Firmin Swinnen: An American Legend

July 1-6, 2002

by Larry Palmer

Larry Palmer is a contributing editor of The Diapason.

Despite heat and humidity this convention proved to be a stellar presentation of high-quality events. Indeed, throughout the week's major recitals there were probably more drops of sweat than dropped notes! Careful thought had gone into programming: each day began with recitals (or a recital followed by a repertoire session). Worship (preceded by a short concert) began the afternoon, followed by educational workshops. Each evening featured an 8 p.m. concert. Artists and instruments were well matched. Disruptions and problems were minimal, especially considering the large number of registrants. Chartered bus transportation was efficient (and cool). In a well-planned and executed first, public transport schedules and directions were provided for those who wished to take charge of their own itineraries, and guides aided these intrepid adventurers.  A large number of center-city events took place within a reasonable walking distance.

 

This was the fourth convening of an American Guild of Organists national gathering in Philadelphia, previous conventions having occurred in 1930, 1939, and 1964. Many still recall, as well, the 1977 International Congress of Organists in this unique city of major symphonic and retail-store pipe organs, the Ben Franklin Busybody mirror, cheese steaks, and assorted historic charms.

This report will, of necessity, represent only one person's schedule. I attended all the major concerts, save one. As for workshops, the elegant (though heavy) 278-page program book listed 80 (of which one was cancelled); I was able to sample four. Daily worship offerings, in addition to the early morning ecumenical services held at the convention hotel, numbered fourteen. I got to two of them. A chronological report seems pointless; the convention was divided into four color-coded groups, each assigned to attend many of the events at different times.

Two orchestral programs at Girard College

The Philadelphia Orchestra's new concert venue, Verizon Hall in the downtown Kimmel Center for the Arts, presently contains only the façade of a large Dobson pipe organ scheduled for completion in 2006. Thus concerts with orchestra were scheduled on Tuesday and Saturday evenings in the Chapel of Girard College, home to a magnificent four-manual E. M. Skinner organ. That Tuesday's offering happened at all was a tribute to professionalism and sheer determination! Because of the stifling heat, the orchestral musicians would have been justified in refusing to play; indeed, union rules allow them to refuse to perform in such adverse conditions. The performances, however, ranged from heroic to outstanding. James David Christie opened the program as soloist in the first modern performance of the just-published Widor Symphonie in G minor, opus 42 bis--an arrangement of the first and last movements from the composer's Sixth Organ Symphonie with a middle movement arranged from the Andante of the Second Organ Symphonie. Almost immediately, during the second statement of the opening theme the stand lights for half the orchestra and the conductor suddenly went out; so the performers overcame not only heat and humidity but relative obscurity, in addition to constant distraction as technicians tried to rectify the lighting problem.

The fun of hearing familiar music in a new and attractive guise coupled with the drama surrounding its performance led to shouts of "Bravo" and sustained applause from the overflow audience, which, no matter how uncomfortable it might have been, seemed to realize that the players were even less comfortable!

With full lighting restored, Craig Phillips was the deft soloist in his own Concertino for Organ and Chamber Orchestra (1995), a three-sectioned work of great melodic and rhythmic appeal, played without pause.

Although four overheated players exercised their option of leaving the orchestra at intermission, there was an immediate new sense of purpose as Diane Meredith Belcher made her entrance to play the Jongen Symphonie Concertante, opus 81! The organ console's central placement high above the stage allowed favorable sight lines for observing Ms. Belcher's energetic, musical, and poetic performance of Jongen's impressionistic tour-de-force, arguably the most successful coupling of organ and orchestra in the repertoire. The performance of this intricate work was a marvel of synchronization, made more so since the pipes of the 1933 organ are installed in the ceiling, at considerable distance from the console. The assistant conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Bulgarian-born Rossen Milanov, proved himself an able collaborator.

The Saturday closing concert, an evening of inspired choral singing from the 38-member Voices of Ascension, with orchestra and Mark Kruczek, organist, conducted by Dennis Keene, found us back at Girard College. Relief from the punishing heat had arrived on Friday and a significant number of conventioners departed on Saturday, so the Chapel was not as overwhelmed with audience as it had been for the opening concert. Carlyle Sharpe's short AGO/ECS Publishing award-winning choral work Laudate Nomen served as an upbeat, rhythmically-pungent "curtain-raiser" to the premiere of Ruth Watson Henderson's 24-minute cantata From Darkness to Light. From the quiet opening tympani notes to the hushed and yearning setting of the final words, "Darkness sang to the light and the kiss of love was peace," this lovely work, alternating Biblical texts (sung by baritone soloist Charles Robert Stephens) and choral settings of poems by the 20th-century Canadian writer Wilfred Watson, spoke in a communicative but individual tonal language. Impressionistic harmonies, a constant sense of forward motion, and deft handling of the orchestral voices all combined to make this the most immediately appealing of the large-scale commissions for Philadelphia 2002. It is definitely a work worthy of repeated hearings.

As an unscheduled addition to the program we were given a polished performance of C. Hubert H. Parry's coronation anthem I Was Glad, complete with the often-omitted cries of "Vivat Regina Elisabetta," an appropriate gesture in this, the British Queen's Golden Jubilee year. It was especially gratifying to have one final opportunity to revel in the grandiose full sound of the Girard Chapel organ, one of the finest surviving examples of E. M. Skinner's late work.

A major theme of this gathering was the celebration of the centenary of the birth of French composer Maurice Duruflé. All of his organ works were programmed during this week, as were the unaccompanied Four Motets on Gregorian Themes. For the culminating final offering of this remembrance, Keene and his superb Voices of Ascension performed Duruflé's Requiem, opus 9, with mezzo-soprano Zehava Gal. One of the most beloved settings of these ancient texts, Duruflé's masterpiece received a sublime reading, with every subtle nuance aptly and carefully observed. It was obvious that all involved knew the work intimately. I have never heard a better realization of this haunting, gentle score which I first experienced in 1959 in Holland, with the composer himself at the organ.

Three top-notch organ recitals: Parker-Smith, Morrison, Miura

A third memorable event at Girard College was the spectacular July 4 organ recital by Jane Parker-Smith. Noting that 226 years ago to the very day a group of gentlemen in Philadelphia had declared independence from Great Britain, convention general chair Dennis Elwell remarked that "the convention committee had invited two British organists to play at this gathering to demonstrate that we were gracious winners." Indeed we were all winners to enjoy such artistry! Flanked by two registrants, Ms. Parker-Smith put the organ through its paces in a program of virtuoso works that, in her hands (and feet), never seemed to overwhelm or tire the listener: Impetuoso (Wiedermann), Passacaglia in D minor (Middelschulte--a major work of 62 variations incorporating both the BACH motive and the chorale Ein' feste Burg), Toccata, opus 12 (Germani). Duruflé's opus 4, Prelude, Adagio, and Chorale Variations on the Veni Creator, has rarely sounded better. Especially compelling was Parker-Smith's playing of the beautiful Adagio, her pavane-like statement of the Chorale, and her attention to some surprising manual counterpoint in the accompaniment to the 4-foot pedal flute solo of the third variation. Scherzo Symphonique, transcribed by Jeremy Filsell from a 1974 improvisation by Pierre Cochereau, brought this outstanding recital to a quicksilver conclusion.

Alan Morrison in Princeton

For this listener the new organ work making the most lasting impression during the week was William Bolcom's Borborygm (a Latin/Greek word meaning "a rumbling of the bowels"), based on sketches by the late William Albright and dedicated to his memory by his long-time University of Michigan colleague. Beginning with the eponymous quiet low rumblings in the pedal, the 9-minute work reached its climax in a repeated, drum-like ostinato passage, and then subsided into quietness. Constantly arresting and interesting, this skillful work by the distinguished Pulitzer Prize-winning composer suggested Albright's style without sounding like an imitation. Morrison's performance was riveting, as was his entire recital (heard in the first of its four repetitions).

Another reconstructed Cochereau improvisation, Berceuse in Memory of Louis Vierne, utilized the melody of Vierne's own Berceuse (from 24 Pieces in Free Style)--a tune with startling similarity to the opening phrase of the Rodgers and Hart song There's a Small Hotel. At the climax of this piece Morrison utilized the brilliant Gallery Trumpet stop for the first time in his program.

Masterful command of registration and a deep understanding of the work characterized Morrison's playing of Duruflé's Suite, opus 5. The somber E-flat minor Prelude, perhaps the composer's most elegiac work, waxed and waned with powerful force; the daunting cross rhythms of the Sicilienne were expertly limned, and the thrilling, if over-exposed, Toccata (with the composer's revised ending) was tossed off with virtuoso aplomb.

A week largely devoted to organ music reminded one most pointedly of the absolute need for a sympathetic acoustical space if the organ is to be a successful musical medium. The Princeton University Chapel provided such an enjoyable partnership of noble Gothic-revival edifice with noble four-manual E. M. Skinner/Aeolian-Skinner/N. P. Mander organ (1928/1954-56/1991) installed on both sides of the chancel, plus additional divisions in the nave and west gallery.

Hatsumi Miura in Chestnut Hill

A breath of the past was just the needed antidote to three days of large electric-action organs, orchestral transcriptions, and mostly 20th-century repertoire; a more effective aural cleanser than Hatsumi Miura's elegant playing of the three-manual 45-stop Mander tracker organ (2000) of suburban Chestnut Hill's Presbyterian Church would have been difficult to imagine! The gentle tonal variety offered by the organ's slightly-unequal Kellner temperament, the player's artistic range of touches, and her beautifully-developed program in which works of Frescobaldi, Cabezón, and Cabanilles set off the novelty of Jehan Alain's medieval estampie-like Fantasmagorie and, as emotional high point, his Première Fantasie, led us to the satisfaction of stylistically-played Bach (the double-pedal An Wasserflüssen Babylon, BWV 653b and Prelude and Fugue in C, BWV 545). Brava Miura for this musical high point, and bravo Mander for an eloquently voiced instrument consisting of an encased Great, Swell, and Pedal, with separately encased Choir on the gallery rail, all with full 61-note manuals and 32-note pedal, thank you very much!

The organ as fun

For a group of professionals who take themselves very seriously far too much of the time, it was salutary to experience the organ as entertainment, lighter fare, yes . . . even fun! Among multiple opportunities to do this: the effervescent Hector Olivera amazed with his astounding musicianship at the Roland Atelier AT 90S digital keyboard instrument, especially with an expertly-nuanced and accurately-colored transcription of Stravinsky's Firebird Suite. With faux-castanets clicking from his keyboard-orchestra he brought down the house with a Foxian rendition of Bach's Gigue Fugue. Introducing the concert, Olivera's duo partner Richard Morris quipped "You've heard music you're supposed to hear this week; now here's what you want to hear!" Best of their collaborative efforts (prefaced by Morris' comic proffering of a tuning note and Olivera's "tuning" of his electronic-keyboard tympani) was their performance of the Poulenc Concerto in G minor. A two-keyboard version of Guilmant's Symphony Number 1  for Organ and Orchestra, opus 42, allowed a comparison of this composer's adaptation from a solo organ work with that of Widor heard at the opening concert. Of the two, Guilmant's seemed to be a more idiomatic, better balanced essay for organ and orchestra.

To lighten the procedings at the complimentary breakfast and annual AGO business meeting on Saturday morning, the Philadelphia Organ Quartet (Michael Stairs, Colin Howland, Rudolph Lucente, and Peter Richard Conte) provided their own brand of zaniness at four electronic instruments. Popular favorites included a rip-roaring Light Cavalry Overture thundering forth from twelve keyboards and four pedalboards, Tiptoe Through the Tulips for "petals" alone, and a relentlessly funny spoof of authentic performing practice, a "newly-discovered Sonata in C by the classical Swiss composer 'Monk Mueller'," for which Conte's instrument was tuned to a decidedly earlier (mis)temperament and a lower pitch than that employed by his accomplices.

Speaking of Peter Richard Conte, the Grand Court organist of the Wanamaker Organ at Lord and Taylor's department store displayed his considerable artistry on the world-famous six-manual instrument of more than 28,000 pipes. A twice-performed concert on the evening of July 4 featured his own transcriptions of Overture to Candide (Bernstein), The Sorcerer's Apprentice (Dukas), Edwin H. Lemare's arrangement of Wotan's Farewell and Magic Fire Music from Die Walküre (Wagner), and the truly unique opportunity to hear Dupré's Passion Symphony in its first complete performance on this organ since the composer first improvised it here in December, 1921. Historical performance practice of the first order! Conte's playing of the entire program was of the highest musicality, with an unimpeachable sense of timing and registration and absolute technical control. Both organ and building appeared to be in tip-top shape as were most of the convention venues. And what could have been more fitting than his encore, Sousa's Stars and Stripes Forever, complete with alternating red, white, and blue lights and an unfurling monster flag? No additional fireworks were needed for this patriotic celebration!

More organ recitals

Martin Baker, the "other" British recitalist, was saddled with a smaller instrument (38 ranks of 1921 Austin spread over four manuals and pedal) in a padded room (the visually attractive Congregation Rodeph Shalom). Baker made what he could of his assignment, playing particularly well in Duruflé's Scherzo, opus 2 and in his improvisation on a Jewish psalm melody, for which he utilized rapid repeated notes in an effective and telling manner. Organ and space did not abet his flawless playing of Mendelssohn (Sonata in A), Liszt (Orpheus), or Reger (Chorale Fantasia on Ein' feste Burg).

Similarly disadvantaged, Ann Elise Smoot's recital preceding afternoon worship at St. Mark's Episcopal Church died on the "hothouse" vine of a packed church, afflicted by high humidity and a program that sandwiched the potentially-exciting Reger Chorale Fantasia on Hallelujah! Gott zu loben between two dutiful works by Stanford. In this setting Ms. Smoot was unable to churn up much excitement. At the succeeding worship service the much-discussed, usually-deplored new nave division appended to the historic Aeolian-Skinner organ managed to prove its mettle by ciphering.

For Cherry Rhodes' recital on the Martin Ott organ of Trinity Lutheran Church in suburban Lansdale the only piece that seemed at home was the opener, Bach's lovely mostly-manualiter Pastorale in F. This very Germanic instrument did not do much for Ms. Rhodes' otherwise masterful performances of French and French-leaning works: Scènes d'Enfant d'après "The Turn of the Screw" (Jean Guillou), Meditations on Salve Festa Dies (Fr. Marius Walter), and Variations on Victimae Paschali Laudes (Jiri Ropek), the latter performed in memory of University of Alabama organ professor Warren Hutton, whose sudden death at the pre-convention pedagogy conference had both shocked and saddened the assemblage.

Organist Robert Plimpton capitalized on the Austro-German accents of the 1974 Rieger organ in Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church for assured performances of Bach (Chorale Partita on Sei gegrüsset) and Buxtehude (Toccata in F, BuxWV 157). The organ failed to be as sympathetic to the French vocabulary of  Franck's Grande Pièce Symphonique. Plimpton performed his teacher Robert Elmore's Holiday for Organ as if it were his own, and he seemed to revel in this return to the 98-rank organ installed during his tenure at the church.*

Repertoire enrichment sessions

Two beloved organists, both master teachers, gave organ-related recent-repertoire "mini-recitals" at featured morning time slots: Marilyn Keiser (organ and instruments) and David Higgs (solo repertoire). A third session surveying some recent choral works was offered by Clifford Hill.

Keiser devoted her program to works by living American composers, concentrating on appealing performances of two from the four Psalms for Flute and Organ by Moonyeen Albrecht, Dan Locklair's Sonata da chiesa for flute and organ (both with the elegant collaboration of flutist Mimi Stillman), Robert Powell's Carols of Christmas (which charmed, but failed to cool the room), and, with the Fairmount Brass Quintet plus tympani and cymbals, Craig Phillips' Suite. It was fortunate that the artist chose this format, for open windows admitted as much street noise as air, and her several remarks were totally obliterated by the beeping of backward-intentioned trucks.

David Higgs presented first performances of two works from the commissioned Philadelphia Organ Book (consisting of six pieces). Especially attractive was Star Rising by first-time composer for the organ Erik Santos, who was present. Also in attendance was Emma Lou Diemer, composer of the second work premiered, Prepare the Royal Highway. Because of excessive heat in the non-air-conditioned First Presbyterian Church, Higgs shortened his program; on Thursday, he mentioned that, having dispensed with a jacket, he was "playing in his shirtsleeves for the first time ever in public performance."

The immediate "hit" of Higgs' program was Recollection (Soliloquy No. 2) by David Conte. ECS Publishing head Robert Schuneman reported that all thirty copies brought to the convention sold out immediately after Higgs' first presentation on Tuesday, and more than 200 orders for it were placed during the week. In celebration of the national holiday, Higgs ended his program with 19th-century Harvard Professor of Music John Knowles Paine's sturdy Double Fugue on My Country, 'tis of Thee for the Full Organ.

Competitions

Once again a distinguished panel of judges (Margaret Kemper, Mary Preston, and George Ritchie) confounded those listeners who sat through the complete final round of the National Young Artists Competition in Organ Playing by choosing a safe, middle-of-the-road winner, Timothy Olsen. As has been increasingly the case in recent competitions I have attended, the audience prize winner (selected by votes from those who "stick it out" for the complete program), second-ranked Kola Owalabi, provided more interesting and exciting music-making. If the goal of this competition is to launch a young artist's concert career, it would seem that, once again, the audience made a more "judicious" choice than did the judges.

Not one of these players succeeded equally in all four required pieces ("Great" Praeludium in E minor, Bruhns; Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr, BWV 663, Bach; Etude in A-flat, Schumann; Allegro maestoso [Symphonie III], Vierne). If pressed for my own choice it would have been third place winner Christian Schmitt, whose Vierne seemed to my ears the one performance conveying the menace inherent in this work. His Bruhns was stylistic, if less fanciful than Owalabi's, whose delightful playing of the Schumann was the only one to capture its fantasy and to translate the composer's pianistic idiom to the organ with reasonable success. As is often the case, flexibly-articulated, stylish Bach-playing eluded all three players.

Winners of the National Competition in Organ Improvisation (which I did not hear) were Peter Krasincki (first prize), Neil Weston (second), and David Macfarlane (third). All three improvised on themes submitted by Harry Wilkinson. Judges for this event were Mary Beth Bennett, Lynn Trapp, and John Vandertuin.

A few workshops

While only four in number, my workshop choices included a wide range of topics offered by presenters at various stages of their careers. Nevertheless, each was successful, and each workshop held my interest. On Tuesday, as preparation for the evening concert, I went to hear veteran Widor-scholar John Near discuss the composition and reception histories of the work we were to hear. I am a longtime admirer of Near's exemplary editions of the Widor organ symphonies; he has added further to his luster by preparing Widor's opus 42 bis for performance! Much of what he said had been printed in the extensive notes so generously provided in the convention program book. It was particularly gratifying to hear Near's reference to our own venerable journal as he quoted The Diapason report (April 1919) of the American premiere of Widor's Symphonie in G minor featuring organist Charles Courboin with the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Leopold Stokowski. (The journal's correspondent reported 10,000 auditors in Wanamaker's Grand Court; other sources suggested the tally might be as high as 12 or 15,000.)

At Tuesday evening's performance I was seated in the balcony, close to Dr. Near, and was therefore privy to his delight as he held in his hands, for the first time, printed copies of his new edition (published by A-R Editions, Madison Wisconsin).

On Wednesday I attended "Thomas Jefferson's 'Favorite Passion'," a workshop by younger scholar Nancy Cooper from the University of Montana at Missoula. She kept us engaged in Jeffersonian biography and Cooperian wit (beginning as she quoted the musical 1776, "It's hot as hell in Philadelphia"), doled out to an overflowing roomful of interested folk. Musical examples from Jefferson's music collection were played on a lovely three-stop continuo positive organ, opus one, by Michael Rathke, now of Fort Worth, Texas (formerly employed by Fisk of Gloucester).

For the Friday time slot, I chose to sample a session on the music of my Oberlin Conservatory classmate Calvin Hampton, presented by Shelly Moorman-Stahlman from Lebanon Valley College. Some unforeseen glitches in her PowerPoint presentation and some non-sequentially copied musical examples notwithstanding, Ms. Moorman-Stahlman gave a well-organized overview of Hampton's organ music and highlighted his expertise in hymn-writing. Her performance, from memory, of The Primitives and Everyone Dance from the composer's Five Dances (1982) served as aural "bookends" to her presentation, and reminded us anew of the terrible loss Calvin's death represents to the organ world. Almost too poignant in this context was a notice posted on the bulletin board beneath the organ gallery of Arch Street Methodist Church: "Because of AIDS we remember . . ."

Finally, on Saturday, I learned again from the redoubtable Marilyn Mason, who presented a workshop, "A Lifetime of New Music," highlighting some of her 78 commissions of organ music. Beginning with prayer, continuing with focused wit, dropping nuggets of wisdom as she proceeded, Professor Mason charmed her audience. She was joined by Jean Randall, who shared the playing of several pieces by Gregory Hamilton, Gordon Young and Jean Langlais from the just-published first volume of the Mason Music Library Collection of Commissioned Works for Organ (MorningStar Music Publishers). In addition, Ms. Mason played Toccata from Suite for Organ (1947) by Edmund Haines, her very first commissioned work.

As for memorable humor, Mason shared a story from her recent trip to Spain during which an old acquaintance, a priest, told her "Madame Professor, you are looking so well preserved." She also recounted her classic tale of an encounter with a Boston matron during a recital visit to Symphony Hall.  Queried by the dowager about her Mason family pedigree, the artist replied that she was "Just Miss Mason from Michigan." To this the Bostonian commented, "Here we think breeding is everything." Without missing a beat Mason responded, "In Michigan we think breeding is fun, but not everything . . ." Of equal value in the good advice department, Prof. Mason left us with the observation, "The amateur practices to get it right; the professional practices so it can't be played wrong."

