Episcopal Chapel of St. John the Divine, Champaign, IL, hosts June choir camp

Mary Fisher Landrum, a native of Indiana, Pennsylvania, is a graduate of Vassar College and did graduate work at the Eastman School of Music as a student of Harold Gleason. She has served as college organist and a member of the music faculty at Austin College, Sherman, Texas; Sullins College, Milligan College, and King College in Bristol, Tennessee. For a third of a century she was organist/choir director at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Bristol, Virginia.

Church musicians from 32 states, the Virgin Islands, and Barbados gathered on the mountain at DuBose Conference Center in Monteagle, Tennessee, for the 57th annual Sewanee Church Music Conference July 9–15. Keith Shafer, director of music and organist of St. Paul’s Church in Augusta, Georgia, planned and directed the conference. Heading the faculty were Gerre Hancock and Judith Hancock, now on the faculty of the University of Texas in Austin. Serving as conference chaplain was Dennis R. Maynard, priest, rector, preacher and writer from Rancho Mirage, California.
The first day of the conference began with registration and ended with Evening Prayer, led by Dr. Maynard, who was also the officiant for the daily morning eucharists. The Hancocks were organists for the services that used Rites I and II with various musical settings of the liturgies. The psalms were set to Anglican chant, a topic that was discussed with plainchant by Gerre Hancock in one of his classes.
In other classes he demonstrated “Leading the Hymns with Conviction and Verve,” “Improvisation for the Timid and Meek of Heart,” and “An Anthem from Start to Finish.” Judith Hancock held a class on organ repertoire and a class on “The Choral and Organ Works of William Mathias.” Both Hancocks collaborated in two sessions on “Conducting the Choir,” and led organ masterclasses featuring music of Jean Langlais, Nicholas Bruhns and Dieterich Buxtehude, played on the Casavant in the Chapel of the Apostles on the Sewanee campus by organists attending the conference.
Dr. Maynard gave a series of lectures that touched the nerve of current Episcopalian issues such as, “Do you really think that you’re an Anglican?” and “How can we respond to the Biblical Fundamentalist?”, “Are the Schismatics the Faithful Remnant or Contemporary Pharisees?” and “Where’s the forgiveness in the Church?”
Adjunct faculty led a variety of classes. Larry Marchese of Sibelius Software talked about music publishing software. Susan Rupert, vocal professor at the University of the South and School of Theology, presented Episcopal basics for those new to the Episcopal Church.
Reading sessions enriched the conference program. These were led by Mark Schweizer, editor of the St. James Music Press; Celia Tolar-Bane, director of music and organist of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Columbia, South Carolina; Donald E. Dupee, Jr., director of music and organist of St. Thaddeus Church, Aiken, South Carolina; and Robert Delcamp, Professor of Music, University Organist and Chair of the Music Department of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee.
A highlight of the week was the organ recital played by Judith and Gerre Hancock in All Saints’ Chapel of the University of the South. Judith Hancock opened the program with the Praeludium in A-Moll, Bux WV 153 by Dieterich Buxtehude, and also played Guilmant’s Sonata in C Minor. The charming Duett for Organ (1812) by Samuel Wesley was played by both Judith and Gerre Hancock. The program was rounded out with Gerre Hancock’s stunning improvisation on the submitted theme, “Rosedale” by Leo Sowerby.
The 150 conferees formed the choir for two services in All Saints’ Chapel. Evensong used Sowerby’s Magnificat in D and Nunc dimittis in D, preceded by his Eternal Light for the introit. Eternal Light also began the service as Gerre Hancock improvised on it during the procession. The preces, responses, Lord’s Prayer and collects were sung by the choir to settings by Gerre Hancock. The Phos Hilaron was sung to Charles E. Wood’s Hail, gladdening light. Psalm 37 was set to Anglican chant by E. F. Day and George Thalben-Ball. The anthem was Psalm 122 by Sowerby. The voluntary concluding the service was played by Gerre Hancock, who improvised on “St. Clement,” the tune of the last hymn.
In the festival eucharist university service in All Saints’ Chapel on Sunday morning, Craig Phillips’s Festival Eucharist provided the settings of texts from the liturgy. Psalm 25 was sung to an Anglican chant by George Thalben-Ball. The offertory anthem was Gerre Hancock’s Christ Our Passover. Richard Shephard’s motet, O Thou Before the World Began, and Roland E. Martin’s anthem, Love on My Heart, were sung at the communion. Both were composed for the 57th Sewanee church music conference, as was Triptych on “At the Name of Jesus” (King’s Weston) by William Bates. Triptych was played by Gerre Hancock as a prelude to the service. He also played the concluding voluntary, an extensive and elaborate improvisation on “Ora Labora,” which was the last hymn of the service. Participating in both services were Gerre Hancock, Judith Hancock and Dennis Maynard.

The 52nd annual Sewanee Church Music Conference was held July 15-21 at DuBose Conference Center in Mont-eagle, Tennessee and at the University of the South in Sewanee. Filled to capacity, the conference attracted 159 organists, choir directors, and choristers from 23 states. Dr. Robert Delcamp, Professor of Music at the University of the South, planned and directed the conference. Malcolm Archer, Organist and Master of the Choristers at Wells Cathedral, and Peter Richard Conte, Grand Court Organist of the Wanamaker Organ in Philadelphia and also Organist and Choirmaster of St. Clement's Episcopal Church, headed the conference faculty. The Rev. Dr. Joe Burnett, Professor of Pastoral Theology, School of Theology, University of the South, led the daily services and in a series of lectures explored tensions arising in parishes and added possible solutions for impossible people.

