Nunc Dimittis

William Ferris, composer, conductor, and organist, died on May 16 in Chicago, Illinois, from a massive heart attack. He was 63 years old.

Founder and director of the William Ferris Chorale, he died during a rehearsal with the chorale of the Verdi Requiem, which was to be performed in concert on Friday, May 19. The chorus had been singing the final section, "Libera me," when Ferris faltered, fell backward, and was helped to the floor. One of the choristers who is a physician administered CPR, but Ferris was never revived. Born in Chicago on February 26, 1937, he attended DePaul University, studying composition with Alexander Tcherepnin and organ with Arthur C. Becker. Between 1957 and 1962 he studied composition privately with Leo Sowerby. Ferris was organist at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago from 1954-58 and 1962-64, he taught at the American Conservatory of Music from 1973-83, when he resigned to become composer-in-residence and director of music at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in the Lakeview neighborhood. He also served as director of music at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Rochester, NY from 1966-71. Ferris composed more than 500 works, including two operas, a dozen orchestral works, 15 chamber pieces, and well over 60 choral compositions. In 1960 he founded the William Ferris Chorale, specializing in works of 20th-century composers and often bringing them to Chicago for festival concerts of their music. Albany records has recently released a CD of Angels, an oratorio Ferris wrote and presented with his chorale in 1998. In 1992 Northwestern University established the William Ferris Archive, which contains his compositions, preliminary sketches, correspondence, and memorabilia.

Lester H. Groom died on March 28 in Seattle, Washington, at the age of 71. He received his early keyboard training from both of his parents, and later his father became his major professor in organ and composition at Wheaton College (Illinois), where he received the BMus in 1951. He earned the MMus in organ from Northwestern University in 1952, the Associate certificate of the AGO in 1954, and did further study with Stella Roberts at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. Mr. Groom held teaching positions at Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, Blue Mountain College (Mississippi), and Baker University (Kansas). He joined the faculty of Seattle Pacific University in 1969, where he taught organ, harpsichord, music theory and composition. He retired from SPU in 1991 and was named Professor Emeritus the following year. Throughout his career he held positions as a church organist and choir director. He served as organist of First Presbyterian Church, Seattle, from 1979 until his retirement in 1996. Groom’s published works include organ and choral compositions, articles and music reviews. He was a specialist in the art of improvisation and often featured free improvisations in his organ recitals throughout the country. He was a frequent lecturer at church music workshops. For 13 summers he served on the faculty of the Evergreen Conference of Church Music, Evergreen, Colorado, and was conference president from 1972-77. He was active in the AGO throughout his career, most recently serving as regional Education Coordinator, and he prepared the study guide for the AGO Service Playing Certificate. A memorial service was held at First Presbyterian Church, Seattle, on April 4.

Godwin Sadoh is currently writing his doctoral dissertation on the organ works of Fela Sowande at Louisiana State University.
An earlier version of this article was originally published in the February issue of "The Organ."

Nigeria has been blessed with very few, but seasoned organist-composers
since the arrival of Christianity around 1842. The schools and churches built
by the missionaries had a great impact on the emergence of the Nigerian
"organ school." The incentive to become professional organists and
composers was further propelled and inspired through the private lessons given
to talented Nigerian church musicians at an early age. All the musicians in
question had their formative periods at the mission schools, in church choirs,
and under organ playing apprenticeships.

The genealogy of Nigerian organist-composers is confined to
four generations from around the 1880s to the present. These are professional
organists trained at various schools of music in Great Britain and America.
Interestingly, each generation has produced only one musician: Thomas Ekundayo
Phillips (1884-1969), Fela Sowande (1905-1987), Ayo Bankole (1935-1976), and
Godwin Sadoh (1965-).

First Generation

Thomas Ekundayo Phillips is the pioneer and grandfather of the Nigerian school of
organist-composers, and he paved the way for the younger generations that were
to come after him. Born in 1884, he attended the Church Missionary Society
(CMS) Grammar School in Lagos. He received his first organ lessons from his
uncle, the Reverend Johnson, and at the age of eighteen he was appointed
organist of St. Paul's Anglican Church, Breadfruit, Lagos. Phillips served at
St. Paul's for nine years. In 1911, he proceeded to the Trinity College of
Music, London, to study piano, organ and violin. Thus, he became the second Nigerian
(after Rev. Robert Coker who studied in Germany in 1871) to study music at a
professional level. After returning from England in 1914, he was appointed
Organist and Master of the Music at Christ Church, now Cathedral Church of
Christ, Lagos (the headquarters of the Nigerian Anglican Communion). Phillips
held this position until his retirement in 1962--a total time span of
forty-eight years of outstanding accomplishments.

In 1964, Phillips was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Music
degree by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, for his contribution to the
development of church music in Nigeria. One of Phillips' most important
achievements was his training of many prominent modern Nigerian composers such
as Fela Sowande and Ayo Bankole. These were some of the leading and prolific
composers in Africa, and they constitute the next generation of professionally
trained organists.1

Ekundayo Phillips wrote only two major works for organ solo:
Passacaglia on an African Folksong, and Variations on an African Folksong.
These pieces are based on his postulations in his book, Yoruba Music, a
treatise on the compositional style of early Nigerian church music. In the
book, Phillips demonstrated various techniques in traditional Nigerian musical
processes that could be utilized to create new forms of church music which
indigenes could easily assimilate.2 His compositional style is simple and
conservative.

Second Generation

Fela Sowande
represents the second generation of Nigerian organist-composers. He can be
regarded as the father of the Nigerian "organ school." It was he who
propelled the musical genre to an unprecedented height through his extensive
compositions and publications for the King of Instruments. Up to the time of
writing this essay, no one else has written such a great number of works for
organ in Nigeria. Interestingly, Sowande composed for other media such as
orchestra and voice, but his works for organ outnumbered the rest.
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Sowande was born at Lagos, in 1905, into a musical family.
His father, Emmanuel Sowande, was a minister of the Gospel and one of the
pioneers of church music in Nigeria. Sowande received his first lessons in
music from his father. Another influence on his early musical training was
Thomas Ekundayo Phillips. Under the tutelage of Phillips, as a chorister at the
Cathedral Church of Christ, Lagos, Sowande was exposed to European sacred music
and indigenous church music. He received private lessons in organ from Phillips
while singing in the Cathedral Choir. Sowande asserts that Phillips' organ
playing, the choir training, and the organ lessons he received had a major
impact on his aspiration of becoming an organist-composer.

At age 27, Sowande decided to become a civil engineer and
went to London to study in 1935. After six months, he changed his mind and
decided to study music. He played jazz in London nightclubs to support himself.
Sowande enrolled as an external candidate at the University of London and
received private lessons in organ from George Oldroyd and George Cunningham. He
became a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists with credit in 1943--the
highest British qualification for organ playing. He happens to be the first
Nigerian and perhaps the first African to receive the prestigious British FRCO
diploma. Sowande was awarded the Harding Prize for organ playing, the Limpus
Prize for theoretical work and the Read Prize for the highest aggregate marks
in the fellowship examination. Sowande also obtained the Bachelor of Music
degree from the University of London and became a Fellow of the Trinity College
of Music.

Sowande had a rounded musical experience in England. He was
a solo pianist in a performance of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue in 1936, and was
appointed organist and choir director at the West London Mission of the
Methodist Church (1945 to 1952). It was during this period that he began
composing for organ. The influence of his participation in and exposure to
church music during his formative years could be seen in the abundance of works
written for organ. His organ compositions at this time included Kyrie,
Obangiji, K'a Mura, Jesu Olugbala, Go Down Moses, Joshua Fit the Battle of
Jericho, and Yoruba Lament.3 

These pieces are based on borrowed themes from Nigeria's
Yoruba culture and African-American spirituals. Indig-enous songs are employed
in Sowande's music for three reasons: 1) as a symbol and mark of national
identity; 2) to classify the works under the umbrella of modern Nigerian art
music; and 3) to arouse the interest of Nigerian/African audiences in
performing, studying and analyzing the music. Apart from rhythm, the indigenous
songs are the elements of Nigerian culture most audible to the audiences and
performers. Hearing those songs enabled them to categorize the works as
Nigerian musical heritage.

During the war, Sowande enlisted with the Royal Air Force,
but was released at the request of the Ministry of Information to go to the
Colonial Film Unit as a Musical Adviser of the British Ministry of Information
in London. He was designated to provide background music for a series of
educational films geared towards Africa. Sowande also presented several
lectures titled West African Music and the Possibilities of its Development for
the BBC's Africa Service. He collected a substantial amount of indigenous
folksongs during this period. The songs were later to be employed in creating
large works such as African Suite and the Folk Symphony. The Folk Symphony was
commissioned by the Nigerian government in 1960 to mark the nation's
independence. Although the work was not accepted, the New York Philharmonic
Orchestra in Carnegie Hall eventually premiered it in 1962.

In 1944, Sowande was invited to conduct the BBC Symphony
Orchestra in the performance of his tone poem Africana, a work for orchestra
based on a Nigerian melody. In 1952, his African Suite for strings and a
selection of his original compositions for organ were recorded by the Decca
Records Company (London Records, U.S.) under the title "The Negro in
Sacred Idiom." Sowande received two outstanding positions on his return to
Nigeria in 1953. He was appointed as the Musical Director to the Nigerian
Broadcasting Corporation in Lagos and as honorary organist at the Cathedral
Church of Christ, Lagos.

Among his numerous awards are Member of the British Empire
(MBE) from Queen Elizabeth II for distinguished services in the cause of music
(1956); the Member of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (MFN) in 1956; the
Traditional Chieftaincy award, the "Bagbile of Lagos" in recognition
of his research in Yoruba folklore (1968); and an honorary doctorate from the
University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in 1972. Sowande also
received partial grants from the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations.4

Sowande first came to the United States in 1957, playing
organ recitals sponsored by the U. S. Department of State. He also toured as a
guest conductor of symphony orchestras and as a guest lecturer. He later came
back to take up permanent residency in 1968. His teaching career included
tenures at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria, Howard University in
Washington, D.C., the University of Pittsburgh, and Kent State University,
Ohio. Sowande died on Friday, March 13, 1987, at a nursing home in Ravenna,
Ohio.