Choral components

Fine choral singing graced the convention, starting with the Monday evening Gathering Celebration at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. Gerre Hancock led his marvelous Saint Thomas (New York) Choir of Men and Boys in Duruflé's Four Motets; The Twelve by William Walton (whose centenary also occurs in 2002), and the first performance of a new work, Jacob's Prayer by Owen Burdick (to a text by Gian Carlo Menotti). Expecially lovely was Burdick's chordal setting of the words "O God, let me not die in darkness," and timely, too, for we were informed during priestly welcoming words that a power failure at 4 p.m. had rendered the building untenable for the evening service: "Only God's love (and the quick response of the electric company) restored organ, lights, and air conditioning in the nick of time." This was a relief on several fronts, since the weather deities historically seem to have had little regard for organ conventions. (I think of recent AGO gatherings in Boston, New York, Dallas, Denver; only Seattle was vouchsafed a pleasantly cool week!) It was good to know that, at least for the opening event, God appeared to be siding with organists!

The athletic, intricate accompaniment to Walton's joyous setting of master poet Wystan Auden's memorable text was handled skillfully by Judith Hancock. Stirring improvisations to open and close the service were created by Gerre Hancock and John Weaver. Another new work, Ceremonies for Organ and Brass Quintet by Jennifer Higdon, commissioned to mark the 100th anniversary of the Philadelphia Chapter of the AGO (the first "national" chapter outside New York City), clocked in at more than 30 minutes. This was simply  too much of a good thing. In future hearings, for which individual sections could be selected, the work might prove more effective. (I would suggest Opening Ceremony, Celebration [organ solo], and the last movement, Celebration.)

At the other end of the week, a Saturday concert by the Toronto Children's Chorus introduced the convention to Philadelphia's new concert venue in the Kimmel Center. Verizon Hall is cello-shaped, with four tiers of seats; the upper balconies actually surround the stage area. A dark wood interior, somewhat dry acoustically, has seats upholstered in vibrant red. This color was repeated in robes worn by 55 girl singers; the 13 boys were garbed in white shirts and black pants.

What a superb ensemble! Founder and conductor Jean Ashworth Bartle conducted the long and difficult program, drawing impeccable tuning, clear articulation, and satisfying musical results from her young charges. Their unified diction of Latin, German, and English texts was remarkable and easily understood, gratifying since there were several unannounced changes to the printed program. Pure sounds, plus added appoggiaturas, marked the stylish opening Stabat Mater (Pergolesi). An unaccompanied Ave Maria (Holst) and Eleanor Daley's delicate setting of Hilaire Belloc's The Birds (with piano) gave some welcome relief from the incessant brightness of the accompanying large electronic instrument by the Walker Technical Company.

Composer Ben Steinberg, urbane and succinct in his pre-premiere remarks, was given an exemplary first performance of his Psalms of Thanksgiving. Skillful writing for harp and cello (when not overbalanced by the organ) and flowing, singable choral lines resulted in 20 minutes of easy listening. Impressive poise and projection characterized the Chorus member who served as narrator. However, the work as a whole lacked sufficient variety to sustain interest. Like Jennifer Higdon's, this composition should fare better in excerpted form. Not for the first time during the week's new music I thought of the late Igor Kipnis' quotable quip about an interminable John Cage happening, "It reminded me of the New York Subway, but at least the Subway goes somewhere."

Some closing thoughts

Featuring "Rising Stars," winners of the 2001 AGO/Quimby Regional Competitions for Young Organists, as pre-service recitalists for the worship services proved an effective way to showcase emerging talent. I heard an adroit program of Vierne works played by Brett Maguire at Old St. Peter's Church on Tuesday. Previously I had sampled a Dallas presentation of her convention recital by Lucinda Meredith from Houston, also an assured and able player. The other "stars" in this constellation, still to be heard at some future occasions, included Tim Pyper, Christian Lane, Charles Burks, Thomas Schuster, Martin Grajeda, Jr., and Rico Contenti.

Following Maguire's recital a service of "Worship Through the Day" was offered by the 29-member choir from the Royal School of Church Music Training Course for Teenage Boys and Girls (10th grade through second-year college students), directed by Murray Forbes Somerville, with Eric Plutz, organist. Among a wide range of musical offerings was the first hearing of Douglas Major's anthem Love Poem to God (text by Rainer Maria Rilke) for choir, organ and synthesizer, featuring a congregational refrain ("What will you do, God, when I die?") signaled at each return by the haunting sounds of wind chimes. The young singers rose splendidly to the not-inconsiderable challenges of this work.

It was general cause for celebration to note a goodly contingent of younger AGO members, truly the future of the organization. Frequently manning the Exhibit Hall information booth for Oberlin Conservatory, organ majors Owen Cannon (entering freshman) and David Mislin (junior) were representative of these fresh faces. It was fun to recall the past, too, as I visited with Marjorie Jackson Rasche, FAGO, whom I met in 1957 as an Oberlin sophomore at my own very first AGO convention, a regional gathering in Akron, Ohio. Here she was in Philadelphia, seated next to me at the dinner-reception given by the Guild for members holding certification (FAGO, AAGO, ChM, CAGO, SPC). And, as unlikely as it might seem after reading that collection of letters, the ample Italian menu consisted of more than alphabet soup!

Diversity! It should be apparent to those reading this report that the program offered a wide range of offerings geared to many differing tastes. As a respite from continual organ music during the morning spent in Princeton, the seven-member New England Spiritual Ensemble sang a program of African-American music, their selections chosen to illustrate James Weldon Johnson's descriptive poem O Black and Unknown Bards. (And later, in Philadelphia, on a recreative walk, I discovered the historic marker dedicated to Francis Johnson [1792-1844], "America's first native-born master of music, African-American . . . .")

Another program "sorbet," though not on my schedule, was a concert by the Renaissance band Piffaro, early ensemble music sandwiched between carillon selections played by Lisa Lonie at St. Thomas Church, Whitemarsh, in Fort Washington.

The many Philadelphia connections between artists, pieces, and instruments (some of them noted in the remarks above) were appreciated. (Chairman Elwell and performance chair David Furniss are to be commended for this further felicity!) The plethora of faculty, students, and former students from the Curtis Institute of Music, in particular, made it apparent how very important this place of higher learning has been to the musical scene in Philadelphia and throughout the nation.

Another appreciated "first" at this meeting was the program book mention of the maintenance persons or firm responsible for upkeep and tuning of each convention organ.

Now that the 46th national convention of the American Guild of Organists has passed into history, might I suggest that, in order to secure the continued blessings of posterity, some of the expected profits generated by such a large attendance be set aside to endow an air conditioning assistance fund, with generous grants to the next east coast venue selected as host for a mid-summer convention? After all, who knows? There might not be any free paper fans, the next time around!

 

                  *Thanks to Dallas colleague Annette Albrecht, who served as my surrogate ears for Robert Plimpton’s recital.

 

                  Photographs by William Leazer (of the Dallas AGO Chapter).

PART ONE OF TWO

Ronald E. Dean

For its forty-ninth annual convention, the Organ Historical Society met in Buffalo, the land of Bills and Wings, with headquarters at the Adam’s Mark Hotel, close to the waterfront marina. Nearly four hundred people were in attendance. The Organ Handbook, which included a daily schedule and information on the events and performers as well as historical background on the churches visited and instruments featured, was dedicated to the memory of Farny Wurlitzer, Herman Schlicker and Robert Noehren, all of whom contributed significantly to the history of organ building in Buffalo. There were examples of instruments from all three builders heard during the week.

Wednesday

The events began with an optional tour to Niagara Falls and a buffet lunch at the new Seneca-Niagara Casino in downtown Niagara Falls, New York. There was ample time for those who wished to try their luck at the casino and perhaps recoup some of their convention expenses.

Fred Swann played the opening recital that evening on the reconstructed 3-manual Johnson & Son, Opus 797 of 1893 in the vast and beautifully appointed St. Stanislaus R.C. Church. After a welcome by the pastor (who is also auxiliary bishop of the diocese), Swann played the following program: Sonata 8 (op. 132), “Introduction and Passacaglia,” Rheinberger; Woodland Flute Call, Dillon; Fantasia in A, Franck; the hymn “Holy God, we praise thy name” (sung lustily by all) to the tune, Grosser Gott; By the Waters of Babylon, Huston; Petite Suite, Bales; the Symphonic Chorale, “Ach bleib bei deiner Gnade,” Karg-Elert; Meditation, Duruflé; and Fantasia and Fugue in G, Parry. Swann’s own delightful transcription of an Allegro of Corelli served as an encore. His expert programming and playing displayed the dignified and powerful sounds of the organ as well as the more delicate ensembles and solo colors—all enhanced by an acoustical environment favored by the church’s high vaulted ceiling and a octagonal dome at the crossing. After a well-deserved and enthusiastic standing ovation, the audience, which happily included many parishioners, went across the street to the parish hall for a reception. As people left the church, the tower bells pealed their joyful sounds. This event was certainly an apt beginning for a week of convivial celebration.

Thursday

The convention’s first full day began at the hotel with a lecture by Donald Ingram, who presented an enlightening and often humorous recollection of his association with Herman Schlicker (1902-1974) and the Schlicker Organ Company. The presentation dealt primarily with an overview of Schlicker’s tonal and mechanical innovations. At its height, the firm employed a work force of approximately forty-seven persons.

A short bus trip brought us to the sumptuous Delaware Avenue Baptist Church located in an area noted for the monumental beauty of many of its residences. The church building is a feast for the eyes with its Richardsonian design and attention to decorative detail. A particularly ornate baptistery set off by six marble columns with Ionic capitals and featuring a symbolic shell design immediately draws one’s eye to its inset location behind a coffered arch. Floating above in the curve of the domed church are representations of ten winged figures illustrating the text from Psalm 91: “He shall give His angels charge over thee.” On a balcony over the baptistery and thus completing a central focal point in the large auditorium is the 3-manual Johnson & Son, Opus 827 of 1895 (with later reworkings by both Viner and Schlicker) on which James Hammann played fourteen examples from Dudley Buck’s Studies in Pedal Phrasing (op. 28), followed by the hymn, “All glory be to God on high” sung to the tune  Allein Gott in der Höh. Hammann can always be relied upon to supply an unusual program well-suited to the organ at hand.

The fourteen Studies selected for this program displayed three important characteristics:

(1) the fact that these technical studies can be lovely little pieces in themselves thanks to Buck’s musical and melodic creativity;

(2) the various colors, solo stops and ensembles of a fine instrument can be featured effectively;

(3) in the hands of a fine artist such as James Hammann and his registrational sensitivity coupled with his flexibly shaped phrasing, music can be made out of what are basically pedal studies over which Buck wove attractive counter melodies. Hammann also provided a handout showing the registration for each study.

The 1896 Hutchings organ, Op. 465, at Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church offered an interesting contrast to the approximately contemporary Johnson (1895) just heard. Whereas the Johnson was originally supplied with mechanical action, the Hutchings had an early version of electro-pneumatic key and stop action and may have been the first organ in Buffalo to have had this “modern” action. Later additions and modifications were made by Wurlitzer, Viner and Schlicker (console). After remarks by both the interim pastor and the former music director, Derek Nickels played the following program: Sonata 5 in D (op. 65, no. 5, 1845), Mendelssohn; “Harmonies du Soir” from Trois Impressions (op. 73, 1911), Karg-Elert; “Scherzetto” from 24 Pièces en style libre (op. 31, 1913), Vierne; Elegy (1916), Brewer; the hymn, “Guide me O thou Great Jehovah,” sung by the entire assembly to the tune, Cwm Rhondda; and the “Finale and Fugue” from Sonata 7 in F (op. 127, 1881), Rheinberger. Even though the acoustically treated barrel vault plus the substantial grille work (added later in front of the original Hutchings case) prevented clear projection of the organ’s sound, the usual firm and distinguished basic Hutchings tone emerged quite well under Dr. Nickels’ expert playing. He wisely chose a very effective group of pieces to display the instrument’s colors and its highly expressive enclosed divisions.

A short bus trip brought us to the former First Church of Christ, Scientist, recently purchased by David and Marsha Karpeles of Santa Barbara, California. After renovation, it will become yet another venue for their extensive collection of original documents and manuscripts. We were served a box lunch as we sat in the pews and listened to a demonstration of the ex-church’s 1913 3-manual Möller, Op. 1500, rebuilt by Möller in 1956. David Blazer’s short and eclectic program included the Prelude from Duruflé’s Suite; a transcription of the theme from “The Young and The Restless,” and Bach’s Schmücke dich and Prelude in C Minor (BWV 546). The loud, somewhat boomy and opaque sound of the Möller successfully covered up munching and paper-rattling sounds produced by the hungry conventioneers. Blazer deserves our plaudits for putting up with what must have been a less than congenial performance situation on a difficult instrument.

The First Presbyterian Church, across from Kleinhans Hall, home of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, was the next stop for two demonstrations. The first was by Timothy Smith who presented a short program on the fine 1957 Schlicker in Hindman Chapel. The well-balanced 2-manual organ contains some pipework from the chapel’s previous ten-stop Roosevelt organ installed in 1889 as that firm’s Op. 426. Since we arrived at First Presbyterian early enough, many people chose to wander around and enjoy the richly decorated interior of the church including its Tiffany windows. Incumbent organist David Bond played the following program on the church’s landmark 4-manual Noehren organ of 1969-1970: the hymn, “Ye watchers and ye holy ones,” sung to Lasst uns erfreuen; Prelude in C (BWV 547), Bach; Noël Etranger, Daquin; “Humoresque” from L’organo primitivo, Yon; and Chorale No. 1 en mi majeur, Franck. The organ, situated in the rear gallery with its often-pictured suspended Positiv, was one of Noehren’s largest instruments and said to be his favorite of all the ones that came out of his atelier. It features broadly intense principal choruses, commanding chorus reeds, wide-scaled flutes and piquant and colorful baroque-style solo reeds. A bit of whimsy is reflected in the inclusion of a stop control (knob only) for 4/5’ Chivas Regal, evidently intended for eventual subtle Celtic blending characteristics. Bond performed brilliantly, showing that the instrument has ample broad support for a room full of OHS hymn singers and featured the delightful baroque color reeds against a plenum in the Daquin, the lovely Great Rohrfloete (with just enough chiff) in the Yon, and the massively voiced Great 8’ Principal at the beginning of the Franck. Since the console is located in close proximity to the pipes, the organist undoubtedly has to take into account problems of perceived balance and make adjustments for proper perceptions in the room. The organ has benefited from a recent thorough cleaning, re-regulation and some re-voicing by the Niagara Organ Works who thoughtfully provided complimentary copies of a newly produced CD in which one could hear another recital program and also a “before-and-after” example of some reed work.

Later that afternoon, Scot Huntington, organ builder and restorer as well as OHS Vice-President, presented the following program in Nativity of The Blessed Virgin Mary R.C. Church: Organ Motet, Tallis; Prelude in C, Thayer; Minuet in A, Smart; Maria Zart, Schlick; Violin Sonata #5, Bach (with Allison Alcorn-Oppedahl, violin); and Allegro maestoso, Roseingrave. The lovely instrument, apparently originally built by Hall and Labaugh in 1853 and moved to Buffalo later in the nineteenth century, stands proudly in the rear gallery of the lofty sandstone Gothic church. The church interior has been tastefully restored and is in a fine acoustical and visual setting for the seldom-used organ. Even though it needs a thorough restoration, Paul Marchesano, Joe McCabe and Kevin Gilchrist together with Scot Huntington provided many hours to give the instrument enough of a voice so that many of its colorful and delicate tones were able to sing through the vaults and accompany the violin to give a tantalizing taste of what a future restoration might produce.

The evening event was a demonstration and concert of appropriate music played with verve and enthusiasm by Scott Foppiano on the large and restored 1925-1926 Wurlitzer (Op. 1206) in Shea’s Buffalo Center for the Performing Arts. The vast and ornate auditorium was originally Shea’s Buffalo Theatre, one of the nation’s premier entertainment palaces built for the presentation of both stage shows and motion pictures. Foppiano demonstrated many of the organ’s solo and ensemble effects, both with and without the characteristic generously pulsating tremolos. In addition to playing music usually associated with this outstanding example of theatre organ building, he accompanied the showing of the 1922 silent film, “The Cops,” starring the hilarious and athletic Buster Keaton.

Friday

The morning began with Jonathan Ambrosino’s lecture on Robert Hope-Jones, the infamous, quirky, often misguided and personally haunted genius of the organ building world. The theme of his illustrated talk was centered on Hope-Jones’s ideas on “radical change.” Included were appropriate remarks on the ups and downs of the often stormy relationship between himself and the Wurlitzer firm, then located in nearby North Tonawanda, New York. As usual, Ambrosino, well-known for his combination of articulate delivery and depth of scholarship, seasoned with affectionate good humor, did not disappoint the conventioneers who filled the room with resounding applause.

There followed a short walk to St. Anthony of Padua R.C. Church for a short recital presented by Donald Fellows on a more-or-less “stock” model Hook & Hastings 2-manual tracker, Op. 1429 of 1889. The instrument had been moved to St. Anthony’s from Plymouth Methodist Church in 1911. The interior of this elegant and beautifully maintained church had been restored in 1991 and reflected the subtle care taken to emphasize the many architectural features of this Italianate Classic room. A high coffered ceiling and hard surfaces in the building helped to supply an ideal acoustical ambiance for the following program: Prelude and Fugue in d (op. 37, no. 3), Mendelssohn; “Stèle pour un enfant défunt” from Triptyque, Vierne; the hymn, “If now, thou seekest miracles,” sung to the tune Si quarus miracula; “Adoro te devote”—Prelude with Four Variations, Near; and Te Deum, Reger. The pieces were well-played and displayed the firm and distinguished tone of the Hook, which, in spite of some minor tuning problems, acquitted itself well.

Following a catered lunch at St. Francis Xavier R.C. Church, organist Tom Trenney presented the following short memorized recital on the church’s very early example of the work of Herman Schlicker: the hymn, “I sing the mighty power of God,” sung to the tune Forest Green; Bishop’s Promenade, Coke-Jephcott; Variations on “The Last Rose of Summer,” Buck; and “Prelude,” “Scherzo” and “Toccata” forming a three-movement improvisation on submitted themes. The 2-manual, largely enclosed organ of 1933, located in the rear gallery of the high and tastefully decorated room, does not sound as one’s “mind’s ear” might expect of a Schlicker. It has a warmth and breadth of tone more typical of that of a previous generation. The instrument is provided with two consoles, one in the gallery and one on the floor of the nave. It was from this floor console that Trenney played his program. The submitted themes, which Trenney had not seen prior to the performance, were Jerusalem (the wonderful Parry tune), “Come thou fount of every blessing” (Nettleton), and the inevitable Harry Warren show tune, “Shuffle off to Buffalo” (it had to happen sometime during the week!). Trenney achieved the unbelievable task of combining these disparate melodic concoctions into an entertaining and surprisingly unified musical offering. Here is a fine young artist who combines technical security and fire with a fine and sensitive lyric awareness.

Because of limited seating for the next two events, the conventioneers were split into two groups, which then exchanged places and thus heard a repeat of the program. This report will follow the order given in the official Handbook.

Stephen Roberts gave a short demonstration on the Church of the Ascension (Episcopal)’s 3-manual Kimball, K.P.O. 7129 of 1934, which is undergoing restoration. Since much of the organ is currently unplayable, Roberts chose pieces that would work on what is available. His program opened with the lusty singing of The Royal Telephone (“Central’s never busy, Always on the line”) followed by Four Versets on Ave Maris Stella (op. 18, nos. 6-9), Dupré; Vision, Rheinberger; and Variations on “America,” Ives. Roberts, with the aid of a student console assistant, was able to give us more than a few hints of what will eventually be the resurrection of a really fine Kimball.

After a refreshing reception in Ascension’s Parish Hall, the group walked the short distance to Holmes Chapel in Westminster Presbyterian Church for a  demonstration played by Lorenz Maycher on what he calls his favorite instrument, the beautifully balanced 2-manual Aeolian-Skinner, Op. 1136 of 1951. The organ features a floating Positiv division, which is hung on the rear wall of the chapel, thus creating a stunning visual effect as well as a source for antiphonal effects, and, when desired, an enveloping sound for singing support. His program: How Brightly Shines the Morning Star, Telemann; Fugue in d (“Fiddle”), Bach; the hymn, “Holy, holy holy! Lord God Almighty,” sung with plenty of support from the organ to the tune Nicaea; Whimsical Variations (1950), Sowerby, and Fugue in C (op. 36, no. 3), Dupré. As usual, this young artist played with a total “no nonsense” command of the instrument, allowing his technical control to serve the organ and its music.

The previously split groups then met in the main church for Felix Hell’s full recital on the 4-manual Aeolian-Skinner, Op. 1249 of 1959 located in the rear gallery. His program: Fantasy and Fugue on B-A-C-H; Reger; Chorale No. 2 in b (1890), Franck; the hymn, “Praise to the Lord,” sung in a good, broad “Anglican” tempo to the tune Lobe den Herren; and Fantasy and Fugue on “Ad nos ad salutarem undam,” Liszt. For an encore, he played the last movement from Trio Sonata 1, Bach. Hell has the distinction of being the youngest person (at age 18) to graduate with a Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music. Last  fall (at age 19), he began graduate work at the Peabody Conservatory where he studies with Donald Sutherland. The charming and totally unaffected young virtuoso possesses an impressive technique, and it will be revealing to observe his increasing musical sensitivity as his career develops.

Central Park United Methodist Church was the site for a relaxing catered dinner followed by ample time for a post-prandial stroll in the lovely neighborhood. The handsome limestone church houses the Ward Memorial Organ, a 4-manual Skinner, Op. 356 of 1922-1923. The instrument’s layout is somewhat unusual in that the console and part of the Pedal division as well as the Swell and Choir are located in a transept, while the Great, Solo and the Pedal reed are in the central ceiling of the nave and over the crossing. These latter elements are concealed (very effectively) by a grille cloth colored to blend into the ceiling. This is certainly a clever arrangement, but one can only imagine the tuning and balance problems such an installation can create.