Malcolm Archer presented aspects of the English choral tradition as well as giving practical advice on putting together a service very quickly. James Brinson led several sessions on the Episcopal Church for musicians who are new to the church. Keith Shafer had two sessions on chanting the psalms. Anthem-reading sessions were conducted by Archer, Jason Abel, and Donald Dupee, Jr. Also, an impressive display and reading session were directed by Mark Schweizer of St. James Music Press.

Peter Conte held a variety of workshops devoted to playing the organ. Besides the masterclasses, there were sessions on hymn playing, anthem accompaniment, and improvisation. David Davies, a young Welshman currently the Assistant Organist and Choirmaster at the Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta, played a stunning organ recital in All Saints' Chapel. The program included works by Bach, Gigout, Mozart, Cocker, Howells, and Vierne and ended with an overwhelming improvisation for an encore.

All Saints' Chapel provided the setting for the major services of the week. The Choral Evensong on Thursday evening used Dyson's Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in D and Parry's monumental anthem, Blest Pair of Sirens. At the Sunday service, Schubert's German Mass was sung to the liturgy. Music composed by Archer and commissioned by the conference was premiered--the organ voluntary Variations on King's Lynn and the anthem Bread of the World. The centerpiece anthem was O How Glorious Is the Kingdom by Harwood. Brass and percussion added festive flair to this anthem and to hymns throughout the service. Archer was the conductor, Conte was the organist, and all conferees formed the massive choir for both services.

--Mary Fisher Landrum

Joel H. Kuznik, NYC, has been writing published articles for 50 years. A native of Jack Benny’s hometown, Waukegan, his childhood idol nevertheless was Rubenstein, whom he eventually heard in Paris in 1975. But by 14, he became fascinated with the organ and Biggs, whom he heard twice in the mid 1950s. He studied organ with Austin Lovelace, David Craighead, Mme. Duruflé, Jean Langlais, and Anton Heiller, and conducting with Richard Westenburg and Michael Cherry, who was assistant to Georg Szell. Highlights of 70 years have included hearing Glenn Gould, Giulini in Brahms’ Fourth at Chicago, Carlos Kleiber’s “Der Rosenkavalier” at the Met, Herreweghe’s unmatchable “Mass in B Minor” at the Leipzig Bachfest, “Tosca” at La Scala, a one-on-one with Bernstein after the Mahler 2nd, and, finally, a birthday toast from Horowitz.

One advantage of retirement is having the luxury of hearing colleagues and ensembles here and abroad. Of course you don’t have to be retired, but the freedom to plan your own time helps. I have taken a number of European musical tours: Italian opera, Paris organs, Bach and Luther, and the Leipzig Bach Festival.
I have also taken two Holy Week-Easter pilgrimages. In the late 1990s I observed Holy Week in London and celebrated Easter in both the Western and Eastern Orthodox rites, first in Naples and then a week later in the Oia, Santorini, Greece. This year I decided to take my pilgrimage in London. These are the options I discovered on the Internet, and from which I made a spreadsheet for daily reference. Choices had to be made, and not everything made the list, such as “Götterdämmerung” at the Royal Opera House, which would have consumed one of my six days.

Maundy Thursday

13:10: Eucharist with music, St. Anne & St. Agnes, Bach chorales
17:00: Sung Eucharist, Westminster Abbey, Byrd Mass & Duruflé
18:00: Mass, Westminster Cathedral, Monteverdi & Duruflé
19:30: Mozart Requiem, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, New London Singers

Good Friday

11:15: Matins & Litany, Temple Church, Lotti & Tallis
14:30: Bach’s St. John Passion, St. John’s Smith Square, Academy of Ancient Music
15:00: Lord’s Passion, Westminster Cathedral, Bruckner, Victoria

Holy Saturday

15:00: Evensong, Westminster Abbey, Victoria
19:00: Easter Vigil, St. Paul’s, Langlais Messe Solennelle
20:30: Easter Vigil, Westminster Cathedral, Vierne Messe solennelle

Easter Sunday

10:15: Matins, St. Paul’s, Britten Festival Te Deum
10:30: Eucharist, Westminster Abbey, Langlais Messe Solennelle
16:00: Early & baroque music, Wigmore Hall, Florilegium, Bach & Telemann
16:45: Organ recital, Westminster Cathedral
18:00: Easter music & Eucharist, St. Anne & St. Agnes, Handel & Telemann

Monday

19:30: Handel’s Messiah, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Belmont Ensemble

Maundy Thursday

A few blocks behind St. Paul’s Cathedral is St. Anne’s Lutheran Church, an international congregation founded in 1951, worshiping at the church of St. Anne and St. Agnes designed by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of London (1666) and consecrated in 1680. Built in the form of a Greek cross, this small church was bombed in WWII, but was restored and reconsecrated in 1966 as a Lutheran parish. In addition to its architectural history, famous residents of the parish have included John Milton, John Bunyan, and John Wesley.
St. Anne’s is known for its music, “particularly in the Lutheran tradition of J. S. Bach, Schütz, and Buxtehude.” There are over 100 performances a year, including lunchtime concerts on Monday and Fridays. The core musical group is the Sweelinck Ensemble, a professional quartet under the direction of Cantor Martin Knizia. The St. Anne’s Choir had recently sung Bach’s St. John Passion, and last December their Bach Advent Vespers was featured in a live broadcast on BBC Radio 3; .