Sowande composed sixteen major works for organ:

K'a Mura, 1945 (Chappell, London)

Obangiji, 1955 (Chappell, London)

Kyrie, 1955 (Chappell, London)

Yoruba Lament, 1955 (Chappell,

London)

Jesu Olugbala, 1955 (Chappell,

London)

Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho, 1955 (Chappell, London)

Go Down Moses, 1955 (Chappell,

London)

Oyigiyigi, 1958 (Ricordi, New York)

Gloria, 1958 (Ricordi, New York)

Prayer (Oba A Ba Ke), 1958 (Ricordi, New York)

Sacred Idioms of the Negro

Pastourelle

K'a mo Rokoso

Plainsong

Fantasia in D

Festival March

Sowande's sixteen pieces for organ are all based on Yoruba
Christian or folksongs from Nigeria, with the exception of Joshua Fit de Battle
of Jericho, Go Down Moses and Bury Me Eas' or Wis' (from the Sacred Idioms of
the Negro) which are based on African-American spirituals. The structures of
these pieces range from simple three-part forms to continuous development
types, fugues, and theme and variations. To create contrast in the music he
uses bicinium, tricinium, homophony, and contrapuntal textures between the
pedal and manuals. Sowande has a predilection for a continuous tonal shifting
within a work. He sometimes begins a piece in one key and ends in another, such
as Go Down Moses which begins in F and closes in D major. He uses a wide
variety of tonal resources ranging from diatonicism, pentatonality and
chromaticism. The pedal part is generally simple and sparse, but explores
extremes of range. Pedalpoints are used to tonicize specific tonal centers and
to create climax.

Third Generation

Ayo Bankole alone
represents the third generation of Nigerian organist-composers. A prolific
composer, Bankole had the makings of a genius. He had a special skill for
composition and a talent for presenting his material in an eclectic and
personal way that made him stand as a master composer and performer in his own
right. Bankole continued from where Fela Sowande left off, a generation before
him.

Ayo Bankole was born on May 17, 1935, at Jos, in the plateau
State of Nigeria. He belongs to the Yoruba ethnic group. Bankole spent the
first five years of his life with his father, the late Mr. Theophilus Abiodun
Bankole (M.B.E.), who was then organist and choirmaster at St. Luke's Church,
Jos. During those early years in Jos, Bankole began to show great promise for
music, since he was from a musical family. The composer's biography was
exclusively obtained from Afolabi Alaja-Browne's M.A. thesis.5

In 1941, Bankole came down to Lagos with his father and
began living with his grandfather, the late Mr. Akinje George, who exposed him
to various types of musical styles. In 1945, at the age of 10, Bankole went to
school at the Baptist Academy, Lagos. He played piano and through his activity
in organizing small groups to perform, he began one aspect of his life-long
contributions to music--choral conducting. Bankole was appointed as a clerical
officer at the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation in 1954. During this period,
he came in contact with notable Nigerian musicians such as Dr. Thomas Ekundayo
Phillips and Professor Fela Sowande. Bankole had great admiration for Fela
Sowande, and a few years later he was to come under his influence both as
organist and composer.

Between 1954 and 1957, Bankole was already very active as
organist in Lagos churches. For instance, he was assistant organist at the
Cathedral Church of Christ, Lagos, under the leadership of late Ekundayo
Phillips. It was about 1956 when he began composing his first major work,
Sonata No. 2 (The Passion), for piano.

In August 1957, Bankole left Lagos on a Federal Government
Scholarship to study music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in
London. He was enrolled in the graduate program (GGSM), a three-year teacher's
diploma, and studied piano, composition, organ, harmony, and counterpoint. Some
of his teachers included Alan Brown (organ), Harold Dexter (organ), and Guy
Eldridge (composition). During his time at the Guildhall School of Music,
Bankole was exposed to a variety of musical styles. His works from this period
show the influence of these various styles. He experimented, progressing from
works that were tonally simple, to works in which he explored diverse
twentieth-century compositional devices as exemplified in the Three Yoruba
Songs for voice and piano (1959) and the Toccata and Fugue for organ (1960). In
spite of the intensity of the program at Guildhall, Bankole found time to sit
for and obtain a series of professional diplomas: Associate of the Royal
College of Music (piano), Licentiate of the Trinity College (piano), Licentiate
of the Royal Academy of Music (Teacher's Diploma), Associate of the Royal College
of Organists, and the Graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
(GGSM).

In addition to his activities as organist-composer, Bankole
was able to organize and train a special mixed choir, comprising fellow
students, which gave performances of his compositions, many of them in the
Yoruba language and musical idiom. Members of his choir and the audiences were
captivated by the Nigerian melodies and rhythms. This type of creative
procedure led to the synthesis of Yoruba and Western musical elements in his
works. Some of the works in this category are Sonata No. 1, Christmas (1958),
Cantata No. 1 in Yoruba, Baba Se wa l'Omo Rere (Father, make us good children)
(1959), Sonata No. 2, Passion (1959), and the variations Op. 10, No. 1 (1959),
based on a Yoruba folktune, Ise Oluwa. 

After spending four years at the Guildhall School of Music,
Bankole moved to Claire College, Cambridge University, London, where he
obtained his first degree, the Bachelor of Arts in Music, at the end of 1964.
While at Cambridge as an organ scholar (1961-64), Bankole obtained the
prestigious Fellowship of the Royal College of Organists (FRCO), thus becoming
the second and the last Nigerian to receive this British highest diploma in
organ playing.

During Bankole's stay in England, he wrote music that he
himself could perform. A tremendous amount of music was composed for piano and
organ. He also wrote some choral and orchestral works that are technically
oriented towards European performers. The works of this period include Sonata
No. 4, English Winter Birds for piano, Variations Liturgical (theme and nine
variations for piano), Three Toccatas for organ, Fugal Dance for piano, Second
Organ Symphonia (with drums, trumpets and trombones), and a number of choral
works such as Art Thou Come (1964), Little Jesus, Gentle Jesus (1964), Canon
for Christmas (1964), and Four Yoruba Songs (1964). 

After completing his bachelor's degree at Cambridge
University in 1964, Bankole received a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship to
study ethnomusicology at the University of California, Los Angeles. Works
produced at UCLA include Ethnophony and Jona. Jona is a cantata in Yoruba for
mixed media comprising a narrator, singers, a dancer and an unusual combination
of musical instruments, including the Indian tambura.

In 1966, Ayo Bankole returned to Nigeria, and was appointed
to the post of Senior Producer in Music at the Nigerian Broadcasting
Corporation (N.B.C.). He remained in this position until 1969, when he was appointed
Lecturer in Music, School of African and Asian Studies, University of Lagos.
His job as a senior producer at the N.B.C. brought him into contact with
various Nigerian musical genres. This contact was to become useful to him both
creatively as well as in his development as a scholar. Two works were written
as a result of his experiences at this time--Fun mi Ni'beji (Give me twins),
parts 1 and 2 for unaccompanied chorus (1967), and the opera Night of Miracles
for chorus, soloists, and Nigerian instruments (1969).

While at the radio station, Bankole had a series of
programs, which he designed to educate the Nigerian public and to present
indigenous African music to the world at large. Some of his works were
performed and recorded under a project initiated by Fela Sowande and jointly
sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Information, Lagos, and the Nigerian
Broadcasting Corporation. Some of the works from this period are Ore Ofe (The
Grace) for unaccompanied chorus (1967) and Adura fun Alafia (Prayer for Peace)
for voice and piano (1969).

In 1969, he was appointed  Lecturer in Music at the University of Lagos, where he
continued his research into Nigerian indigenous music and presented scholarly
papers. From 1970 onwards, as a result of his research efforts, Bankole began
to employ more traditional materials in his compositions. A work which marks
the beginning of this phase is the Cantata No. 4, Festac, completed in 1974 and
scored for soloists, chorus, organ and orchestral accompaniment consisting of woodwinds,
brass, and some Nigerian traditional instruments. Ona Ara is scored for
soloists, chorus, organ, and Yoruba musical instruments.

Between 1971 and 1974, Bankole spent a lot of time on
special assignments, both within and outside Nigeria. For instance, he was
External Examiner to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 1971. Between 1971
and 1972, he was Visiting Lecturer at Ohio State University. In 1973, he
received a Federal Government Commission to compose the anthem for the Second
All-African Games. Between July and August 1974, he was director of a music
seminar, organized by the Rivers State Center for Arts and Culture, and in
April 1974, he was Nigerian Composer-Elect to the Fifth Congress of Soviet
Composers, held in Moscow.

From 1974, Bankole began studying diverse musical practices
of the various ethnic groups in Nigeria. The result of these studies gave birth
to three major projects: 1) Dictionary of Musical Instruments of Nigeria; 2)
The Music of the Rivers' People of Nigeria; and 3) a special study of the Edo
musical instruments.

At the University of Lagos, Bankole combined the roles of
music educator, composer, performer and musicologist. As a music educator, he
was especially concerned with promoting the cause of music at the grassroots. He
achieved this by training young talents, teaching them to read music and also
giving voice and piano lessons. Furthermore, he organized and trained several
choral groups. He composed regularly for these groups and exposed them to
various indigenous and foreign musical works. Among the groups he founded and
trained were The Choir of Angels, comprising students from three secondary
schools in the Lagos area; The Lagos University Musical Society; The Nigerian
National Musico-Cultural Society; and The Choir of the Healing Cross.

Although Bankole contributed immensely to the development of
modern art music in Nigeria, he did not live long to witness the fruits of his
efforts. For on November 6, 1976, at the age of forty-one, Ayo Bankole and his
wife, Toro Bankole, were killed in very tragic circumstances. Today he is still
greatly admired by Nigerian musicians for his magnificent contributions to
Nigerian music as a composer, music teacher, musicologist, organist, pianist,
conductor, and choral director--an extremely gifted man who was not able to
develop his God-given gifts to full potential. Bankole composed five major
works for organ solo:

Toccata and Fugue (1960), published by the University of Ife
Press, Ile-Ife, 1978

Three Toccatas, published under Operation Music One, 1967

Fugue, published under Operation Music One, 1967

Organ Symphonia Nos. 1 & 2, for organ, drums, trumpet
and trombone, unpublished, 1961-64

Fantasia (1961-64), unpublished.

Fourth Generation

Godwin Sadoh
represents the fourth and present generation of Nigerian organist-composers.
Interestingly, like his predecessors, he is the only one in this category, and
his musical training, contribution, experience and expertise are eclectic and
extremely diverse. He is a Nigerian ethnomusicologist, African musicologist,
teacher, composer, pianist, scholar, organist/choir director and an ordained
minister of the Gospel.

