and blazing close. Butler’s fleet fingers sent the notes flitting from pillar to pillar in this great “Holy Box.” We cheered!

Tuesday, June 15
Tuesday morning found us high atop our hotel in a circular ballroom with a splendid vista of Mt. Rainier. We had come to hear a loving tribute by Mark Brombaugh to his brother John, a seminal figure in American organ building. The lecture was entitled “Singing Pipes: The Artistic Legacy of Organbuilder John Brombaugh.” Mark explained how John’s early training with Fritz Noack, Charles Fisk and Rudolph von Beckerath influenced him. He then proceeded to trace John Brombaugh’s own ideas of voicing: the vocale style of sound—making pipes sing in a beautiful vocal manner. He went through each of John’s instruments, giving well-thought-out descriptions of each. I was especially interested in his Opus 33, which stands four blocks from my house, on the campus of Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. It was also fascinating to hear the list of men who had worked with John over the years and who have now gone on to be fine organ builders in their own right. The list reads like a who’s who of American organ building, and includes Fritts, Taylor & Boody, Pasi, Richards & Fowkes. Not bad! It was a most entertaining and informative summing up of a great career.

Our first concert of the day was at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Auburn, Washington, by Carol Foster on the church’s E. & G. G. Hook & Hastings organ, Opus 591 from 1871. Its caramel-colored pipes and honey-like case gleamed in the modern, light-filled room. The program began with the presentation of the OHS Historic Organ Citation for the 2-m, 12-stop instrument—the 368th such citation the society has given to instruments of historic interest. The organ’s first home was in Philadelphia, then in Camden, New Jersey. St. Matthew’s acquired it from the Organ Clearing House.
Carol Foster, a woman with a long and distinguished career, is currently parish musician at St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church on Whidbey Island, Washington. Her first piece this day was a charming Andante & Gavotte from a sonata by Thomas Arne. That was followed by Craig Phillips’s (b. 1960) Prelude on “Divinum mysterium.” The room-filling sound of even the flute stops on this little organ let us know that this was indeed a Hook organ.
Next up was the early American tune “Restoration” from Sacred Sounds by George Shearing (b. 1919), in which Foster gave us a good hearing of the foundation stops. That was followed by Song of Happiness (1914), by Roland Diggle: a sweet, sentimental piece that brought many a smile. Then came Theodore Dubois’ Cantilène religieuse. Foster joked about the tremolo, which was a force unto itself. She used the Oboe (the organ’s only reed), but it sounded like there was a flute with the oboe. She ended with an energetic and jolly performance of Jacques Lemmens’s Fanfare. The hymn “Come, We That Love the Lord” (tune Vineyard Haven) closed this fine recital.
We drove to Olympia, paying a brief visit to handsome government buildings, then went downtown to eat lunch in the lobby of the Washington Center for the Performing Arts. After lunch, Andy Crow performed for us on the theater’s mighty Wurlitzer. He has several silent film scores to his credit. We were treated to his accompaniment to the Laurel and Hardy silent film “Double Whoopee,” which was hysterical. His expert accompaniment kept pace with craziness on the screen. He used the organ’s resources very well, and also played a number of classic American songs. It was a fun midday break.
Our next stop was Spanaway Lutheran Church in Spanaway, Washington, and its attractive 1905 Jesse Woodberry & Co. Opus 225 organ. Built in Boston, it was acquired by the Organ Clearing House. Its walnut case and white façade pipes with gold mouths make for a striking appearance, and its two manuals and 18 ranks work very well in this appealing space, standing as it does to the right of the altar. Much of the restoration work was lovingly done by members of the congregation under the leadership of organbuilder Stephen Cook. Carpeting was pulled up and a hardwood floor was installed.
We began with the presentation of the Historic Organ Citation by Stephen Schnurr. The recital was played by Kevin Birch from Bangor, Maine, where he teaches organ and harpsichord at the University of Maine’s School of the Performing Arts. He began with Arthur Foote’s Festival March, op. 29, no. 1 (1893), which demonstrated the foundation stops nicely—a good solid forte. An additional Foote piece followed: Allegretto, op. 29, no. 2 (1893), which walked us through this fine organ’s softer sounds. The Great Flute d’Amour 4′, played one octave lower, was particularly effective. The Swell shades created an incredible pp. The hymn was “Abide with Me” (Eventide). In a masterful bit of accompanying, he never dominated, he led.
The closing piece was Dudley Buck’s Variations on “The Last Rose of Summer.” Among other fine things, we got to hear the gentle Swell strings. I also liked the Swell Violin Diapason in its rich tenor range. I was struck thus far this week by the number of recitals that ended pianissimo. This was one of them. The magic swell shades on this organ really did their job!