Eucharist with Music

Chorale: O Mensch bereit das Herze dein, Melchior Franck
Chorale: Im Garten leidet Christus Not, Joachim a Burgk
Chorale: Durch dein Gefängnis, Gottes Sohn, J. S. Bach
Chorale: Jesu Kreuz, Leiden und Pein, Adam Gumpelzhaimer
Ehre sei dir Christe (Matthäus Passion), Heinrich Schütz
The chorales were interspersed throughout this service and were sung handsomely by the Sweelinck Ensemble accompanied by the cantor on a continuo organ. The concluding Schütz St. Matthew Passion was particularly stirring. Definitely worth a detour from the large churches to hear baroque music with this degree of authentic intimacy.

Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey, as glorious inside as it is dramatic outside, had a late afternoon Eucharist that moved the soul. So much can be said about the extraordinary history and presence of this church dating back to a Benedictine monastery in 960. It was later enlarged under King Edward the Confessor and consecrated in 1065 in honor of St. Peter, known as the “west minster” (Old English for monastery) in distinction from the east minster, St. Paul’s Cathedral. This magnificent gothic building is the result of work begun in the 13th century under Henry III and was not completed until 16th century.
Information, including details on the Harrison & Harrison organ (1937, four manuals, 78 stops), can be found at .

Sung Eucharist with the Washing of Feet

Mass for Four Voices, William Byrd
Organ prelude: Schmücke dich, o meine Seele, Bach
Improvisation leading to processional hymn: “Praise to the Holiest in the height” (Gerontius)
Gradual during Gospel procession: “Drop, drop, slow tears” (Song 46, Orlando Gibbons)
During the washing of the feet: Ubi caritas et amor, Maurice Duruflé
St. John 13:12–13, 15, plainsong mode II
Offertory hymn: “O thou, who at thy Eucharist didst pray” (Song 1, Orlando Gibbons)
After the Communion: Dominus Jesus in qua nocte tradebatur, Palestrina
While sacrament is carried to altar at St. Margaret’s: Pange lingua, plainsong mode II
During the stripping of the altar: Psalm 22:1–21, plainsong mode II

Westminster Abbey has an aura resonant with an awe of the divine. The service was without sermon, but so rich in ceremony and ritual that the preaching was in the actions, music, and language of the liturgy—in themselves a powerful message. Here everything seemed so right, from the dignified helpfulness of the ushers to the purposeful solemnity of the clergy—all enhanced by music done so well that it doesn’t call attention to itself because it is transparently integral to the worship and sung in a spirit reflective of the day’s liturgy. One did not just watch, but was drawn into the moment and left with an inner tranquility that spoke the essence of Maundy Thursday.

Good Friday

The weather was London: wet, dank, chilly and bleak—so fitting for the day. The Temple Church was recommended, not because of its recent attention due to the “The Da Vinci Code,” but primarily for its most traditional liturgy and excellence in music. The “Round Church” dates from 1185 and was the London headquarters of the Knights Templar. Their churches were “built to a circular design to remind them of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, a round, domed building raised over the site of the sepulchre where Jesus was buried.” The elongated choir was added by Henry III and consecrated on Ascension Day, 1240. The website provides an intriguing history of this unique church with directions and a much-needed map; .

Choral Matins, Book of Common Prayer (1662)
Introit: Crux fidelis, inter omnes, King John IV of Portugal
The Responses, plainsong
Venite, Exultemus, Anglican chant, Edward John Hopkins
Psalm 22, plainsong
The Lamentations of Jeremiah 1:1–2, Thomas Tallis
Benedictus, plainsong
Anthem: Crucifixus etiam pro nobis, Antonio Lotti
Litany, Thomas Tallis

Stephen Layton, director of music, directs a refined choir of men and boys, who were most telling in the Lotti Crucifixus, accompanied on a portative by the organist, James Vivian. The remainder of the service was played on the imposing and very British Romantic organ built by Harrison & Harrison (1924 and 2001, four manuals, 62 stops). The history of The Temple’s organs, including one by Father Smith, can be found on the website.

Back on Fleet Street I hopped on a bus to Westminster, hoping to hear Bach’s St. John Passion at St. John’s, Smith Square, just blocks from Westminster Abbey. A deconsecrated church dating from 1728, it now serves as a popular concert venue. In the crypt is a handy, economical restaurant “The Footstool,” where lunch was being served; .

St. John Passion, Johann Sebastian Bach, sung by Polyphony with the Academy of Ancient Music, Stephen Layton, conductor
Andrew Kennedy, Evangelist, tenor; James Rutherford, Christus; Thomas Guthrie, Pilatus; Emma Kirkby, soprano; James Bowman, countertenor; and Roderick Williams, bass.

This was a superb, masterful performance by a mature choir of 26 and professional soloists. The chorales were sung with care and the arias with sensitivity. The conductor’s tempos were quite sprightly and his approach dramatic, sometimes so much so that the next recitative intruded on the end of a chorale. This was, nevertheless, a fitting and most inspiring way to observe Good Friday.