Sadoh was born on March 28, 1965, at Lagos, Nigeria, to a
middle-class family. Unlike his predecessors, he was not fortunate to have musicians
in his family. The only musical exposure he had during childhood was the
rendition of folksongs by his late mother and older sisters. His mother
enrolled him in one of the local church choirs, St. Paul's Anglican Church,
Idi-Oro, Lagos, in 1979. It was at this choir that Sadoh was first introduced
to European church music. 

Sadoh attended Eko Boys' High School, Lagos, from 1977 to
1982, where he received private lessons in music theory and piano from Mr.
Ebenezer Omole, the school's music teacher. Omole quickly noticed Sadoh's
talents and interests in music and got him appointed as one of his assistants
in conducting and accompanying the school's choir at the piano. It was Omole
who prepared him for the theory examinations of the Associated Board of the
Royal Schools of Music, London. When Omole was transferred to another
institution, the school's principal and the teaching staff unanimously
appointed Sadoh to the position of organist and choir director of Eko Boys'
High School in 1981 at the age of sixteen. During his tenure, he coordinated
musical activities for the school and directed a Festival of Nine Lessons and
Carols in December, 1981.

In 1980, Sadoh joined the renowned Cathedral Church of
Christ Choir, Lagos, to sing tenor under the leadership of Mr. Obayomi Phillips
(son and successor of Thomas Ekundayo Phillips), who was then the organist and
master of the music. Worthy of mention is the fact that all the Nigerian
organist-composers passed through the Cathedral Church of Christ, Lagos, and
were directly or indirectly trained by Ekundayo Phillips. Obayomi Phillips, who
gave Sadoh private organ lessons, was trained by his father, Ekundayo Phillips.
Obayomi Phillips took keen interest in Sadoh's talents and dedication to
advance his skills and aptitudes in music. Phillips soon appointed Sadoh as the
assisting organist to accompany the choir practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays
and to play for the 7:15 am communion services on Sundays. Phillips also gave
Sadoh private lessons in piano, organ and general musicianship (aural skills),
and he prepared Sadoh for all the piano examinations of the Associated Board of
the Royal Schools of Music, London, from grade 3 through grade 7.
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During his fourteen years at the Cathedral Church, Sadoh was
privileged to meet prominent Nigerian trained musicians such as Yinka Sowande,
substitute organist at Cathedral Church and brother of Fela Sowande; Mrs. Tolu
Obajimi, a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music, London, and music
teacher; Kehinde Okusanya, a concert pianist and Director of the Music
Department of Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation, Lagos; Professor Lazarus
Ekwueme, a Nigerian musicologist, singer, choral conductor, and Professor of
Music at the Department of Music, University of Lagos; Kayode Oni, a graduate
of Trinity College of Music, London, and one of the notable concert organists
in Lagos; and Christopher Oyesiku, a bass singer and choral conductor. Obayomi
Phillips gave Sadoh a personal scholarship from his own purse to study music at
the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) from 1984 to 1988.
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Between 1982 and 1984, Sadoh founded and directed several
choral groups in Lagos. He accompanied and directed most of the groups by
himself at rehearsals and concerts. It was during this period that Sadoh
discovered his gifts in composition. Among his creative works at this early
stage are Oluwa Gbo Adura Mi (Lord Hear My Prayer) for tenor and piano, Oluwa
mi (My Lord) for two voices and piano, Ale ti le (Night has Fallen) for
baritone and piano, Gbo Ohun Awon Angeli (Hear the Voices of Angels) for SATB
and piano, and several other works. He wrote mainly vocal music during this
period.

In 1984, Sadoh was accepted to the Obafemi Awolowo
University, Ile-Ife, to study piano performance and composition. Between 1985
and 1986, he was appointed as the director of the Unife Joint Christian Mission
Choir (over 250 voices). He was formally introduced to traditional African
music at the Obafemi Awolowo University. It was there that he became more
conscious of his existence as an African musician and the component elements of
the music. Sadoh's interest in African music was invigorated through his
exposure to diverse musical cultures of the world. He took courses such as
music in African culture, survey of world music, black music in the Americas,
music in the Middle East and India. As time went on he acquired deeper
theoretical knowledge of African music. Sadoh's musical studies at Ile-Ife
paved the way for his growing interest in incorporating indigenous Nigerian
elements and the creative procedures in his musical compositions. Hence, he
began to employ distinct Nigerian rhythmic patterns, harmony, tonal
organization, and scale systems in his works. Sadoh's creative output during
this period includes Memoirs of Childhood for piano, Moonlight Dances for
piano, Akoi Wata Geri for SATB and piano, and Akoi Wata Geri for tenor and
piano. Sadoh completed his Bachelor of Arts degree with a Second Class
Upper-Division in 1988. He was retained to teach in the same Department of
Music from 1988 to 1994 as a result of his diligence and academic excellence.
While teaching at the Obafemi Awolowo University, he founded and directed two
major choral groups, the Ile-Ife Choral Society and the Ile-Ife Junior Choral
Society. With these two groups, he directed several public concerts of choral,
vocal solos, and instrumental music within and outside Ile-Ife. Sadoh also
played piano solo recitals on the university campus and other regions in
Nigeria.

In 1994, Sadoh was accepted to the graduate program in
ethnomusicology and African music at the University of Pittsburgh where he
obtained an M.A. degree in 1998. As a teaching assistant at the institution, he
taught several courses including world music, class voice, and class piano. During
this period, he was apointed as a guest/visiting lecturer at GoldenWest
College, California, in 1995, and at Thiel College from 1995 to 1998. Sadoh
studied organ with Dr. Robert Sutherland Lord at the University of Pittsburgh
for three years. While in Pittsburgh, he also served as organist and choir
director at St.  Stephen's
Episcopal Church, Wilkinsburg, from 1996 to 1998.

Sadoh continued his musical training in organ performance
and church music at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln from 1998 to 2000. His
teachers were Dr. George Ritchie and Dr. Quentin Faulkner. Sadoh was often
called upon to present several guest lectures on African and world music at the
School of Music, University of Nebraska. In fact, he created the curriculum of
the African music program and taught the course from 1998 to 2000. During his
two-year sojourn in Nebraska, he served as organist at Christ Lutheran Church,
Grace Lutheran Church, and as associate director of music ministries at the
First United Methodist Church. Sadoh obtained the M.Mus. degree in May of 2000
after playing two Master's organ recitals in one academic year--November 1999
and April 2000. He published his first scholarly article "Music at the
Anglican Youth Fellowship: An Intercultural Experience" in the HYMN
journal, in January 2001. This was a paper he wrote for twentieth-century
church music class, and it was Dr. Faulkner, the instructor, who encouraged him
to get the paper published.

In 2000, Sadoh was accepted to the Doctor of Musical Arts
degree program in organ performance and composition at the Louisiana State
University, Baton Rouge. With this admission, he became the first African to
study organ at doctoral level. He has been studying with Dr. Herndon Spillman
(organ) and Dr. Dinos Constantinides (composition). At LSU, he wrote mostly
instrumental and chamber works at the instigation of his composition teacher.
His major works at this time include Three Dances for piano, Three Pieces for
flute solo, Illusion for violin and piano, Potpourri for trombone, flute, oboe,
clarinet in B-flat, and string quartet, A Folk Dance for percussion ensemble of
four players, Yoruba Wedding Dance for brass quintet, Badagry for woodwind
quartet, A Suite of Nigerian Folksongs for string quartet, Tribute to Homeland
for chamber orchestra, Harmattan Overture for symphony orchestra and Nigerian
instruments, Summer Evening at Ile-Ife for wind quintet, and Three Wedding
Songs for soprano and piano. Sadoh wrote his first major works for organ in the
summer of 2002: 1) Folk Dance, 2) Ore Ofe Jesu, and 3) Nigerian Toccata.
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The Folk Dance was composed on August 13, 2002. The thematic
material was derived from a Nigerian folksong "Owo o, Omo o, ma m'omo se
ire" (money and children are both desired and I will embrace both and revere
them). It is divided into three sections. The first introduces the main theme
on the Great with an ostinato in the Pedal. The second section is the
development of the theme in D-flat, while the third section returns back to the
home key (F) and ushers in the principal theme triumphantly in the Pedal with
full organ. Nigerian Toccata was influenced by nineteenth and twentieth-century
French toccatas. Composed on August 14, 2002, it is a virtuoso piece that calls
for all the resources of the organ from the smallest pianissimo to the loudest
fortissimo. The four thematic materials are original. Structurally, it is in a
quasi-sonata allegro form without a development. The harmonic framework and
sonority are purely modern. The work is characterized by diatonicism,
chromaticism, pentatonicism and sequences. Ore Ofe Jesu (The grace of Jesus)
was composed on August 15, 2002. It is a quiet and meditative piece most
suitable for offertory, communion or any other contemplative aspect of a divine
service, and is in three sections. It opens with a prelude in duple meter and
moves into the second section in triple meter. This section is based on a
Yoruba church hymn "Idahun re l'a nreti" (We are waiting to receive
your answer). It closes quietly with the first four measures of the prelude.
These three pieces were published by Wayne Leupold Editions in April 2003 as
one major work titled Nigerian Suite No. 1 for organ solo.

In 2002, Sadoh wrote and published two articles: "A
Centennial Epitome of the Organs at the Cathedral Church of Christ, Lagos,
Nigeria," published in The Organ (London), and "The Creative Process
in Nigerian Hymn-Based Compositions," published in The Diapason (August,
pp. 15-17). Several scholarly articles by him are to be published in 2003.
"Creativity and Dance in Joshua Uzoigwe's Music," will be published
in ComposerUSA, "Organ Building in Nigeria" and "A History of
South Africa's Organ Builders" will be published in the Organ
Encyclopedia. In May 2003, Sadoh was nominated by members of the faculty at LSU
for membership in the Beta Lambda Chapter of Pi Kappa Lambda, for his academic
and musical accomplishments.

It is interesting to note that an organist-composer is born
in Nigeria every thirty years. Sowande was born in 1905, Bankole in 1935 and
Sadoh in 1965. Hypothetically, the composer-organist for the fifth generation
must have been born in 1995 somewhere in Nigeria.

Others

The following are organists only.

Kayode Oni studied
organ at the Trinity College of Music in London. He came back to Nigeria in the
1970s and was subsequently appointed Honorary Organist at the Cathedral Church
of Christ, Lagos. He was also organist and choir director in several Anglican
churches in Ogun and Lagos States. He taught several budding organists in
Lagos, including Deji Osun.

Deji Osun studied
organ privately with Kayode Oni for several years in Lagos. He sat for the
theory, piano, and organ examinations of the Associated Board of the Royal
Schools of Music, London, while studying with Kayode Oni. He served as organist
in various churches in Lagos and Ogun States before leaving for the Trinity
College of Music, London, to continue his studies in organ in early 1980s. He
has completed his training and currently resides in England.