The artist for the recital was Thomas Murray who presented the following program, which he interspersed with highly appreciated and helpful comments: Introduction and Passacaglia in d  (1899), Reger; Fantaisie in D-flat (op. 101, 1895), Saint-Saëns; a group featuring “Four Americans:” Hommage to Perotin (1956), Roberts; Novelette (1908), Parker; Reverie (1962), Still; and Ride on, King Jesus, Greenlee; followed by Notturno (1942) and Impetuoso (1933), Wiedermann. After intermission, we all sang “Battle Hymn of the Republic” to the tune Vision; the program concluded with Rhapsody (op. 17, no. 3, 1919), Howells; Overture to Ruy Blas (1839), Mendelssohn (arr. Lemare); and three movements from the Byzantine Sketches (1920): “Rosace,” “Noël,” and “Toccata: Tu es petra,” Mulet. Murray received a richly deserved standing ovation for his expert playing and was able to bring out the best from this somewhat unusually designed and very fundamental-toned organ. The controversial John A. Bell was the consultant for this particular project and may have been largely responsible for some of its odd tonal characteristics. One cannot help comparing this instrument with the earlier Skinner of 1922 (Op. 327) in St. Luke’s, Evanston, played by Murray at the Chicago OHS Convention in 2002. The Evanston installation, even allowing for the vastly different architectural and acoustical setting, gives the impression of being a much more cohesive and “modern” instrument.

Saturday

The day’s events began with a lecture by organ builder Charles Kegg on the topic “Pipe Organ Restoration,” subtitled “more than you really wanted to know.” His basic tenet is that a true restoration is “ . . . bringing back what was lost.” Much of his talk dealt with specific problems involved in the continuing restoration of the 1934 Kimball heard in the Church of the Ascension the day before. He emphasized the fact that the Kimball’s original materials and design were of very high quality indeed. Among the points he raised were the fact that water damage in organ chambers is sometimes due to inherent building design flaws and that “ . . . falling plaster is not our friend.”

The first recital of the day was held on the landmark 1954 Schlicker in Trinity Episcopal Church with Stephen Schnurr presenting the following program: Fantasia super Komm, Heiliger Geist (BWV 651), Bach; Toccata in d (BuxWV 155), Buxtehude; Balletto del granduca, Sweelinck (attrib.); Concerto del Sigr. Meck, Walther; the hymn, “Lord, enthroned in heavenly splendor,” sung to the tune Bryn Calfaria; and Variations de Concert (op. 1), Bonnet. The organ, situated in the rear gallery, features a tight and well-balanced plenum together with perky small ensembles and colorful solo registers. As usual, the multi-talented Schnurr demonstrated his sure technique and subtle musical sense.

Will Headlee played the final recital of the morning on a thoroughly grand and somewhat altered Kimball of 1903 located in the high rear gallery of the equally grand St. Louis R.C. Church. This was one of several highlight programs with the organ, organist and restored church creating an overall magnificent experience. Headlee thoughtfully provided a sheet of written commentary done up in his usual entertaining style and gave information on both the music and his registrations. His program: two of the Trois Préludes et Fugues (op. 7, 1918), B Major and F Minor, Dupré; Air for Organ (1963), Hancock; from the Partita on “Sei gegrüsset, Jesu gütig” (BWV 768), Bach (Choral, Variations, I, VII and XI); Introduktion und Passacaglia in d (1899), Reger; and the rousing hymn, “Round the Lord in glory seated,” sung to the tune Rustington. Following Headlee’s superb performance, which was justifiably acknowledged with a standing ovation, the departing audience of parishioners and conventioneers was treated to the celebratory ringing of a bell located in a beautiful and lofty tower, which, together with the tower of the First Presbyterian Church, can be seen from many points in the city of Buffalo.

The next locale was Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (located diagonally across the street from the historic Anchor Bar, home of the original “Buffalo Wings”). After a catered lunch we took part in a hymn festival with the redoubtable James Bigham in charge. The main church houses the largest organ in western New York, the 5-manual Margaret L. Wendt Memorial Organ of some 152 ranks, originally a 1949 Möller (Op. 7852) with many changes and additions made by others over the years. Charles Kegg, who rebuilt both the massive console in the chancel as well as the one in the gallery and who was also responsible for most of the recent tonal work, explained some of the features of this remarkable instrument’s layout. Its divisions emanate from a variety of locations in the attractive room, and it is amazing that all of the spread-out portions of the organ worked cohesively and were in fine tune. To say that the instrument has room-filling potential would be an understatement as we were to find out later during the program. Bigham, widely known for his creative improvised hymn accompaniments, expertly played one division against another during the singing of the hymns, effectively demonstrating both large and small ensembles and colorful solo effects. Unfortunately, the creative muse overcame a sense of balance and soon proved how loud an organ can go to swallow up the sound of a room full of singers, several of whom were seen quietly replacing the hymnals in the racks or, in at least in one case, frantically waving a white handkerchief signifying sonic surrender. As a giddy postlude to this event, several people on the buses transporting conventioneers to the next recital pointed out the location of St. Mary’s School for the Deaf just a few blocks away.

The final event of the afternoon took place at the Jordan River Missionary Baptist Church with Randy Bourne playing the following program: “Wedding March” from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Mendelssohn; “Adagio sostenuto” from Moonlight Sonata (op. 27, no. 2), Beethoven; “Air (on the G-string)” from Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D (BWV 1068); “Little” Prelude and Fugue in G Minor (BWV 557), Bach; Song on an Old Negro Melody, Deep River (1917), Burleigh; and the hymn, “I’ve just come from the fountain,” the African-American spiritual, which was done up “in the style” by the room full of singers. The organ, a Votteler-Holtkamp-Sparling, Op. 1343 of 1919 and obviously in great need of a total restoration, created multiple challenges for Bourne who lovingly struggled to make the organ sound as well as it could. It is a rare example of a small original and unaltered essentially 8-foot instrument by this important midwest builder. A curious feature of the console is its use of color-coded stop tabs. Congratulations are due to the church for not replacing the organ and to Randy Bourne for his considerable efforts to elicit sounds from it.

St. Paul’s Cathedral (Episcopal), just a short walk from the headquarters hotel, was the locale for the evening events—a choral evensong and an organ recital. The evensong featured the Men and Girls of the Cathedral Choirs under the direction of its recently appointed organist-choirmaster, Andrew Cantrill, with Andrew Scanlon, assistant organist-choirmaster, providing the accompaniments. After a short interval, Scanlon played the following program of three sonatas: Sonata No. 3 in A (op. 65, no. 3), Mendelssohn; Sonata II (1937), Hindemith; and Sonata Eroïca (op. 94, 1930), Jongen. The organ is an interesting one in that the chancel portion was built by Schlicker in the 1950s with more recent rebuilding by Ralph Richards and Bruce Fowkes. The gallery division’s magnificent case, originally by Hope-Jones, houses the remains of a 1908 Hope-Jones unit as the Solo. Over the years, further work was done by Wurlitzer to the gallery and chancel divisions, both of which had been of Hope-Jones design. It is a rarity to find vintage Hope-Jones pipes and unit chests existing together with Wurlitzer and Schlicker and later tonal and mechanical material all available in a single effective instrument.

by Malcolm Wechsler

Malcolm Wechsler, of N. P. Mander, Ltd. - U. S. A., is Organist/Choirmaster at Trinity Episcopal Church, Stamford, CT.

Day One - Sunday, June 21

The convention day began at 1 p.m., the morning being filled with arrivals and registrations. First venue: The Paramount Theater, with its remarkable 20-rank WurliTzer, which speaks clearly and forcefully into the room from big, open chambers on either side. The Pedal is incredibly strong and quick. There is a tremendous variety of solo sounds, all of which we heard. The program began with the two consoles rising majestically from under the stage, with Joel Kremer and Robert Castle at the main console and "slave" console,  respectively, giving us a great medley of popular show tunes. It being Sunday, we made a feeble attempt to sing "The church's one foundation," accompanied by Robert Castle in something other than the "cathedral tradition," and without us having words in front of us. Robert then pushed a switch on the left side of the "slave," that sent it slowly back to the basement. Joel Kremer continued with several solo pieces, ending with "The Stars and Stripes Forever." Professor of History at the University of Colorado, Thomas Noel, then gave us, with slides, some history of Denver's development, which was partly spurred by a secondary gold rush, about a decade after the great one to California. James Mosby Bratton, complete with slides, spoke to the topic "Hook Your Hastings to a Steere," a history of Denver and area churches and organs. All too often, seeing the slide of a wonderful, old church building, we learned that it had been torn down or the organ replaced by an electronic substitute.

After a break, we returned to our seats for "White Desert," a full-length, wonderfully-made 1925 silent film about the building of the railroad through the mountains west of Denver. This was both a "cliff-hanger" and a "tear jerker," the effect heightened greatly by Robert Castle's seamless and suitable accompaniment on the great organ. Everyone was a bit drained and teary-eyed when the lights came up.

After dinner on our own, we were bussed to St. John's in the Wilderness Episcopal Cathedral for a glorious, if to some, a bit radical, Evensong. I was personally moved by the whole service, and in at least one place, to my great surprise. Donald Pearson is the Cathedral's musician, and his very capable associate is John Repulski. The organ is the justly celebrated 1938 Kimball, recently restored. Donald Pearson began with the ravishing Frank Bridge Adagio, followed by the Invitatory, from a set of Responses by Pearson, all of which we heard during the course of the service. Phos Hilaron was a plainsong-like setting by Richard Proulx, with several refrains for us all to sing. Psalm 138 was sung to an attractive verse-with-fauxbourdons sort of music by Glen McGrath. The Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis were the South American Rhythm-inspired settings by Bryan Kelly. We sang the Apostles' Creed on one note, accompanied by a lush chordal organ accompaniment by Jeffrey Rickard. In Donald Pearson's setting of the Versicles and Responses, the versicle was in each case accompanied richly, using mostly harp-like sounds, on an electronic keyboard played by John Repulski. I have an innate resistance to the presence of loudspeakers in church music-making, but I have to say, I found this very effective, and even beautiful. The music is well-written, the performance was solid, and there was clear amplification of the sound, with no distortion. Here followed three fine anthems, confidently sung by the very large Cathedral Choir: "O sing to the Lord with hymns newly made," by Donald Pearson; "How lovely are the messengers," Mendelssohn; and "How lovely are your dwellings," by John Leavitt. We finished with a rousing singing of Lauda Anima, "Praise, my soul, the King of Heaven," as only an OHS congregation can provide.

After a short stretch, we were treated to "A Concert of Mighty Organ Duets," played by Donald Pearson and John Repulski: Mozart, Fantasia K.608, four hands enriching the harmonies; Danse Macabre (Saint-Saëns), four hands; the C Major Soler Concerto, Andante and Minuet, with John Repulski going to a small Casavant continuo/chamber organ; The Ride of the Valkyries, with a wonderful thick texture, made possible by four hands. After singing "O filii et filiae" from the 1982 Hymnbook, we heard John Rutter's variations on it for two organists; Ragtime by Charles Callahan; and finally, French Toccata on the name Helmut, by Ralf Bölting (b. 1953). The performers were buoyed by the great ovation at the end, including many shouts of Bravo.

And so ended a great OHS first day!

Monday, June 22

Day two begins in Lyons, CO, and in line with convention policy, we are gradually experiencing higher and higher altitudes. Yesterday, it was enough just to adjust to mile high Denver. Today, we are at 8,500 feet. Tomorrow is a day in Denver, and on Wednesday, we will spend some of the day at over 10,000 feet. On this clear, beautiful day, we are surrounded by snow capped mountains, and are told we will be throwing snowballs by day's end! Enough travelogue.

The first musical event of the day took place at The Old Stone Church of Lyons with Will Headlee, Professor of Organ Emeritus, Syracuse University. The organ: Hook & Hastings two-manual, 9 stops, Opus 1948, built in 1902, an organ of great charm and beauty. Will Headlee is a regular at OHS conventions, and his cheerful playing, programming, and comments are always a delight. He also makes a point of telling helpful bits about his registrations, which really explored the organ very effectively. The program: Mendelssohn, Allegro con brio (Sonata 4); J.S. Bach, Wer nur den lieben Gott (Schübler); Rheinberger, Vision; Hobart Whitman (1904-1952), Elegy (1947); Charles Quef (1873-1931), Noël Parisien (1904); hymn, a rousing performance of "When morning gilds the skies" (Laudes Domini, Barnby).

First United Methodist Church, Boulder--Bruce Stevens, another welcome regular at these conventions. The organ: Frank Roosevelt, No. 382, built in 1888, a gutsy 3-manual instrument of about 35 stops. The program, a stolid collection of music, none of which I had heard before, full of interest, and beautifully played: Fleury, Variations on a Burgundian Noel "When, in the frosty season"; Soler, Sonatas in E minor and G Major; Fr. Davide da Bergamo (1750-1830), Sonatina for Offertory or Post Communion; Bonnet, Second Legend, op. 7, no. 10; Jongen, Cantabile, op. 37, no. 1; Rheinberger, Sonata No. 5 in F-sharp Major, op. 111; hymn, "I vow to thee, my country" (Thaxted, Gustav Holst).

Next came the great climb up to Central City, at 8,500 feet, first stop St. James United Methodist Church, to hear Jane Edge. As you will see below, she manages to find totally unusual programs--I thought I knew nothing on her list, but did discover that I recognized Narcissus, which I think I must have played on the piano as a child. The whole recital was great fun, played with spirit, and with registrations that showed careful thought, therefore showing off this charming instrument beautifully. The organ: J. W. Steere and Son, Opus 456, 1899, 16 stops. The program: hymn, "Praise, my soul, the King of Heaven" (Lauda Anima); F. Opel (??), Opening Voluntary (arr. from Farmer's Mass); Ole Bull (1810-1880), Solitude on the Mountain (arr. for organ by Claude F. Saunier); W. Hewitt (??), French Air With Variations (The Air turned out to be Twinkle twinkle, little star); Stravinsky, Berceuse from The Firebird (arr. for organ by J. T. Quarles); Horatio Parker, Impromptu, op. 17, no. 2; Ethelbert Nevin, arr. for organ by Reginald Goss-Custard, 1. The Rosary, 2. Narcissus; Easthope Martin (d. 1928), Evensong; Liszt, Adagio; Whiting, "Onward, Christian Soldiers" (something I would love to do as a postlude at home--possibly on my very last Sunday!).

A walk down the hill brought us to St. Paul's Episcopal Church, a fine-looking stone building, with a rather chaotic interior. The Anglican Spirit greeted us right inside the door, where we were offered iced cappuccino and lots of cookies, and a big collection basket seeded with dollar bills already. We were well and truly crammed into this church, with people standing all around. The charming James Mosby Bratton, retired U. of Denver professor whom we had heard talk at the Paramount the day before, presented a recital on a Mason & Risch Vocalion (a "first class reed organ"), No. 1033 (1893). He had some help with pumping, apparently much more strenuous at 8,500 feet, given the thin air. We began by singing a song, "Colorado Home," to the tune of "Home on the range." The rest of the program: Bach, Prelude in d minor (BWV 539); Willing, General Custer's Funeral March, op. 43; Louis Adolphe Coerne (1870-1922), Bagatelle, op. 24, no. 1; Gustav Baumhauser, Pike's Peak March (c. 1875); Lefébure-Wély, Fugue in d minor, op. 122, no. 6.

After this program, we were at liberty to explore the town and find some dinner on our own. Colorado has permitted three dying old mining towns to open casinos, and Central City is full of them. As is true in casinos elsewhere, meals are available at very low prices, and we ate in the dining room above one such, with Prime Rib for about $3. The food was good and plentiful, too.

Winding down the mountain on the bus, we reached the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Denver, where Fred Hohman delivered himself of lots of bombast, interspersed with some more delicate fare. The room is quite vertical, and despite carpeting everywhere, there is plenty of resonance bouncing off the hard surface walls and ceiling, and plenty of organ sound to do the bouncing! The organ was basically a Kimball, but is now, at least in large part, a new 3-manual instrument of about 35 stops by Ivan P. Morel & Associates, a well-regarded area builder. Fred, who is well-known for his skill as a transcriber, played a program entirely of works originally for the organ, as follows: Vierne, Symphony No. 2 in E, op. 20, Allegro, Scherzo; Naïades (Pièces de Fantaisie, Fourth Suite, op. 55); Franck, Choral No. 2 in B minor; Widor, Finale from the Sixth Symphony; Dupré, The World Awaiting the Savior (Symphonie-Passion); Langlais, Cantilène (Suite Breve); Mulet, Tu es Petra (Byzantine Sketches); Duruflé, Sicilienne and Toccata (Suite, op. 5).

Tuesday, June 23

Day three began at the Scottish Rite Masonic Temple, where three stars were in evidence: Richard Purvis, Kenneth Matthews, and the mighty Kimball, all working together for good. Kenneth was a student of Purvis, and also presided over another great Kimball, at a Christian Science Church in San Francisco for some time--so he came to his task with experience. This 1924, 3-manual Kimball, very much a theatre style instrument, is located all over the ceiling, but despite what look like relatively small places for tonal egress, it has immense impact. It appears to be about 18 stops, greatly unified and extended. Kenneth Matthews knew exactly what to do to demonstrate all the organ's virtues, using as a vehicle Christmas music of Purvis. We could not have asked for a better demonstration of the organ's resources, including the Bass Drum, Chinese Gong, Harp, and Chimes. The program, all Purvis: Prelude Solennel (Veni Immanuel); Offertory (Resonet in Laudibus); Communion (Gaevaert); Carillon (Puer Nobis Nascitur); Greensleeves (from Four Carol Preludes); Pastorale (Forest Green, from 7 Chorale Preludes on Tunes Found in American Hymnals); hymn: "O come, all ye faithful," with our sopranos having some success with the Willcocks descant from memory; Carol Rhapsody.

We walked across the street to the First Baptist Church of Denver, to hear a large organ built originally in 1945 by Aeolian-Skinner for the ubiquitous Senator Emerson Richards, of New Jersey. By 1949, he was tired of it, bought a replacement, and Opus 1047 was sold to the Denver Baptists. If it sounded in New Jersey as it now sounds in Denver, I have no problem understanding the Senator's wish to replace it. In Denver, it is buried in chambers, and speaks out only with difficulty. I could not help wondering if our ears ever thought that was a wonderful sound! To be fair, there may be beauty in small combinations and solo stops, but we never did get to hear any of them. Raymond Garner chose a program that basically featured full organ primarily, not this organ's happiest mode. The program: Wagner, Fanfares from Parsifal, arr. Virgil Fox; Widor, Allegro from the Sixth Symphony; hymn, "Behold a Sower."

Jonathan Ambrosino took the lectern, and delivered himself of a splendid lecture entitled "The Transition from the Symphonic to the English Ensemble 1925-1940: Denver's Response to a National Trend." I do hope the text of this will become available--I have no doubt it will.

We had a pleasant lunch at the Temple Events Center Uptown, a former Jewish Temple. We could see but not hear the 1911 Estey with two similar cases. Imagine two large auditoria side-by-side, completely open to each other at the point of joining. In each of these auditoria is a platform, and a choir loft above with an organ case. There is only one console, at the case to the right. One assumes that the left side auditorium was for the great overflow of the High Holy Days, and that this was a clever, if expensive, way to provide equal organ coverage in both places.

Our next stop, the fine former Second Church of Christ, Scientist, now The Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Denver. Baha'i worship makes no use of the organ, and the congregation had plans to try to sell it, but the local OHS gang stepped in, and made a case, successfully it would seem, that the organ should be preserved in situ. The Baha'i community has now embraced the instrument, and is planning a concert series in which it can be heard. That this large (3-manual, 34 stops) and wonderful Hook & Hastings, Opus 2370 of 1916, is worthy of preservation was more than amply demonstrated in a fine recital by Charles Rus, from San Francisco. He registered with wonderful care and imagination, enabling us to hear just about every possible combination of sounds. The program: Howells, Master Tallis' Testament; Schumann, No. 1 in C and No. 4 in D-flat of the Four Sketches for Pedal Piano; hymn, "Creation Spirit, by whose breath" (Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend'), with us singing the four stanzas of the hymn, one each after each of four variations on this tune by Georg Böhm. We sang in unison the rhythmic version found in the ELCA Hymnal. How lovely it would have been for us, glorious harmonists as we are, to have sung in four parts; Craig Phillips (b. 1961), Fantasy: Torah Song (Yisrael Voraita).

In yet another event demonstrating well the beauty of an old instrument, Dana Robinson of Davenport, Iowa played the following program in the South Gate Masonic Lodge Hall: Widor, Praeludium Circulaire from Symphony No. 2; Boëly, Andante con moto; Mozart, An Andante for a Cylinder in a Little Organ (K 616), Lasst uns mit geschlungnen Handen (Let us now with joined hands), appropriately from "A Little Freemason Cantata"; Liszt, Ave Maria von Arcadelt; hymn, "The spacious firmament on high," on which I thought we did quite well; and then, in a further inspired choice, Handel, Variations in E (The Harmonious Blacksmith). The organ--a tiny (7-stop) Farrand & Votey, Opus 776, c. 1897--made lots of music this day!

Next stop, the Iliff Theological Seminary Chapel to hear a rich and satisfying 1910 Wirsching organ of 16 stops. Richard Robertson, Denver, played the following program, which showed off the great power and variety of this instrument: Hurd, Suite in Three Movements (commissioned for this convention); Reger, Benedictus; Warlock, from Capriol Suite: 1. Pavane and Basse, 2. Danse; Mendelssohn, Prelude & Fugue in F Minor, op. 35.

After dinner at our hotel, back to St. John's Cathedral to hear the perfect match of music, instrument, and musician. I do believe that Thomas Murray is one of the most thorough of all performers in working out registration, and will limitlessly complicate his time at the console, if it means getting just the right effect. He also listens, as do very few, to what the instrument and building are telling him about tempo, texture, and touch. In addition to which, there is no more sensitive swell pedal foot in the organ world. We, and a large audience of non-OHS types as well, were the beneficiaries of all that work, in the following lovely program: Bach, Sinfonia from Cantata No. 29; Saint-Saëns, Prelude & Fugue in B Major; Elgar, Severn Suite, op. 87 (1932), transcribed by Thomas Murray. After a short intermission, Barbara Owen presented to the Junior Warden of the Cathedral, the OHS Plaque awarded to churches that have "instruments worthy of preservation," and have kept them well--certainly a well-deserved honor in this place. Fleury, Variations on a Burgundian Noël (heard earlier in the week); hymn, "Come down, O love divine" (Down Ampney); Rheinberger, Sonata No. 13, op. 161 (the opening theme of which is almost identical to the opening phrase of Down Ampney); encore: The last of Saint-Saëns Seven Improvisations, op. 150.