Holy Saturday—Easter Eve

The Easter Vigil with its roots going back to earliest Christianity is the epitome of the Christian message and worship. It combines a rehearsal of salvation history with the rites of passage for the candidates (Latin, “those dressed in white”) through Baptism and Confirmation, and culminating in a celebration of the “Breaking of Bread” as Jesus did with his disciples after the Resurrection. The Vigil is an extended service with power-laden symbolism—the passage from utter darkness to brilliant light, the anointing with oil in the sign of the cross, the drowning of the self in baptismal waters, “putting on Christ,” and the sharing of the bread and wine in union with the community of faithful.
In London there could be no more fitting place to celebrate the Vigil than the regal diocesan St. Paul’s Cathedral, founded some 1500 years ago in 604 by Mellitus, a follower of St. Augustine who was sent to convert the Anglo-Saxons. It has been rebuilt a number of times with the most recent version begun in 1633 with a neo-classical portico or façade. The current design by Christopher Wren received royal approval in 1675, but was not finished until 1710. Later came the woodwork by Grinling Gibbons for the huge Quire and Great Organ, and in the 19th–20th century the glittering mosaics in the dome, envisioned by Wren. Most will remember St. Paul’s as the site of Prince Charles’s wedding to Diana. It has just undergone a complete renovation at a cost of £40 million in anticipation of its 300th anniversary in 2008; .
The organ was built by Henry Willis (1872) with an extensive renovation and enlargement completed by Mander (1977, five manuals, 108 stops). Not many organs deliver the overpowering experience that this organ can, especially when stops in the dome are added with a sound that not only surrounds, but also envelops worshippers.
The liturgy took place, not in the grand Quire, but “in the round” under the dome with a free-standing altar at one axis and the choir (with a small organ) to the left on risers, surrounded by the congregation.
Upon entry one received an impressive 28-page service booklet. One could only wonder “O Lord, how long?” But the service moved right along in two hours, including baptisms and confirmations. The service began in darkness; only with the procession to the dome by the participants did light begin to dawn as candles were shared. The Vigil had only one lesson instead of the usual nine readings. Then—the dramatic Easter Greeting by the bishop, “Alleluia! Christ is risen,” followed by bells and a thunderous fanfare from the organ—with a sudden blaze of almost blinding light as all the cathedral and the dome with its glittering mosaics lit up.

The Vigil Liturgy of Easter Eve

Setting: Messe solennelle, Jean Langlais
Exsultet sung responsively with the congregation
Song of Moses, Exodus 15, Huw Williams
Gloria in Excelsis, Langlais
Hymn: “The strife is o’er, the battle done ” (Gelobt sei Gott)
Hymn: “Awake, awake: fling off the night!” (Deus Tuorum Militum)
Motet: Sicut cervus, Palestrina
Hymn: “Here, risen Christ, we gather at your word” (Woodlands)
Sanctus, Langlais
Agnus Dei, Langlais
Surrexit Christus hodie, alleluia!, Samuel Scheidt (arr. Rutter)
Hymn: “Shine, Jesus, Shine”
Hymn: “Christ is risen, Alleluia!” (Battle Hymn of the Republic)
Toccata, Symphonie No. 5, Widor

The impact of this service was profound and intensely extraordinary, not as formal as Westminster Abbey, but with no less sincerity. The Langlais setting with the punctuating fortissimo chords from organ was overwhelming. The hymn singing, fueled by the organ’s energy, was similarly dynamic and enthusiastic, and the final hymn sung to the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” went at such an exuberant clip that one had to conduct beats to keep up. How could one divorce one’s mind from the text, “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord”?
After this high-spirited hymn, the people, with their pace set by an energized Widor Toccata, exited up the center aisle toward the west end, facing the huge open cathedral doors with a gleaming light streaming in from the floodlit street, and walked past the bishop and the font into the light—they were ready for the Resurrection.

Easter Sunday

Sunday was another day, and, thankfully, the sun shone. I arrived at 9:15 am for Westminster Abbey’s 10:30 service to an already long queue. Had I arrived fifteen minutes earlier, I might have sat in the desirable rectangle framed by the choir screen and the chancel. But sitting just a few rows into the transept the sound was less immediate and gripping, and the hymn singing less compelling.

Sung Eucharist

Pre-service: Toccata in F Major, Bach

Setting: Messe solennelle [with brass quartet], Langlais Hymn: “Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia,” Lyra Davidica
Gloria in excelsis, Langlais
Gospel Procession: Victimae paschali, plainsong, arr. Andrew Reid
Hymn: “At the Lamb’s high feast” (Salzburg)
Sanctus, Langlais
During the Communion: Agnus Dei, Langlais; Christus resurgens ex mortuis, Peter Philips
Hymn: “Thine be the glory” (Maccabaeus)
Postlude: Finale, Symphonie II, Vierne
This was a straightforward Eucharistic service with fine music well performed. The Abbey Choir was conducted by James O’Donnell, Organist and Master of the Choristers, and accompanied by the London Brass quartet. The organist was Robert Quinney, Sub-Organist. The choir sang with their usual distinction, and in comparing this version of the Langlais, even with brass, to the Vigil the night before, clearly St. Paul’s was the more persuasive and affecting.

In the afternoon I headed to Westminster Cathedral, which according to the Internet performed some impressive music during Holy Week and on Easter that included Monteverdi, Duruflé, Byrd, Bruckner, Victoria, and Vierne’s Messe solennelle. But I regret to say that this Vespers, largely a chanted service and because of that, was an unexpected disappointment, especially since I had read such admiring CD reviews.
The cathedral, its striking architectural style from “Byzantine style of the eastern Roman Empire,” was designed by the Victorian architect John Francis Bentley on a site originally owned by the Abbey, but sold to the Catholics in 1884. The foundation was laid in 1895, and the structure of the building was completed eight years later. The interior with its impressive mosaics and marbles is said to be incomplete, but the cathedral is certainly a visual tableau .