Merriman Johnson was
the organist at the Tinubu Methodist Church, Lagos, for several years. He went
to study organ in one of the British schools of music in the early 1980s. He
has finished his training and is currently residing in England.

Philip Hahn, the immediate past president of the American Guild of Organists, died peacefully at his home in San Francisco, California on April 13, 2003, from complications of myelofibrosis, a disease of the bone marrow. From 1992 to 2002, he was a member of the AGO National Council and served as president from 1998 to 2002.

Hahn received bachelor and master of music degrees from the University of Michigan where he studied with Marilyn Mason and Robert Noehren, and earned a DMA in composition and organ performance from the American Conservatory of Music, Chicago, studying with Stella Roberts and Robert Lodine. He received certificates in organ, composition, and solfeggio from the Conservatoire Americain, Fontainebleau, France, where he studied with Nadia Boulanger and André Marchal, and held the AAGO certificate.

During his career, he was an associate professor of music at the University of Northern Iowa, where he oversaw the installation of a large four-manual organ built by Robert Noehren, and was director of music at Waterloo's First United Methodist Church. After moving to California, Hahn served as director of music at the First Presbyterian Church in Palo Alto for several years before being appointed artistic director of the San Francisco Boys Chorus. He played many recitals on notable instruments and was a featured recitalist, workshop leader, and adjudicator at many AGO conventions.

Philip Hahn was also a professional chef, holding the position of sous chef at the Clift Hotel in San Francisco, later running his own restaurant, Fanny's, in San Francisco. For several years Hahn ran the restaurant and served as organist at the First Presbyterian Church of San Anselmo, returning exclusively to church music in 1980. From 1990 until his death, Hahn served as organist-choirmaster at St. John's Episcopal Church in Ross, California.

Dr. Hahn's compositions include sacred anthems, pieces for trumpet and organ including The Trumpet Sings Thanksgiving; Spiritual; Fanfare for Five Trumpets and Organ; and two large concerted works: Fantasy for Orchestra and Acclamations! A Fanfare for Concert Band. For the organ, he wrote several short hymn-based compositions plus larger works including Sonata for Organ; Songs from the Forest: A Suite for Organ and Synthesizer; and Suite for Organ Celesta, Vibraharp, and Timpani. His Sonata for Violin and Piano was the recipient of a Sigma Alpha Iota Prize. His short ballet The Dance in the Desert was fully staged at both the First Presbyterian Church, Palo Alto, and at St. John's Episcopal Church in Ross.

He is survived by his partner of 29 years Norman Nagao, two sisters, and a number of nephews and nieces. A memorial service was held at St. John's Episcopal Church in Ross, California, on May 4.

Richard L. Johnson, 61, of Buffalo, New York, and East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, died on December 6, 2002, in Buffalo. Dr. Johnson was professor of humanities at Medaille College, Buffalo, joining the faculty in 1984. An accomplished musician and dedicated educator, he was known for his innovative theatre and music classes. He also directed numerous stage productions and was named the college's Professor of the Year for 2000-2001.

Dr. Johnson was born on May 17, 1941, in San Antonio, Texas. Upon receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in music from Trinity University of San Antonio in 1963, he went on to earn his Master of Music degree from Yale University in 1965. He spent 1966-67 in Copenhagen, Denmark, on a Fulbright Scholarship, studying organ with Finn Viderø. Returning to the United States, he held faculty positions at Wake Forest University, Amherst College, Smith College, and the University of Maine. In 1973, he graduated from the University of Michigan with a Doctor of Musical Arts degree. In 1992, he received a National Endowment for the Humanities award to study theatre at Columbia University, and at the time of his death he was pursuing a post-doctoral Master's degree in Theatre at SUNY-Buffalo.

In addition to teaching, Dr. Johnson performed organ recitals at venues across the country, including the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, and St. Thomas Church in New York City. Several of his recordings aired on National Public Radio stations throughout the country. He is survived by his parents, a sister, brother, nieces and nephews, and his long-time partner, Richard LaBorde of East Longmeadow.

Richard Eugene Livesay died on February 24 at the age of 87. A resident of Alexandria, Virginia, he was organist at Cherrydale United Methodist Church in Arlington from 1947 to 1988, when he was named organist emeritus. At that church he had played for more than 2,000 Sunday services, 600 weddings, and countless funerals, and helped design the church's Wicks pipe organ of 37 ranks. He was a former Dean of the Alexandria AGO chapter and was a guest organist at Washington National Cathedral. Born in Tulsa, he began piano study at age 12 and organ at age 16, and he attended Blackburn College in Illinois, Park College in Missouri, and American University. In the late 1930s, he worked for Jenkins Music Co. and demonstrated Hammond organs at churches around Tulsa. Mr. Livesay was also a Defense Department official from 1940 until retiring in 1973 as staff secretary to the secretary of defense. He is survived by his wife of 64 years Veradell Elliott Livesay, two children, and five grandchildren.

Dale Wood died on April 13 after a valiant battle against esophageal and lung cancer, at his Sea Ranch, California home. A renowned composer, organist and choral director, he was known for his numerous published choral works and hymn tunes, and his compositions for handbells, harp, and organ. He was for many years organist and choirmaster in San Francisco at the Episcopal Church of St. Mary the Virgin and served in a similar capacity in Lutheran churches in Hollywood and Riverside, California. He had published numerous articles on worship, liturgy, and church music, and was a contributing editor to the Journal of Church Music for over a decade. His monthly column appeared in the Methodist journal Music Ministry for three years. Wood headed the publications committee of Choristers Guild from 1970-74. After serving as music director of the Grace Cathedral School for Boys in San Francisco (1973-74), he was appointed executive director for The Sacred Music Press, a position he held from 1975-96, and was editor emeritus 1996-2001. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) honored Dale Wood annually since 1967 for his "very important contribution towards the creation and development of contemporary American Music." The Board of Regents of California Lutheran University awarded Dale Wood the title of "Exemplar of the University," citing him as "an example of excellence in service and a worthy model of a good and useful life."

James B. Hartman is Associate Professor, Continuing Education Division, The University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada, where he is Senior Academic Editor for publications of the Distance Education Program. He is a frequent contributor of book reviews and articles to The Diapason.

Across the centuries many outstanding musicians--from Johann Sebastian Bach to Charles-Marie Widor--are recognized for their outstanding achievements in composition, performance, and other notable contributions to organ culture. At the same time, many of these individuals contributed to other musical fields--instrumental and choral--not directly related to the organ. On the other hand, in the wider musical world sometimes this focus has been reversed, when outstanding practitioners in the instrumental and choral fields exhibited significant capabilities with respect to the organ.

This article will chronicle the activities of six selected outstanding figures of the broader musical society whose connections with the organ are perhaps not so widely known. The criteria for their selection include their prominence in music history within their chosen areas of activity, along with the availability of significant information about their involvement with the organ to make interesting stories. While their status in the world of the organ does not match those of the "giants" mentioned above, they worked industriously and successfully within the context of their other major activities as "alternative" organists.

Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) was the son of an innkeeper in the tiny village of Le Roncole, near Parma, Italy. His first music lessons were at age 3 with the village schoolmaster-organist, succeeding him at his death six years later. His father bought his promising 8-year-old son a battered spinet; Verdi's love for the instrument was such that he kept it for eighty years. In 1823 he was sent to a grammar school in the nearby town of Busseto, where he lodged with a cobbler; he walked three miles back to Le Roncole every Sunday and on other feast days to play the organ, often carrying his boots so as not to wear them out. In Busseto the young Verdi studied for four years with Ferdinando Provesi, the choirmaster and organist of the collegiate church of San Bartolomeo and director of the Philharmonic Society. By age 12 Giuseppe had decided to pursue a serious musical career. He gave his first organ concert at age 13, replacing someone who was ill, when he played some of his own music on the chapel organ.

In 1829, at age 16, his application for the post of organist in nearby Soragna was rejected, perhaps because of his youth, so he continued to deputize for his ailing teacher at Busseto in composing for services, processions, and concerts, while also playing at Le Roncole. As an unpaid apprentice it was expected that he would take over both the salary and the position when Provesi died. Other musical activities included teaching younger pupils, copying parts for the Philharmonic Society, and playing the piano at musical gatherings. By the time he was 18 he had written an assortment of musical compositions, including marches for a brass band, various pieces of church music, and piano pieces.

In 1833 Verdi went to Milan to further his musical education, but he was refused enrollment at the Conservatory on the grounds that it was overcrowded, he was over the maximum age for entrance, he had problems with his hand position on the keyboard, and was a "foreigner." This rejection was a source of bitterness throughout Verdi's life. Nevertheless, he studied canons and fugues with the Conservatory's accompanist and director of music. Meanwhile, his former music teacher in Busseto, Provesi, died, leaving his post at the church vacant, and Verdi applied for it, unsuccessfully. Verdi's lifelong passion for theatergoing started about this time, and his habit of reading novels and plays unrelated to music prepared him for his later intense commitment to opera.

In 1834 musical "civil wars"--street brawls, church invasions, lampoons, arrests, and prosecutions--were waging between members of the Philharmonic Society, which supported Verdi, and opposing factions over the proposed appointment at Busseto. These events resulted in a royal decree banning the use of instrumental music (other than the organ) in church; this edict remained in effect for seventeen years until Verdi succeeded in having it removed in 1852.

Partly to avoid involvement in these uproars, Verdi applied for the position of cathedral organist at Monza, a larger town close to Milan; the Philharmonic Society threatened to restrain him with physical force if he tried to leave Busseto. On this occasion his examiner, the court organist, assured him that he had enough knowledge to be a maestro in Paris or London. In April 1836 he signed a nine-year contract as maestro di musica of Busseto; he took up his new position in 1838.

Now Verdi began work on an opera for Milan's Teatro Filodrammatico, which he continued until leaving Busseto in 1839. His first effort, Rocester, was never performed, but parts of it were reworked into Oberto, Conte di San Bonifacio, which opened on 17 November 1839 with moderate success. At this point Verdi's interest in the organ had ceased with his increasing involvement with opera. By 1860 Verdi was the most successful opera composer of the age. In time, his works, such as Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, La Traviata, Aida, and Otello, became among the world's best-known and most-loved musical dramas. On the other hand, he wrote no compositions for solo or accompanying organ, and none of his operas include the instrument in any way. The organ world's loss--not a significant deficit considering Verdi's many misfortunes and missed opportunities surrounding the organ--was the opera world's gain.