We then went to the Chapel of Trinity Lutheran Church in Tacoma (Parkland). A brass trumpet bedecked with blue ribbons was suspended from a wrought iron stand outside the church’s door to greet us. We came to hear the Geo. Kilgen & Son organ from 1890. Now in its fifth home (!), this well-traveled 2-m and 12-stop organ seems quite happy in its present surroundings. Even though its façade pipes are new, it was given a well-deserved OHS Historic Organ Citation. Our recitalists were husband and wife Tim and Cheryl Drewes. This would be a recital of duet and solo literature, and they jumped right in with Horatio Parker’s Quick March (for two organists). It was played with plenty of brio! Next was Humoresque for organ and piano by Widor—that was new to me. If you are in the market for a good piano/organ duet, I can recommend this one.
Tim Drewes then played Sortie (from L’Organiste Moderne) by Louis James Alfred Lefébure-Wély, which sounded like theatre music—spirited with plenty of contrast. Ah, how different early 19th-century Parisian church music was from what it would become! He then led us in the hymn “All my hope on God is founded” to the tune Michael, written by Herbert Howells and dedicated to his young son Michael, who died of polio. I never fail to be moved by this hymn and tune.
Cheryl then played Rooster Rag by Muriel Pollock (1895–1971), a humorous little piece that would make a good encore. Hopping back on the bench, Tim Drewes played a cheerful Bergamasca by Samuel Scheidt, showing this organ’s versatility. Cheryl Drewes then ended this engaging concert with a fine reading of Mendelssohn’s Sonata in D Major (op. 65, no. 5).
Sometimes you can tell a great deal about an organ builder just by visiting his or her shop. The Paul Fritts & Co. organ shop in Tacoma (Parkland) is a thing of great beauty. The wooden building is stained with an almost amber color. The large main door rises twelve feet or so to a curved arch with faceted wooden insets. We were served wine and snacks and got to look at upcoming projects and parts of an early 19th-century case they are restoring. It was all very inspirational.
We then drove a few blocks to the campus of Pacific Lutheran University. Huge old growth Douglas fir trees towered over rich green lawns and beautiful landscaping. We were served a delicious dinner in the University Center: roast pork with lingonberry sauce! God bless those Swedish Lutherans! We then walked through the beautiful campus to Lagerquist Concert Hall. The building’s entrance windows were decorated in glass flower blossoms by the world-renowned Tacoma artist Dale Chihuly. Upon entering the hall, our eyes beheld the jaw-droppingly gorgeous Paul Fritts organ, Opus 18 from 1998, surely one of the most beautiful organs in North America. The high tin content of the façade pipes and the 250 square feet of basswood pipeshades and fanciful figures all done by Jude Fritts, Paul Fritts’s sister, made for a visual feast. The tall, honey-colored case is made of old-growth Douglas fir logs, which came from local forests including Mount Rainier National Park. The hall itself has adjustable acoustics from one to over four seconds of reverberation.
The recitalist was Paul Tegels, university organist at PLU, who opened his recital with a Toccata in G by Scheidemann. He gave it a grand sweeping sound that seemed to invite us into the world of this instrument. Next we heard two selections from the Netherlands of 1599: from the Susanne van Soldt Manuscript, Branle Champagne and Almande Brun Smeedelyn. Then it was on to four versions of the tune Von Gott will ich nicht lassen, the first a four-part harmonization by J. S. Bach, then three fantasies on Une Jeune Fillette by Eustache du Caurroy (1549–1609), which showed some of the reed stops; the next version of the chorale came from Johann Ludwig Krebs’s Clavierübung, showing us the beautiful flute stops; and the last was a Fantaisie sopra “Une Jeune Fillette” by Bert Matter (b. 1936), which had a variety of sounds rhythmic and pulsating. By the end it receded to quiet flutes, which restated the chorale. Tegels closed the first half of his program with the Praeludium in D Minor (originally E minor) by Nicolaus Bruhns. The small arpeggiated figures on the Positive were delicious. When he brought on the 32′s at the end we were transported. Thrilling playing!
After intermission, we sang the hymn “Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones” (Lasst uns erfreuen) with a fine introduction composed by David Dahl. Tegels then treated us to Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in G Major, BWV 541. The boastful, chest-thumping music bounced along with a sense of self satisfaction, the wind system giving us a lovely crescendo on the final chord. Next was a Suite, op. 34, no. 1, by Widor for organ and flute, in which Tegels was joined by flutist Jennifer Rhyne. It was very pretty music that seemed highly agreeable and accessible, although the Scherzo has challenges.
For his final work, Tegels chose Alexandre Guilmant’s Sonata I in D Minor. He invested a great deal of vitality into the Introduction and Allegro, followed by just the right amount of letting up before the da capo. I am so glad that in the last 25 years or so we are hearing Guilmant’s music once again. The wonderful Pastorale, which I like to use during communion or as a prelude, was very nicely played. There are so many fine 8′ sounds on this organ. The Vox Humana buzzed along nicely with the 32′ humming below. Tegels made the Finale burst forth like fireworks, timing it just right to catch us off guard. From start to finish, it was a virtuoso performance by builder, player and architect. We had ended a long day, but our spirits were quite high!