Wednesday, June 24

We reached maximum altitude, peaking at 11,300 feet at one point. Leadville, where we began our day, is, we were told, just 12 feet less than two miles above sea level, and I for one, really felt this, as did many others. It became most noticeable during the hymn singing. There clearly was not as much air to go around as one is used to. One of the local people told me that it can take six months to fully adjust. Around us, and slightly above us, was quite a bit of snow.

Lois Regestein, another regular at OHS conventions, played at St. George's Episcopal Church, on a gentle but lovely little George Ryder (1882) organ of 11-stops. Besides the fact that her program showed off the little organ very well, she made thoughtful and interesting connections with the organ and the town. Her program: Mendelssohn, Prelude in G, op. 37, no. 2; Woodman (b. 1957), Variations (selected) from Greensleeves; Mendelssohn, Fugue in G, op. 37, no. 2; (I did not get to ask Lois why she chose to break the Mendelssohn up in the manner of the Bach St. Anne in the Clavier Übung, part III. Did Mendelssohn somehow conceive of a split performance like that?) Having discovered the quality of the Oboe on this organ when she arrived in Leadville for the first time, Lois added at this point a little trumpet tune sort of piece of Telemann; Thomas Ryder (1836-1877), Moderato (Thomas Ryder was the brother of George Ryder, the organbuilder, and often dedicated his brother's instruments.); Douglas Moore, The Willow Song (from The Ballad of Baby Doe); (This was sung by Patti Smith, a wonderful soprano living in Leadville, but with a career well beyond her community. We had an interesting discussion about practicing daily in Leadville, with its very thin air, and then appearing in places closer to sea level. Apparently, in terms of breathing, this puts her at a decided advantage. Anyway, this was an ingenious bit of programming, as Baby Doe herself lived in Leadville!--well done, Lois!) Vaughan Williams, Prelude on Rhosymedre; hymn: "My song is love unknown" (Rhosymedre).

I first met and heard Grant Edwards last year at OHS in Portland, and thought his a very special musical personality, full of control, confidence, and good cheer, with clearly very careful preparation in every detail. Today's concert continued in that mold. It having been announced that the organ for today's performance might well be at least the second highest pipe organ in America, if not the first, Grant explained that he was convinced he was given this assignment because of his complaints last year in Portland about the bench not being high enough! We are now in First Presbyterian Church, Leadville, and the organ is a 13-stop instrument by William Schuelke, Opus 67 (1889). The program: Böhm, Partita on "Ach wie fluchtig, ach wie nichtig"; hymn: "What does the Lord require" to the lovely Erik Routley tune, Sharpthorne; Kodaly, Six Epigrams (charming pieces which Grant graciously substituted for the Vaughan Williams Rhosymedre, when he realized that Lois Regestein was going to play it); Widor, Pastorale from Symphony No. 2; Diemer, Farewell, Good Friends (Shalom Chaverim - 1996).

Next stop, Georgetown, and its very small Grace Episcopal Church. The group was broken into three parts, and Marilyn Stulken, another old hand at OHS conventions, had to play her program three times, while the rest wandered this interesting old town. I went to the group 3 recital, at the beginning of which, the church was given an OHS Plaque honoring its organ of "historical interest, and worthy of preservation." Quite a number of members of the congregation showed up for this--I think they are justly quite proud of the single manual, seven-stop instrument. It is a rare, intact survivor by Denver organbuilder Charles Anderson, built in 1876, and may well be the oldest organ in the state, although somewhat altered tonally. Marilyn gave a good demonstration of the organ, beginning with the Bach Partita on "O Gott, du frommer Gott." This was followed by two interludes from "Melodia Sacra," c. 1850, by George Frederick Bristow, after which we attempted to sing an old hymn written out with the melody in the tenor, "Jesus, the Conqueror reigns," to a tune called Germania. We were not a success. This was followed by two more of the Bristow interludes, after which we sang another hymn, "Awake, and sing the song," to Festal Song. We did much better this time around. The program finished with a Festival Postlude in D by W. Eugene Thayer.

At this point, music was done for the day. We were treated to a delightful narrow gauge steam train ride on the Georgetown Loop Railroad. The old steam engine was a marvel, making all the wonderful noises steam engines make, and with a very complex chord for a whistle! The scenery was spectacular. We then partook of a barbecue in the city park, with entertainment by the Queen City Jazz Band, playing in the old band stand. Back at the hotel, it was time to visit the last night of the exhibits and sales desks, and to spend, spend, spend on all the wonderful books, music, and CDs.

Those who know the OHS Catalogue will not be surprised that the many tables were littered with probably more organ and church music CDs than might have ever been seen under one roof. Joseph Vitacco was there representing his company, JAV Recordings, Ray Biswanger had a display and materials representing the Friends of the Wanamaker Organ, a truly worthy endeavor. Several members of the Richard Bond organbuilding team (Portland, Oregon) were on hand with large pictures of this excellent builder's work, and with a brand new, fine, and very attractive, three-stop continuo organ.

Thursday, June 25

We were scheduled for an earlier departure this morning--8:15 instead of the usual 8:30--but the bus company, creatures of habit, showed up at the usual time. No one would have minded, were it not for the fact that the Pharmacy Association was having its convention beginning today, and in the large lobby where we await the busses, there was laid out a most impressive breakfast spread. Most of us, unbreakfasted, tried removing our OHS badges and looking like pharmacists, but the tables were well guarded. No luck!

We bounced along I-225 South to Colorado Springs, and the Air Force Academy, to hear two organs in the Roman Catholic and Protestant Chapels respectively. Here, the work of designing the instruments and the job of building them were separate contracts, that in a state institution had to be put to tender separately. Walter Holtkamp Sr. won the design contracts, and Möller the building contracts. Holtkamp, I believe, voiced and finished the organs. Joseph Galema has been at the Academy since 1982, as Music Director of the Cadet Chapels since 1989. He is organist at the Protestant Chapel, and is responsible for ten choirs! He began his peripatetic recital in the Roman Catholic Chapel on the three-manual, 28-stop organ, as follows: Bach, Six Schübler Chorales; Gade, Festligt Präludium over Choralen "Lover den Herre." This Chapel is the basement of the chapel building, relatively low ceilinged, without resonance of any kind, but nonetheless clear and intimate. The Schüblers were probably the perfect vehicle for a demonstration, and much about the sound of this instrument strikes me as honest and good, after all these years. The Gade piece was a bit of a meander, I thought, not signifying very much, but I know others did indeed like it. A trumpeter was on hand just to play the choral and a bit more at the end.

We then walked upstairs to the Protestant Chapel with a three-manual, 62-stop instrument: hymn, "All creatures of our God and King" (Lasst uns erfreuen); Mathias, Jubilate, op. 67, no. 2; Gardner, Sonata da Chiesa sopra una tema di Claudio Monteverdi. I thought, given the great, soaring space (well worth seeing, inside and out) and a larger instrument (striking to look upon), we would hear something spacious and grand. I found the organ not really supportive in the hymn, nor projecting very well in the Mathias. Here is perhaps an example of a situation in which an encased instrument could really prove itself. In ensemble with two wonderful trumpet players in the Gardner, the organ was at its best--and what a truly amazing and wonderful piece this is, I say, as a long time Gardner fan. The main theme (there may have been others I did not recognize) was the majestic opening of the Coronation of Poppea, which, once heard (and seen), can never be forgotten. What Gardner does with it in four glorious movements is nothing less than magical. I am really grateful to Dr. Galema for bringing this to us.

We bussed to the dining hall at The Colorado College, also in Colorado Springs, for a sumptuous lunch, with many different food stations on offer, with all sorts of edibles, hot and cold, all one could eat, courtesy of Marriott Catering. I think I went to college too soon.

We walked across campus to Shove Memorial Chapel, wherein Frank Shelton, organist at Grace and St. Stephen's Parish, and College Organist, gave us a brilliant program full of interest, after Jonathan Ambrosino presented a "significant organ" plaque to a college official who had been instrumental in keeping the instrument and interest in it alive. The program: Simpson, Fantasy and Fugue on "My Lord, what a morning" (1994); Payne, Prelude, op. 19, no. 2; hymn, "O God, our help in ages past" (St. Anne) (The Colorado College Hymn!); Weaver, Passacaglia on a Theme by Dunstable (1978). The organ: Welte-Tripp Organ Corporation, Sound Beach, Connecticut, Opus 314, 1931, three manuals, 42 stops. There is a fascinating article in the convention book about this organ, and two names of great interest are involved in the history of the instrument: Richard Whitelegg and Charles Courboin. The convention book is available from OHS, and is full of information about a place that is very important in the development of the pipe organ in this country. And not at all by-the-way, this organ sounds really wonderful! I do believe that in some ways, it outdoes some Aeolian-Skinners of that time (1931). I found myself wondering if the Great chorus through mixture was truly of that period. It was silvery and brilliant.

We walked the few blocks to Grace and St. Stephen's Parish, Episcopal. In my little mental database of "Best Recitals Ever" was one played by Thomas Brown at the OHS Mini-Convention at Round Lake, New York last summer. Now I have to start a Tom Brown file, and put today's recital in beside the other one. It was an Anglophile's Orgy, played as last year entirely from memory, with everything perfectly in place--beautifully registered and wonderfully musical. There were lots of smiles around, and a spontaneous standing ovation at the end. The program: Bairstow, Prelude in C; Whitlock, Reflections (Three Quiet Pieces for Organ); Mendelssohn, Sonata in F minor; Karg-Elert, Chorale Prelude on "O Gott, du frommer Gott"; Vierne, Naïades; Grayston Ives (b. 1948), Entrata; hymn, "Sing we of the Blessed Mother" (Rustington - C. H. H. Parry). Methinks me heard the spirit of Henry Willis (Father) rustling around at the first notes of the play-through of this hymn. There are six manual 16' stops on the organ--I think perhaps they were all on! The organ: Welte (NY) opus 261, 1928, three manuals, 49 stops--a splendid organ, of great historic significance, and Frank Shelton, who had played at Shove Chapel, organist of Grace Church, accepted an OHS plaque.

Our next journey was to Manitou Springs, by way of an astonishing natural wonder, a place called The Garden of the Gods--gigantic outcroppings of a beautiful red rock, amongst many evergreens. It was like a very oversized sculpture park--around every corner, as we climbed, was yet another sight to take the breath away. Our goal was the Community Congregational Church, a lovely stone building, charming outside and in, and on the national register of historic buildings. There are two transept balconies, and I was busy dreaming up programs of Gabrieli and company. Surrounded as we were by great, high mountains, the inscription on the organ case announced: "Thy Righteousness is Like the High Mountains." The organ is our second by Charles Anderson of Denver: two-manual, 13 stops, built in approximately 1879. It seemed a bit transparent, after the two Weltes we had just been hearing. MaryAnn Crugher Balduf has been a regular at OHS conventions for some time. On the first day of the convention, she slipped getting off the bus (where is her lawyer when needed?) and was in some pain. But as always, gamely, she gave us the following interesting program, with helpful comments about her registrations: Pachelbel, Toccata in F; Benjamin Rogers (1614-1698), Prelude (Voluntary); Selby, A Fuge or Voluntary; Held (b. 1914), Flourish; Cadman, Legend, op. 30, no. 1; West, Passacaglia; Howells, Miniatures for Organ, nos. 12, 17, 18, 21; hymn, "O beautiful, for spacious skies" (Materna); Langlais, Prelude Modal; Sjogren, Fantasia, op. 15, no. 1.

Next, we rode to Pueblo, and to the Pacific Union Depot, a disused train station, now a restaurant, where we had a quite wonderful dinner. This was as close to a convention banquet as we get, so it was a time for a little OHS business and some heartfelt thanks to the members of the Denver committee, who had truly done a wonderful job with program and with organization. After dinner, we walked to the Memorial Auditorium, which contains Austin organ No. 860, of 1920, an instrument of 56 full stops, plus various bells and whistles, all of which got a workout during the evening. There are pipes all over the place, on the side and in the ceiling, plus an echo organ in back, all of which made possible a strong presence despite a very dead acoustic. The audience was not entirely our convention, we being joined by many others, possibly tourists, possibly town folk, or both. Paul Fleckenstein, I discovered tonight, is the perfect "town hall organist," possessed of great showmanship, total technical assurance, and a prodigious memory, and my goodness, he certainly knows how to get around that kind of instrument--finding an endless array of combinations. It was a terrific show, all from memory, beginning with the Choral, Minuet Gothique, Prière à Notre Dame, and Toccata from the Boëllmann Suite Gothique. This was followed by the seven parts of the ballet music from Gounod's Faust, in a terrific transcription, uncredited, so possibly Paul's own. Sharing in this concert was the Pueblo Chorale, a large and enthusiastic amateur choir, conducted by Charles Merritt. There were some lovely moments, but quite often, the inbuilt vocal limitations, particularly of the tenor variety, gave cause for alarm. I thought the choice of music a bit odd (Vierne Messe Solennelle), perhaps being something of a stretch for the non-musicians in the audience, not accustomed to a Latin Mass or the style of Louis Vierne. However, having thought that, I was probably wrong. The audience seemed genuinely interested, the choir was obviously very much into the music, and there was a great ovation at the end. Paul Fleckenstein's coloration and support at the organ were superb. After the Chorale left the stage, we all rose and sang, not half badly, the Star Spangled Banner, after which Paul played the Budley Duck variations really well. We hit the busses pretty quickly, and managed to get back to the Denver Doubletree just a bit after midnight.

Friday, June 26

What a beginning to the day! In a not terribly prosperous neighborhood, we walk into a church of great beauty, built by German immigrants--Annunciation Roman Catholic Church. The windows are thought to all be from Munich. As a fan of the Father Dowling Mysteries on TV, I was delighted to learn that this is the very church used in these wonderful programs! The irrepressible James Mosby Bratton gave us a fabulous musical start to our second last day. We had previously heard him on the Vocalion. Today, we took a great step up in the reed organ hierarchy, and heard his own 1887 instrument by Victor Mustel, of Paris. The sound, brilliant, somewhat steely, and perfectly adequate for the large-ish building we were in, is quite different from American harmonia some of us have known. It was placed down front, against the south wall. It would be somewhat underpowered for leading hearty hymn singing, but wonderful for lots of repertoire. Jim began with a really powerful and passionate performance of the Allegro assai from the Guilmant 4th Sonata. After being rewarded with thunderous applause, he gathered some friends around him--a 'cellist and a harpist--and they gave us a beautiful performance of the ravishing Nocturne in E flat, op. 21 for 'cello, harmonium and harp, by Marcel Fournier (1879-1951). Then, harmonium alone in Introduction and Fugue in D Minor, op. 62 by Franz Lachner (1803-1890), and last, with a pianist, Finale, op. 8, no. 6 (for harmonium, four hands) by Saint-Saëns, great fun, with a pianist who was able to balance well with the somewhat gentler harmonium. From the balcony, Robert Barney took over at the organ, leading us in singing Lobe' den Herren, aided by a trumpet player in a long introduction, in interludes, and in some verses of the hymn. The rest of the program: Karg-Elert, Lobe' den Herren, op. 65 (rather a perfect piece for demonstrating the virtues of the organ, beautifully and clearly played); Mozart, Andante, K. 616; Zeuner, Fugue No. 14 (just about as pallid as its name!); Schmidt, Prelude and Fugue in D. The organ is a 1910 Kilgen of 20 stops, much of which is really lovely and full, with only the full ensemble seeming a bit unblending.

I think I lack the Purvis gene. I have never appreciated the style and idiom of a lot of his music, although I did like some of the Christmas pieces that Kenneth Matthews played earlier in the week. I have mused about this a bit, particularly in regard to George Bozeman's program at the Chapel of Our Most Merciful Saviour, Episcopal. I have, in my wisdom, decided that you had to have been there, Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, that is--to have known the man, and heard the pieces in the context of a service, on that organ, and in that acoustic. He had to have been a remarkable person, as the people I know, and it is not a few, who had contact with him as students, choristers, or just listeners and friends, are immensely loyal to his music and his memory. Or maybe it is genetic after all. Some of the pieces in today's program required chimes, and George brought along his trusty synthesizer, which I heard and hated in Round Lake last summer, and did not grow to love any more today. (To think that I even helped him carry it upstairs at the beginning of the convention!) Having got all that out of my system, let me say that George played wonderfully well, as always, and I did really find lots to like in some of the pieces. The program: hymn, "Once to every man and nation" (Ton-Y-Botel or Ebenezer); Chorale Preludes on Tunes found in American Hymnals: Fantasy on Ton-y-Botel (dedicated to Ruth Barrett Arno), Pastorale on Forest Green (to George Henninger), Canzona on Liebster Jesu (to Frederic Freeman), Grand Choeur on Austria (to Porter Heaps), Contemplation on Tallis' Canon (to Alma Morse), Poeme Mystique on Manna Mercy (to Sally Harris), Toccata Festiva on In Babilone (to Clarence Snyder). The organ is by Farrand and Votey, Opus 88, 1890, of two manuals and 17-stops. Not possessed of great power, there are individual stops and combinations of beauty, and its decorated case pipes are wonderful to look at.

We next visited the Lotus in the Flame Temple, Denver Zen Center, a building which was formerly the Fourth Church of Christ Scientist. The members of the center were in a retreat when we arrived, one involving silence, so while we were able to talk, once in the church auditorium, and obviously make music, we were asked to enter the building in complete silence. Given our usually voluble nature, our success at this was all the more remarkable. The organ is a 1925 Austin, Opus 1233, of four manual divisions (Swell, Great, Choir, Echo and Pedal) over only 20 stops. Everything on the choir is from the Great, except a celesting rank. There is only one Pedal stop not borrowed. The highest pitched stop on the organ is one 2' on the Swell, and that is an extension, and is only a Flautino. Not an instrument of great brilliance or power! Thomas Brown, who played so wonderfully earlier in the week, gave us four completely brilliant improvisations on familiar hymn tunes: A sonata-allegro form on Salve festa dies; a Rondo (Scherzo) on Puer Nobis; Free form on Eventide; and Fugue and Finale on Salzburg.

Thomas Murray then stepped to the podium, to deliver a truly fascinating lecture entitled "Recording the Organ: The First Ten Years (1926-1936)." We heard 27 short examples recorded by all the great names in organ playing at the first part of this century, on a large number of significant pipe organs, recorded onto tape from Tom's extensive collection of 78s, accompanied with lots of interesting commentary and also some slides. With each example, we saw on the screen (a really nice touch) a slide of the actual record label--sometimes two labels, one for the original European or English release, and one for U.S. release. When possible, other slides were shown, perhaps the artist, or the building or organ. The organ was a "phonographic black sheep," because of its range, and powerful bass, but became less so with the advent of electric microphones in the mid-20s. The problem was getting such low frequencies on the grooves. Another problem for all music was the shortness of time available before a record had to be turned over--41/2 to 5 minutes on a 12-inch record, less on a 10-inch one. This was a fascinating history not only of developments in recording techniques in the 20s and 30s, but also of the organs and players of the time, and the music they chose to play.

Next, to Messiah Baptist Church, to hear Mary Gifford play the following program: hymn, "When the roll is called up yonder" (Roll Call) (We really shouted it out!); Roy Spaulding Stoughton (1884-1953), The Courts of Jamshyd, from Persian Suite; Edward d'Evry (1869-1950), Nocturnette; Gawthrop, Passacaglia, from Sketch Book 1 for Organ. The organ is a gutsy little thing, despite having only one 4' stop, the Orchestral Flute on the Swell. The scaling and voicing are such that there is real power and brightness, despite the way it looks on paper. Mary Gifford commented about the Open Diapason that "parts the Red Sea!" The organ is two manuals, with just eight stops, Kimball (1914). Rick Morel, who services and has built a number of organs in the area, got the roll player working for this organ, and we heard two rather fun organ rolls, provided by Jonathan Ambrosino.

Next, to All Saints Roman Catholic Church, a large, modern structure with a quite small Hook and Hastings, Opus 1702, 1896 way back in a very deep balcony. Lovely as it might be close up, sitting downstairs, it is insufficient for the singing of hymns--you simply cannot hear it. Nor did it have much oomph in the recital. Joseph Adam, organist of St. James Cathedral, Seattle, played the following program: Berlioz, Marche Hongroise (Damnation of Faust); Saint-Saëns, Improvisation in A Major; Vierne, Scherzo from Symphony No. 1; Herzogenberg, Orgel Fantasy on Nun danket, alle, Gott; hymn, "Now thank we all our God."

After a short break back at the hotel, on to Trinity United Methodist Church, where we were fed dinner, and then heard the splendid Peter Sykes. The organ is by Frank Roosevelt, No. 380, 1888, a wonderful and very large instrument of 65 stops, housed in a case that is a huge fantasy in beautiful wood, designed by George Ashdown Audsley! The Pastor of the church accepted an OHS Plaque from Mary Gifford, who announced that this was the church she attended as a child--so the presentation was particularly important to her. The program: Franck, Choral no. 1 in E Major; Whitlock, Three Extemporizations, Carol (Homage to Frederick Delius), Divertimento, Fidelis; Janacek, the organ solo from the Glagolitic Mass; Reger, Benedictus; Reubke, Sonata on the 94th Psalm; hymn, "God of Height and Depth and Sweep," to the fine tune "Shoemaker," composed by Peter Sykes. A recital by Peter Sykes is always a great event, and this was no exception. I think the most thrilling piece on the program for me was the Reubke Sonata--truly brilliant!

On our last day, we are on the busses, and heading up into the high mountains for a tour of Rocky Mountain National Park, having just heard the last two recitals of the convention, both played by David Macfarlane, of New York. The first was a somewhat bitter-sweet occasion, as the fine old building (the former Asbury Methodist Church) has been bought by a developer. Mike Rowe, convention chairman, says a great effort is being made to find a new home for this one of not-too-many remaining organs by Denver builder, Charles Anderson. This may not be an easy task, as the instrument is not small, and is divided in two cases on either side of a window. It's not fabulous, but is solid and good, if not overly colorful. It might also be one of those cases in which the owner would be just happy to find someone to take it out, without asking for money. David's program: hymn, "Father, we praise thee" (Christe Sanctorum); Saint-Saëns, Prelude & Fugue in G, op. 109, no. 3; Sweelinck, Variations: Balletto del Granduca; Vierne, Communion (Messe Basse) op. 30; Woodman, Noel Anglais; Mendelssohn, Allegretto and Finale from Sonata 4.

