Sacred Music Intensive Course

Noel Morse Beck has spent many years serving as organist and director of children, youth, and adult choirs in Presbyterian, Methodist, and Episcopal churches in the Muscle Shoals area of northwest Alabama. Through this experience, she has learned the inspiration and practical value of continuing education at events such as the Sacred Music Intensive Workshop, in order to develop and maintain excellence in music programs of small-to-medium size congregations. She had the good fortune of spending a year studying privately with Janette Fishell. Currently, Noel Beck is organist and choir director at Trinity Episcopal Church in Florence, Alabama.

Church musicians representing all regions of the United States, the Bahamas, and Canada gathered on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington for this year’s Sacred Music Intensive Workshop, June 5–9. There were more than 40 participants; the number was limited by design, so that each could receive personal attention, and all could develop camaraderie through learning and sharing ideas in both planned and informal settings. Some attendees had participated in prior years’ workshops; others experienced this inspiring and delightful event for the first time. All were attracted by the opportunity to study with the outstanding organ and choral faculty of the Jacobs School of Music.

This annual event was created by Janette Fishell, organ department chair, and Walter Huff, choral arts professor, both seasoned church musicians. Participants were allowed to design their own schedules throughout the week, choosing from lessons and lectures pertaining to organ, choral music, voice, and carillon. 

Experienced organists were given the opportunity to have two or more private lessons with Janette Fishell, Christopher Young, and Marilyn Keiser. Beginning organists studied with doctoral student Yukima Tatsuta. All of these master teachers were most generous with their time, making this feature a very popular part of the week’s activities. Available for practice and lessons were the C. B. Fisk, Inc., organs in Auer Hall and Alumni Hall, as well as numerous organs in the practice rooms of the Music Building. 

There was an outstanding opening concert, presented by the organ faculty. The program included works by Johann Sebastian Bach, William Albright, Dan Locklair, Louis Vierne, Gabriel Pierné, Henri Mulet, Benjamin Britten, Hisaishi/Wasaki, and César Franck. 

For those whose special interest was choral music, there were daily presentations by Walter Huff organized around the central theme: “Are we creating the ideal rehearsal/performance environment for our choristers?” Lecture and discussion sessions covered such topics as getting started rehearsing a new anthem; creating the optimum sound (pitch, tone, vowels); transforming a hymn into an anthem; effective choral warm-ups; implementing the Robert Shaw’s Count-Sing rehearsal technique; preparation of Handel’s Messiah, including the “Hallelujah Chorus.” There were also conducting practicums, a conducting masterclass, and choral reading sessions. Voice classes were offered, taught by IU graduate student Rachel Mikol.

All participants were invited to participate in Huff’s daily two-hour choir rehearsals, culminating in a closing concert on Friday evening. The program included the soaring lines of A Hymn to St. Cecilia, with music by Herbert Howells and text by Ursula Vaughan Williams; Earlene Rentz’s exuberant setting of On Jordan’s Stormy Banks; Stephen Paulus’s intimate The Road Home; a lyrical Jesus Christ, the Apple Tree by K. Lee Scott; Howells’s “Nunc Dimittis” (from the Collegium Regale service); and John Rutter’s Let all mortal flesh keep silence, which begins mysteriously and ends with majestic Alleluias. Participating organists were invited to accompany the anthems and the two congregational hymns. The closing concert also included organ selections performed by several of the week’s attendees, including works by Helmut Walcha, Dan Locklair, Raymond H. Haan, and Jehan Alain. One participant played his own composition. 

The intensive week also included presentations by the organ faculty. Christopher Young offered a lecture/demonstration dealing with styles of registration for the church organist. Janette Fishell, who cleverly titled her presentation “Achilles Heels and All Thumbs? Mastering technical problems and finding musical answers,” invited attendees to bring organ repertoire trouble spots, and demonstrated how to improve technique to solve challenging problems. Marilyn Keiser presented a most useful list of organ repertoire selections appropriate for both service and concert playing. There was also an informative presentation about understanding and maintaining the health of the pipe organ, presented by Patrick Fischer, Jacobs School of Music organ curator. 