Anton Bruckner (1824-1896) was the first-born son of a family of eleven children of a village schoolmaster and organist in the town of Ansfelden, near the provincial capital of Linz, Austria. Young Anton ("Tonerl") received his first music lessons from his father, then from his cousin-godfather, who was a competent composer of church music. In 1837 he became a choirboy at the nearby Augustinian monastery, St. Florian, where he later served as a substitute organist. The organ there was a large four-manual instrument built by Krismann in 1771; it was one of the greatest on the continent at the time, and one from which the young player received inspirations of beauty and grandeur.

Until 1840 Tonerl led a secluded but thoroughly musical existence as a chorister who also studied piano, organ, and violin. In that year he enrolled in a one-year course of studies at Linz that would qualify him as an elementary school teacher, although for a while he had considered studying law and entering the civil service. Nevertheless, in 1845 he returned to St. Florian as a deputy organist and became chief organist in January 1855; this appointment lasted for ten years. Earlier, on a journey to Vienna in October 1854, he requested an examination by three outstanding Viennese organists who gave him enthusiastic testimonials; these were followed in 1855 by similar tributes from a well-known master organist from Prague. However, he was rejected for the post of cathedral organist at Olmütz in the summer of 1855.

Although Bruckner had intended to study organ with one of his examiners, he abandoned this plan when the post of organist at Linz cathedral became vacant. Bruckner, who was attending as a listener at the preliminary competition, joined in at the last moment and beat his competitors with his improvised performance of a fugue; he won again in the main competition in January 1856. This appointment freed him forever from the drudgery of teaching and the monastic seclusion at St. Florian, and introduced him to the livelier surroundings of the provincial capital.

In November 1861 Bruckner passed his final examination at the Vienna Conservatory. His improvised fugue on a given subject so overwhelmed the examiners that one of them stated, "He should have examined us! If I knew one-tenth of what he knows, I'd be happy." Another one thought that his improvisations closely resembled Mendelssohn's music.

Although Bruckner's earlier application for the position of organist-designate at the imperial court chapel in Vienna had been unsuccessful, he was finally given the post at the Hofkapelle in September 1868. It was an unpaid but prestigious position without much opportunity to assist on great occasions, apart from playing for the emperor and his family; eventually he achieved a paying position. In addition to playing the organ at services and coaching the choirboys, he directed performances of his own church music. His organ recitals at St. Epvre in Nancy and at Notre Dame in Paris in 1869 were warmly reported in the press, and were welcomed by the organ-building firms of Cavaillé-Coll and Merklin-Schütze, on whose new instruments Bruckner had improvised. Encouraged by these successes, Bruckner briefly considered a career as a concert organist. He apparently made strong impressions on such knowledgeable musicians as Franck, Saint-Saëns, Gounod, Auber, and Thomas.

On a journey to England in August 1871 as an official delegate of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce and participant in an international organ competition on a new instrument in Royal Albert Hall, Bruckner's performances received mixed reviews, but his improvisation on God Save the Queen was a highlight of his program of works by Bach and Handel. In July 1886 he was honored with the Franz Josef order and he was also received by the emperor personally, who enjoyed listening to his organ playing. In 1886 Liszt had just died, and Cosima Wag-ner invited him to perform at her father's funeral; Bruckner marked the occasion with improvisations on themes from Parsifal.

Reports on Bruckner's performing style as an organist vary greatly. Although he never composed seriously for the instrument, his powers of free improvisation were generally admired. One of his obituaries suggests that the professional critics had a poor opinion of him. Nevertheless, his early experiences at St. Florian undoubtedly left indelible imprints on his creative imagination, since some aspects of his orchestral style reveal influences of the dynamism of the organ.

His compositions for organ include: Four Preludes (ca. 1836); Prelude in E-flat major (ca. 1837); Prelude and Fugue in C minor (1847), strongly reminiscent of Mendelssohn; Two pieces in D minor (ca. 1852); Fugue in D minor (1861), which has been described as "academic and uninspired"; and Prelude in C major (1884). In the broader musical field his international recognition rests on his nine symphonies, choral church music, chamber works, piano pieces, and a few solo songs.

Antonín Dvorák (1841-1904) was born in Nelahozeves, near Kralupy, Czechoslovakia; his parents ran a village inn and his father was a butcher. He had violin lessons and played for village occasions as a child. When he was a butcher's apprentice, while living with his childless aunt and uncle in Zlonice in 1853, he had music lessons with the town cantor who filled the post of organist and choirmaster, as was the custom with village schoolteachers in those days. At this time Dvorák began to learn harmony and keyboard instruments.

Eventually his father allowed his son to become a musician and to qualify as an organist, so in 1857 the youth entered the Prague Organ School, where he remained for two years, studying theory and singing, as well as organ with the director of the choir at the Cathedral of St. Vitus. Young Dvorák was poor, shy, and sensitive, and not particularly fluent in German, so his talent was not immediately recognized at the school. Nevertheless, in 1859 he graduated with a second prize; his leaving certificate testified that he was "admirably fitted to fulfill the duties of organist and choirmaster." At the graduation concert Dvorák played some of his academic-style preludes and fugues. Around this time he supported himself as a violist in a small orchestra that played in restaurants and at dances. He also worked as an organist and teacher, and eventually married the sister of one of his pupils.

After his marriage he left the National Theater orchestra, in which he had played the viola for eleven years, to become organist at St. Adalbert's Church in 1874; this post left more time for composition, besides raising his status in the eyes of his mother-in-law. While there, Dvorák was appointed to a committee that judged the competing bids for the reconstruction of the church organ and supervised the completion of the project.

In the course of his career Dvorák served on numerous committees and administrative bodies dealing with musical matters, such as theater and arts societies, music competitions, and editorial boards; more specifically, a jury for government stipends to artists, and a member of the board of directors of the Czech Academy of Sciences and Arts in 1890.

A purely private matter was his donation of a new organ, on the occasion of his fifty-third birthday, 8 September 1894, to the church at Vysoká, near a mining town about forty miles south of Prague, where his brother-in-law had his estate.

Concerning Dvorák's ability as a performing musician, little attention has been paid to his achievements on the organ, but his abilities undoubtedly were much above average. Although he held a regular organist's position only from 1874 to 1877, he was appointed as organist for the inauguration of the renewed Czech University in Prague in 1882.

Although Dvorák produced no works specifically for solo organ, a number of his compositions--several songs and vocal duets--specify organ accompaniment. His total creative output includes eleven operas, choral and vocal works, nine symphonies and other symphonic works, various instrumental concertos, chamber music, and piano pieces. His "New World" Symphony (op. 95 in E minor, 1893) and the "Dumky" Trio (op. 90, 1890-91) are frequently heard on recorded radio programs.

Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) was born at Pamiers, a little town in the Ariège region in the south of France. The youngest of six children, Gabriel's father was a teacher and his mother was the daughter of a retired captain. His earliest introduction to music was when he lived with foster parents in another town, where he would listen to a harmonium being played in an old convent chapel, which inspired him to improvise on the instrument on his own. One day the 4-year-old child was overheard by an elderly blind lady, an excellent musician, who suggested to his parents that his evident talent should be developed.

Eventually, in 1854, he secured a scholarship at Louis Niedermeyer's École de Musique Classique et Religieuse in Paris, a newly established boarding school for training organists and choirmasters. He remained there for eleven years, studying organ (the school had a 12-stop instrument and a pedal piano), piano (one classroom contained fifteen pianos), singing, plainsong, and theoretical subjects. His acquaintance with contemporary music came from Saint-Saëns, who became his piano teacher in 1861 after the death of Niedermeyer, and who remained a close friend and furthered his academic career. While at school Fauré and his friend, Eugène Gigout, planned their future careers as eminent church musicians.

Fauré was not particularly inspired by the organ, perhaps thinking that the mechanical instrument lacked the sensual subtleties of the piano. Even so, the organ's special feature, its powerful bass pedals, left a lasting impression as indicated by the strong bass lines in some of his piano pieces. According to Saint-Saëns, Fauré was a "first-class organist when he wanted to be," but he never kept up his technique and preferred to improvise. He left the school in January 1866 with the first prize in piano performance, organ, harmony, and composition. During this period he composed his first songs, piano pieces, and one choral work.

Fauré's first position was as organist at St. Sauveur in Rennes, which he held from January 1866 to March 1870. He was in trouble with the clergy from the outset, when he used the sermon time for a smoking break. He was dismissed after appearing at a morning service dressed in white tie and tails worn at a municipal ball the night before. His next appointment, at Notre-Dame de Clignancourt in Paris, also ended abruptly with his dismissal for missing a service to hear a Meyerbeer opera.

Following military service in 1871 Fauré was employed briefly as organist at St.-Honoré d'Eylau, a rich parish church in Paris. A more important appointment was as second organist at St. Sulpice in Paris, assisting Charles-Marie Widor; the church had a magnificent 100-stop Cavaillé-Coll instrument. The two musicians amused each other by improvising competitively in tandem during services; their subtle modulations probably were not understood by the clergy or other listeners, however.

A high point in Fauré's career was his appointment in 1877 as choirmaster, a prestigious but low-paying position, at Ste. Madeleine, Paris's most distinguished and fashionable church, where he succeeded Saint-Saëns, who had resigned; he held this position until 1896. Although Fauré's duties did not specifically involve organ playing, the church's impressive Cavaillé-Coll instrument was available for practice purposes when he was not teaching or working on his compositions.

Fauré's renown strengthened during the 1920s, and societies devoted to giving concerts of his music and publishing his works were formed in France in the 1930s and in succeeding years. He was not a widely popular composer, and his music had more appeal to connoisseurs than to the wider musical public. Even so, he cannot be counted among the "giants" of musical history.

Fauré's creative works include one opera, sacred choral works, nearly 100 songs, chamber music, piano pieces, and works for piano and orchestra. His Thème et variations, op. 73, Dolly Suite, 4-hands, is frequently heard on recorded radio programs, and performances of his Requiem still attract good audiences. Although Fauré respected the organ as an instrument having a classical repertoire, his compositions did not include any works for solo organ, but several of his choral and vocal works specify organ accompaniment. Consistent with his respect for Bach, he wrote the preface for an edition of Bach's "48" and revised the whole of Bach's organ works with unofficial help from Joseph Bonnet and his friend Gigout.

Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) was born in Lucca, a small city in northern Italy, which had enjoyed a considerable reputation for its church music up to the end of the eighteenth century. The Puccini family had an impressive musical lineage of five generations of musicians in two centuries (eighteenth and nineteenth). Giacomo, the fifth of seven children, was expected to follow the family tradition and become organist at San Martino Cathedral. Giacomo's father encouraged his lazy son's mastery of the organ--the child was 5 years old at the time--by placing coins on the organ keyboard so that the boy, trying to grasp them, would have to push down the keys and produce sounds.

Following his father's premature death in 1891, Giacomo's uncle on his mother's side assumed the position at San Martino and continued instructing Giacomo until the child reached the appropriate age of succession. In time, Giacomo's organ playing improved to the level of assisting his uncle at San Martino, as well as performing in other smaller churches. He also played the piano at weddings, in taverns, and in houses of prostitution, as well as at a local convent, where he was rewarded with cups of hot chocolate in addition to his small fee of a few lire that was to be sent directly to his mother.

As a member of a fun-loving gang of youths, when he was playing the organ at a small village church where his brother acted as organ-blower, they decided to get extra money by stealing some organ pipes and selling them to a scrap dealer. In order to avoid detection of the crime, Puccini adjusted his playing of harmonies by avoiding notes of the missing pipes, which delayed discovery of the theft for a long time. Another source of income was from his only pupil, a young tailor--both were 16 years old at the time--and the lessons continued for four years, 1874-8. Puccini wrote his earliest compositions, consisting of short organ pieces, for him; the young man later became a composer of organ pieces himself.

Around this time, Puccini began composing in earnest, chiefly organ music for the church service. Many of these pieces were improvisations that Puccini later transcribed; some of them were derived from folk songs and popular operas, which startled both the priests and congregations. Puccini also introduced lively marches as postludes to play the congregation out of the church; for this he was reprimanded by his elder sister who was preparing to become a nun.

Puccini's first contact with opera was through his teacher, who introduced him to the scores of Verdi's Rigoletto, Traviata, and Trovatore. This experience probably had a decisive influence on Puccini's subsequent career, because he and several friends made a thirty-mile round trip to Pisa to hear Verdi's masterpiece, Aida. At this time Puccini abandoned the family tradition of becoming a full-time church organist and decided to pursue operatic craft at the Milan Conservatory, which he entered in 1880 with the aid of a scholarship from Queen Margherita. His scholarly record was consistently brilliant in counterpoint, his main subject, although he had yet to discover the secrets of the stage.

Puccini's fame rests chiefly on his twelve operas, particularly Manon Lescaut (1893), La Bohème (1896), Tosca (1893), Madama Butterfly (1904), and Turandot (1926); two of his operas, Edgar (1889) and Tosca (1893), contain parts for organ. He also composed various pieces of church music, several choral works, two orchestral works, chamber music (chiefly string quartets), two pieces for piano, and seven songs with piano. His catalogue of works also contains several pieces for organ (before 1880).

Charles Ives (1874-1954) was born in Danbury, Connecticut, where his father, George Ives (1845-1894), was a music teacher who directed bands, choirs, and orchestras. The father had an intense interest in musical innovation and experimentation, such as microtones, bitonality, and acoustics, which he shared with his two sons, Charles and Moss. For example, independence of mind was developed by practicing ear-training exercises such as singing in one key and being accompanied in another. Charles recollected playing drums in one of his father's bands that marched past another group, generating a discordant clash of conflicting keys and rhythms; this phenomenon is reflected in some of his later unconventional compositions.

While at home, young Charles studied drums, piano, and organ with various teachers, becoming a competent pianist by age 12. In 1889 he took his first salaried post as organist at the Second Congregational Church, then at the Baptist Church, in Danbury. At the same time, he composed songs and choral works, along with occasional organ solos that may have been used as interludes in church services or in church-sponsored recitals.

In 1893 Ives moved to New Haven to attend Hopkins Grammar School in preparation for entry into Yale University. While at Hopkins he took a job as organist at St. Thomas's Episcopal Church to help his father pay his expenses. In March 1894 he tried out for an organist position at the Baptist Church, but his application failed.

When Ives began full-time study at Yale in September 1894--he went there primarily for the athletics and as part of the family heritage--he was already an accomplished organist, a skilled composer of band music, and songwriter in the popular style. For his entire four years at Yale he played the organ at Center Church in New Haven--the oldest and most prestigious church there--where he was allowed to play his own compositions. Prior to, and during this appointment he commuted to New York to take organ lessons from Dudley Buck, one of the leading organists of the country. At Yale he took composition lessons from Horatio W. Parker, an established young composer of church music. Under Parker's direction Ives composed his First String Quartet, over forty songs, and several marches, overtures, anthems, part songs, and organ pieces.

Following his time at Yale, Ives moved to New York in September 1898 to take a position as a clerk with the Mutual Life Insurance Company; later he founded his own insurance company, Ives and Myrick. Even before the end of the Yale term, he had secured a position as organist at Bloomfield Presbyterian Church, New Jersey, to begin the following summer. He commuted to this position for two years before moving to Central Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, where he remained until June 1902. In these organist positions Ives remained a well-rounded musician, playing services and recitals, and composing practical pieces. His recital repertoire included works or arrangements by Bach, Mozart, Handel, and Brahms, and often music of his own. One of his works that received its premiere at Central Presbyterian Church was The Celestial Country, an ambitious work scored for two solo quartets and choir, string quartet, brass, tympani, and organ. Around this time Ives decided never to apply for another musical position in order to achieve his musical freedom from the demands of audiences. Although his ultimate decline in composition is sometimes attributed to health problems, he simply may have exhausted his ability to achieve his high artistic aims. Even so, he received the Pulitzer Prize for his Third Symphony in 1947.

Ives's music has its roots in the nineteenth-century Romantic conception of music as an embodiment of emotion and national feeling. The principal aim of his mature works was the personal representation in music of the range of human experience--particularly American experience--in all its drama, emotional power, and confusion. This aim is often revealed in the titles of some of his compositions that deal with specific events: for example, The Fourth of July, Decoration Day, Holiday Quickstep, Thanksgiving, and Washington's Birthday. His musical productions include choral music, vocal music, chamber music, orchestral music (including four symphonies), two piano sonatas, and the Variations on America for organ (written at age 17). Although the original scores of a number of his compositions for organ have been lost, they were incorporated into works for other instruments.

Ives's compositional style reflects his earlier experiences with his father's innovative experiments: explorations of tonality and serial procedures, polymetric and polyrhythmic constructions, experiments with quarter-tones, the use of space as a compositional element, and layered polyphony and multidimensionality. Ives's works were rarely performed during his lifetime, nor were they widely published. In recent years the Charles Ives Society has generated editions and playing materials of his music that are a challenge to all and a threat to some.

In addition to the six alternative organists discussed above, several other well-known names might be added to this group.

Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) learned to play many wind instruments from his father in London before embarking on an intense period of musical training, including the Leipzig Conservatory, 1858-60. Returning to London, he worked as a teacher and accompanist, as well as organist at St. Michael's, Chester Square, 1861-7, and at St. Peter's, Cranley Gardens, 1867-72. His musical collaboration with W. S. Gilbert produced some of the best-known pieces of popular musical theater, many of which still are traditional offerings of school and college musical groups.

Gustav Holst (1874-1934) first learned music from his father, an organist and pianist. He began conducting local orchestras while attending grammar school, and then played the organ at Wyck Rissington, Gloucestershire, in 1892, although the instrument never figured in subsequent professional appointments. Some of his orchestral compositions became enduring contributions to the musical world. His powerful Choral Fantasia (1930) for soprano, chorus, and orchestra, also includes the organ.

Hamilton Harty (1879-1941) learned piano and counterpoint from his organist father. From age 12 he held organ posts, first at Magheracoll Church in Antrim County, Ireland, then at Belfast and Bray (near Dublin). He played viola in a Dublin orchestra and became known as a piano accompanist in London. In 1920 he became the conductor of the Hallé Orchestra, which he formed into one of the country's finest orchestras.

Leopold Stokowski (1882-1977) entered the Royal College of Music, London, at age 13, where he studied piano, organ, and composition, receiving his diploma in 1900; he also studied at Oxford University (B.Mus., 1903). He was organist at St. James, Piccadilly, 1902-5. In 1905 he moved to New York as organist and choir director at St. Bartholomew's Church on Madison Avenue. Following his debut as a conductor in Paris, he was engaged by the Cincinnati Orchestra in 1909, then by the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1912, an internationally famous organization that he led for twenty-four years.

Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) began to compose at age 8, even before any formal instruction. He entered the Paris Conservatory in 1919, achieving prizes in counterpoint and fugue, accompaniment, organ, and improvisation (with Marcel Dupré), history of music, and composition. In 1931 he was appointed organist at l'Église de la Sainte Trinité in Paris, remaining in that position for over forty years. Many of his composed organ works reflect aspects of the theological creed of the Catholic faith. Although not a member of any particular school, Messiaen has had a major influence on contemporary music.

William Herschel (1738-1822), British musician and astronomer, is an unusual figure to conclude this section, considering his unique combination of occupations. He pursued an active career as violinist and conductor in the 1760s, and he played the organ at the Octagon Chapel in Bath from 1766 onwards. In 1780 he was accepted into the Bath Literary and Philosophical Society. In the following year, using a telescope he had partially designed and constructed himself, he discovered the planet Uranus.

There is a music wherever there is a harmony, order, or proportion; and thus far may we maintain the music of the spheres.

--Sir Thomas Browne (1605-1682)

Religio Medici [1642]

Henry Murlin Kelsay,
82, died August 23 in Springfield, Missouri. He was born on February 17, 1923
in Versailles, Missouri. After graduation from high school in Booneville,
Missouri, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1942, rising to the rank of 1st
lieutenant and serving as an air corps navigator. He fought in several World
War II battles and air campaigns in southern France and Italy, and was
decorated with numerous medals and citations. Kelsay graduated from Union
Theological Seminary in New York City, and went on to serve as music director
at several churches in the Little Rock, Arkansas area, including Pulaski
Heights Methodist Church and Christ Episcopal Church. He served as dean of the
Central Arkansas AGO chapter 1954-55 and 1959-61. Later in life he
became interested in interior decorating and was successful in that endeavor.

At the time of his death, Kelsay was a member of St. James
Episcopal Church in Springfield, Missouri. A memorial service took place there
on September 17. He is survived by his sister-in-law and three nephews.

--Virginia Strohmeyer-Miles

Noel Mander, MBE,
FSA, prominent British organbuilder, died September 18 at his home in Suffolk,
England, at the age of 93.