This program served to demonstrate all the possibilities of the instrument, built by Anderson in 1882, with two manuals and 16 stops. We next drove a short way to what is now a Roman Catholic home for the elderly, called The Gardens at St. Elizabeth's, with the lovely Chapel of Christ the King, built in 1903. The style is Christopher Wren, and the windows are by Clayton & Bell of London. The organ is one of the oldest extant Austins, Opus 92 from 1902/3. David's program was cleverly entitled and organized as "A Little Organ Mass," and was as follows: Introit, Frescobaldi, Toccata IX (2nd Book of Toccatas); Kyrie, de Grigny, Fugue à 5; Gloria, Bach, Allein Gott (BWV 663); Offertoire, Reger, Ave Maria (op. 80, no. 5); Elevation, Gaspard Corrette, Dialogue des Flutes (Missa Octavi Toni); Communion, Milhaud, Pastorale; Sortie, Langlais, Point d'Orgue; hymn, "From all who dwell below the skies" (Duke Street).

I think to do a program like this wants an organ of color, articulation, and variety, and also, perhaps, in a room which will give it space to expand. On a rather pallid instrument of 10 stops, with the highest pitch being four-foot flutes on both divisions, I don't think a program of such scope really works, being more "eye candy" than "ear candy." However, there were things to like, and many thanks to David for doing two recitals on two different organs back to back.

I wish I could "review" Rocky Mountain National Park for you, but mere words will not do. Go see it. Nor are mere words adequate to describe how wonderful was this convention. Like all OHS events, it was organized and run essentially flawlessly, by an army of totally devoted local volunteers, assisted and advised by the headquarters staff in Richmond. Great thought went into deciding what instruments, artists, and music would be heard, and how best to combine these elements. Great care and consideration was given to the comfort and convenience of several hundred attendees. I hope those of you who have made it to the end of this review will want to give serious thought to attending next year's convention, different in two ways from those in the past. Next summer, the convention will run from a Thursday through the following Wednesday. This requires only one Sunday off from playing in church, and includes an overnight Saturday, important to lower air fares. The second difference in this year's convention is the fact that it is outside of the U. S., in the magnificent cosmopolitan city of Montréal, with visits to many organs, old and newer in the region, and also to Ste. Hyacinthe, which may, in terms of numbers of builders, be the organ-building capital of the world! The dates: Thursday, August 19 through Wednesday, August 25th. The phone number in Richmond for joining OHS: 804/353-9226. I hope to see you there!

by Malcolm Wechsler

The author thanks Scott Carpenter and Harry Martinas for editorial help with this report.

The 46th annual convention of the Organ Historical Society
(OHS) took place June 21-28, 2001, in North Carolina, centering around
Winston-Salem. Convention registration brings with it the fabulous Organ
Handbook, with recital programs, organ specifications and photographs, and bios
and photos of performers. It's the Bible for the week, eagerly devoured, and
kept in one's library forever. As with last year, the editor this year was
Jonathan Ambrosino.

Thursday, June 21

The opening concert was held at First Presbyterian Church in
Greensboro, the perfect convention opening on several levels. The building is
stunningly beautiful, designed by Hobart Upjohn, modeled on the cathedral at
Albi in France, and somehow built in 1929 and 1930, in the height of the Great
Depression. It was able to accommodate the entire convention, not the case with
quite a few buildings later in the week, when we were often divided into
smaller groups. The organ, finished by Létourneau just last year, fills
the 1400-seat building with great clarity and power. It is a grand creation,
with large instruments in both gallery and chancel, beautifully encased. The
acoustic of the building is organ-friendly, but nothing more. Having chancel
pipes on both sides and a large gallery division placed very high up gives the
instrument a great presence. There is a very effective en chamade reed atop the
gallery division. The whole enterprise is undergirded by digital 32's, not
obnoxious all of the time, but often enough.

Bruce Stevens plays with grace and elegance. The program
opened with the Kerll Passacaglia in D Minor, which introduced us to the clarity of the instrument's choruses and
other combination possibilities, through a great variety of variations,
building to a quite sturdy ending. Next, Beethoven, Adagio in F Major (Organ Sonata 8) played on a pleasantly limpid flute registration. Somewhere, at every recital of an OHS convention, a hymn gets sung, mostly meant to show the effectiveness of the organ as an accompanimental instrument, but the custom has taken on a life of its own. There is even a special hymnal printed, especially attractive this year. The recitalist gets to choose the hymn, and to accompany it with as much or as little freedom as wanted. The hymn, "I will give thanks with my whole
heart," to the tune Herr Jesu Christ, was sung in glorious harmony,
supported magnificently by Stevens. Next, Rheinberger, Introduction and
Passacaglia (from Sonata No. 8). This sonata is glorious, and both player and
organ did it complete justice. The huge power of the Pedal, some of it achieved
by illicit means (I would personally prefer a good Resultant), gave the ending
particular force. Then, Franck, Choral No. 2 in B-Minor
style='font-style:normal'>; next, Stevens and flutist Marcella Leonard
performed The Hedding Suite by
Everett Titcomb. Liszt's Prelude and Fugue on B-A-C-H
style='font-style:normal'> received a totally splendid performance, virtuosic
in the extreme, registered without fear, including the en chamade in the
balcony. The Liszt was a glorious ending to a great recital, and a promising beginning for the week to come.

Friday, June 22

The first full day plunged us right into the OHS convention
bus-church-bus-church routine at its richest and fullest, complete with an 8:30
a.m. departure (and I might add, an 11:30 p.m. homecoming). We had a wide
variety of experiences this day, in the vicinity of Danville and Chatham,
Virginia, a two-hour bus ride from the hotel.

The first stop was Mount Vernon United Methodist Church,
Danville, housing a gentle and lovely 1860 Boston-built Simmons and Willcox
organ, rebuilt with significant additions by George Bozeman in 1988. As this
organ was saved and relocated through the good work of the late Alan Laufman
and the Organ Clearing House, it was somehow entirely appropriate that this
recital was played by the new director of the Clearing House, John Bishop. The
program: Bach, Prelude and Fugue in C Minor (BWV 549), began quietly, very slowly, and passionately; the fugue, on the other hand, was quite quick, almost Newmanlike, on a reedy registration, building naughtily with the gradual opening of the box; Pachelbel, Aria Sebaldina (from Hexachordum Apollinis); Derek Bourgeois (b. 1941, student of Howells), Serenade, written for the procession at his own wedding, a fine, accessible work, in a fresh but not shocking harmonic idiom. The hymn, "Christ is made the sure
foundation," was sung to Westminster Abbey
style='font-style:normal'>--we got to sing in parts in our usual impressive
way, complete with descant. Langlais, Noël with Variations, Choral (from 24 Pieces for Organ or Harmonium); Lefébure-Wély, Sortie--this was so well done, it made up for the over-exposure from which this piece now suffers. He who occupies the director's chair of the Organ Clearing House is able to shape and encourage one of the greatest programs to ever come out of the OHS. Its achievements under Alan Laufman were noteworthy. We offer John Bishop thanks for showing us his musical side, and wish him the very best in guiding OCH in the years ahead.

At Sacred Heart R.C. Church, Danville, James Darling,
well-known for his many years at Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg, gave an
excellent recital on a Simmons organ from 1877, rebuilt with some tonal changes
by Andover in 1980-81. The program began with the Concerto in C Major, op. 6, no. 10, by Corelli, adapted for organ by Thomas Billington; then Grave (with variations) from Voluntary in D Major (op. 6, no. 5) of Samuel Wesley. The hymn, giving us a good chance at some excellent harmonizing, used the tune Hereford by Samuel Sebastian Wesley  for the text "O thou who camest from above" by
Charles Wesley. The program next promised more Wesley, but the artist had a
change of mind and moved smartly into the 20th century with a quite flashy and
wonderful chorale-based work, Christ ist erstanden
style='font-style:normal'> by Ludwig Lenel, long associated with Muhlenberg
College in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

After a good lunch at the Knights of Columbus Hall (bar
closed!), we moved on to First Christian Church, still in Danville, which
became the scene of an unfortunate confluence of realities. OHS really tries,
with the help of always willing volunteers, to get organs into shape for our
pleasure and edification. This recalcitrant machine (built at a time when
Möller could actually build good instruments), through poor design,
including really ill-thought-out tuning and maintenance access, and long-term
neglect, in recent years due to the poverty of the congregation, defied all
attempts to bring it "online." Just to get inside the thing, lots of
heavy case pipes have to be removed, this landing one on the huge reservoir,
and leading to other contortions to actually get at the pipes that badly need
ministrations. With the complexities of running smoothly a convention of this
kind, and it does indeed run amazingly smoothly, this poor old organ and its
condition did not get sufficient attention. Baxter Jennings, longtime organist
at Sacred Heart Church, where we had just been, was the unfortunate player
assigned to play this instrument. Susanne Martin, choir director at Sacred
Heart, came along to sing the "Pie Jesu" from the Fauré Requiem, but was overwhelmed mostly by a too-loud registration, which in turn, might have been necessary if none of the softer stops had sufficient notes actually playing. I think too, that Mr. Jennings was totally terrified by the experience of not ever knowing what notes might play at any given time, and by knowing that under these almost impossible
circumstances he was playing for a church full of organists from all over the
country.

The next event took place at Chatham Presbyterian Church in
Chatham and involved a 1912 Möller. This 17-stop organ showed that in the
early 20th century some very good things could come out of Hagerstown. What a
solid and lovely instrument, and what a player is Randy Bourne. For the first
two pieces, the organ was hand pumped, with all the well-known benefits of
this: a Praeludium (WV33) of
Scheidemann, followed by the Prelude & Fugue in F Major
style='font-style:normal'>, from the "Eight Little," with supple and
sensitive playing. Bourne spoke during much of this concert, and the compelling
nature of both the playing and the chat kept the audience at full attention all
the way. One of the first things he mentioned was his use, in the Bach, of an
old edition of 1909, a product of its time, suggesting soloing out sections
using a solo Flute accompanied by strings. Would this have been taken seriously
by many organists as little as ten years ago? Some would say we are returning
to the corrupt old ways of the pre-Orgelbewegung days. Others, I with them,
might say that we have matured musically, and can now ask what is musical
rather than what do the "rules" say. Next, four gently busy Variations on "St. Catherine" written in 1999 by Robin Rokey. Bourne then played a ravishing transcription of Mélodie in E-flat Major (op. 42, no. 3) of Tchaikovsky, with the Flute solo accompanied on that rarity, "an audible Aeoline!" This was followed by another successful transcription, of a Mussorgsky piece, Fair at Sorochintzy, with images of the Cossacks
riding into a village, destroying it, and riding off--exciting stuff! The
program ended with the hymn "Love Divine, all loves excelling," sung
to Beecher. And here was a
recitalist who understands the wonder of hymn singing, and he gave us a chance
at some harmony, and accompanied rather than dominated.

J. R. Daniels, who is organist and choirmaster at Saints
Simon and Jude Church in Pittsburgh, has been around OHS conventions since
1994, in which year he was an E. Power Biggs Fellow. He gave a concert this
year at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Chatham, on a much-moved 1865 S.S. Hamill
organ of about 12 stops. Taylor and Boody did a restoration in 1992, adding a
pedalboard and a Pedal Bourdon. Here is another recitalist who understands
hymns--he supported us gently in a sweet old traditional Roman Catholic hymn,
letting us happily harmonize to our hearts' content. He then made an apt little
speech about how much louder this gentle instrument would have sounded when it
was built, to people who had so little noise and music in their lives. His
recital made me wonder whether we have matured sufficiently to accept most of
the music on this program! Daniels is, at present, researching the music of
Théodore Salomé (1834-1896). The program began with The
Canterbury March, by Harry Crane Perin
(1868-1933), not a work of much substance. This was followed by the essential
Lefébure-Wély, Choeur de Voix humaines (The Nuns'
Chorus), consisting of Flute solo with
flourishes, accompanied on strings. Next, a kind of ornamented aria on "My
hope is built," by John Behnke, born 1953. It was then Salomé time.
Daniels warned us that the next piece, Offertoire in D-flat
style='font-style:normal'>, had been referred to by John Henderson, in his A
Directory of Composers for Organ, as the worst piece of organ music ever
written. The recital ended with a more interesting work of Salomé, Grand Choeur in A, altogether a better piece than the previous offering.

After a good dinner at the Stratford Inn Conference Center
in Danville, we headed to The Church of the Epiphany. George Bozeman,
organbuilder and a regular recitalist at these conventions, played the first
half on a 1928 Skinner of 16 ranks, I thought not a very successful example of
the breed. Bozeman, as always, gave us something unusual and interesting--the Sonata Cromatica (Seconda) of Pietro Yon. I was sure that what we were handed next was not going to work, but I underestimated us. We had in our hymnals a choral score of the Yon Gesù Bambino, and led by an excellent soloist who also conducted, Robert Sutter, we did a wonderful job. What a great idea, and what an interesting recital.

After a brief stretch, the program  moved to the balcony, with its 1978 Andover organ of 38
stops, for a contrast of epic proportions. There are 12 ranks of mixtures,
given unpromising names like Cymbal, or simply "Sharp." These are a
bit uppity, but judicious registrational pruning can work wonders, and there is
much that is beautiful in this instrument. The upstairs organist was Kathleen
Scheide, and she began with  Aria: Quis mutuos amores, by F.-X. Murschhauser; the hymn "Everlasting Arms of Love" to the tune Galliard; O Lamm Gottes (BWV 656) of Bach; the Reger Prelude and Fugue in B Minor,  and then we heard from Ms. Scheide as composer in a very pleasant piece called Aria
La Romanesca. The program finished with
Scheide's own transcription of a Mozart piano duet, K. 358.

Saturday, June 23

This day began with John Farmer's fascinating history of the
much travelled Skinner (opus 248 of 1916), now comfortably and happily living
in the great Vanderbilt mansion, Biltmore, in Asheville, North Carolina, thanks
to Farmer's alertness and skilled ministrations. The following rather long
Internet address will give the story in some detail:

<http://www.biltmore.com/just_for_media/news_releases/whats_new_concert_…;
and this address will show the handsome console:

<http://www.biltmore.com/visit/biltmore_house/pipe_organ.html&gt;.
There are a few infelicities, like a "genuine forced-air organ," and
other minor oddities, but if you don't know Biltmore, or even if you do, this
is all interesting reading. My thanks to Harry Martenas for locating these
sites.

Next we boarded six buses for the longest journey of the
convention, a bit less than three hours, during which we were shown a rather
good video about the Biltmore mansion. The Asheville part of North Carolina is
wonderfully hilly, giving the bus drivers some anxious moments maneuvering the
sometimes narrow streets, including the one which brought us to Mount Zion
Missionary Baptist Church.

Presiding over Felgemaker Opus 713, 1901, two-manuals and 26
stops, was Will Headlee, always a wonderful presence at these conventions. He
spent some years of his life in Asheville, so this was something of a
homecoming. Out of respect for the organ's lineage, he began  the first movement of the Mendelssohn
A Major Sonata on original Felgemaker
sounds--distinguished and beautiful sounds they are, too. For the Andante, he
used the original strings. Next, two choral preludes by Ludwig Lenel: "Now
praise we Christ, the Holy One" and "How brightly shines the morning
star;" then, Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan
style='font-style:normal'>, Kellner; Voluntary No. 1 in D Major, Boyce. This organ really does sing. I think everyone realized that we were in the presence of royalty, an organ with
distinguished beginnings well and lovingly restored tonally and mechanically,
with some additions, by John Farmer and Company. Also, somehow, in its
simplicity, the organ is really fine visually as well. Then, "Sarabande" and "Rhythmic Trumpet" (from Baroques), Bingham; "Balm in Gilead" and "Swing Low," Utterback; Fantasy on "Roll, Jordan, Roll," Ralph Simpson (b. 1933), a really great fun piece (published by Morning Star); and the 1875 hymn, "I am thine, O Lord."

The next program took place at St. Matthias' Episcopal
Church, Asheville, and featured Carol Britt playing a one-manual organ built by
Reuben Midmer. Britt, organist and choir director at St. Augustine's Episcopal
Church in Metairie, made fine use of the single-manual instrument. The organ,
built in 1898, is original to this building. Ponder this from the program note:
"Original to the church, the Midmer organ is in a remarkable state of
preservation. Apart from maintenance and some patching to the bellows leather,
the instrument is essentially as installed 103 years ago." Was that a good
investment or what? The program: Triptych
(Prelude, Scherzo, and Fugue), Robert Powell; Grand Triumphal March, Nicholls (1877), a real two-step played with wonderful panache. To play the Partita on O Gott, du frommer Gott of Bach on an instrument with limited variety takes a bit of work. With impeccable phrasing and some careful registration planning, this was a fine and arresting performance. It made perfect sense for us to next sing "O Gott, du frommer Gott," and we did indeed, happily with some directions for harmony and unison verses.

The next move was well up the social ladder, as we visited
the Vanderbilts in their stately home, Biltmore, in Asheville. After a lovely
dinner in "The Stable" on the estate, we then proceeded to the main
house to hear the organ, played partly by the Skinner player mechanism, and
partly by Kristin Gronning Farmer. Kristin, who chaired this convention, and
whose good and thoughtful work in that capacity we benefited from daily, has
also played for OHS conventions in the past, including Boston last year. In
addition to which, she is an organ builder, working with her husband, John
Farmer, and specializing in "gilding, pipe stencilling, polychrome
painting and faux finishes," which skills she makes available not only to
the "family firm," but also to other builders. After a demonstration
of some of the resources of the instrument, she let us sample some of what is
available on the Skinner semi-automatic rolls. It was all good fun.

Sunday, June 24

After yesterday's long ride to Asheville, we spent today
staying quite close to Winston-Salem, beginning the day at the hotel with the
annual meeting of the OHS. Bill Van Pelt presided, and those in charge of other
projects and committees of the society reported on activities since the last
meeting (in Boston in 2000). There were two E. Power Biggs Fellows this year:
Ryan Celestin of Metairie, Louisiana, and Bruce Ludwick, Jr. of Keyser, West
Virginia. An election of officers was held by mail prior to this meeting, with
some ballots submitted on the day. Elected as President: Michael Barone, whose
radio program, Pipedreams, produced and disseminated by Minnesota Public Radio,
is known throughout the U.S.

On to the buses at 11, going to the workshop of J. Allen
Farmer, Organbuilders--a great barn surrounded by beautiful countryside. On
display, a two-manual and pedal mechanical-action residence organ, two stops on
each manual division and a pedal 16'. Outdoors, on a perfect day, we were
treated to a fine buffet lunch.

Next stop, Maple Springs United Methodist Church to hear
James Hammann, who is on the faculty of the University of New Orleans, is
organist of St. Francis Xavier Church, and in his spare time runs an organ
maintenance business! The organ is a 1926 Casavant, originally located in
Detroit, but moved to Winston in 1982. Voluptuous describes it well, a 3-manual
instrument with all the good (big) stuff and a sound that is broad and warm.
The program: James Houston Spencer (1895-1967), Symphonesque
style='font-style:normal'>, op. 12 of 1933, a rich work, somewhat inventive
harmonically in a way occasionally somewhat reminiscent of Sowerby, followed by
our second convention performance of "Rhythmic Trumpet" from Seth
Bingham's suite, Baroques, of
1944. This had the benefit of a wonderfully bold Trumpet, and was given a
really swaggering performance. Last, in this concert of music by composers who
lived at just about the same time, Air with Variations (
style='font-style:normal'>written for William Strickland) by Leo Sowerby
(1895-1968).

Here, we did our famous split, dividing into two groups
because of some limited seating in one of the churches. My group went first to
Ardmore United Methodist Church, which houses an organ by Fritz Noack from
1978. Although I recognized a bit of aggressiveness in the sound occasionally,
its was more than compensated for by a luminous clarity and some really lovely
stops and ensembles. This was a most interesting recital, played by William H.
Bates, professor of organ at University of South Carolina in Columbia. He chose
"When in our music" to Engelberg as his hymn, which he played very broadly and did interesting things with the accompaniment. Abruptly changing modes, he played Retrové (Estampie III) from the Robertsbridge Fragment of the early 14th century; then Fantasie sus orgue ou espinette, arr. Guillaume Costeley, mid to late 16th century; the choral prelude Der Tag, der ist so freudenreich of Buxtehude, with the cantus on a beautiful Tierce with tremulant; John Stanley, Voluntary in C: Adagio and Andante; then, Brahms, Herzlich tut mich verlangen, played sensitively on Principal sounds; and Partita on "When in our music God is glorified" by Professor Bates himself. This recital was carefully designed to match the instrument, and all was played with great musicality, technical skill, charm and as needed, wit!

The buses took us then to St. Timothy's Episcopal Church for
a recital by Rachelen Lien, from New Orleans, where she is organist and choir
director at St. Matthew United Church of Christ and Parker Memorial United
Methodist Church. Lien chaired the OHS's national convention in New Orleans in
1989. Her assignment this day was to perform on the smallest instrument heard
in the convention, a charming Erben from 1851, temporarily living in the chapel
at St. Timothy's, while its home church in South Carolina is undergoing
structural work. The organ has one manual, no pedal, 5 stops, 5 ranks, 190
pipes! An 8' Open Diapason goes down to Tenor F, a Dulciana does the same, and
both are anchored by 17 pipes of a Stopped Diapason Bass. There is a 4'
Principal and a Flute to Tenor F. There is a very tight Swell box. For some of
the pieces, the hand pump was used. The program: Adagio in e minor
style='font-style:normal'>, J.S. Bach; Allegro
style='font-style:normal'> from a Thomas Arne Concerto; Soeur Monique of François Couperin, using the Swell box for the contrasts called for in the piece; Pastorale by Charles Wesley, using first the Dulciana, and then the 4' Flute for contrast, sounds of enormous beauty and integrity; Partita on "Ah, vous dirai-je, maman," Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach (1732-1795). Next, mezzo-soprano Mary Martin, violist Tony Pruett, and cellist Worth Williams collaborated with Rachelen in the Brahms Lullaby for the Christ Child, opus 91. A really special treat, followed by another, the Saint-Saëns The Swan with cellist Williams. Following this, the hymn "Built on the Rock." A fascinating program, beautifully played, ended with a good chance to sing.