Amy Hamburg Mead offered participants the opportunity to learn to play the school carillon. At week’s end, participants gave a charming noonday concert of hymn arrangements and other selections played on the carillon, enjoyed in the open air of the school amphitheater and the surrounding area. 

There were daily sessions on topics such as: Body/Mind/Spirit, focusing on maintaining the musician’s inner physical and spiritual health, including yoga practice, led by Beth Lazarus; and spiritual insights, led by Reverend Andy Cort. 

Lois Fyfe Music, of Nashville, Tennessee, provided an excellent “pop-up shop,” including organ music and resources useful to church musicians. The music shop also conducted a most useful anthem reading session.

The university campus provided great natural and architectural beauty. The city of Bloomington offered delectable eateries—from coffee and sandwich shops only a few steps from the music building, to restaurants and fine dining within a short walking distance, featuring farm-to-table, continental, Mid-Eastern, and Asian menus. Participants had a varied choice of housing: college dormitory, local hotels, and inns.

This was truly an excellent way to spend a week of continuing education. Many of those attending plan to make it an annual event.

Indiana University Organ Conference and Inaugural of C. B. Fisk Opus 91

James F. Mellichamp has been involved in higher education teaching and leadership fields for over 30 years. Currently he serves as President of Piedmont College, a comprehensive, independent college in northeast Georgia. He continues to teach and enjoys performing solo concerts around the world. Mellichamp graduated from Huntingdon College and earned a Diploma in Church Music from the Hochschule für Musik in Herford, Germany, before receiving a Doctor of Music degree from Indiana University, where he studied with Wilma Jensen.

Billed as “An Organ at the Crossroads,” the fall organ conference at Indiana University, held September 15–18, drew a large group of participants from across the country. Part traditional conference and part showcase for the recently completed installation of Fisk Opus 91, the event centered around topics common to the French organ of the 17th through early 19th centuries.

One could hardly have selected a better conference theme, since Bloomington, Indiana, stands at the crossroads of the United States; Fisk Opus 91 occupies an important location at the crossroads of the IU campus; and our present time certainly represents a crossroads in the historical development of the organ. So those in attendance found themselves reaching back into the past, with inspiration from a grand instrument and from present musical scholarship, to better understand a magnificent period of the organ.

Sunday, September 15

The conference began on Sunday evening with the inaugural recital of Fisk Opus 91 and featured faculty from the Jacobs School of Music (JSoM). Following a welcome by Dean Gwyn Richards, a lively performance of the Buxtehude Praeludium in C Major (BuxWV 137) was given by Bruce Neswick. Marilyn Keiser can always be counted on to offer something unique, and she lived up to that reputation with the “Theme and Variations” from Rheinberger’s Suite, op. 149. Scored for violin, cello, and organ, this was a magical moment in a performance marked with elegance and sincere musicianship.

JSoM organ curator David Kazimir followed with an exciting reading of the Pièce d’Orgue (BWV 572) by J. S. Bach. One could hardly have chosen anything from the Bach oeuvre more Gallic and perfectly suited for the instrument.

Department chair and professor Janette Fishell won the prize for the evening’s most-unexpected repertoire. Paying tribute to the fascination held by French composers for pastoral music (including storm scenes)—and recollecting a hair-raising storm on the return leg of a visit to see and hear Opus 91 in California—she pushed the organ nearly to its limits with the Scéne pastorale of Lefébure-Wely. 

Next Charles Webb, dean emeritus of the JSoM and a long-time organist in Bloomington, offered the well-known Dubois “Toccata” from the Douze pièces, a staple in the organ repertoire.

Professor Christopher Young provided a lovely moment of respite with his performance of the Petit Offertoire by César Franck. This was followed with the Prelude and Fugue in B Major, op. 99, no. 2, by Saint-Saëns. 

The evening was brought to a grand conclusion by Adjunct Professor Colin Andrews, playing Messiaen’s Transports de joie.

Monday, September 16

The morning began with a panel discussion about the history of Fisk Opus 91 and included remarks by Fisk employees Steven Dieck, president; Stephen Paul Kowalyshyn, senior voicer; and Michael Kraft, senior reed voicer and director of special projects.