Wednesday July 16
For the most part, this would be “Episcopal Day.” Our first stop on this bright and sunny morning was Seattle’s St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, in the Space Needle area, nestled among several inviting Asian restaurants. The churchyard featured a labyrinth and imaginative landscaping. The organ we were about to hear is quite a remarkable instrument. It hangs by cables from the trusses of this A-frame structure—even the balcony is suspended. Marie-Claire Alain called it “a flying organ.” On paper, the organ, built by Gebr. Späth (Opus 753, 1963, 2-m, 15 stops), seems rather sparse. The only 8′ on the Great is a Koppelfloete. So we were curious to hear how it would do. Walter E. Krueger, from Portland, Oregon, was our performer. He opened with Buxtehude’s Praeludium in D Minor, Bux WV 140, which he played with great flourish. It was immediately clear that this little organ was not afraid to speak up for itself. Next were two of Bach’s Schübler Chorales. Wachet auf used the Great flutes 8′ and 2′, with the Swell Trumpet 8′. The pedal seemed to be Subbass 16′ and the Choralbass 4′. It worked well. Kommst du nun showed off the twinkle in the eye of this neo-baroque organ. Krueger followed that with a gentle reading of Krebs’s Herzlich lieb’ hab ich dich, o Herr, with the ornamented chorale melody on the Swell Cornet with a sweet tremolo. The hymn was “At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing,” which was sung in alternatim with Pachelbel’s Partita on “Alle Menschen.” It gave us a fine tour of this instrument. Full organ, complete with zimbelstern, was surprisingly hearty. It was a good demonstration recital.
On a very high bridge, we crossed the ship canal that connects Lake Washington with Puget Sound and entered the University District in bright sunshine. We parked in front of our next venue, University Christian Church, a fine structure in English Gothic style. The interior is dark, with a horseshoe balcony. Great swaths of peach and white fabric were hung from the side balconies to the rear balcony to help relieve the darkness. The windows were attractive, and the ceiling was painted in rosettes of deep blue, pale blue, light green and a rich red. This would be our first electro-pneumatic organ: a large Casavant Frères, Ltée., Opus 1302, from 1929, 4-m, 60 stops. It was dedicated by Marcel Dupré on October 29, 1929, and stands in the front of the church, with the pipes in two chambers on either side of the chancel.
Peter Guy, organist and master of the choristers at Christ Church Cathedral, Newcastle, Australia, was our performer. He also serves as director of chapel music at St. Andrew’s College within the University of Sydney. He has concertized all over the world, and had just turned 27 when we heard him—a charming young man with a quick and ready smile. He opened his program with J. S. Bach’s Now Thank We All Our God as arranged by Virgil Fox, which featured the foundation stops and reeds. This is an intact organ—unchanged; it possesses a warm but somewhat brooding sound. Next up was from Bach’s Orgelbüchlein: Christ ist erstanden, BWV 627, which had plenty of energy. Then came a piece by Graham Koehne (b. 1956), “The Morning Star” from his suite To his servant Bach, God grants a final glimpse, which uses the chorale tune “How brightly shines the morning star.” It was written in a Mendelssohnian style, and Guy played it with great sensitivity. I’d like to hear more music by this composer.
Edouard Batiste (1820–1876) provided the next piece, Andante in G “Pilgrim’s Song of Hope”—a character piece of its era, to feature many of the softer sounds of this instrument. Then came a favorite of mine, Rorate Caeli by Jeanne Demessieux, played with great sensitivity. Peter Guy then played Samuel Sebastian Wesley’s Andante in E-flat, which came off quite well on this organ, which is in need of a thorough restoration. The hymn was another favorite of mine, “O Thou Who Camest from Above,” to the tune Hereford by S. S. Wesley. Our tenors had a grand time! He closed with Louis Vierne’s Hymne au soleil, played with lots of grandeur. If I had anything critical to say about this fine recital, it would be that we seemed to hear too much of the same tone quality: rarely a solo reed, for example. I suspect that the condition of the instrument had much to do with that.

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Seattle was next, with a recital on its fine 2-m, 47-rank Bond organ, Opus 23 from 1994. Leslie Martin, organist and director of music at the church, was the performer. The church is an A-frame structure, and the organ stands behind the altar. Its mainly copper façade pipes are surrounded by a wall of panels that have lace-like carvings through which we could glimpse a chapel behind the organ. The church also owns a portative organ by John Brombaugh. It has carved figures on three sides of people playing instruments. Brombaugh himself explained many of the details. It came from a group of six instruments built in 1979 in his Eugene, Oregon shop.
Martin began his program with Toccata Quinta by Frescobaldi, followed by Ricercar Quinto Giovanni, by Paolo Cima (1570–1612). Next, Pange Lingua by Nicolas de Grigny: Plein Jeu en taille à 4, Fugue à 5, in which we heard the powerful Great Cornet V and the Swell Trompette, and finally, Récit du Chant de l’Hymne précédent, giving a good airing of the fine Swell Cornet in the tenor register with tremblant.