The convention then moved into the main church for two more
events, and they were something of a family affair, in the broadest sense of
family. It honored people of this community and people who worked to make this
wonderful convention possible. Starting with the organ builder: this amazingly
versatile one-manual instrument is Opus 22 of 1994, by John Farmer. Through the
judicious use of common basses, space and money was saved, and divided stops
made possible accompanied solo effects. The organist who next played a recital
and then accompanied Evensong was Scott Carpenter. He is assistant organist at
this church--Kristin Farmer is director of music. The composer whose music we
heard both in the pre-service recital and in Evensong itself is Margaret
Sandresky, another treasure of this area, of whom more later. The recital: Préambule (24 Pieces), Vierne; next, an anonymous 18th-century English Cornet Voluntary, and courtesy of divided stops, we heard a beautiful accompanied Cornet, three ranks just from middle c up; next a full Trumpet divided at middle c made possible a Trumpet Voluntary of Thomas Dupuis (1733-1796); then, Nun freut euch (BWV 734) of Bach; next we heard the really lovely Celeste in Prayer in E-Flat of Guilmant. The final works on the program were two
parts of an Organ Mass by
Margaret Sandusky based on the little 15th-century waltz tune L'Homme
armé. This was a wonderful recital,
which fact the audience acknowledged fully. Scott Carpenter is a player of
great assurance, musicality, and clarity.

Next was a really glorious Evensong, sung by the splendid
unauditioned choir of St. Paul's, Winston-Salem, conducted by Barbara Beattie.
Evensong began with the Richard Strauss Solemn Entry
style='font-style:normal'>, with the Giannini Brass Quintet. Preces
and Responses were by Martin Neary, then
followed the hymn, "O blest creator, source of light," to the Haydn
tune Bromley. The Psalm was No.
19, impeccably sung to a fine S.S. Wesley chant. The canticles (Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in D) were by Sir Herbert Brewer (1865-1928). For the anthem, another lovely piece by Margaret Sandresky, The Turtle Dove. The closing hymn was "The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended," to the magnificent tune St. Clement.

After a good dinner at the Adams Mark Hotel, it was off to
St. Paul's Episcopal Church, and a joint concert by Margaret and John Mueller.
The organ is Skinner Opus 712 of 1929. Aeolian-Skinner did some revoicing work
in 1965, and in 1996-97 the Thompson-Allen firm of New Haven, Connecticut, did
a complete restoration. The St. Paul's organ has four manuals, 42 stops, 51
ranks--not huge, but quite telling in the space. The event began with Margaret
Mueller at the console as we lustily sang "For All the Saints," to Sine Nomine, complete with harmony for stanzas 5 and 6. After that, came an organ demonstration (Margaret). We were handed a two-sided, tightly-spaced sheet describing the demonstration. There were seven sections for the demonstration of the reeds, six for the Diapasons (no Prinzipals here), seven for Flutes, and three for the Strings; ah, and one
short section for the Harp and Celesta! Each of the sections dealt with
divisions separately, and ensembles and stops alone in those divisions. We then
heard March on a Theme of Handel
by Guilmant; Fantasie in C,
Franck; and finally the charming A Wreath of Carols
style='font-style:normal'> by Margaret Vardell Sandresky (b. 1921), making use
in lovely and clever ways of the Sussex Carol, Greensleeves, Lo how a
rose, and In dulci jubilo
style='font-style:normal'>. John Mueller then took over for a very fine Sonata da Chiesa for Flute and Organ assisted by flutist Julie Frye, written (1998) by North Carolina composer Dan Locklair (b. 1949). Dr. Mueller ended the program with the Allegro from the Widor Sixth. The audience essentially erupted at the end of this definitely "feel good" program, a tribute to two North Carolina composers, two well-loved North Carolina organists, and a most beautiful instrument.

Monday, June 25

The day began with a fascinating lecture by Jonathan
Ambrosino, who was just finishing a two-year term as President of the OHS.
"The Residence Organ, 'The Final Touch of Beauty for the Well-Planned
Home,'" took us back to those days of "yesteryear," the early
part of the 20th century when even radio did not exist commercially. If you
wanted music, you made it yourself. Just about everyone had a piano in the
parlor, and someone in the family who could play it. Those with wealth and
space had pipe organs.

After the lecture, a short bus ride took us to Centenary
United Methodist Church, Winston-Salem, for a concert involving Margaret
Vardell Sandresky and Dan Locklair. Centenary U.M.C. is not a small church,
surely seating at least a thousand souls. The church was begun in 1929, and
Austin installed an organ in 1931. With its usual uncanny thoroughness, the
Organ Handbook for the convention provides both the original specification and
that of today, after a number of revisions. The main redo was in 1963, not a
promising year! Right away, one notices that the Great lost its 16' Double Open
Diapason in favor of a Quintaten! Five 8' stops were whittled down to three.
The Second Open (albeit an upward extension of the 16') is gone, as is the
Doppelflute. The Great reed unit, Trumpet and Clarion, is gone. To be sure, in
the 1931 instrument the Great only went up to a 2' Principal, and that was an
extension of the 4'; now there is a IV Mixture, surely an improvement. The
Swell did not fare too badly, although it did lose its 8' Open Diapason, always
a shame, I think. It gained a 16' Contra Fagotto. I think I weep a bit for the
Choir organ, which must have had breadth and presence with an English Diapason,
Concert Flute, Flute Celeste, Dulciana and Unda Maris. These morphed into just
a Nason Flute, Dulciana and Unda Maris. It lost its Clarinet and Orchestral
Oboe in favor of a Larigot and Krummhorn. The Solo and Echo divisions are
changed somewhat in character, and possibly improved by the 1963 rebuild. In
1987, Austin made two additions of great significance: a not-too-frightening en
chamade reed in the back, and a solid 32' Bombarde in the Pedal.

The first part of the program was played by Margaret Vardell
Sandresky, who began with a work by her father, the first organist in the new
1931 building, Charles G. Vardell, Jr. (1893-1952). Appropriately, Mrs.
Sandresky registered using only stops from the 1931 organ. Skyland is a
wonderfully atmospheric work, with great soaring lines, and bits of nice glassy
effects, using also the French Horn and the Harp. Next, three works by Mrs.
Sandresky herself, beginning with a year 2000 commission from the Home Moravian
Church, a suite entitled The Good Shepherd, consisting of four chorale preludes based on Moravian Chorales; then a Wedding March written in 1982 while Mrs. Sandresky was organist of this church--somewhat British sounding, with great flourishes; and ending the first half of the program, En Chamade, written for OHS 2001. There are several movements, some with chimes, and some cleverly using the big reed in the back.

After a short break, the program resumed with Dan Locklair
playing his own music, beginning with a Fanfare for Organ
style='font-style:normal'>, written in 2000 on commission from Fourth
Presbyterian Church of Chicago. This was followed by three sections from the
Windows of Comfort (Organbook 2),
commissioned in 1996 by First Presbyterian Church, Topeka, Kansas, and inspired
by that church's Tiffany windows. Then, Ayre for the Dance and Jubilo
(A Prelude for Organ), a 1998 commission
from the AGO for the 2001 regional competitions for young organists. Finally,
we had a chance to sing, and a good chance indeed with the Parry tune to
"O praise ye the Lord!"

We next did a rather free-form triple split. We all drove to
the great estate that Tobacco built, Reynolda House in Winston-Salem, spacious
and elegant. The room from which to hear the organ is not huge, hence the split
with assigned times for each group for hearing the recital, for eating lunch in
the various restaurants on the estate, and for simply walking around the
beautiful grounds. It did not work out exactly as planned, because it took
rather a time to check out the various restaurants and to get into fairly long
lines and to wait for service.

After this visit, the buses took us back to the hotel for a
rest period. Then, we rode to Greensboro for dinner at First Presbyterian
Church, and then to Christ United Methodist Church, the scene of which could
have been a convention planner's nightmare, but turned out more than o.k. We
were to have heard Lenora McCroskey. Ms. McCroskey suffered an injury to her
arm some days before she was to play, and realized it would not be possible to
meet the commitment. Her excellent former pupil Stewart Wayne Foster was,
fortunately, available to play. He is artist in residence and associate
style="mso-spacerun: yes">  organist of First (Scots) Presbyterian
Church and is founder/musical director of the Orchestra of St. Clare,
Charleston's first full-scale Baroque orchestra. Mr. Foster has been
coordinating the pipe organ component of the Piccolo Spoleto Festival since
1999.

We began with a hymn, "O Gladsome Light," to the
tune Cantique de Simeon, a Louis
Bourgeois tune harmonized by Claude Goudimel. The notes on the instrument
indicate that this was one of the organs completed in the last year of Charles
Fisk's life, 1982, and mentioned that it is  considered a sister organ to the one at Downtown United
Presbyterian Church in Rochester, New York. Mr. Foster is a superb player, possessing a very easy sort of grace, his movements sure and musically based. With very little notice, he was able to put together a most interesting program. He also spoke very clearly and well, with comments carefully chosen and useful. Nicholas Bruhns, Praeludium in e minor; Bach, Toccata in d minor, BWV 913 (written with harpsichord in mind); Clérambault, Suite on the Second Tone; a setting of "Amazing Grace" by Robert Hebble, who was one of Mr. Foster's teachers; Toccata on "Old Hundredth" by Jack Jones (another of Mr. Foster's teachers). The recital ended with the Final from the Vierne Third Symphony, brilliantly played. By this point, I had wondered if Mr. Foster, given the late notice about playing, had actually had a chance to go out in the room and listen to the instrument with his registrations. Some judicious pruning could have made the big moments more bearable, something that was very much wanted in the Vierne, which was so splendidly done, but was also painfully loud.

Tuesday, June 26

The day began with a lecture by Peter Cameron entitled,
"George Jardine and Son, New York Organbuilders--An Era of Spectacular
Organs." Cameron has had a long career in organ maintenance, repair, and
restoration, and from 1977 to 1994 served as maintenance coordinator for the
Andover Organ Company. His lecture was a wonderful appreciation of a once great
company, from one who has had extensive hands-on personal experience with their
output. A great story, well told.

After the lecture, we did our three-way split to accommodate
one very small but beautiful venue in Historic Bethabara within Winston-Salem,
the "Saal" of the 1771 "Gemeinhaus," the meeting room in
which services were held in the Congregation House. While one part of the group
was hearing the recital, the other two parts were visiting the historical exhibits and enjoying the beautiful grounds. The little three-stop, single-manual organ in the "Saal" is by Charles McManis, built in 1971 after a 1772 organ by North Carolina builder Joseph Bultischek, an instrument that perished in a fire in 1942. Sadly and strangely, no one knows what the specification of that organ was, so Charles McManis, fortified with some knowledge of other very small organs used by the Moravians, settled on an 8' Gedact, 4' Principal, and 2' Octave.

Michael Rowland is director of music at Ardmore United
Methodist Church, and staff accompanist at Salem College. He played an
18th-century program beginning with Four Preludes of the English Moravian,
Christian Latrobe (1758-1836), followed by three Bach chorale preludes: Erbarm dich mein (BWV 721), Gelobet seist du (BWV 697), and Allein Gott (BWV 717). We then sang Allein Gott, two stanzas with harmony provided--sheer joy in that lovely place. Mr. Rowland was then joined by Lauren Kossler, a fine violinist, and together they played a suite for violin and keyboard by John Stanley. Thanks to them both for a perfect program for a most attractive and historic place.

Andrew Unsworth played an 18-stop Hook and Hastings
instrument of 1924, with no stop over 4', in a quite dead acoustic at Calvary
Moravian Church in Winston-Salem. Both Unsworth and the organ conquered all,
aided, no doubt, at times by the 73-note chests and attendant super coupler.
Currently organist and choirmaster at St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Durham, he holds a Ph.D. in performance practice from Duke. The program began
with two pieces by Henry Dunham (1853-1929), who taught organ at New England
Conservatory for 52 years: from the First Sonata in G Minor
style='font-style:normal'>, op. 10 (from 1882), an Allegro moderato, followed
by Impromptu from a set of 12
pieces of 1912, op. 24; next, "Vision," Rheinberger, a lovely piece
requiring some dexterity at registration changes, which were very deftly
handled. The last of the organ pieces was the War March of the
Priests, Mendelssohn, played with great
flair and a fat and powerful registration--very satisfying indeed. Unsworth
proved himself to also be a very fine hymn player, giving really good support,
and doing clever bits of descanting, with a rather nice reharmonization of the
last verse of the hymn Redeemer of Israel, to a tune by Freeman Lewis.

Lunch was served at Centenary United Methodist Church,
Winston-Salem, following which we bused to Old Salem where we again broke into
three groups in order to accommodate the limited capacity of the "Saal" in the Single Brothers' House. While one group was at the recital, others were touring Old Salem. In the "Saal," Lois Regestein played her excellent recital three times in order to fit everyone in. The organ, by David Tannenberg, 1798, is gentle and sweet, and comprises five stops. The console is slightly detached and reversed. The instrument was rebuilt by Charles McManis in the mid-60s. The program: Organ Obbligatos to an Anthem, by Johann Ludwig Freydt (1748-1807); Fuga, by Johann Gottfried Gebhard (1755-?); Prelude No. 2 in C Minor, Prelude No. 6 in E-flat, by Christian Latrobe; Nun rühen alle Walder, by Ernst Immanuel Erbe (1854-1927), then another "Chorale Verse" based on the same tune, by Carl Anton Van Vleck; Voluntary IV in G, op. 7, by John Stanley; and then the hymn Morning Star, written in 1836 by Francis Florentine
Hagen (1815-1870). James Boehringer, former director of the Moravian Music
Foundation, and Kevin Brown, present administrator of the foundation, were both
acknowledged as having provided help in organizing the program.

We next walked to Home Moravian Church, where Paula Locklair
presented a most interesting slide-talk about the work of David Tannenberg and
his relationship with the Moravians in North Carolina. Mrs. Locklair has worked
with the various collections at Old Salem since 1975, and has been director of
collections since 1987, and is married to composer Dan Locklair. After her
talk, she introduced John Boody of the firm of Taylor & Boody, who gave a
slide-talk presentation about the company's project for restoring the 1799
Tannenberg organ for the Home Moravian Church. This is the oldest American-made
two-manual instrument extant. (For information on the project:
<www.taylorandboody.com&gt;.)

We then moved upstairs to the church, where the Piedmont
Chamber Singers, directed by James Allbritten, and accompanied by David
Pulliam, led us in a Singstunde, which is just what it sounds like--a wonderful
hour of singing, much of it done by us, with some choral works sung by the
Chamber Singers. We sang hymns that would be known to a Moravian congregation,
but not necessarily to us, and thus learned some new and quite interesting
hymns.

OHS planners always try to find occasional experiences other
than organs and organ music, and tonight was the night. We bused quite a long
way out of town to the Pollirosa Restaurant, obviously a very popular spot.
There was a long line and the place was really packed, but they were ready for
our group, and we had some wonderful barbecue and lots of other good things,
all accompanied by bluegrass music, live, on stage. There were also hayrides
available, but I did not notice any of our group indulging. We had six buses,
and they left for the hotel at intervals, so you could leave when you had had
your fill of food--and possibly of bluegrass. A lot of our gang really got into
it, singing and dancing up a storm, and me without my camera!

Wednesday, June 27

This penultimate full day of the convention featured an
array of various instruments. Here is the pipe count for the day: 362, 363,
951, 4926, 1038, and finally 6663. The day began with an almost two-hour bus
ride to New Hope Presbyterian Church in Chapel Hill, to hear Steve Barrell play
the 1987 one-manual organ by John Brombaugh. The program: Pieter Cornet (c.
1560-c. 1630), Four Versets on "Regina Caeli," featuring various combinations of sound, some of the fuller
bits somewhat on the harsh side, some individual voices quite beautiful.
Divided stops make possible solo and accompaniment, used to good effect. Then,
Johann Pachelbel (from Hexachordum Apollinis
style='font-style:normal'>, 1699), Aria Prima with Six Variations, the second variation on a beautiful Flute with tremulant. For something entirely different, we sang the hymn "Were you there," with a harmony of Barrell's own devising, based on the music of Fats Waller.

A very short bus ride brought us to Hillsborough and St.
Matthew's Episcopal Church for a recital by Grant Hellmers, an Australian by
birth, who has been at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Richmond for 20 years,
and was assistant for the four years before that. Before his time in Richmond,
he held church positions in Australia and in Vienna. The two-manual Hook &
Hastings stock model organ dates from 1883. The program: Humoresque (L'organo
primitivo), Toccatina for Flutes, Pietro
Yon; the beautiful Schübler Wer nur den lieben Gott lasst walten, Bach, after which we sang the two stanzas given for the chorale, one in harmony, and the second in unison with a very nice reharmonization. The power of even half of an OHS convention was just too overwhelming (we were split in two groups at this point)--every stop was indeed on! Following the hymn, three charming pieces by Leopold Mozart, from Der Morgen und der Abend (Morning and Evening); then, "Lied" (from 24 Pieces in Free Style), Vierne, with the lovely Open Diapason for the melody; Percy Whitlock, Divertimento (No. 2 from Four
Extemporisations); and finally, Allegro
(Number 6 of Six Short Preludes and Postludes, Set 2, op. 105) of C. V. Stanford. Well conceived and beautifully played was this program, and the little stock organ really is
lovely.

Both New Hope Presbyterian and St. Matthew's Episcopal
provided lunch for their half of the convention party, after which we gathered
at the Chapel of Peace College in Raleigh, where Rosalind Mohnsen played her
16th OHS convention recital. The organ is a transplant, a gift to the college
given by Christ Church, Raleigh. I don't know how many intact organs by
Pomplitz & Company are extant. Here at Peace College, this 17-stop Pomplitz
found an excellent home, and it and the college were presented with an OHS
Plaque in recognition of this. It was accepted by the president of the college,
who said a bit about how much she enjoys this instrument. With only 17 stops,
this two-manual organ nonetheless has both a 16' Double Open and a Bourdon, and
is quite robust in other ways as well. The program began with March from Ten
Progressive Pedal Studies of George
Whitefield Chadwick; then, Gavotte Pastorale by Frederick N. Shackley (1868-1937); Prelude
in E-flat Minor (op. 66-1911), Vincent
d'Indy (1851-1931); Prelude and Fugue in B Major
style='font-style:normal'> (op. 99), Camille Saint-Saëns; Pastorale in D Major, op. 13, William Wolstenholme (1865-1931); and finally an Allegro Moderato in D by Henry Smart (1813-1879). The recital came to a rousing close with the hymn "The Day of Resurrection" in glorious harmony to Henry Smart's well-known tune Lancashire
style='font-style:normal'>.

A bus ride brought us to the beautiful campus of Duke
University, with a chapel boasting three remarkable organs, upon each of which
we heard what could only be described as a perfect recital, tailored to match
the qualities of the instrument. We began at the west end of the chapel with
the famous four-manual Flentrop of 1976, with Mark Brombaugh offering a recital
of Buxtehude, Scheidemann, de Grigny, and a partita by James Woodman,
commissioned by Brombaugh in honor of his father. Woodman's Partita on
"Spanish Hymn" was written in
1999 and comprises seven sections: Prelude, Chorale, Bicinium, Trio, Aria,
Fughetta, and Canon. The program ended with the hymn "Spanish Hymn,"
complete with three harmony verses and even a bit of a descant! The Flentrop
organ had a robust sound in the louder works and permeates the building wonderfully. The chapel's walls have been treated with several coats of sealant with excellent results. Equally impressive were the clarity and color of the quieter sounds.

The next event generated something akin to hostility. I
suppose the behavior of a few of our colleagues might be compared to the
reactions of some who demonstrated their opprobrium at the first performance of
Rite of Spring. Well, in truth, no
tomatoes were thrown on this occasion, but it saddens me to report that a
number of people left the building, saying things like "I don't have to
listen to this." Some even said things like: "I listened to the damn
Flentrop, but this is too much!" Meantone is not nearly as sinister as it
sounds! I heard Margaret Irwin-Brandon at OHS Boston the previous summer, where
she had the assignment of playing the Charles Fisk dual-temperament instrument
at Wellesley College. The anti-anything-different folks were in evidence there,
too. As at Wellesley, she chose a program absolutely perfect for the instrument
at hand: Frescobaldi, Toccata Sesta, Bk. II, per l'organo sopra i pedali, e senza; Canzona Quarta; Toccata Quinta, Bk. II, sopra i pedali per l'organo, e senza. Then we sang "Savior of the nations, come" (Nun komm der Heiden Heiland), five harmony stanzas in our hymnlet, which means we all sang in meantone without any permanent injury, with the exception of stanza 3, which got switched amazingly into a triple meter, which we all managed quite well. Then Canzona II of Froberger, followed by Ballo della Battaglia of Bernardo Storace. Now, if anyone was in doubt about the personality of meantone tuning, the Frescobaldi works left no doubt. There are intervals that jar our "well"-conditioned brains and ears, and I found myself, as at Wellesley, looking straight up at the organ and listening with as much attention as I could muster--this contemplation coupled with a totally relaxed attitude. This is edgy, this is somewhat unsettling, but I can get used to it, and find these sounds more of a condiment than a threat. The very gentle beauty of this Brombaugh organ at Duke beguiled me into complete acceptance, and pleasure at having the opportunity to hear something from the history of our instrument. The Froberger was wonderfully gentle and sweet, and then the Storace was, well, a battle, with the little Regal on the Brustwerk doing yeoman service!