The history of this particular instrument began in 1980 and reads like a novel. Information was provided about the project’s commission from Jacques Littlefield for his residence in Portola Valley, California. A European trip with Fisk personnel in 1984 further informed the instrument’s final design. Completed in 1987, the organ is a fully developed three-manual instrument with strong 18th-century French tendencies tempered by some 19th-century traits. 

In an innovative collaboration, the organ was acquired by Indiana University through a gift arrangement and subsequently installed earlier this year in Alumni Hall, a large Collegiate Gothic space in the Indiana Memorial Union. Minor adjustments were made to the instrument’s voicing. Dieck, quoting the late Charles Fisk, suggested that “you never really finish an organ, you just abandon it.” As completed, the instrument looks, feels, and sounds as if had always been at home here.

Monday midmorning brought the first of three lecture and masterclass sessions with Jesse Eschbach, professor of music at the University North Texas, and a veritable encyclopedia of all things associated with French repertoire for the organ. Performances of relevant pieces were admirably rendered by JSoM organ students.

Eschbach began his presentations by establishing three broad categories within the period of the French Classic: Preclassical France (1585–1661); High Classic (1661–1715); and Post Classic (1725–1860). His remarks were illuminated by printed material that touched on organ specifications, historical perspective, composer biographies, and performance practice. 

Musicians often struggle with grasping the enormous amount of information required to pierce the cloud obscuring this remarkable literature. Eschbach urged attendees to “put on 17th-century ears,” which involves being sensitive to the effect that music of these periods had upon listeners of the time. He pointed out the importance of understanding the music from an analytical standpoint, since knowledge of the contrapuntal fabric is key to a convincing performance. He also described the influence that Viennese composers and opera play in understanding music from the Post Classic era.

A creative concert on Monday afternoon featuring members of the JSoM’s Sacred Music Practicum was surely a conference highlight. Associate Professor Bruce Neswick—noted church musician, concert artist, and composer—has the enviable task of directing this group. The concert provided various readings, interspersed with alternatim performances of hymns, chorales, and chant in settings by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Samuel Scheidt, Nicolas de Grigny, J. S. Bach, and Jehan Alain. It offered a wonderful opportunity to retreat from the busy world around; to respond to meaningful texts, both sung and spoken; and to revel in the sounds of a fine instrument.

James David Christie, distinguished artist and professor at Oberlin, next led a masterclass on French Romantic organ music performed by JSoM students: Pastorale, op. 19, of César Franck; “Final” from Symphonie gothique, op. 70, of Charles-Marie Widor; and “Naïades” from the Fantasy Pieces, op. 55, of Louis Vierne. Christie offered insightful information about these pieces including a discussion of tempo, articulation, and—in the case of the Widor—the importance of conveying the musical architecture.

As if that were not enough for one day, the afternoon concluded with “A Quick Trip through Time—A Recital of Improvised Music in the French Manner.” William Porter, long acclaimed as a gifted master of improvisation, kept everyone spellbound. With themes provided by Bruce Neswick, Porter provided a five-movement suite in 18th-century style based upon “Splendor paternae gloriae,” a three-movement work in 19th-century fashion, and a magnificent 20th-century style improvisation in three movements (Grand Choeur, Triptych, and Final). Listening to Porter, whose playing is so poised, is a rare treat. He knows the concepts inside-out and couples all of that knowledge with a level of musical expression that is truly rare.

Monday evening ended with a lovely dinner in the solarium adjacent to Alumni Hall. The inaugural performance was then repeated for those unable to attend the preceding evening.

Tuesday, September 17 

This day brought the second and third installments of Jesse Eschbach’s lectures. Morning and afternoon sessions were held in Alumni Hall (Fisk Opus 91) and in Auer Hall (Fisk Opus 135) respectively. Eschbach touched on the rise of public performances (Concerts spirituels), the decline of contrapuntal music, and important developments that distinguished the earlier French Classic organs from those of the late-18th/early-19th centuries. Most importantly, he noted that it would be a mistake to perform French Classic repertoire, which has its roots in improvised music, the same way each time.