Born on May 19, 1912 in Crouch near Wrotham, Mander was
brought up in South London. Having left school (which he hated), he went to
work for A & C Black, publishers. The office work did not suit him,
however, and through his uncle, Frederick Pike, he met Ivor Davis who had
worked for Hill, Norman & Beard. After working with him for a while, Mander
started on his own in 1936, the first organ being that at St. Peter’s
Bethnal Green opposite St. Peter’s School, which years later was to
become the organ works. Unfortunately, Christ Church Jamaica Street, Stepney, where
he rented workspace, together with the organ he was working on and all his
equipment, were lost in the first air raid on East London 1940.

Shortly after that, he joined the Royal Artillery, seeing
service in North Africa and Italy, where he worked on a number of instruments,
including the organ in Algiers Cathedral, which had been silent for years.
Having been invalided out of active service in Italy, he joined the Army
Welfare Service and during his convalescence he repaired a 17th-century organ
in Trani.

After the war he assisted the London Diocese in getting
organs working again in bomb-damaged churches. He set up a workshop in an old
butcher’s shop in Collier Street before moving in 1946 into the old
buildings of St. Peter’s School in Bethnal Green, where the firm remains
to this day. In 1948 he married Enid Watson with whom he had five children,
living over the workshop in Bethnal Green. Most of his early work revolved
around the rebuilding of organs, many of which survive to this day.

He always had an affection for historic instruments and
restored a number of antique chamber organs, setting new standards for the time
with his sympathetic appreciation and restoration of them. Of particular note
was the restoration of the 17th-century organ at Adlington Hall in Cheshire in
1958-59, which was in a completely desolate state. It had not been
playable for perhaps a century, 
but with painstaking care the organ was restored and remains one of the
most important survivors in England.

In the 1960s he became aware that interest was growing in
tracker-action organs in the rest of Europe, and this encouraged him to
investigate this form of action himself, initially in the restoration of
instruments (which otherwise might have been electrified) and then in new
organs. Ultimately a number of such instruments were built including the export
of some to places such as Bermuda and the Sir Winston Churchill Memorial
Foundation in Fulton, Missouri.

Having been involved with the rebuilding of a number of
large organs, he was awarded the contract to rebuild the organ in St.
Paul’s Cathedral in London during the 1970s. This project, lasting almost
five years, was perhaps his greatest pride and was completed just in time for
the Queen’s Silver Jubilee celebrations at St. Paul’s. In 1978 H.M.
Queen Elizabeth made him a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). He
retired in 1983 to his home in Suffolk, but retained an interest in what the
firm was doing right to the end. The 60th anniversary of the Mander firm was
marked in 1996 by publication of a collection of essays in his honor entitled
Fanfare for an Organ Builder.

Noel Mander’s interests were by no means restricted to
organs. He was a keen historian and an avid bookworm. He was a Fellow of the
Society of Antiquaries and very active in the Council of Christians and Jews
for many years. He became a very popular member of the Earl Soham community in
Suffolk, where he retired to in 1983. He was also the British representative
for the Sir Winston Churchill Foundation in Missouri and secured a number of
significant pieces of antique furniture for the Wren church rebuilt there,
including, during the last year of his life, a fine 18th-century pulpit that
had once stood in a City church.

Philip Marshall, who
served as organist at both Ripon and Lincoln cathedrals, died on July 16. Born
in Brighouse in 1921, his early studies were with Whiteley Singleton, a pupil
of Edward Bairstow. He gained an Associateship of the Royal College of Music,
and in 1946 won three prizes in the Fellowship examination of the Royal College
of Organists. He earned his BMus at Durham in 1950, by which time he was
assistant to Melville Cook at Leeds Parish Church. He also served as organist
at All Souls, Haley Hill, Halifax, where he met Margaret Bradbury, whom he
married in 1951, and who survives him. The Marshalls moved that year to Boston,
working at the Parish Church and Grammar School. By 1957,
style="mso-spacerun: yes">  Philip Marshall had completed his
doctorate at Durham, studying with Bairstow’s York successor, Francis
Jackson, and was appointed organist at Ripon Cathedral. Founding the choir
school, rebuilding the cathedral instrument and producing a chant book were
highlights of his tenure at Ripon.

An accomplished model engineer, organbuilder and composer as
well as an outstanding organist, accompanist and teacher, Dr. Marshall served
as organist and master of the choristers at Lincoln Cathedral for 20 years
until retirement in 1986. The Dean and Chapter named him Organist Emeritus in
the early 1990s.

Dorothy Hildegard Nordblad died of congestive heart failure on September 9 at the Moorings, a
retirement community in Arlington Heights, Illinois. She was 93. A lifelong
member of Ebenezer Lutheran Church in Chicago, she served for 37 years as
organist and director of junior choirs at Edison Park Lutheran Church, where
she directed 60 children in three choirs. Nordblad also taught history, math
and music to hundreds of children, serving the Chicago public schools for 40
years.

The daughter of Swedish immigrants, she was born in Chicago
in 1911 and graduated from Senn High School before attending Northwestern
University, where she received her bachelor’s degree in education in 1932
and a master’s degree in education in 1946.

Her teaching career began at Stewart School, and in the late
1950s Nordblad moved to Beaubien Elementary School on the Northwest Side. In
addition to teaching, she was assistant principal, a position she held until
her retirement in the 1970s. After she moved to the Moorings retirement home,
she organized and directed the choir there, continuing as its director for more
than seven years. Funeral services were held on September 14 at Ebenezer
Lutheran Church, Chicago.

Donald W. Williams,
of Ann Arbor, died September 22 at the Chelsea Retirement Center, Chelsea,
Michigan, following a seven-month battle with cancer. He was 66.

Williams received his bachelor’s degree (1961) and
master’s degree (1962) from Peabody College in Nashville, Tennessee,
where he studied with Scott Withrow. In 1979 he received the DMA from the
University of Michigan, where he studied with Marilyn Mason. At Michigan, he
was given the Palmer Christian Award by the Organ Department of the School of
Music in recognition of his accomplishments in teaching, performing, and choral
conducting.

Dr. Williams served as organist and choirmaster at Zion
Lutheran Church in Ann Arbor from 1963 until 1995, when he became
organist-choirmaster at Chelsea First United Methodist Church, a position he
held until his death. He was a member of the organ faculty of the National
Music Camp in Interlochen, Michigan, from 1966 to 1970, and was adjunct
lecturer in organ at the University of Michigan in the early 1970s. He taught
organ performance and church music at Concordia University in Ann Arbor (1976-95,
1999 until his death). He was co-founder of the Ann Arbor Youth Chorale, which
he directed with Richard Ingram and Ruth Datz from 1987 to 2001, and was
founder and conductor of the American Chorale of Sacred Music.

Williams performed at churches and cathedrals in this
country and abroad, including the National Cathedral and the Shrine of the
Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., St. Thomas Episcopal Church in New
York City, St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal, and various European venues.
From 1981 to 1985 he performed as a member of Principal VI, a group of
organists from the greater Ann Arbor area. In 1986, he gave the world premiere
of Vincent Persichetti’s last composition, Give Peace, O God.

In addition to the various positions he held in the Ann
Arbor chapter of the American Guild of Organists, Williams was chair of worship
standards and repertoire of the American Choral Directors’ Association
(1995-2001), and a member of the board of the Boy Choir of Ann Arbor from
2000 until his death. He was a life member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.

Funeral services were held on September 26 at First
Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor. Williams is survived by his 97-year-old
father, Joel Williams, of Marietta, Georgia.

Contrary to popular belief, there is a substantive body of African-American classical music. This music draws upon a wealth of influences which are not just limited to Negro spirituals and jazz. The same can be said for the organ literature of African-Americans. Of the 332 entries listed in Paula Harrell's 1992 dissertation "Organ Literature of Twentieth-Century Black Composers: An Annotated Bibliography," only 74 are based on spirituals.1 In fact, African-American organ literature draws upon a multitude of influences which include spirituals, melodies of African origin, general protestant hymnody, German Protestant chorales, plainchant, as well as original composer themes. A few organ compositions have even been inspired by musical themes, individuals, and historical events associated with the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s.2

Regarding the composers, several have had extensive training
and expertise in the field of composition.  Many of these, at one time or another, have been the
recipients of prestigious music fellowships3 and/or composition awards.4

As is the case with a large segment of 20th-century organ
music, African-American organ literature has been influenced by neo-classical
as well as symphonic organ composition styles.  The composers who have written utilizing a neo-classical
idiom include, but are not limited to, such names as George Walker (b. 1922),
Ulysses Kay (1917-1995), and Mark Fax (1911-1974). In terms of symphonic
writing for the instrument, there is, for instance, the music of Thomas H. Kerr
(1915-1988), William B. Cooper (1920-1993), Eugene W. Hancock (1929-1994), and
Adolphus Hailstork (b. 1941). Some composers such as Noel Da Costa (b. 1929)
and David Hurd (b. 1950) display a diversity of stylistic influences in their
compositions.

Much of the literature for the instrument represents a
varied number of compositional forms such as sonata, fugue, rondo, theme and
variations, as well as free form. There is also a considerable body of
literature for organ and other instruments which encompasses everything from
concerti with orchestra to chamber music.5 Before embarking upon a discussion
of the literature and its composers, it is necessary to provide some background
into its history and to discuss the nature of a few deterrants to performance.

The accessibility of music scores is perhaps the central
problem regarding the performance of this music. The reason for this is because
the vast majority of this literature, with few exceptions, remains
unpublished.6 Much of it exists only in manuscript form, the legibility of
which could itself constitute a deterrent to performance. Most of the scores
may be obtained directly either from the composers or their estates. The fact
that a large segment of this music remains unpublished has no bearing on its
quality, for the quality of the music is equal to much of that which already
appears in print, and in several instances, exceeds it. The lamentable truth of
the matter is that bias and negative racial stereotyping of black intellectual
capacity have been at fault.7 In the past, music publishers generally displayed
little interest in publishing the classical works of African-Americans,
Hispanics, women, or anyone who was not traditionally considered to be a part
of the male-dominant social mainstream. Since that time, music publishers have
slowly, but surely, begun to express an interest in publishing the works of
women and a handful of minority composers;8 however, for many years, this was
not the case. Much of this music went virtually unnoticed and unperformed. This
was even true for Thomas Kerr's AGO prize-winning composition Arietta, the
latter of which was once published commercially, but is currently unavailable
in print.9 It is for this reason that a survey, however succinct, is not only
desirable, but necessary. Although it is not feasible in the scope of a single
article to provide a comprehensive survey of African-American organ literature,
it is nonetheless possible to provide a brief, informative overview of a select
opus belonging to an equally select cadre of composers from this group.