Solemn Vespers and Benediction sung in Latin

Office Hymn: Ad cenam Agni provide
Psalms 109 and 113A (114)
Canticle: Salus et gloria et virtus Deo nostro (Revelation 19:1–7)
Magnificat primi toni, Bevan
Motet: Ecce vincit, Leo Philips
O sacrum convivium, Gregorian chant
Organ voluntary: Fête, Langlais

Unfortunately the printed order of service provided the Latin-English text, but without information on composers or musicians—facts only available on the Internet. The service seemed austere both in its solemnity from the entrance of the choir with many clergy and in its liturgical style.
There is obvious musical talent with a large professional choir of men and boys, but the musicians work with disadvantages. The choir is on an elevated shelf behind the baldaquin and high altar, which distances the sound and at times makes the singing seemed forced, especially by the men. The most disappointing, regrettable aspect was chanting “the old-fashioned way” with “schmaltzy” organ accompaniments on voix celeste or flutes. Solesmes is, by all counts, the gold standard, and after that all else pales. One would have thought the reform of chant in the Catholic Church and after Vatican II would have had greater impact and changed practice.
Martin Baker is the master of music and the assistant organist is Thomas Wilson. The Grand Organ is hidden by a nondescript screen in a chamber above the narthex and was only revealed in the Langlais Fête at the end—like an anomaly, but played with fire and aplomb. The organ was built by Henry Willis III (1922–1932, four manuals, 78 stops) and was restored by Harrison & Harrison in 1984.

Did I have one more service in me? I bravely headed to Trafalgar Square and St. Martin-in-the-Fields for Evensong. This church has a full schedule of services plus over 350 concerts a year. It may date back as far as 1222, and it can lay claim to the fact that both Handel and Mozart played the organ here in 1727. Today one immediately thinks of the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields founded in the 1950s with Sir Neville Marriner.
The church’s activities are amazing, but it is not resting on its laurels. It is the midst of a £34 million campaign (already £24 million in hand) to expand its facilities inside and out to include an outdoor courtyard, a rehearsal space, a Chinese community center, and space for social services. It will also mean a much-needed restoration to the interior of the church to bring it closer to its historic 18th-century conception. In the crypt there is a shop and a café that serves nutritious meals all day.

Choral Evensong

Introit: This Joyful Eastertide, arr. Wood
Responses, Martin Neary
Canticles: Collegium Regale, Herbert Howells
Anthem: Rise heart, thy Lord has risen, Vaughan Williams
Postlude: Victimae Paschali, Tournemire

What a joy! Familiar music well done by a superb, effective choir with first-rate organ playing. A great, satisfying way to complete my Easter celebration. Alleluia! The talented and youthful director of music, Nicholas Danks, is full of enthusiasm. The assistant organist, David Hirst, played the Tournemire with particular verve and drama on the fine organ by J. W. Walker and Sons (1990, three manuals, 47 stops) with its battery of fiery French reeds. I didn’t think I was up for another Messiah this season, but these musicians felt the choir presenting the next night at St. Martin’s was one of London’s finest.

Monday

Messiah, George Friedrich Handel
English Chamber Choir, Belmont Ensemble of London, Peter G. Dyson, conductor
Philippa Hyde, soprano; David Clegg, countertenor; Andrew Staples, tenor; and Jacques Imbrailo, baritone.
Things are moving along in London, and sprightly tempos are in. I found that to be the case with the Bach St. John Passion and here in the quick-paced Messiah, which came in at under two hours performance time—something of a record, I think.
The crackerjack orchestra and youthful soloists were on board, but the talented choir, perhaps under-rehearsed and lacking experience with this lively conductor, struggled to keep up, especially in Part I. “For unto us a child is born” proved that at these tempos “His yoke is easy” was not easy at all! The soloists all did fine work, but the tenor and baritone in particular distinguished themselves with eloquent declamations. In many respects this was a laudable performance brought to a rousing conclusion with “Worthy is the Lamb.”
Continuing in the spirit of Handel, I decided the next day to visit the Handel House Museum at 25 Brook Street where Handel lived in a multi-story house from 1723 to 1759. Here he composed famous works such Messiah, Zadok the Priest, and Music for the Royal Fireworks. It is a modest museum compared to the Händel-Haus Halle in Germany , but certainly worth a visit.
One is treated to an introductory film plus interesting prints of Handel’s contemporaries, two reconstructed period harpsichords (one with a zealous player dashing up and down double-keyboards), the Handel bed recently refurbished, and a current exhibit on “Handel and the Castrati,” with photo-bios of the leading castrati. Handel lived quite well indeed, paying a modest rent of £50 a year and with three servants to dote over him—every musician’s dream!
London is a six-hour flight from the East Coast and offers a plethora of musical possibilities, especially at Christmas and Easter. Others would have made different choices tailored to their interests. For me this was a full, rewarding week, something every musician needs from time to time to refresh the spirit—to capture the energy, vitality, and imagination of others. Europe may not be the bargain it once was. You can’t take it with you anyway, but these can be empowering moments you take to the bank that last forever.

Jane Scharding Smedley has served as organist-choirmaster at St. Peter Roman Catholic Church in Memphis, Tennessee since 1980. She earned bachelor’s (Rhodes College) and master’s (Wittenberg University) degrees in sacred music, and holds the Colleague and Choirmaster certificates from the American Guild of Organists. Her teachers included David Ramsey, Tony Lee Garner, Frederick Jackisch, and Richard White. An attendee at the Sewanee Church Music Conference since 1979, she currently serves as secretary of the board of directors.