Tuesday morning also gave JSoM students a chance to understand how to improvise in historical styles. William Porter urged the students to “think as a composer” and “know the language” by reliance upon patterns and conventions of the genre. Also important is to “stay cool when the unexpected happens.” His approach used small building blocks of musical material that made the task of improvisation seem less daunting.

Following a carillon concert in the music courtyard and a reception for JSoM alumni at Linden House, a sumptuous banquet was enjoyed in the Tudor Room of the Indiana Memorial Union.

Tuesday evening, James David Christie closed the conference with a recital on Fisk Opus 91. He began the program with the Marchand “Dialogue” from the Third Organ Book, in a performance distinguished by great rhythmic vitality and panache.

Next followed an interesting group of pieces employing variations over ground basses—starting with a Ciacona by the seldom-heard Italian composer Storace. This was followed by the lyrical Ciacona in F Minor of Pachelbel and by the Buxtehude Passacaglia in D Minor. All of these served to show the multi-faceted character of the Fisk to full advantage. 

The first half concluded with a potpourri of less well-known compositions by J. S. Bach—including a Magnificat Fugue (BWV 733), four charming settings from the Neumeister Chorales, and the monumental “Contrapunctus XI” from the Kunst der Fuge (BWV 1080). 

The second half of the concert featured the Antonin Barié Symphony in B Minor, op. 5 (1911). Barié was another in the long line of gifted French organists who were blind; he studied with Louis Vierne, whose influence is readily apparent in the structure and tonal language of Barié’s work. Christie was obviously in his element as he introduced this remarkable composition to the audience in a breathtaking performance. 

In tribute to the late Marie-Claire Alain, with whom he had studied, Christie ended the evening with the Élégie he originally composed in 2006 as an homage to his teachers, Sister M. Dolorette Recla and Jean Langlais.

Wednesday, September 18

A brief codetta on Wednesday morning offered individuals an opportunity to have open console time or participate in mini-masterclasses with JSoM faculty on Opus 91 (Alumni Hall) and Opus 135 (Auer Hall). 

The organ department at Indiana University can be justifiably proud of providing this opportunity to come together at the crossroads of America—offering up a wonderful interaction of scholarship, musicianship, and organ craftsmanship. 

The fall organ conference, held September 13–16, 2015, at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music (JSoM), was a mix of the practical, the academic, and the experiential. This year’s conference addressed the necessary changes occurring in both church music and liturgy. These ideas were woven throughout the three-day conference, which featured numerous distinguished presenters and spirited roundtables.

Sunday, September 13 

The attendees were treated to an inspiring concert by JSoM’s Historical Performance Institute, featuring medieval music and poetry—some spiritual, some profane. The performers used texts by Julian of Norwich, from Carmina Burana, and music of the period associated with these texts. The singers/readers semi-staged the concert, with subtle changes in accents to their basic black attire and dramatic movements that enhanced the understanding of the texts.

Monday, September 14 

The Reverend Barbara Brown Taylor, Butman Professor of Religion and Philosophy at Piedmont College and New York Times best-selling author, gave both an opening convocation address and a keynote presentation, “What, in God’s Name, Are You Doing?” Challenging the widespread understanding of worship music as a mere accompaniment or enhancement of the spoken ritual, she spoke of music’s “mystical language of unsaying” and focused on the “spectacularly non-verbal” power of music to elicit awareness of the unfathomable, the un-nameable essence of God. 

Citing resonating connections between humans, the planets, and the stars, Taylor highlighted the need for musicians to care “for the sound by which creation came into being,” and spoke of our work as “keepers of the keys” [pun intended] in terms of locking and unlocking the mysteries of “placeless places.” She also reminded us of the theological significance of creating and listening with [not to] music in community, “letting the music work its way around and through the different sized holes in each one of us.” She assured us that there is not a contest between word and music, but that “there is a time for saying and a time for unsaying.” Recalling an anthem text, she pointed to the often-greater importance of feeling over knowing: “I don’t know you, but I like you.” 