Next was Brahms’s O Gott, du frommer Gott, demonstrating the versatility of this organ’s foundation stops. He then played Messiaen’s Apparition de l’Eglise éternelle. I visited Messiaen’s church in Paris, Eglise de la Sainte-Trinité, one year ago. Even though I did not hear the organ, this music was in my head, and I wondered at all the glorious improvisations he must have created in that colorful space. Leslie Martin’s tempo and approach were faster and more robust than I would prefer, but in a room lacking reverberation like this one, it may have been a wise choice. He closed with the Adagio from Widor’s Symphony No. 2 in D Major, op. 13, no. 2. We heard the strings and the Great Harmonic Flute to which was added the Great Montre 8′. It was a good, rich sound! The hymn was “O Day of Peace That Dimly Shines” to Parry’s distinguished tune, Jerusalem. I like a more majestic pace for this tune, but it was good to hear it sung by the great voices of the OHS!
We were served a nice box lunch in the parish hall. On the way to the buses many of us were taking pictures of the beautiful flower gardens around the church and in the neighborhood—blue hydrangeas and giant roses of all colors!

We then crossed the attractive Lake Washington again and climbed up the steep bluff to St. John’s Episcopal Church in Kirkland to hear Derek Nickels, director of music at the Church of the Holy Comforter (Episcopal) in Kenilworth, Illinois. I recalled hearing him at the 2006 convention and was eager to hear him again. He did not disappoint—secure, solid rhythm and sensitive musicianship again were the order of the day. The organ was a 2-m, 17-stop Cole & Woodberry, Opus 225, built in Boston in 1892. The OHS Seattle 2008 Organ Atlas has two articles about this fascinating instrument. Tom Foster tells of its original home in Highland Congregational Church, Westford Street, Lowell, Massachusetts. When the church closed, the organ was put in storage, and St. John’s acquired it in 1974. Glenn White of Olympic Organ Builders, Seattle, installed it in St. John’s, and later on Richard Bond Organ Builders did major work on the action. Stephen Pinel also wrote a fascinating essay for the Atlas on William B. Goodwin, who designed the organ. The façade has three large false wood pipes followed by a row of some 27 pipes in a wide flat. Its appearance is unique! Scott Hamilton described some of the other unique features of this instrument—it really was designed to play transcriptions.
Nickels did just that. He made great use of the organ throughout the program, playing expressively in pieces like Meyerbeer’s “Coronation March” (Le Prophète) in an arrangement by Bryan Hesford, which showed contrasting sounds, and he built up to a wonderful ff. Next was John Knowles Paine’s Andante con Variazioni, op. 17. He began on a single string stop that filled the room nicely. The first variation used what sounded like the Doppelflute 8′ on the Swell—a full, rich sound; 8′ and 4′ flutes were up next. He arched the phrases nicely. The strings repeated the opening theme.
Next were two pieces by Schumann: Sketch in D-flat Major and Canon in B Minor, in which he made the most of the resources of this organ. The jolliness of the D-flat gave way to the jingle bell effect of the B-Minor. He brought his fine program to an end with Mendelssohn’s Fugue in E Minor, giving it a spirited performance. Organ and organist were well matched. He managed the wild ride that is the pedal part of this piece with great élan. His clean playing gave life to the music. A superb performance!

I was keen to get to our next church because I always enjoy Bruce Stevens’s concerts, but also because the church, St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Medina, has a 2-m and pedal, 22-stop Metzler Söhne organ, built in Dietekon, Switzerland in 1971. This would be my first Metzler, and I’m told it is the only Metzler in the United States. I have many recordings of Metzler organs, usually played by Stevens’s teacher, Anton Heiller, so I am familiar with their outstanding quality. The church is a cruciform pattern with transepts, and the altar stands at the crossing beneath a lantern tower. The organ and choir are behind the altar.
Bruce Stevens, a well-known and distinguished figure at OHS conventions, serves as organist at Second Presbyterian Church in downtown Richmond, Virginia. He is also adjunct instructor in organ at the University of Richmond, and leads OHS organ tours of Europe. I truly admire and respect his playing. He began with J. S. Bach’s Canonic Variations on “Vom Himmel hoch, da komm’ ich her,” BWV 769. After three variations, we sang the hymn “From Heaven Above to Earth I Come” (Vom Himmel hoch). The organ led us very well. Stevens then played the final two variations, delineating the parts of the canons with clarity and grace.
There followed yet another canonic piece: Schumann’s Piece in Canonic Form, op. 56, no. 5; again we had a clear idea of where the music was going. He ended with Schumann’s Fugue on the Name of B-A-C-H, op. 60, no. 6. Stevens used this wonderful organ very well, letting us hear its fine colors and refined voicing. The glorious ff finale was spine-tingling!
Our next event was a dinner cruise aboard the elegant “Spirit of Seattle.” The relaxing evening took us on a cruise of the beautiful waters of Puget Sound. The food was bountiful, the conversation was friendly and stimulating, and the scenery was magnificent. The huge skyscrapers of downtown Seattle and the graceful Space Needle slowly began to shrink as the natural landscape took center stage. A full moon appeared as mist clung to the shores of islands and peninsulas, while the Cascade Mountains rose behind. Dominating all was Mount Rainier, gazing down like an Old Testament prophet. We began the cruise in the bright sunshine of the late afternoon, returning to shore at dusk just as the lights of the downtown buildings and the Space Needle were beginning to twinkle magically. It was a perfect evening.