The journal of the Organ Historical Society is called The
Tracker, and back in the very early days, this was the perfect name.
Conventions included visits to, if not totally exclusively, almost exclusively
mechanical-action instruments. The broadening happened gradually, and now
convention goers visit historic E. M. Skinner organs, on which are often
conferred OHS plaques in honor of their preservation and maintenance. We have
often even visited new organs of note, no matter what mechanism makes the pipe
speak, e.g., the new Létourneau instrument at the first recital of this
convention! Welcome, I think, to the real world, with a broader view of real
excellence. I have not, and I know others who are driving the work of OHS have
not, abandoned a belief in the great virtues and advantages of tracker action.
This does not prevent me from thrilling at the sound of the Wanamaker Organ,
for example. The full circle we have made was brought into full view by all the
buzz and almost palpable anticipation of the next event, a recital on the
Aeolian organ in the east end of the chapel, an organ so reviled in times past
that there was a powerful movement to junk it. It makes the heart glad to know
that the OHS had a role in the campaign to save it, so there was some reveling
in all of this as we settled down to hear Ken Cowan give a convincing
demonstration of this instrument: Allegro vivace from the Widor 5th; Ave
Maria of Marco Enrico Bossi (1861-1925) demonstrating the ravishing strings of the instrument; Roulade, Seth Bingham; Overture to The Flying Dutchman, Wagner; the hymn "In our day of thanksgiving one Psalm let us offer," to the glorious tune St. Catherine's Court, with harmony. (Let it be here stated that Ken Cowan does know how to accompany a hymn. I wrote in my book: "What an accompaniment!!") Words won't do in describing Cowan's simply stunning performance of a perfect piece for right where we were, the Liszt Ad nos, ad salutarem undam.

Thursday, June 28

The last day of the convention began with Rachelen Lien from
New Orleans, a regular performer at OHS conventions, giving a preview of a
January 2002 mini-convention entitled "A South Louisiana Organ
Odyssey." This event, to be held January 3-5, was to include tours of
plantations, monasteries, and convents, as well as the famous French Quarter.

A 45-minute bus ride brought us to the First Presbyterian
Church of Lexington, for a recital by Edward Zimmermann, a native of North
Carolina, now teaching at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. The organ, Opus
499 of Geo. S. Hutchings (1900), was relocated to this church through the Organ
Clearing House and members of the staff of Andover Organs, which company
rebuilt and enlarged the instrument in 1994. The program consisted entirely of
works by Otto Dienel (1839-1905), beginning with a chorale prelude on Lobe
den Herren, for which Zimmermann used only
original Hutchings stops; we then sang just one stanza of the chorale. This
two-manual instrument of 23 stops and 28 ranks is very fine. There followed
three more chorale preludes: Komm, O komm, du Geist des Lebens; Mach
dich, mein Geist, bereit; and Wer
nur den lieben Gott lasst walten. The
program ended with a three-movement Grand Sonata No. 3 in F Major, op. 18, on the chorale Wie gross ist des Allmaecht'gen Guete. At some of the convention recitals, we are joined by varying numbers of members of the
congregation, which suggests the good news that there is interest in the organ.
From this church, there were many congregants, and I am sure they had their
interest and pride in the instrument strengthened.

After lunch in Winston-Salem, we moved on to another
surprisingly effective organ, speaking out of a very small rectangular hole
high on the east wall, looking for all the world like a large
style="mso-spacerun: yes">   speaker enclosure. No date is
given for this Kilgen unit organ of 11 stops and 13 ranks. The church was built
in the early 1930s by a Presbyterian congregation, and the organ would seem to
be of the same period. In 1964, the congregation of St. James A.M.E. Church
bought the building. The organ was last played publicly 30 years ago. The last
time it was played at all was 20 years ago. At some point, before the organ
ceased to be used, some tonal changes were made under the direction of John
Mueller, which now, at this time of our organic thinking in the 21st century,
will either bring cheers or jeers. The Great 8' Open was replaced by a Mixtuur
III. The 8' Clarabella became a Gedeckt. The Dulciana became a 4' Octaaf. On the
Swell, the Vox Humana became a 2' Vlakfluit. When members of the convention
committee went to inspect this instrument, it was not playing at all--there was
no longer electricity to the blower. John Farmer and a crew, along with a
licensed electrician, got it all cooking again. There were a few members of the
congregation around for the recital, and I hope they might be persuaded to make
some use of the instrument, now that it can be played again. Those there seemed
impressed. Here we were treated to a concert by bass-baritone John Williams and
organist Max Smith. The program: Handel, Thanks be to Thee
style='font-style:normal'>; Mendelssohn (Elijah
style='font-style:normal'>), Lord God of Abraham (preceded by the recitative);
Margaret Vardell Sandresky, O God, my heart is fixed on thee
style='font-style:normal'> (Psalm 108); for organ alone: Adagio from Widor Symphony No. 6; "I Stood on the River of Jordan," arr. Harry Burleigh; "Let Us Break Bread Together"; provided with full harmony, we happily sang "Fairest Lord Jesus" to the tune Crusaders' Hymn.

A 45-minute bus ride brought us to the third and last
"stately home" of the convention, the Chinqua-Penn Plantation,
devised and built by Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Jefferson Penn. A Skinner organ,
Opus 565, was installed in 1926. The pipes are in the basement, speaking out
into the great living room through large grates. For this visit, we were
divided in two groups to avoid crowding in the room where the organ resides.
While one group was walking the extensive and interesting grounds, the other
was listening to a recital, well played and chosen for the organ and venue, by
Mary Gifford, who is director of music at St. Leonard Catholic Church in
Berwyn, Illinois. Her program was perhaps a reproduction of at least the spirit
if not the specifics of what might have been heard by the residents of this home. There were four charming Edward MacDowell piano works arranged by Ms. Gifford: Hunting Song, An Old Love Story, To a Humming Bird, and the inevitable To a Wild Rose; next A Southland Song by William Lester, an English organist who settled in Chicago in the early part of the 20th century, and was for some years a reviewer for The Diapason; then we attempted to sing "When Mother Played the Organ," by George B. McConnell (text by Dick Sanford) and did not do
too badly at all. The perfect closer was the Mendelssohn War March of
the Priests arranged by Theodore Dubois.

After dinner at the plantation (one could get used to that),
we hopped on the bus for a one-hour relaxing trip to Greensboro, and West
Market Street United Methodist Church, where Peter Sykes played the final
recital of the convention. Organist at First Church in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, Sykes teaches organ, harpsichord, and chamber music at the Longy
School, and serves on the faculty of the extension division of New England
Conservatory. The organ at West Market Street is by Dobson in collaboration
with Manuel Rosales. Quoting from the Organ Handbook: "In the final
equation, Dobson designed and constructed the organ; Rosales provided basic
scaling with input from Dobson; and both companies shared equally in the
voicing and tuning process." Key action is mechanical, stop action,
electric. Some Pedal ranks are on electric action. There are three manuals and
39 stops, the third manual being a small Solo Organ, with an Harmonic Flute, a
5-rank Tenor G Cornet, an 8' Trumpet and an 8' Clarinet. The program:
Mendelssohn, Sonata No. 3 in A Major; a five-movement "suite" by
James Woodman, All Creatures of Our God and King: Sister Moon, Brother Sun, Mother Earth, All of Tender Heart, and Alleluia; the tune Lasst uns erfreuen appears here and there. Then, Tocccata in F (Bux 137); Fantasia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 537, Bach; three "Tonstücke," op. 22 of Niels Gade; and to close, Duruflé Prélude, Adagio, et Choral varié on Veni Creator. The last hymn to be sung at this convention followed, a rather angular but ultimately attractive and singable tune by Derek Williams (b. 1945) to the text, "Give us the wings of faith." The Dobson/Rosales instrument, though not large, provided plenty of variety and color for such a varied program. There were, for me where I was sitting, a very few overpoweringly loud and harsh moments, and I thought it had to do with the Great Reeds, 16, 8 & 4, but others will have felt differently, I am sure. The instrument is surely a great success, and Mr. Sykes' performance was superb. The buses soon departed for the hotel, and one last look at the exhibits and the convivial bar  and it was all over for another year.

This was another wonderful OHS convention! Readers please
note: the 2002 OHS national convention will take place June 25-July 1 in
Chicago, Illinois. For information: 804/353-9228;

<www.organsociety.org&gt;.

Larry Palmer and Joyce Johnson Robinson

Larry Palmer is harpsichord editor of THE DIAPASON. Joyce Johnson Robinson is associate editor of THE DIAPASON.i

LP in LA: The 47th National Convention of the American Guild of Organists July 4-9, 2004

More than 2000 organ enthusiasts spent an exhilarating week in the City of the Angels, enjoying a well-paced, well-organized schedule of high-quality musical events. Los Angeles weather, cool and sunny, was a joy after a month of unusually abundant rain in Texas.

In a sense, each person experienced a unique convention, since many of the morning programs were given two or three times in order to accommodate the number of attendees, and afternoon activities had been pre-selected from the more than 60 workshops and competition rounds offered. Evening events usually accommodated the entire convention, the exception being Tuesday's three concurrent services of worship. Perception and reception of particular events, thus, were influenced by the particular sequence in which they were experienced. For instance, Monday morning's "green group" progression of three recitals provided a satisfying order, while Wednesday's schedule did not. 

Rather than a chronological, day by day report, here are some high points from "my" convention choices.

The Walt Disney Concert Hall and the first public performances on its Glatter-Götz/Rosales organ

Architect Frank Gehry's landmark building, new home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, is a striking and beautiful creation, immediately taking its place among America's most exciting concert halls. This 274 million dollar project pays apt tribute to American film maker Walt Disney with its decidedly whimsical and non-traditional architecture, and Gehry's organ case satisfies Lillian Disney's request that the organ not suggest a church. The controlled chaos of the pipe façade is the visual focus of the concert room; it is, however, well integrated into the hall, largely due to the use of the same wood, Douglas fir, for pipes, wall, and ceiling.

The 109-rank, four-manual organ is equipped with two consoles. In traditional case placement, the mechanical-action one was utilized for Joseph Adam's solo performances of Reger's Fantasia on BACH, Vierne's Naïades (played fleetly with impressionistic bravura), and Danse and Finale from Naji Hakim's Hommage à Igor Stravinsky. A movable, electric-action console, placed in front of the orchestra to the left of conductor Alexander Mickelthwate, allowed proper soloists' positions for organists Cherry Rhodes, in the program-opening premiere of James Hopkins' Concierto de Los Angeles, and Robert Parris, for the rarely-heard Concerto I in C Major of Leo Sowerby.

Architect Gehry was in attendance; so was the acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota, and the organ builders. A pre-concert stroll through Melinda Taylor's stunning gardens allowed an opportunity to view Gehry's rose-shaped fountain created from 8,000 hand-broken pieces of blue and white Delft china--his "Rose for Lilly," in honor of Mrs. Disney.

Solo Organ Performances

Mary Preston at the Glatter-Götz organ opus 2 (1998) in Claremont United Church of Christ

Dallas Symphony resident organist Mary Preston played a perfectly constructed program on a splendid mechanical-action organ in a church with sympathetic acoustical environment. At her third performance of the morning Ms. Preston elicited spontaneous (and forbidden) applause with a compelling opening work, Jean Guillou's dazzling, difficult, and complex Toccata; left us spellbound with the magical gossamer conclusion of Duruflé's Scherzo; showed both charm and considerable comedic ability in George Akerley's A Sweet for Mother Goose (six movements for organ and narrator based on familiar nursery rhymes); and displayed an absolutely magisterial rhythmic control in Jongen's Sonata eroïca. Program notes by Laurie Shulman pointed out a musical connection between Jongen and Messiaen, an analogy strengthened by the happily chirping birds heard through open windows on the right side of the church.  Human auditors were equally ecstatic at this stellar performance.

Martin Jean at the Dobson organ in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels

Yale University's Martin Jean gave a riveting performance of the complete Dupré Passion Symphony as conclusion to the second half of the first concert attended by the entire convention crowd. Spanish architect Rafael Moneo's massive cathedral, dedicated in 2002, seats 3,000 people in a spacious contemporary edifice of restrained elegance. The four-manual, 105-rank Dobson organ fills this space with noble and powerful sounds, as expected from its impressive 32-foot façade principals and dominating horizontal reeds. The organ performance was all the more appreciated coming as it did after a choral performance of works by Byron Adams, Morten Lauridsen, and C. Hubert H. Parry horribly amplified through the Cathedral's public address system. (Seated in the last row, we heard the choral sounds through crackling speakers positioned in the downward pointing, trumpet-shaped central posts of the chandeliers; any hope of a balance with the accompanying organ was thereby destroyed.)

Samuel Soria at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels

Cathedral organist Samuel Soria played a prelude-recital before the Friday morning business meeting of the American Guild of Organists. Wanting to hear the Dobson organ from the best possible vantage point, we eschewed bus transport, walked the few blocks from the convention hotel to the cathedral, got there before the crowd, and chose an optimal seat in the left transept, diagonally across from the organ case. There the organ had splendid presence, character, and all the fullness one could want, qualities well illustrated in the playing of this talented young man. An appreciated tie-in to AGO history, his opening piece, Fanfare by past-president Alec Wyton, displayed the organ's horizontal reeds to fine advantage.  Atmospheric impressionism was equally well served in Herbert Howells' Psalm Prelude, set 2, number 1 ("De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine") with its steady crescendo from the softest stop to a mighty full organ climax, and the corollary retreat to near silence. But it was in Sowerby's fiendishly difficult middle movement from his Symphony in G ("Fast and Sinister"--listed in the program as "Faster") that Soria best displayed his formidable technique and sense of the work's architecture, giving a sensitive, secure reading of this quintuple-meter tour de force.

Christopher Lane at the NYACOP Finals in St. James Episcopal Church

One of three finalists to compete in the National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance, Lane, a student at the Eastman School of Music, gave the only playing of the required Roger-Ducasse Pastorale to realize both its delicacy and forward sweep. With no lack of virtuosity in the culminating mid-section "storm" music, Lane also limned the delicate contrapuntal writing in this unique organ work from the French composer.  Judges Craig Cramer, Bruce Neswick, and Kathryn Pardee, deliberating at length, chose Yoon-Mi Lim (Bloomington) as first place winner. Dong-ill Shin (Boston) was the third contestant.  Additional required repertoire played by all three contestants included Deux Danses (Le miroir de Meduse and Le Cercle des Bacchantes) by California composer James Hopkins, and Bach's Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C, BWV 654, the only organ work by the master included in the published convention program book. (This final competition round was heard by approximately one-tenth of the convention registrants.) One additional Bach piece, a chorale prelude from the Orgelbüchlein, Herr Christ, der ein'ge Gottes Sohn, BWV 601, was played simply and stylistically by Namhee Han, a guest organist who gave the pre-concert recital before ensemble amarcord's program at Wilshire United Methodist Church. Ms. Han holds the Ph.D. in applied linguistics and is currently studying for her MM in organ at UCLA.

Paul Jacobs at Westwood United Methodist Church

Young Mr. Jacobs, playing from memory, had no technical or musical limitations during his noontime playing of the monumental Reger Chorale-Fantasy on Hallelujah, Gott zu loben. It was refreshing to hear Handel's G-minor Organ Concerto (opus 4, no. 1) as a representative (albeit in transcription) of the conspicuously absent baroque organ repertoire. Jacobs' attractive program also included John Weaver's Toccata and the premiere of Margaret Vardell Sandresky's The Mystery of Faith. With four manuals and 153 pipe ranks, the Schantz organ could have recused the added 85 digital voices to the advantage of the whole.

Lynne Davis at First Congregational Church

American organist Lynne Davis has spent much of her distinguished career in France. For her pre-service recital before Evensong she played three works from the French organ repertoire: Vierne's Toccata in B-flat minor, opus 53/6, Marchand's Grand Dialogue in C, and Franck's mighty Choral in E Major on the immense composite organs of First Congregational Church, comprising five manuals, 339 ranks, and seven digital voices for a truly "surround sound" experience. It was playing of intensity with a distinctly personal approach; especially in the Franck, Ms. Davis presented a nuanced, individual, and ultimately satisfying reading of this Romantic masterwork. In the Marchand, the organ certainly provided commanding reeds for a classic French Grand Jeu, but seemed to be lacking a Cromhorne of sufficiently aggressive character to assure a proper balance for the accompanying voices.

Choral Performances

ensemble amarcord at Wilshire United Methodist Church

The five-man vocal ensemble, all former members of the St. Thomas Choir of Leipzig, filled several unique categories at this convention: they were the only Europeans engaged for the program, and they gave the only ensemble presentation of a work by J. S. Bach, a two-stanza chorale from the Kreuzstab Cantata, BWV 56, "Du, o schönes Weltgebäude." It received an especially eloquent performance, with words perfectly articulated, and the almost-painfully beautiful suspensions viscerally calibrated for maximum tension and release of the piquant harmonies. The particularly welcome program alternated early music (stark and athletic organum, supple Byrd motets, the familiar Tallis anthem If Ye Love Me, elegant in its noble simplicity) with 20th (and 21st) century choral works.  The concluding Gloria (2001) by Sidney Marquez Boquiren was performed with the singers in a circle.  Long-held dissonant chords built around an ostinato pitch, were sustained throughout with nearly-unbelievable breath control. Repeated text phrases swirled like incense to create an unforgettable shimmer of sound. From start to finish this was virtuoso music making, with not a microphone or speaker to mar the sound.

Dale Adelmann's setting of the Spiritual "Steal Away to Jesus"

Heard as the Introit for the Service of Evensong at First Congregational Church, this, and the equally exquisite singing of Herbert Howells' St. Paul's Service by the choirs of All Saints' and St. James' Episcopal Churches, conducted by Adelmann and James Buonemani, proved to be the full ensemble choral highlights of the convention for this listener. Of course, choirs need to be superb at these services to compare with the hymn singing of a thousand, or more, organists, most of them paying attention to punctuation, pitch, and proper vocal production. It makes for participatory experiences that remain in the memory.

New Music

David Conte: Prelude and Fugue (In Memoriam Nadia Boulanger) for Organ Solo. E. C. Schirmer No. 6216.

What a way to begin the first solo organ recital of a convention! A single pedal B-flat sang out gently. Then a theme, beginning with the opening intervals of Raison's (and J. S. Bach's) Passacaglia was spun into a 14-measure cantilena, after which the solemn five-minute Prelude built slowly, always above the continuing pedal point. The ensuing Fugue, its memorable subject carefully shaped by Ken Cowan at the recent Fisk organ in Bridges Hall of Music at Pomona College, fulfilled the promise of the Prelude, moving inexorably from duple to triple accompanimental figurations, and building to a full climax with pedal flourishes. A work worthy of Maurice Duruflé or Gabriel Fauré, and a fitting tribute, as well, to Boulanger, the great French teacher with whom Conte studied for three years early in his career.

George Akerley: A Sweet for Mother Goose for Organ and Narrator. Hinshaw Music, Inc. HPO3009

Winner of the 2004 Holtkamp-AGO award in organ composition, this charmer of a suite weds appropriately pictorial music with rhythmically notated texts for the narrator in a pleasure giving work that should find its way into many organ recital programs. (It is music for young persons of all ages.) "Little Bo-Peep" allows the organist to take off on an extended pedal cadenza, to be halted only by the irritated shout of the narrator. The head of a school instructs her charges on good behavior in "The Clock." There's Irish musical color aplenty in "The Cats of Kilkenny," and, after a recitation of the poetry, the organist plays a solo tone poem to illustrate the "Tale of Miss Muffet." Mathematical note groupings provide comment for "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe;" while the concluding movement ("The Fiddlers") provides chuckles of recognition with its ritornello based on the famous Widor Toccata. That it was so well presented by Mary Preston, with the ebullient Kathy Freeman as narrator, made for a memorable premiere indeed.

Denis Bédard: Duet Suite for Organ and Piano (Details: www.majoya.com)

Duo Majoya (Marnie Giesbrecht, organ; Joachim Segger, piano) gave a most unusual recital at Bel-Air Presbyterian Church. Two Canadian composers provided commissioned works for the Duo; each had some interesting musical ideas to communicate. The more accessible work was this Suite, comprising an Introduction, Fughetta, Menuetto, Romance, and Final, full of wit, good humor, and memorable melodies, many reminiscent of Poulenc's catchy and romantic voice. Three movements from Jeffrey McCune's Crossing to Byzantium, and his arrangement of Stravinsky's Danse infernale de roi Katschei from The Firebird, plus Joe Utterback's brief Images: A Jazz Set completed the program, which would have benefited from more textural variety, perhaps provided by a solo offering from each of these fine players. The Bel-Air organ, reconstituted from a Casavant instrument heavily damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake, now consists of 60 pipe ranks plus 91 digital voices, including both Cherubim and Seraphim hanging speakers: not a particularly happy marriage of sounds for this hilltop-sited church.

Other newly-commissioned and prize-winning works heard at convention events I attended included anthems by Byron Adams and Michael Bedford, works for instruments with organ by Mary Beth Bennett, Ian Krouse, and Erica Muhl, plus the Hopkins and Sandresky works mentioned previously, as well as an anthem by Williametta Spencer, premiered in the Ecumenical Protestant service, not on my schedule. 

Workshops

Organ Recordings from the Past, David McVey's self-effacing session on gems from the audio history of organ playing, was a model of effective, well thought-out presentation. All the requisite citations were listed in a spacious 8-page handout. The motto "Res ipsa locutor [The thing speaks for itself]" was borne out as McVey kept comment to a minimum in order to allow complete performances of works recorded by Widor (Andante sostenuto from his Gothic Symphony, committed to disc in 1932), Tournemire (Chorale-Improvisation on "Victimae paschali," 1930), Thalben-Ball (Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries, 1931), Sowerby (his Carillon, 1946), Schreiner (Vierne's Naïades, 1959), Biggs (Daquin's Noël grand jeu et duo at the 1936 Aeolian-Skinner organ of the Germanic Museum at Harvard), Fox (Bach's Passacaglia at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, 1963), and Crozier (Dupré's Prelude and Fugue in G minor, opus 7/3, 1959).

Panel Discussion on the Disney Hall Organ, ably moderated by Jonathan Ambrosino, with organ builders Caspar von Glatter-Götz and Manuel Rosales, architect Craig Webb from Gehry Partners, and organ consultant Michael Barone.