Since 1951, the Sewanee Church Music Conference has offered a rich musical and spiritual experience to musicians who serve primarily in Episcopal churches. Each July, approximately 150 organists, choirmasters, and choristers make their way to the DuBose Conference Center in Monteagle, Tennessee, to refresh their skills, learn new insights, and renew friendships with colleagues. A family-reunion atmosphere pervades the weeklong gathering, where first-time attendees are warmly welcomed by those who return every year to the “holy mountain.”

Reverend James Turrell, from the School of Theology at the University of the South in nearby Sewanee, Tennessee, was conference chaplain. The parable of the steward who brings forth both old and new from the storeroom inspired his explorations of the liturgical renewal, inculturation of the liturgy, and the valuable role of musicians in bringing forth both old and new treasures from the storeroom of the Episcopal heritage.

Tom Foster and Janette Fishell served as the music faculty and were a superb team. They alternated as conductors and organists for the two major liturgies of the conference: Friday Evensong and Sunday Eucharist, both sung in All Saints’ Chapel on the Sewanee campus. Along with Reverend Turrell, they provided leadership at the carefully planned daily Eucharists, an important part of the week for many.
Foster, well known for his work at All Saints’, Beverly Hills, until retirement in 2003, last appeared at the conference in 1984. He has served as interim musician in various Episcopal parishes and is now Parish Musician at the Church of the Epiphany in Seattle. Janette Fishell, Professor of Organ at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, was making her first appearance at the conference. Dr. Fishell performed in recital on the Casavant in All Saints’ Chapel, taking us on a musical tour of Prague, London, and Paris, through pieces by Petr Eben, Herbert Howells, and Widor.

Through choral rehearsals, workshops on psalmody, practice techniques, service playing, and an organ masterclass, Foster and Fishell brought forth both new approaches and affirmed older methods from their vast musical backgrounds. Worship repertoire included anthems by Richard Shepherd, Craig Phillips, Malcolm Boyle, and Phillip Wilby. Richard Webster’s Mass in Lydian Mode was sung in the daily liturgies as well as on Sunday. The Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis at Evensong were from David Hogan’s St. Alban’s Service. An a cappella setting of Psalm 23 by former SCMC faculty Jeffrey Smith was particularly lovely. This year’s commissioned work for organ, Fanfare and Variations on “Merton” by James Biery, was premiered by Dr. Fishell.

Choral reading sessions were presented by Elizabeth Smith (Lois Fyfe Music) and Jane Scharding Smedley (St. Peter Roman Catholic Church, Memphis). A detailed yet practical session on handbell techniques and repertoire was led by Richard Moore (St. Edward’s Episcopal, Lawrenceville, Georgia). Susan Rupert (University of the South) offered sessions on “Episcopal Basics.” Keith Shafer (St. Paul’s Episcopal, Augusta, Georgia) shared organ repertoire based on hymn tunes. Music displays were provided by Lois Fyfe Music, St. James Music Press, Church Music Services, and Calvin Taylor.

The Conference Board of Directors places high importance on each year’s offerings meeting the needs of those in attendance. Surveys are taken to guide the content of future programs and choice of faculty.
Delicious meals and comfortable accommodations are found at the DuBose Conference Center in scenic surroundings. Many comment favorably on the reasonable registration fee for a week filled with musical, educational and social events. The Sewanee Conference looks forward to its 60th anniversary in 2010, which will feature returning faculty Malcolm Archer (Winchester College, UK) and Peter Richard Conte (Wanamaker Organist, Philadelphia). Reverend Dr. Joe Burnett, Bishop of Nebraska, will return as chaplain. For more information on the Sewanee Church Music Conference, contact Dr. Robert Delcamp: [email protected] or Keith Shafer: [email protected].

Photo credit: John Whitmer, Birmingham, Alabama © 2009

William D. Gudger is Professor of Music History and Theory at the College of Charleston (South Carolina) and organist of the Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul (Episcopal).

In time for the third Spoleto Festival USA in 1979, a companion festival, Piccolo Spoleto, was organized in conjunction with the City of Charleston’s Office of Cultural Affairs. The first meeting about this took place in Ben Hutto’s apartment on Montague Street in Charleston. Ellen Dressler Moryl was the newly-appointed Director of Cultural Affairs for the City of Charleston, and the first coordinators for music series were Hutto, Emily Remington, William Gudger, and David Lowry. We decided to make something of a sandwich of the Spoleto day, with organ recitals in the morning before the “big” Festival’s first chamber concert at 11 am, and chamber concerts in the afternoon. In keeping with the founding of the Festival by Italian-American composer Gian Carlo Menotti, we named our 10 am organ series “L’Organo: The Organ in Recital.” It is the only music series that has run through the entire 25 years of Piccolo Spoleto in its original form (though there was no L’Organo series in 1990 in the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo). Larry Long, who played in the 2003 series, gave the first recital on a Saturday morning in May, 1979, at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul, whose historic organ case was featured on our poster in 1979 and again on the cover of the Spotlight Chamber series in 2003. Recitals were held daily except Sundays. We soon found that organ recitals worked best on Mondays through Fridays, and for the entire series over the years it is safe to say that average attendance at each recital has been over 100. With Spoleto usually running for two weeks, most years we presented ten performers. For many years in 1980s one program was devoted to “Kids Meet the King of Instruments,” capturing the undivided attention of 200-300 Charleston schoolchildren. Performers were local organists or guests from out-of-town, featuring regional performers, the goal of Piccolo Spoleto. But a number of national and even international figures have played, in some cases due to the generosity of local patrons. A complete list of performers is found at the end of this article. It reads like a Who’s Who of the organ world. Some of the more prominent performers were featured on special events, some of these late at night. There were often annual midnight recitals (beginning at the hour, or ending at that hour). At first these were benefit galas of a humorous nature (“Nuptial Nuggets”; a 300th Birthday Party for Bach in 1985 [with the composer present!]; and the like), and in other years such outstanding performers as the Chenaults and David Higgs played late at night to catch the Spoleto Festival crowd after operas and dance programs.