A spirited panel discussion, “Where Do We Go From Here? The Possibilities Are Ours To Create!” featured Carla Edwards, professor of organ at DePauw University; Rev. Taylor; Tamara Gieselman, university chaplain at the University of Evansville; Marilyn Keiser, Chancellor’s Professor Emerita of Music at JSoM; and Douglas Reed, adjunct professor of organ at JSoM. The discussion picked up the themes presented in the keynote, with an emphasis on the acute need for clergy and musicians to work in concert to create a meaningful worship experience. The afternoon ended with an advance screening of the soon-to-be-released documentary Sacred Sound: A Documentary on the Royal School of Church Music in America, presented by its producer, Robin Arcus.

The evening session, “A Calling to Music and the Arts,” was a festival of both familiar and new hymns and poetry that underscored the text of those hymns. Robert Nicholls (director of music, First Presbyterian Church, Evansville, Indiana), a prize-winning improviser and noted choir director, led a choir composed of current organ majors and conference attendees in robust singing of hymns, which were skillfully accompanied by varied improvisations. All church musicians know the excitement of singing hymns with colleagues, and this was such an event, made even more exciting by the beautiful C. B. Fisk organ in Auer Hall.

Tuesday, September 15

The day focused on the practical aspects of our profession. James Mellichamp, president of Piedmont College, gave an inspirational lecture on issues musicians face in the current religious climate, “Your Vocation Lies Elsewhere: Reflections of an Organist Turned College President.” Mellichamp used his personal narrative to show how he was able to pivot his career by realizing that church music was the first step to his current position within academia. 

This was followed by Mary Ann Hart’s (professor of voice at the JSoM) insightful, funny, entertaining, and useful demonstration of easy ways to train volunteer choir members. The audience knew that something special was going to happen when she passed out soda straws and plastic coffee stirrers prior to beginning her demonstration! The morning ended with Marilyn Keiser’s one-hour presentation showcasing a wide array of new organ literature suitable for worship that included preludes, postludes, incidental music, and new harmonizations for hymns. 

Mitchell Rorick (associate director of music, Trinity English Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, Indiana) began the afternoon with his presentation “Enlivening Worship without (Many) Pyrotechnics.” This practical demonstration showed how traditional instruments used non-traditionally, non-traditional instruments used traditionally, and other art forms can enhance worship. One of the more interesting resources was the development of a steel band, which, like all of the creative resources and ideas he presented, can be an intergenerational activity. After a rehearsal with members of Trinity Episcopal Church, Bloomington Choir, and conference participants, the afternoon ended with a lovely and moving Evensong directed by Marilyn Keiser.

The day ended with a banquet and the presentation of four Oswald Gleason Ragatz Distinguished Alumni Awards, to Carla Edwards (DM, 1997), Yun Kyong Kim (MM, 1996; DM, 2010; faculty, St. Claire Community and organist/choirmaster, Christ Episcopal Church, Dayton, Ohio), Yoon-mi Lim (DM, 2010; associate professor and Albert L. Travis Chair of Organ, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas), and James Mellichamp (DM, 1982). The audience was then treated to a recital on the C. B. Fisk organ, Opus 91, in the Alumni Hall of the Indiana Memorial Union by Drs. Kim and Lim. Dr. Kim gave a spirited performance of Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in E Minor (BWV 548) and works by Frank Bridge, Jean Guillou, and Maurice Duruflé. Dr. Lim introduced the audience to some lesser-known works by Marcel Paponaud, Guy Bovet, Alexandre Boëly, and Iain Farrington that were very sensitive and well suited to the nature
of Opus 91. 

Wednesday, September 16

The conference closed with a panel discussion, led by the Indiana Organists United (IOU) board of directors, to map the future of the Fall Organ Conference. The discussion was led by Patrick Pope (organist and director of music, Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion, Charlotte, North Carolina), IOU president, and Edie Johnson Overall (organist and music associate, Church Street United Methodist Church, Knoxville, Tennessee), IOU president-elect. Those who attended the conference made many excellent suggestions, which the IOU board considered and acted upon at its afternoon meeting.