An overflow crowd of 500 assembled to hear the whys and wherefores behind the inspiration and evolution of Gehry's unusual organ design for the new hall, and the challenges posed during the installation of the instrument. 

Extra-musical happenings

Television personality and actor David Hyde Pierce (of Frasier fame) brought along the necessary props: his organ shoes, a book of registrations copied down at some early lessons (numbers only, no stop names), a tattered copy of the Gleason Method. Pierce, who really did study organ with several noted teachers, took his audience through a quick course on ornamentation ("I don't care"), temperament, and various other organ-specific arcana. The huge crowd responded with almost-constant hilarity.

The Very Rev. Canon Mary June Nestler's sermon at Evensong moved with quiet humor from her own experiences as a voice student through some of the shared vicissitudes of the organist's profession (especially vis-à-vis relationships with the clergy) to a sound theological conclusion, and a prayer for peace.

Class Acts

Frederick Swann: organist and AGO president extraordinaire

Both for a very fine recital at the Crystal Cathedral, his "home base" during the years 1982-1998, and for his deft, unpretentious handling of the American Guild of Organists presidency, Swann deserves high accolades. Always in command of the music he played, never pompous or overbearing in his official actions, Fred serves as an exemplary leader for the national organization, and he represents the profession well with his high musical and personal standards.  Who would not love him for his one-sentence disposal of the listed "Presidential Remarks" at the national meeting? Kudos, as well, for his service as performances chair of the convention. The artists selected for the program were consistently top-notch.

The Convention Committee

To Dr. Robert Tall and his legions of hardy workers for the stellar planning and smooth organization of a first-rate convention, especially noted in the efficient and on time management of the necessary bus transportation. Mailing the convention program book (itself a work of art) more than a month before the actual event allowed attendees the opportunity for advance preparation and orientation. Bravi tutti!

Additional Observations

It was my first experience to see two hotel elevators (in the headquarters hotel, the Westin Bonaventure) marked with historic plaques, noting their use by actor (now Governor) Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1993 movie The Terminator.

Crystal Cathedral organist Christopher Pardini's fine performances of The Joy of the Redeemed, composed by AGO founding member Clarence Dickinson, not only showcased the Aeolian-Skinner organ in the Cathedral's Arboretum, but served as an effective aural connection to an important figure in the Guild's history.

What a savvy idea to present this year's AGO President's Award to Craig Whitney, an assistant managing editor at The New York Times and author of the best selling book All the Stops. His enthusiastic and engaging writing about the world of organ music and its personalities has provided  some much needed popular awareness for the profession.

Peter Krasinski's masterful organ improvisation at the AGO annual meeting was based on the song "Chicago, Chicago," a theme selected and presented to him by improvisation committee chair Ann Labounsky. This served as a not-so-subliminal aural advertisement for the next national convention, to be held July 2-6, 2006.

 

Concours Internationaux de la Ville de Paris

Kenneth Matthews

Kenneth Matthews is Director of Music at Old First Presbyterian Church in San Francisco.

The City of Paris 5th International Organ Competition took place June 1-9, 2004. The Paris Concours d'Orgue, which occurs biannually, has grown in importance each year. One reason for its popularity is no doubt the generous prize money:

Interpretation Competition

1st Grand Prize of the City of Paris: Euros: 9000

2nd Grand Prize, offered by the Academy of Beaux-Arts of the Institut de France: Euros: 6000

3rd Prize: Euros: 2500

Improvisation Competition

1st Grand Prize of the City of Paris (dedicated to the memory of Pierre Cochereau): Euros: 5000

Prize for the best performance of the 6th Concerto for Organ and Orchestra op. 68 of Jean Guillou (commissioned by Musique Nouvelle en Liberté), offered by the Academy of Beaux-Arts of the Institut de France: Euros: 1500

Prize for the meilleur espoir (most promising young artist), offered by SACEM: Euros:1500

Of the 250 organs in Paris, some 130 belong to the City of Paris itself, including many historically important and significant instruments. It was recognition of this great diversity and richness that led to the creation in 1994 of the first Concours d'Orgue, part of the series Concours Internationaux de la Ville de Paris. For the 5th Concours, 57 candidates applied to the recorded pre-selection elimination round, and 39 candidates of 17 nationalities were accepted for the Concours.

One of the principal characteristics of the Paris Concours is that each round of the competition is held on a different organ, the various organs being those most appropriate for the literature being played (for instance, Couperin at the Chapelle Royale, or Franck at Sainte-Clotilde). At the same time, candidates are required to adapt quickly to instruments that are often quite different from each other.

Members of the jury were Michel Chapuis, president, France; José Enrique Ayarra Jarne, Spain; Martin Haselböck, Austria; James Higdon, USA; François-Henri Houbart, France; Leo Krämer, Germany; Roman Perucki, Poland; Ville Urponen, Finland; Yang-Hee Yun, Korea.

For one reason or another, four candidates elected not to attend (one each from Australia, France, USA, and Korea). For the original round 33 interpretation candidates (three of whom were also improvisation candidates) and two more improvisation candidates (for a total of five improvisation candidates) participated, representing 17 countries.

First round of interpretation finals:

Conservatoire supérieur de Paris-CNR

The initial interpretation elimination round was held at the Conservatoire supérieur de Paris-CNR on the rue de Madrid, Tuesday and Wednesday, June 1-2, and consisted of two movements of a Bach trio sonata, and one of the 11 Brahms chorale preludes. The organ at the Conservatoire is a three-manual of 32 stops built by the German builder Gerhard Grenzing working in Spain, and was completed in 1996. At the end of the second day, the jury selected nine candidates of the 33 (listed in order of performance). The playing was all of a high level of excellence, worthy of an international competition (although one or two candidates had an off day). Paolo Oreni (Italy) was the only candidate to play the required Bach and Brahms pieces from memory.

Douglas O'Neill, USA

Yevgenia Semeina, Russia

Kirsten Eberle, Germany

Ekaterina Kofanova, Belarus

Elke Eckerstorfer, Austria

Els Biesemans, Belgium

Ghislain Leroy, France

Henry Fairs, UK

Paolo Oreni, Italy

Second round of interpretation finals / First round of improvisation finals:

Saint-Ferdinand-des-Ternes

The second round of interpretation finals and the first round of improvisation finals began on Friday, June 4, at Saint-Ferdinand-des-Ternes. The church, in a Romano-Byzantine style with cupolas, was designed in the 1930s and completed in 1957. In the 1990s, the choir was redesigned according to Vatican II ideas, and a new organ incorporated in a new organ tribune. Following an international competition, the new organ was built in 1995 by Pascal Quoirin, who also designed the organ tribune. The organ contains 34 stops on three manuals of 56 notes and a pedal of 30 notes. The specification of the organ is described as “suitable for classical or baroque music.”

Candidates for both the second round of interpretation finals and the first round of improvisation finals were required to play two works of J. S. Bach: one of three Leipzig chorales, Schmücke dich, O liebe Seele, BWV 654; Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659; An Wasserflüssen Babylons, BWV 653; and either the “Dorian” Toccata, BWV 538, or Pièce d';Orgue, BWV 572, or ?Fugue in G Major, BWV 577.

The acoustic of the church is somewhat vast, and candidates were challenged in finding appropriate registrations. The chorale preludes were registered differently of course but every registration I heard was thoughtful and interesting. A preferred approach was accompaniment on an 8 ft. principal, with solos on various mutation combinations.

I found the pedal lightweight in effect except when the 16 ft. reed was engaged (which, when it occurred, was during the middle section of the Pièce d'Orgue), and I suppose it is characteristic of this style of instrument. The French seem to have arrived at a common denominator for a “Bach organ,” as evidenced by the organs at the Conservatoire and at Saint-Ferdinand-des-Ternes. It seems rather dated when one compares it to work in this country by such builders as Paul Fritts & Co., Richards, Fowkes & Co., or Taylor & Boody Organbuilders.

La Madeleine

The second round of interpretation finals continued on Saturday, June 5, at 8:00 pm at the Church of the Madeleine, home of Cavaillé-Coll's landmark organ of 1841-46. Containing 48 stops on four manuals and pedal, the organ remained more or less intact until 1971, when the firm of Danion-Gonzalez electrified the action and recast the organ in a neo-classic form. Since 1988, organbuilder Bernard Dargassies has made some changes in order to return more closely to the original sound. Recently, he added a chamade, “a stop planned for but not included in the original organ.”

For this round, candidates selected pieces by two composers from the following list of works:

Marcel Dupré

Prelude and Fugue in F Minor, op. 7;

Symphonie Passion (first movement, Le Monde dans l'attente du Sauveur)

Symphonie Passion (second movement, La Nativité)

Evocation (Final)

Cortège et Litanie

Louis Vierne

2nd Symphonie (1st movement, Allegro)

2nd Symphonie (2nd movement, Choral)

3rd Symphonie (Finale)

4th Symphonie (4th movement, Romance)

4th Symphonie (Finale)

Charles-Marie Widor

5th Symphonie (1st movement, Allegro vivace)

5th Symphonie (2nd movement, Allegro cantabile)

6th Symphonie (1st movement, Allegro)

Symphonie gothique (2nd movement, Andante sostenuto)

Symphonie romane (3rd movement, Cantilène)

From these required pieces, we heard quite a bit of the Dupré Evocation, the Cortège et Litanie, and the first movement of the Widor 5th Symphonie. So some of the less frequently chosen pieces took on a bit of added interest: Els Biesemans's playing of the Dupré La Nativité; Ghislain Leroy';s Dupré F-Minor Prelude & Fugue, and then the last two players, Henry Fairs and Paolo Oreni, who offered contrasting versions of the Andante sostenuto of Widor's Symphonie gothique.

Saint-Étienne-du-Mont

The first improvisation series took place on Sunday, June 6, at Saint-Étienne-du-Mont. Improvisation candidates were given a theme, a response for the Office of Tierce (“Inclina cor meum Deus in tabernacula tua”) and asked to improvise a triptych lasting around fifteen minutes. Saint-Étienne-du-Mont is famous for being the church of the Duruflés and the 1956 Beuchet-Debierre, which Duruflé had built for his tonal ideas. (The organ, rebuilt by Victor Gonzalez in 1975 and then by Bernard Dargassies in 1991, is the fourth largest organ in Paris, with 83 stops on 4 manuals and pedal).

None of the candidates had any problem treating the theme (or at least the head of it, which is what most of them used) for 15 minutes and using a wide variety of registrations and improvisation skills. However, only one of them, Noël Hazebroucq, was able to communicate (to my listening skills, at any rate) the stated requirement of a triptych. It was almost as if the other players were unwilling to quit playing for even a moment in order to clearly delineate sections of their improvisation. I suppose it would be possible to have a triptych where the sections flow into each other (I am thinking of the Adagio and Choral variations of the Duruflé Veni Creator, which are connected without pause; even so, the diminuendo to a single stop, followed by the plainsong statement on principal choruses, serves as a marker between the two sections). As a result, with the other players, it was not possible to say where sections might have been. One player, for instance, began an adagio on flutes, progressed to fonds, played a mf statement of the theme in canon, followed by a slow crescendo to ff reeds, with the plainsong theme in the pedal, followed by a decrescendo to Gemshorn Celeste plus 32' with quick decorated bits of the theme, followed by a crescendo to fonds, then staccato reeds, then a vivace section on swell reeds, followed by a short toccata figure, followed by a chordal full organ statement of the theme.

Hazebroucq, by contrast, began with a scherzo with the theme in canon, followed by a quick outburst on tutti, followed by the original scherzo with theme in canon, again followed by a short outburst on tutti. Section two began with flutes and bits of the theme, colored by high bell effects; followed by fugal bits on fonds and reeds, then an ornamented version of the head of the theme in dialogue on the cromorne and clarinet stops. The third section began with fast statements on the theme, and subsided into bits on the theme on various piano stop combinations.

Following the improvisation round at Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, the candidates for the Finale were announced; for interpretation: Els Biesemans, Belgium; Henry Fairs, UK; Ghislain Leroy, France; Paolo Oreni, Italy; and for improvisation: Noël Hazebroucq, France; Robert Houssart, The Netherlands.

Finale

Chapelle Royale du Château de Versailles

The first round of the Finale was held at the Chapelle Royale du Château de Versailles on Monday, June 7, at 2:30 pm. Interpretation candidates were required to play:

François Couperin, extracts from the Messe pour les Paroisses:

Plain Chant du premier Kyrie, en taille

Dialogue sur les trompettes et tierces du Grand Clavier et le bourdon avec le larigot du Positif

4th couplet, Tierce en taille

6th couplet, Offertoire sur les Grands jeux

or

Nicolas de Grigny, extracts from La Messe:

Premier Kyrie en taille, à 5, qui renferme le chant du Kyrie

Cromorne en taille à 2 parties

Trio en dialogue

Dialogue sur les Grands jeux

or

Louis-Nicolas Clérambault, Suite du deuxième ton:

Plein Jeu

Duo

Trio

Basse de cromorne

Flûtes

Récit de nasard

Caprice sur les Grands jeux

The organ case at the Chapelle Royale at Versailles originally contained a Robert Clicquot. This organ was rebuilt in turn by Louis-Alexandre and then François-Henri Clicquot, then by Dallery, Abbey, and Cavaillé-Coll, before being replaced in 1938 by an organ by Gonzalez. It took until the end of the 20th century to recreate the famous Clicquot, work entrusted to the builders Boisseau and Cattiaux. The present specification comprises 37 stops on three manuals and a pedalboard à la française. Its tuning (A=415) refers to the time of Louis XIV, and the temperament is meantone. Some of the most famous of French organists have been named to the Chapelle Royale: Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers, Nicolas Lebègue, Louis Marchand, Jean-François Dandrieu, François Couperin. The current organist is Michel Chapuis.

For the round at Versailles, Biesemans and Oreni played the required Couperin pieces, while Fairs and Leroy played the required de Grigny pieces. (Due to a missed train connection, I had to listen to Ms. Biesemans through the door.) It was interesting hearing the subtle differences between two players, each playing the same literature.

Basilique-Sainte-Clotilde

The second round of the Finale was held at the Basilica of Sainte-Clotilde on Tuesday, June 8: first that for interpretation, then for improvisation on the very famous organ of the basilica, built originally by Cavaillé-Coll for César Franck. At the moment, it seems impossible to consider the sound of the organ at Sainte-Clotilde apart from recent developments there. I was quite surprised to discover that the console of the organ at Sainte-Clotilde had been relocated from one of the most celebrated of organ tribunes to the choir balcony. Also, according to Les Orgues de Paris (Paris: Délégation à l'Action Artistique de la Ville de Paris, [c. 1991]) and descriptions I have seen of the stoplist, the organ at Sainte-Clotilde has 61 stops. The official handbook of the Concours d'Orgue 2004, published under the signature of M. Jacques Taddei (M. Taddei is the current titulaire of Sainte-Clotilde), describes the organ as having 68 stops. It appears that stops are in the process of being added. (One wonders what they are and if they are there yet.) The work is being done by organbuilder Bernard Dargassies.

The Sainte-Clotilde organ sounds different from the neo-classic 1962 Langlais rebuild of the organ. The Récit seems louder, both the Hautbois and the Trompette sounding considerably louder than before. The Hautbois no longer “disappears” beneath the fonds of the organ, as had been the case, robbing the organ of an effect with which generations of organists had been familiar. The volume of the Récit Trompette seems equally upset, more definitively coloring every registration with which it is used. Now the Positif seems frequently louder than the Grand-Orgue, and the movement from Positif to Grand-Orgue is either minimized (fonds) or seems actually inverted (reeds).

Interpretation candidates were required to play:

any one of the three Chorals of César Franck

and one of the following:

Jehan Alain: Scherzo (Suite)

Maurice Duruflé: Scherzo

Jean Langlais: Arabesque sur les flûtes (Suite française)

Olivier Messiaen: Alleluias sereins d';une âme qui désire le ciel (L';Ascension)

Els Biesemans played the second Choral and the Duruflé Scherzo. Henry Fairs played the first Choral and the Messiaen Alleluias sereins. Paolo Oreni played the second Choral and the Messiaen Alleluias sereins. Ghislain Leroy played the third Choral and the Duruflé Scherzo.

The playing was quite good, even if the organ left something to be desired. One wished for more expressive playing in the Franck from virtually all the players (the exception being Oreni, who phrased very musically). Players were less than scrupulous in following the various crescendi and decrescendi, which are so important to Franck's music. It was interesting hearing the paired linkings of the Duruflé and the Messiaen. I regretted not having had the opportunity to hear Jean Langlais's Arabesque sur les flûtes at Sainte-Clotilde.

Next followed the section for improvisation. Candidates were given a literary text for their improvisation at Sainte-Clotilde: verses from the Apocryphal Prayer of Azariah, additions to the book of Daniel between 3:23 and 3:24. The verses were not in strict order and I was only able to note verse numbers, but the following is a close if perhaps not exact English version of the text given to the improvisation candidates:

52 Let the earth bless the Lord: let it sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever

37 Bless the Lord, you angels of the Lord . . .

60 . . . all people on earth . . .

43 . . . all you winds . . .

44 . . . fire and heat . . .

45 . . . winter cold and summer heat . . .

47 . . . nights and days . . .

56 . . . you springs . . .

57 . . . you whales and all that swim in the waters . . .

52 Let the earth bless the Lord: let it sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.

Noël Hazebroucq and Robert Houssart approached the text from different viewpoints. Hazebroucq, who was first, chose not to approach the text as an opportunity for tone painting, but as the basis for an improvisation with many sections of contrasting effects, linked by a disjunct 4-note motif, closing with a very busy few minutes at the end where all creation seemed to be called to praise. In his improvisation, Houssart seemed to be trying to reflect the various text passages (vivace swell flutes for the angels, ascending and descending chordal passages for the winds, etc).

Saint-Eustache

Wednesday, June 9 found us at Saint-Eustache for the required performances of Jean Guillou's 6th Organ Concerto, opus 68, commissioned by the Concours under the aegis of Musique Nouvelle en Liberté. The administration of the Concours had decided, before the Concours began, to make a cut in the Concerto for Organ and Orchestra (in the interests of time, it was said) of a little less than 200 measures out of a total of 413 measures. Hence, what we heard was a portion of the work Guillou composed. The orchestra was that of the Conservatoire supérieur de Paris-CNR under the direction of Pierre-Michel Durand; the orchestra and M. Durand also participated in the final concert of laureates Wednesday evening, when the organ concerto was heard one more time.

We heard the two improvisation candidates, Hazebroucq and Houssart, perform the concerto first. As improvisation candidates, they were required to insert two (the entire score called for three) cadenzas. These were followed by the four interpretation candidates, who were required to perform a cadenza written by Guillou.

The organ at Saint-Eustache, built by the Dutch firm Van den Heuvel, with 101 stops on five keyboards and a pedalboard, is the third largest in the City of Paris (after Notre-Dame, 112 stops, and Saint-Sulpice, 102 stops). Van den Heuvel may be Dutch, but the plan sonore of the organ is unquestionably French. All candidates played the console placed in the nave, with its electrical transmission.

Again, the playing was of a uniformly high level. What was interesting (albeit somewhat fatiguing) was six sequential hearings of the same piece: each player managed to bring some personal approach to the piece, even though the broad registrational outlines were indicated. Some elected for a slightly smaller, chamber approach (if one can approach 101 stops as any sort of chamber instrument!), while others used the full declamatory powers of the massive tutti with its five 32 ft. stops.

About 4:30 pm we heard the last required performance. Those attending were invited to either remain or return at 8:00 pm for the awarding of the prizes and a concert by the laureates. I suspect most of us elected to retire to various bars and cafés to pass the time.

Awarding of prizes and concert of laureates

Saint-Eustache, 8:00 pm

First, the members of the jury were presented to the audience by Michel Chapuis, the president of the jury. Following the presentation of the jury, the prizes were awarded.

The SACEM prize for meilleur espoir (most promising young artist) was awarded by the jury to the 21-year-old Russian organist Yevgenia Semeina.

The jury also awarded a "Special Mention" to Italian organist Paolo Oreni.

Third prize for interpretation was awarded to 25-year-old Els Biesemans of Belgium. Second prize for interpretation went to 28-year-old Henry Fairs of the United Kingdom. First prize for interpretation was won by 22-year-old Ghislain Leroy of France.

First prize for improvisation (dedicated to Pierre Cochereau) was awarded to 24-year-old Noël Hazebroucq of France.

The jury also awarded a “Special Mention” to Robert Houssart.

The prize for best interpretation of the 6th Concerto for Organ and Orchestra went to Henry Fairs.

Following the awarding of the prizes, we heard a concert of the laureates. Noël Hazebroucq was given two themes for improvisation: the Salve Regina, and Salut à la mère de la miséricorde. Ghislain Leroy played the Duruflé Scherzo, followed by the first movement, allegro vivace, of the Widor 5th Symphonie.

The concert was then to conclude with Henry Fairs and the orchestra of the Conservatoire supérieur de Paris-CNR, under the direction of Pierre-Michel Durand, in the seventh (abbreviated) performance of the day of the Guillou Concerto for Organ and Orchestra.

While the orchestra was assembling for the performance, Jean Guillou, organiste titulaire of Saint-Eustache, took advantage of the opportunity to extend a welcome to Saint-Eustache, and to speak for a moment about the concerto he had been commissioned to write. He said that he had not been asked about the substantial cut the administration had elected to make in his piece. He pointed out that he had fulfilled the terms of the commission regarding the length of the piece. Since something like half of the piece was omitted, he pointed out that it was not the concerto that he had written that we were hearing, but rather a “denatured” (or perhaps “diluted”) version. He did not wish any of the candidates any ill will, but felt compelled to make his objections known.

M. Jacques Taddei, the director of the Concours, attempted to explain the reasons for the modification, but his remarks were met with booing. In spite of this, Henry Fairs, Pierre-Michel Durand, and the orchestra of the Conservatoire supérieur de Paris-CNR presented the seventh (abbreviated) and last performance of the day of the Guillou Concerto for Organ and Orchestra to general acclaim.

So ended nine days of one of the most interesting of competitions (although one not unmarked by strife and controversy), and the opportunity to hear many of the most gifted young organists of the present day.