Thursday, July 17
Thursday began at Calvary Lutheran Church in Federal Way, Washington, with a recital by Sharon Porter Shull, minister of music at Agnus Dei Lutheran Church in Gig Harbor, Washington, on the church’s Kenneth Coulter organ, Opus 6, built in Eugene, Oregon. Its two manuals, pedal, and 19 stops stand in the rear balcony. Roger Meers’s essay in the Atlas points out that the church’s low ceiling necessitated a Rückpositive. As the church’s music program expanded, the balcony was enlarged, bringing it forward on each side of the Rückpositive.
Shull opened with the Allegro from Vivaldi’s Concerto del Sigr. Meck (sic) as arranged by Johann Gottfried Walther—a most engaging piece, which she played in a most entertaining way. The organ has very sweet tones that were evident in the next piece, Partita on “Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten” by Georg Böhm, which would be the hymn we would sing at the end of the program. We moved forward to the end of the 19th century for Brahms’s O Welt, ich muss dich lassen, and then heard Bach’s Herr Gott, nun schleuss den Himmel auf, BWV 617. The ornamented chorale tune was played on the organ’s Schalmei 8′, but it did not seem to be alone. She then played a gentle little Trio in C by Krebs, followed by Bach’s Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier, BWV 751, for which she used the Rückpositive Cornet with tremolo. We heard the Trumpet on Bach’s Der Tag, der ist so freudenreich, BWV 605, and she closed with Fuga in C (“The Fanfare”) attributed to Bach. Shull gave it a wonderful sense of momentum and joy—fine playing all around!
Our last stop of the morning was Kilworth Chapel at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, with its elegant Paul Fritts & Co. organ, Opus 8, from 1989. We had gotten ahead of schedule, however, so they gave us a brief tour of downtown Tacoma’s invitingly attractive area. Dale Chihuly’s glass workshop is there, as well as three grand old theaters that have been mercifully spared the indignities of the wrecking ball.
We soon arrived at the University of Puget Sound’s campus and its New England-style chapel. The Fritts organ stands on the stage. Its case is white with accents of gold leaf and panels of pale green. Elaborate gold pipe shades stand guard above and below the dark façade pipes, heavy with lead. The organ is essentially North German, but the Swell Oboe 8′ is a copy of a Cavaillé-Coll stop. It was the first Fritts organ to have a Swell division, and Paul Fritts is a graduate of this school.
Our recitalist was Paul Thornock, an alumnus currently serving as director of music at St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Columbus, Ohio, where he presides over a large and magnificently red 2006 Fritts organ. His personality and his playing can best be described as ebullient. Thornock opened with Buxtehude’s Praeludium in E Minor, BuxWV 142. This organ has power and a rich tone, and his playing possessed the power and richness to match it. Next, in a partita by Walther on Jesu, meine Freude, we heard a good variety of the tonal features of this fine 2-m, 34-stop organ. The Great Rohrflöte was very pleasing. The Swell 8′ Principal with tremulant accompaniment by that Great Rohrflöte was a truly beautiful effect. Next, the Cantabile from Louis Vierne’s Symphonie No. 2 demonstrated this organ’s romantic possibilities, including its Cavaillé-Coll-style Oboe.
More romantic literature followed: the brilliant Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, op. 59, nos. 5 and 6 by Max Reger. Thornock’s keen sense of proportion and architecture was evident, and he has a huge technique. The hymn was “Lo, He Comes with Clouds Descending” (Helmsley). This was another outstanding recital at this outstanding convention. And we weren’t done yet! For lunch, we were treated to a midsummer cookout on the grounds of the campus beneath the Douglas fir trees that towered over an incredibly lush green lawn.
Our first recital of the afternoon was given by Rodney Gehrke, director of music and liturgy at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, San Francisco, and at the city’s Temple Emanu-El. He also teaches undergraduate organ at the University of California, Berkeley. He had the good fortune to be assigned the organ by John Brombaugh & Associates, Opus 22, 1979 (2-m, 23 stops) in the modern and strikingly beautiful Christ Church, Episcopal, Tacoma. David Dahl has been organist there for 38 years and told us that while the style is affectionately called “Brutalism” because it is all concrete and heavy wood, the acoustics are great and people can hear each other pray and sing. The organ resounds nicely, too!
The sun had just come out after a cloudy morning, so it was appropriate that we sang as our hymn “Now that the Daylight fills the skies” (Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend). Living as I do just four blocks from John Brombaugh’s Opus 33 (49 ranks) in the chapel at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, I heard many familiar sounds in Gehrke’s first selection, Magnificat on the Third Tone by Lebègue. Brombaugh’s vocale voicing of the principals and flutes, and the rich and full-throated reeds were his trademarks on display. The recently added Erzähler 8′ and Celeste 8′ made for a wondrous sound in Langlais’ “Chant de Paix” from Neuf Pièces. Written at the end of WWII, we can only wonder at the relief the French felt in those days. This music takes us there, and Messrs. Gehrke, Langlais and Brombaugh transported us to that eternal song of peace with their gifts of skill, art, and grace.