The 10 am solo recital has been the backbone of our series, though often organists have been joined by other performers (also listed at the end). A number of premiere performances have been given, and the repertory for organ has covered the gamut from Bach to Bolcom (Alain to Zipoli would be a better description!), representing the most popular organ classics as well as introducing much unfamiliar literature including transcriptions and avant-garde works. Some special events have included our wonderful Charleston Symphony Orchestra. In 2003 the first week of the Festival had the regular 10 am series. In the second week, everything on the organ series was a special event with a totally different schedule in order to accommodate the 250 organists attending the American Guild of Organists Region IV 2003 Convention. Besides solo recitals by Timothy Tikker, Charles Boyd Tompkins, and Calvert Johnson, the Miller/Lowry trumpet/organ duo was heard. The Charleston Symphony Orchestra played twice, with Scott Bennett for a concert which included Joseph Jongen’s Symphonie concertante and Stephen Paulus’ Mass for Chorus, Organ, and Orchestra, and with Stewart Wayne Foster for music of William Bolcom and Allan Ontko.

Performers on the Piccolo Spoleto L’Organo Series, 1979-2003

Charleston organists: Warren Apple, Deborah Bagwell, Mark Bebensee, C. Lynn Bailey, Paul Batchelor, J. Scott Bennett, Paul Blanchard, Nancy M. Callahan, Thomas B. Clark, Christopher Cotton, Capers Cross, Alan Davis, Lee deMets, Stephen Distad, Stewart Wayne Foster, Robert Gant, William Gudger, Julia Harlow, Ann Hood, Benjamin Hutto, Gregory Jones, Seung-lan Kim, Hazel King, Brian Kittle, Francis Kline, Lee Kohlenberg, Larry Long, Douglas Ludlum, George Mims, James Polzois, David Redd, Emily Remington, Timothy Shepard, Preston Smith, Arlon Sunnarborg, Randall S. Thompson, Timothy Tikker, Thomas White, Alan Wingard, Sarah Younker

Out-of-town organists: Albert Ahlstrom, Donald Armitage, Richard Apperson, David Arcus, Edward Artis, G. Dene Barnard, Ann Bauer & Kristin Johnson (duo-organists), Diane Bish, David Bowman, David Brensinger, James Russell Brown, David Chalmers, Raymond and Elizabeth Chenault (duo-organists), Raymond Chenault (solo), Sally Cherrington Beggs, Andrew Clarke, Douglas Cleveland, Rodney Cleveland, Marty Cloninger, John Conner, Giles Cooke, Benton Craig, William Crane, Gregory d’Agostino, James Darling, Jolene Davis, Ted Davis, Emma Lou Diemer, Jonathan Dimmock and Jane Dimmock Cain (duo-organists), Jonathan Dimmock (solo), Shane Doty, Ricky David Duckett, Peter Dubois, Edward Dunbar, Wayne Earnest, David Eaton, Ray Ebert, Ronald Ebrecht, Natalie Eubanks, Trudy Faber, Richard L. Falk Jr., John Farmer, Kristin Gronning Farmer, Andrae Felton, Janette Fishell, Faythe Freese, Deborah Friauff, Robert Gallagher, Bruce Glenny, Steve Godowns, J. Michael Grant, Joseph Golden, Bruce Gustafson, Cheryl Hamilton, Stephen Hamilton, Andrew Hayler, Kim Heindel, Felix Hell, David Higgs, Frederick Hohman, George Hubbard, Harry Huff, Eileen Hunt, Janet Hunt, Mark Husey, Lawrence Jenkins, Calvert Johnson, Edie Johnson, James Johnson, Jeffrey C. Johnson, Florence Jowers, Michael Kaminski, Stephen Karr, Charles Kennedy, Robert Burns King, James Kosnik, Andre Lash, Arthur Lawrence, David Lawrie, David Lowry, David Lynch, Peter Marshall, Thomas Marshall, Sarah Martin, Lenora McCroskey, Russell Meyer, Charles Miller, William Mills, J. Thomas Mitts, Susan Dickerson Moeser, John Mueller, Margaret Mueller, Thomas Murray, David Oliver, William O’Meara, David Ouzts, Dorothy Papadakos, Kathryn Cain Parkins, Robert Parkins, Robert Parris, Karel Paukert, Richard Peek, Roberta Poellein, Samuel Porter, Robert Powell, Stephen Powers, Simon Preston, Debra Ramsey, Peggy Kelley Reinburg, Porter Remington, Robert Ridgell, Schuyler Robinson, John Rose, Clair Rozier, Cj Sambach, Christopher Samuel, John Schaeffer, Stephen Schaeffer, David Schelat, John Schwandt, Keith Shafer, Edmund Shay, Robert Simpson, Sherryl Smith-Babbitt, Jeffrey Smith, Timothy Quay Smith, Hazel Somerville, Murray Somerville, Thomas Spacht, Vincent Stadlin, Richard Tanner, Mickey Thomas Terry, Edward Tipton, Charles Boyd Tompkins, William Trafka, Beverly Ward, David Weadon, John Weaver, Steven Alan Williams, Robert Wisniewski, Searle Wright

