Jeffrey Patry is director of music and organist at Sacred Heart Church in Robbinsdale, Minnesota. A graduate of St. Olaf College, he studied organ and church music with Douglas Cleveland and John Ferguson. Kraig Windschitl is principal organist at Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A graduate of St. John’s University and Indiana University, he studied organ and church music with Kim Kasling, Larry Smith, and Marilyn Keiser. Photo credit: Jayne Latva
The 28th annual International Organ and Church Music Institute took place June 24–26, hosted by the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Under the direction of Marilyn Mason, university organist and organ department chair, this year’s conference focused on the music of Dietrich Buxtehude (1637–1707) as well as liturgical music, in a variety of workshops, lectures, and recitals.
For the opening of the institute, a recital featuring organist/harpsichordist Michele Johns, professor of church music at the University of Michigan; baroque violinist Tapani Yrjölä, chair of the string department at Joensuu Conservatory, Finland; and tenor David Troiano took place in the Blanche Anderson Moore Hall, which houses the 35-rank “Marilyn Mason” organ by Fisk. Composers represented were Buxtehude, Corelli, and J. S. Bach, including the Ciaccona in c minor, performed in celebration of the 300-year anniversary of Buxtehude’s death.
The same evening, Kim Kasling, professor of organ and liturgical music studies at St. John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota, and organist emeritus at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Mary, Minneapolis, performed a recital of Böhm, Buxtehude, Alain, and Reger on the Frieze Memorial Organ in Hill Auditorium. This grand organ was built and rebuilt by Farrand & Votey, Hutchings, E. M. Skinner, and Aeolian-Skinner—truly a marvel in both sight and sound! A highlight of the recital was the Ann Arbor premiere of the Reger Fantasie and Fugue in d minor, op. 135b, in the original uncut score. This monumental work called for the full resources of both organ and organist, a stunning, bravura match rewarded with repeated applause and shouts of “Bravo!”
The following morning began with Dr. Kasling’s presentation on “Buxtehude, Böhm, and Muffat—Common Ground.” Kasling explored and demonstrated stylus phantasticus, Italian and French styles germane to all three composers. A specific work performed was Muffat’s Toccata Duodecima et Ultima, a real delight, heard in the reverberant Blanche Anderson Moore Hall on the Marilyn Mason organ built by Fisk.
Throughout the institute, break-out sessions were presented by Johan Van Parys, director of worship and the sacred arts at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis. Topics covered worship as a ritual behavior, as a sensual experience, and as a conscious, pre-conscious, and post-conscious experience.
Margarete Thomsen, liturgical consultant as well as former music director and organist at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Redford, Michigan, presented “Buxtehude and the Chaconne.” The evolution of the chaconne and passacaglia was discussed using examples such as the Passacaglia in d minor, the Ciaccona in e minor, and the Ciaccona in c minor. Dr. Thomsen brought the session to a close with the performance of the Prelude, Fugue, and Ciaccona in C Major.
“Organs—Ancient through Contemporary” was led by Erven Thoma, music director and organist for Martin Luther Chapel, East Lansing, Michigan, and Helmut Schick, organ historian and curator in southern Michigan. Beautiful slides and superb recordings were enjoyed by an enthusiastic audience. Examples included the Jörg Ebert organ at the Hofkirche, Innsbruck, Austria, which dates back to 1558; François-Henri Clicquot of 1790 at the Cathedral of St. Pierre Poitiers in Vienne, France; and most recently the M. P. Möller/ Goulding & Wood at the Basilica of the National Shrine, Washington, DC, heard in a stunning recording of the third dance from Alain’s Trois Danses, performed by Marilyn Mason.
Later that evening at Hill Auditorium, DMA candidate Luke Davis performed the music of Johannes Brahms—the Eleven Choral Preludes, op. 122, as well as the Sonata in E-flat for clarinet and piano, op. 120, no. 2, with Ryan Lohr, clarinet. As a unique touch to the program, Davis intoned each chorale from the organ bench.
On the final day, Marijim Thoene, a University of Michigan alumna, presented “The Influence of Frescobaldi and Froberger on Buxtehude.” Harmonic structure and rhythmic motifs were analyzed in Frescobaldi’s Cento Partite sopra Passacaglia and Froberger’s Canzona No. 6, in relation to Buxtehude’s Ciaccona in c minor. Dr. Thoene performed the Buxtehude Ciaccona on the Marilyn Mason organ, and the Froberger Canzona No. 6 on the Willard Martin harpsichord.
Later that afternoon, Marilyn Mason graciously invited all institute participants to an open console at Hill Auditorium. Given the massive size of the instrument, Dr. Mason willingly assisted those at the organ.
That evening, DMA candidate Marcia Heirman performed a program of Franck, Schroeder, Saint-Saëns, Reger, Messiaen, and Vierne. A welcome conclusion to the institute was this varied program, especially Franck’s Choral in b minor, a perfect work for such a renowned instrument.
Thanks to Dr. Marilyn Mason and the University of Michigan for a most informative, invigorating, and pleasurable Organ and Church Music Institute. We look forward to the 29th institute next June.n