The Harfenregal 8′ on the Great (a stop also on the LU organ and a favorite of mine) began Hugo Distler’s Variations on “Frisch auf, gut Gsell, laß rummer gahn” from 30 Spielstücke. It was well played and demonstrated many more of the beautiful sounds of this landmark instrument. Gehrke’s
final selection was Bach’s Partita on “Sei gegrüsset, Jesu Gütig.” The chorale, played on the Great 8′ Principal, was a thing of beauty. Each variation revealed more of this truly great organ. The final variation, with full organ, was powerful, intense, and moving.

Our next stop was the First Presbyterian Church, Tacoma, for a recital by Lorenz Maycher. Whenever I see that Maycher is playing for the OHS, I know I’m in for a treat, especially when he is seated at a big romantic organ like this large Reuter, Opus 138 from 1925 (4-m, six divisions, 80 stops, 55 ranks, 121 registers). He led off with the hymn “Over the Chaos” to a tune by Russell Jackson (b. 1962). Next was a piece by Richard Purvis, “Supplication” from Four Poems in Tone. It was inclusive of all manner of supplication from quiet to intense. Then a work by Jaromir Weinberger (1896–1994), The Way to Emmaus (A Solo Cantata for High Voice with Organ) for which he was joined by gifted soprano Anneliese von Goerken, who sang marvelously. Maycher made great use of the instrument’s many gorgeous solo stops. If you have such an organ and a good soprano, you might find this a useful piece.
I was glad to see that Maycher was playing Sowerby. He is a Sowerby expert, as anyone will tell you after listening to his recordings. Today’s offering, ending the program, was Sowerby’s Prelude on “Non Nobis, Domine,” which was played with great expression and strength.
The evening event began with a blissful late afternoon non-scheduled free hour in downtown Seattle, followed by a delicious meal in Hildebrandt Hall of Plymouth Congregational Church. We then made our way upstairs to the oval-shaped church with its white/ivory walls and small stained glass windows to attend Choral Evensong as sung by the Choir of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Seattle, Gary James, choirmaster. Thomas Foster was the conductor, and Craig Phillips was the organist. The Rev. Ralph Carskadden, from St. Mark’s Cathedral, was the officiant. It was a beautiful service. The choir did very well, the music was well chosen and conducted with grace. Craig Phillips played very well on the church’s 3-m Schlicker, with 53 stops and 63 ranks. All the pipes are behind a screen that stands in back of the altar. Phillips wrote quite a bit of the music performed at this service, including a very nice Prelude from Triptych for Organ, and Serenade for Horn and Organ, for which he was ably joined by Maxwell Burdick. Psalm 150 was sung to an Anglican chant by Charles Fisk (Menlo Park)—a nice touch! Phillips also supplied the anthem, Teach Me, My God and King, that I liked quite a lot, and the postlude, Toccata on “Hyfrydol,” which is a terrific piece.

Friday, July 18
The last day of the convention—some really fine events were coming our way, and we were eager to plunge right in. We began at the large St. Alphonsus Roman Catholic Church in Seattle, which has a fantastic organ by Fritts-Richards, Opus 4 from 1985. With 2-m, 33 stops in a fabulous acoustic, and a drop-dead gorgeous case in the rear gallery featuring a Rückpositive, it is a thing to behold. The case is of painted poplar. The carved and gilded pipe shades were made by David Dahl’s late father. This very German organ was built by two young men still in their twenties who had never been to Europe.
Our recitalist was Dana Robinson, who is on the faculty of the School of Music at the University of Illinois. Those of us fortunate enough to have been at the OHS convention in 2006 heard him give the closing recital on the amazing 19th-century organ in the Troy Savings Bank Auditorium, and will not soon forget his brilliant concert that warm night. So we looked forward to hearing him again—this time on a bright cool morning and on another amazing organ. Robinson began his program with Modus ludendi pro organo pleno by Samuel Scheidt. He used the full plenum, which has a surprisingly powerful sound. Next up were two verses of Durch Adams Fall ist ganz verderbt by Heinrich Scheidemann. The first featured the warm Principal and a quiet reed. The second utilized a 4′ flute, beautifully and expressively played. He then went back for more Scheidemann: Es ist das Heil uns kommen her (two verses)—well played and using more of the instrument.
Up next was Buxtehude’s setting of Nun bitten wir den heiligen Geist, BuxWV 209. I believe we heard the Rückpositiv Sesquialtera II playing the ornamented chorale tune against the Great Violdigamba 8′ (sic)—gorgeous, clear sounds. That was also the hymn, which followed immediately. It was quite an experience to sing this hymn with this very North German organ in the resonant space of St. Alphonsus Church. Then came Buxtehude’s Ciacona in E Minor, BuxWV 160. Robinson began with the 8′ Principal and built from there. Organ, organist, literature and room were superb. Finally, we came to Buxtehude’s great setting of Te Deum Laudamus, BuxWV 218. I especially enjoyed the Great Trommet 8′. This organ has big-scaled pedal reeds, which he used well, including a full-length 32′ Posaunen. We were given a most thoughtful demonstration of this instrument by one of America’s finest players.