For the purpose of this article, the composers discussed are
divided into two general styles of organ composition: symphonic and
neo-classical. Brief composer biographical sketches accompany a selective opus
listing. For each composer, a few measures from one or more compositions have
been extracted which reflect the wide variety of thematic sources and stylistic
influences from which these pieces are derived. We will start with the symphonic
compositions of Thomas H. Kerr, Adolphus Hailstork, and William B. Cooper.

Thomas H. Kerr
(1915-1988) served on the music faculty of Howard University as Professor of
Piano from 1943 until his retirement in 1976. An alumnus of the Eastman School
of Music, Kerr graduated with highest honors and was later awarded an M.M.
degree from the same institution. Kerr became the recipient of a Rosenwald
Fellowship in Composition (1942) and was subsequently awarded First Prize in
the Composers and Authors of America Competition (1944). In addition to his
recital activity, he was presented twice as a concerto soloist with the
National Symphony. Kerr's contributions to musical literature have been in the
area of piano, voice, chorus, woodwind ensemble, and organ. Although primarily
trained as a pianist, Kerr became masterfully familiar with the organ and its
resources, thus enabling him to write most effectively for the instrument.

Here, two of Kerr's compositions have been selected. The
first example is the theme from the Concert Variations on a Merry Xmas Tune,
which is based on the Christmas carol "Good King Wenceslas." (Example
1)

Another popular Kerr composition,  Anguished American Easter-1968, is a brilliant set of theme
and variations based on the Easter spiritual "He 'rose." Written upon
hearing news of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Kerr completed the
original manuscript in 10 days. It is dedicated to Dr. King's memory. (Example
2)

Organ Compositions (Published Scores)

Arietta [1957]-[Now out-of-print]

(Unpublished Scores)-[selected]

Anguished American Easter-1968 (Dedicated to the Memory of
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)

Concert Variations on a Merry Xmas Tune ("Good King
Wenceslas") [Revised 1969]

Thanksgiving-1969 (Somber Variations on Handel's "Thanks
Be to Thee")

Suite Sebastienne: (Theme and Cantus, Frolicking Flutes,
Miniature Antiphonal on a Pedal Point, Fugato and Toccata, Trio, Allegro
barbaro, Reverie, Toccata-Carillon) [Revised 1974]

Adolphus Hailstork
(b. 1941) received his degrees from Howard University (B.M. degree) under Mark
Fax, and at the Manhattan School of Music (B.M. and M.M. degrees) under
Vittorio Giannini and David Diamond. He later received a Doctorate of Music in
Composition from Michigan State University where he was a student of H. Owen
Reed. Hailstork pursued additional study with Nadia Boulanger at the American
Institute at Fountainebleau. Currently, he is serving as Professor of Music and
Composer-in-Residence at Norfolk State University in Norfolk, Virginia. Among
his composition awards are the Ernest Bloch Award for Choral Composition
(1972), the Belwin-Mills Max Winkler Award (1977), and First Prize in the
Virginia College Band Director's National Competition (1983). In addition to
organ works, Hailstork has written for chorus, voice, various chamber
ensembles, and band.

Hailstork's fiery Toccata on 'Veni Emmanuel' is based on the
Advent plainchant known in English as "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel."
(Example 3)

Organ Compositions (Published Scores)

Suite for Organ: (Prelude, Andantino, Scherzetto, Fugue)
[Hinshaw Music, Inc., Chapel Hill, NC, 1975]

 (Unpublished
Scores)

First Organ Book-Eight Short Pieces for Organ: (Who Gazes at
the Stars [1978], Toccata on "Veni Emmanuel"
style="mso-spacerun: yes">  [1983], Prelude and Postlude on
"Shalom Havayreem" [1983], Prelude on "We Shall
Overcome"  [1983], Prelude and
Scherzo on "Winchester New" 
[1983], Prelude and March in F [1983], Prelude on "Veni
Emmanuel"  [1983])

Prelude [1967]

Andante [1967]

William B. Cooper
(1920-1993). Born in Philadelphia, Cooper received his B.M. and M.M. degrees
from the Philadelphia College of Performing Arts and a Doctorate of Music from
Columbia Pacific University (California). In 1988, he was awarded a Doctorate
of Sacred Music (honoris causa) from Christ Theological Seminary in Yonkers,
New York. Cooper pursued additional music studies at the School of Sacred Music
of Union Theological Seminary (New York), the Manhattan School of Music, and
Trinity College of Music (London). He not only served on the music faculties of
Bennett College (Greensboro, North Carolina) and  Hampton University (Hampton, Virginia), but taught 26 years
in the New York City School System. Cooper also served as Minister of Music at
historic St. Philip's Episcopal Church (1953-1974) and St. Martin's Episcopal
Church (1974-1988) in Harlem. His musical output, which is considerable,
includes works for organ, voice, chorus, solo instruments, orchestra, and
ballet.

Here, three of Cooper's compositions are cited for their
thematic diversity. The first of these, Cooper's Meditation on 'Steal Away', is
based on the Negro spiritual bearing that name. (Example 4)

The theme of Cooper's Lulliloo-Ashanti Cry of Joy is African
in origin, being based on an Ashanti tribal melody. (Example 5)

Based on a melody from the shape-note hymnal Southern
Harmony is Cooper's Pastorale. (Example 6)

Organ Compositions (Unpublished Scores)-[selected]

Peaceful Warrior [1961]

In the Beginning-Creation [1962]

Diferencias con Quattro [1962]

Meditation on "Steal Away" [1964]

Poem II-To the Innocents [1967]

Rhapsody on the Name FELA SOWANDE [1968]

Pastorale No. III [1973]

Jesu, Joy of Our Desiring (Air) [1978]
style='mso-tab-count:1'>               

Toccata on "John Saw" (The Holy Number) [1978]

Concerto for Cello and Organ [1979]

Symphony No. II for Organ [197-?]

Lulliloo-Ashanti Cry of Joy [1981]

Spiritual Lullaby [1981]

Paraphrase on "Everytime I Feel the Spirit" [1985]

The African-American organ compositions which have been
selected for their neo-classical influence are by composers George Walker and
Mark Fax.

George Walker (b.
1922). A native of Washington, D.C., George Walker was a piano child prodigy.
He attended Oberlin Conservatory (B.M. degree), and later, the Curtis Institute
of Music (Philadelphia) where he received the Artist Diploma. He also pursued
study at the American Academy at Fountainebleau (1947) where he was a student
of Nadia Boulanger and Robert Casadesus. At the age of 23, he won the
Philadelphia Youth Auditions and played the Rachmaninoff Third Concerto with
Eugene Ormandy conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra. In 1956, Walker became
the first African-American to receive a Doctorate of Music at the Eastman
School of Music. For years, he concertized as a piano virtuoso under the
Columbia Concert Artists and National Concert Artists Management. Walker later
headed the Music Department at Rutgers University. He was also the recipient of
several prestigious awards and fellowships such as a Fulbright, Guggenheim, and
Rockefeller. With many compositions to his credit--works for piano, voice,
chorus, chamber ensembles and orchestra--the Three Pieces for Organ constitute
his only contributions to the instrument to date.

Originally conceived as a movement from a Protestant organ
service, Walker's Chorale Prelude on Jesu, wir sind hier (also known by the
title Herzliebster Jesu) is based on the German Protestant chorale. (Example 7)

Organ Compositions (Published Scores)

Three Pieces: (Elevation, Chorale Prelude on "Jesu, wir
sind hier,"  Invokation)
(M.M.B. Music, 1991)

Mark Fax (1911-1974)
was a native of Baltimore. He received his B.M. degree in Piano at Syracuse
University, graduating with highest honors. He was subsequently awarded a M.M.
degree in Composition from the Eastman School of Music where he was an Eastman
and a Rosenwald Fellow. Fax joined the faculty at Howard University in 1947
where he served as Professor of Composition. He later became Assistant to the
Dean of Fine Arts prior to his appointment as Acting Dean of Fine Arts. He was
later appointed as Director of the School of Music. Fax composed for many
musical media including piano, chorus, chamber ensemble, orchestra, and has
three operas to his credit.

In the example, Fax mixes elements of neo-classicism with
influences of the Black Church. The first movement of his Three Pieces for Organ
is based on a Negro spiritual. (Example 8)

Organ Compositions Unpublished Scores)-[selected]

The Pastor [1944]

Prelude and Chorale [1952]

Variations on Maryton [1960]

Three Pieces: (Free, Hauntingly [1963], Allegretto [1965],
Toccata [1966])

Three Organ Preludes: St. Martin [1964], Crusader's Hymn
(Offertory-Transposed to A Major), St. Anne [Fragment, 1964]

Two Chorale Preludes: Crusader's Hymn [1964], Kremser [1968]

Postlude on "I'll Never Turn Back" [1972]

Noel Da Costa (b.
1929) was born in Lagos, Nigeria. He later moved to Jamaica where he lived
until the age of 11, at which time he came to the United States. He received a
B.A. degree from Queens College (City University of New York) and was awarded a
M.A. degree from Columbia University. While still in graduate school at
Columbia, Da Costa became the recipient of the Seidl Fellowship in Music
Composition. He later studied with Luigi Dallapiccola in Florence under a
Fulbright Scholarship (1958-61). Currently, Da Costa holds the post of Associate
Professor of Music in the Mason Gross School of the Arts in Rutgers University
where he has taught since 1970. His musical output consists of a large variety
of compositions which include music for piano, solo instruments, chamber
ensemble, voice, chorus, orchestra, as well as five operas.

Exemplifying Da Costa's stylistic diversity are two
examples, the first of which is the theme from Da Costa's Variations on
'Maryton', based on the English hymntune known as "O Master, Let Me Walk
with Thee." (Example 9)

A second example of a composition based on a melody of
African origin is Da Costa's Chililo: Prelude for Organ after an East African
Lament, which is based on the Mozambique ceremony of lamentation. (Example 10)

Organ Compositions (Unpublished Scores)

Maryton (Hymntune and Variations) [1955]

Generata (for solo organ and string orchestra) [1958]

Chililo: Free Transcription for Organ [1970]

Chililo: Prelude for Organ after an East African Lament
[1971]

Triptich for Organ (Prelude, Processional, Postlude) [1973]

Spiritual Set for Organ (Invocation, Affirmation, Spiritual,
Praise) [1974, Publ. by Belwin-Mills (unavailable since 1986)]

Ukom Memory Songs (Organ and Percussion) [1981]