Assisting artists: Samuel Adler, conductor; Suzanne Fleming Atwood, soprano; Rhett Barnwell, Celtic harp; J. Michael Barone, lecturer; Birmingham Brass Quintet; William Bender, actor; Cantalope the Clown; Charleston Symphony Orchestra; Kathleen Conner, soprano; Fort Worth Early Music Ensemble; Van Tony Free, percussion; Kathy Harty Gracy Dance Theatre; Ellen Dressler Moryl, cello; Allen French, horn; Kim French, flute; Robert Ivey, choreographer (dancers from the Robert Ivey Ballet); Elizabeth Lyman, percussion; David Maves, percussion; Marcia Newman, soprano; Nuptial Nuggets Chorus; Brian Osborne, trumpet; Anders Paulsson, saxophone; Michael Rhodes, tenor; The Schola Cantorum of the University of Northern South Carolina at Goose Creek; Gregory Schoonover, trumpet; Edith Simmons, mezzo soprano; Nancy Eaton Stedman, mezzo soprano; Caesar Storlazzi, oboe and English horn; Elizabeth Tomorsky, English horn; Adele Marie Taylor, harpsichord; Claire Teuber, soprano; Matthew Walker, cello; Marianne Weaver, flute

Coordinators and associates: Deborah Bagwell, Mark Bebensee, Jane Bradley, Stewart Wayne Foster, William Gudger, Benjamin Hutto, Hazel King, Francis Kline, Lee Kohlenberg, Larry Long, Gary Loughrey, David Lowry, Douglas Ludlum, Loving Philips, James Polzois, Emily Remington

Curators to the series: Vernon Elliott, Allan Ontko

Churches and synagogues (name of organ builder): Advent Lutheran Church, North Charleston (Zimmer); Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul, Episcopal (Kney); Circular Congregational Church (Hutchings); Citadel Square Baptist Church (Wicks); First Baptist Church (Wicks); First (Scots) Presbyterian Church (Ontko & Young, replacing earlier Austin); The French Protestant (Huguenot) Church (Erben); Grace Episcopal Church (Reuter); John Wesley United Methodist Church (Moeller); Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim (Ontko); Mount Pleasant Presbyterian Church (Roosevelt); St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Mount Pleasant (Schantz); St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church (Austin); St. John’s Lutheran Church (Schantz); St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church (Austin); St. Philip’s Episcopal (Church: Casavant; and Chapel: Appleton); Second Presbyterian Church (Moeller); Summerall Chapel, The Citadel (Reuter); Trinity United Methodist Church (Hartman & Beaty)

Mary Fisher Landrum, a native of Indiana, Pennsylvania, is a graduate of Vassar College and did graduate work at the Eastman School of Music as a student of Harold Gleason. She has served as college organist and a member of the music faculty at Austin College, Sherman, Texas; Sullins College, Milligan College, and King College in Bristol, Tennessee. For a third of a century she was organist/choir director at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Bristol, Tennessee.

Church musicians from 26 states participated in the 54th annual Sewanee Church Music Conference July 12-18 at DuBose Conference Center in Monteagle, Tennessee, and at the University of the South in Sewanee. Keith Shafer, director of music and organist of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Augusta, Georgia, planned and directed the conference.

Heading the conference faculty were Malcolm Archer, newly appointed organist and master of the choristers at St. Paul's Cathedral, London; Huw Lewis, chair of the music department and college organist at Hope College, Holland, Michigan; and Iain Quinn, director of music of Trinity Episcopal Church in Hartford, Connecticut. The Rev. Dr. Susanna Metz, assistant professor at the School of Theology, Sewanee, served as chaplain and lecturer.

In a variety of workshops Archer and Lewis covered anthem, psalm, and plainchant accompaniment as well as Anglican chanting. Quinn discussed Episcopal basics that were especially helpful for those who are new in the Episcopal Church. Mark Schweizer of St. James Press, Quinn, and Archer led anthem-reading sessions. For two afternoons Archer demonstrated techniques of choir training with the 22-voice Canterbury Choir of St. Paul's in Augusta, Georgia.

Dr. Metz led the daily services and in a series of lectures focused on the ritual, liturgy, and ministry of small churches. Archer composed The Sewanee Service used at the daily services for which Quinn was the organist.

Two organ recitals were highlights of the week. Lewis played the newly renovated and enlarged Casavant in All Saints' Chapel at the University of the South. Quinn performed on the new Casavant in the Chapel of the Apostles at the School of Theology in Sewanee.

The 155 conferees formed the choir for two services in All Saints' Chapel. Evensong used an Anglican chant setting for the psalm and Stanford in A for the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis. An exciting, once-in-a-lifetime experience occurred when the choir for the anthem was rearranged into eight choirs, each with five voice parts, to sing Tallis's monumental 40-voice polychoral motet, Spem in alium, conducted by Archer.

The University Service on Sunday morning used Archer's Sewanee Service for the setting of texts for The Holy Eucharist. K. Lee Scott, commissioned by the Sewanee Church Music Conference, composed the offertory anthem, A Hymne to Christ, using an extensive text by John Donne and accompanied by organ and brass. Scott attended rehearsals and the Sunday service.

Also commissioned by the conference was Andrew Clarke's organ work, Chorale Prelude on the hymn tune Munich, played during communion. The hymns were sung to organ and brass accompaniments by Roland Martin, Eberhard Ramm, and Sterling Proctor. Malcolm Archer was the conductor and Huw Lewis was the organist for both services in All Saints' Chapel.