After a windy ride through the city, we found ourselves in the beautiful “First Hill” neighborhood overlooking downtown Seattle. We arrived at First Baptist Church and its newly acquired 3-m, 35-rank Aeolian-Skinner from 1953, which came from First Methodist Church in Tacoma, and was meticulously restored by Bond Organ Builders. Stephen Schnurr presented the OHS Historic Organ Citation. The organ is in two chambers on either side of the altar and baptistry.
Our recitalist was Douglas Cleveland, who opened his program with Handel’s Concerto in B-flat Major, a piece played on this organ 50 years ago by David Craighead. The middle section featured what I believe was the English Horn, a lovely stop. Next was Virgil Fox’s famous arrangement of Bach’s Come Sweet Death. Cleveland played it with great tenderness and expressivity. The hymn, “O for a Thousand Tongues” to the tune Azmon, was followed by a charming Scherzetto by Joseph Jongen and the lovely Woodland Flute Call by Fannie Dillon (1881–1897), which I believe was soloed on the Great 4′ Flute Harmonique.
Cleveland closed his program with the brilliant and dashing Four Concert Etudes by David Briggs (b. 1964). Following an introduction, it charged into the toccata-like “Octaves.” The next movement, “Chordes Alternées,” featured the Choir flutes alternating chords in various octaves with a melody in the pedal. Then a “Sarabande,” featuring the lush Aeolian-Skinner strings. The final movement entitled “Tierces” uses many of the motives of the earlier movements: octaves, alternating chords, etc. Cleveland gave a first-rate performance.
We then enjoyed a tasty box lunch in the labyrinthian but cozy basement of the First Baptist Church. After lunch, we returned to the sanctuary for the OHS annual meeting. Orpha Ochse was feted for all her work on behalf of the organ and the OHS. Joseph McCabe, chairman of the 2009 convention in Cleveland, gave us a tantalizing peek at all the good things it promises.
Following the meeting, we had a choice of spending some free time at the Seattle Center, which includes the Space Needle, or attending a recital by Gregory Crowell at German United Church of Christ in Seattle. Since I had been to the Seattle Center before, I chose the recital. True to form, we were early by about a half hour. The little church, in a quiet neighborhood and with a small congregation, has a rare treasure in these parts: a 1917 Hinners organ, Opus 2324. It was built in 1917 for St. Jakobi Lutheran Church in Allison, Iowa, and, after a few moves, it wound up in the safe hands of the Organ Clearing House. Legendary OHSer Randall Jay McCarty, organist of this church, installed the organ in 1976, replacing an electronic substitute. It has one divided keyboard and pedal and is a sweet charmer. Since we were so early, our distinguished recitalist Gregory Crowell, a favorite OHS performer (this would be his sixth convention appearance), agreed to begin 30 minutes early.
It was amazing how much he managed to get out of this six-rank instrument. He began with Huit Fugues pour le Clavecin ou l’Orgue by Johann Philipp Kirnberger: Preludium I & Fuga [1], which worked quite well. The organ was hand pumped. Then, using the electric blower, Crowell played Contrapunctus I from Kunst der Fuga, BWV 1080, by Bach—something I never thought I’d hear on a 1917 Hinners. But the organ held its own, and Crowell played it very well. Next came music by Max Drischner (1891–1971): Choralvorspiele für Dorforganisten; “Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern” was played on the pleasing little 4′ flute; “Die Sonn’ hat sich mit ihrem Glanz gewendet” used the strings; and “In dir ist Freude” employed the full sound. These are very nice and accessible pieces.
Next was the hymn In dir ist Freude, which we sang in German. Again the organ was hand pumped. The next piece was a bonbon: Träumerei, op. 15, no. 7 by Robert Schumann, in an arrangement by Clarence Eddy. Then came a Pastorale by Bossi, which seemed to use every register on the organ—an amazing array of sound and color. Next up was a Capriccio by one A. Pedro Zuazo (fl. 1890) that he played in a cheerfully agreeable manner. Crowell closed his program with Church Sonata I, III. Allegro, by James Woodman (b. 1957). I never cease to enjoy hearing music by composers of our time on old instruments. These instruments are never out of date. This one played music from a wide spectrum and handled all of it with ease. Good organ building is timeless.
We then returned to the hotel for our elegant buffet dinner in the twelfth floor ballroom. Then it was off to St. James Roman Catholic Cathedral, which is perched dramatically on First Hill overlooking the southern end of downtown Seattle, with its mixture of industrial loading cranes for the ships of Puget Sound, office towers, and huge sports venues. We were at St. James for the closing event of the convention: a recital by the cathedral’s organist, Joseph Adam. This magnificent Romanesque church has been remodeled/restored so that the altar stands at the crossing. There is a large oculus above the altar, which, in photographs I’ve seen, sends a dramatic shaft of light into the building from the sun above—like the hand of God reaching in. At the west end, in a beautiful case, stands the historic musical treasure we had come to hear: the great Hutchings-Votey organ of 1906. It had escaped unharmed when the great dome of the cathedral collapsed under the weight of a massive snowstorm in 1916. In 1926 a Casavant sanctuary organ was installed in the east apse. While it had only 21 stops, it had a 4-m console that connected the two organs. The 4-m Hutchings-Votey organ has 48 stops. In 2000, the Casavant was replaced by a new organ by Rosales Organ Builders, retaining five ranks from the Casavant. It totals 48 ranks on four manuals. The Rosales pedal includes a Bombarde 64′, which is unlabeled. Only the BBBB sounds, but it is most impressive. The Rosales case wraps around the wall of the apse in a series of Romanesque arches. Like the Casavant, its console can play both organs.
An ancestor of the cathedral’s first organist, Franklin Sawyer Palmer, was introduced to the audience. The director of music, Clint Kraus, spoke of the last visit by the OHS to the cathedral in 1982, when an historic citation was presented. Kraus said that that presentation was the impetus to restore the Hutchings-Votey organ.
Joseph Adam opened his program on the Hutchings-Votey organ playing Bach’s Chaconne in D Minor as transcribed by Wilhelm Middelschulte. We were all transfixed by the amazing flutes on this magnificent organ. Then came the foundation stops, which were followed by the trumpets. The kaleidoscope of tones being flung into the vast reverberant space was quite wonderful. It calmed down to a pp with rapid repeated notes on the flutes. A big crescendo briefly included the 32′ reeds, followed by a lessening of tone as we heard more and more of this instrument.
The oculus let in the last light of day as we awaited the next selections, three well-known and loved pieces by Louis Vierne: Naïades, op. 55, no. 4; Claire de lune, op. 53, no. 5; and Carillon de Westminster, op. 54, no. 6. In Naïades, his fingers flew over the keys, flutes and strings seeming to race up and down the Romanesque arches of the cathedral. Claire de lune was all tranquility—our thoughts could wander slowly as they do in moonlight. This was heartfelt organ playing. Who could not love the organ hearing such a beautiful solo flute singing to us—lost in beauty, awe and wonder. He played the Carillon de Westminster brilliantly: controlling and holding the reins together until just the right moment when he allowed the music to explode. I’ve never heard it played better.
We then sang the hymn: “Of the Father’s Love Begotten” (Divinum Mysterium), followed by a piece commissioned for this convention, Divinum Mysterium: Solemn Meditation by Timothy Tikker (b. 1958). It is a lovely work, very quiet at first, almost brooding, the music leading into a surrender to faith. It soon brightened, the manuals reflecting the stepwise melody in fast notes while the pedal sounded out the theme in long notes. All the while a crescendo grew. It is a fine piece and a good addition to the repertoire.
After intermission, Adam appeared at the east end of the cathedral, and played the Rosales organ. He began with another piece by Timothy Tikker, Variations sur un vieux Noël. The Rosales organ makes sounds that complement rather than compete with the room’s elder statesman in the west end gallery. We heard bell sounds against strings, reeds creating open fifths, tierces sounding against trumpets. A fugue broke out that was quite lively and grew to full organ. I really liked this piece, and I like this organ. We then sang “Come Down, O Love Divine” (Down Ampney) to his marvelous accompaniment.
Joseph Adam closed this fantastic recital (the cathedral, by the way, was packed—we OHSers only occupied the transepts!) with Maurice Duruflé’s Suite, op. 5. The Prelude used both organs, creating a sonic spectacle that is possible in only a handful of buildings. The Sicilienne featured a solo reed that filled the church. Sweet strings and a bubbling flute lightly danced for us. Adam is an alert and wise musician—able to address composers’ thoughts and bring them to us in an astonishing array of color. Clearly, he knows and understands these remarkable organs completely.
The great and fiendishly difficult Toccata brought the Suite and convention to a dramatic conclusion. Adam’s performance was as magnificent as the organs he was playing. We were all swept away by his powerful strength and energy. The air above and around us was charged with his utter mastery of this music. With the huge 32′ stops giving us ground, it was at times almost gloriously terrifying—a fantastic experience! There was an encore: Dupre’s Prelude in G Minor, a somewhat palate-cleansing feeling to calm and give rest to our spirits. I did not want to leave this building. It was a transforming recital, one none of us will forget anytime soon.

Closing thoughts
This was an unusual OHS convention. While we heard plenty of old instruments, they were transplants from the east or elsewhere. We were witness to a new, more youthful voice on the national and international stage, the emerging influence of the modern organ world in the Pacific Northwest. Two names came up again and again: John Brombaugh and David Dahl. These two gentlemen have led this movement and deserve our admiration. Martin Pasi, Paul Fritts, Richards & Fowlkes, Taylor & Boody, and others got their start here.
I had a great time at this well-organized convention, seeing old friends, making new ones, eating good food, and getting to know the organ world in this part of the country. Much more will come from this school of organ building. Let us enjoy watching it unfold. The Organ Historical Society will be observing it all with great curiosity, and interest. See you next summer in Cleveland, July 5–10! Oh, and my horoscope was dead on!