Tallahassee Sacred Music Conference

William Dickinson is a board member and past Dean of the River Valley AGO Chapter. He has written a number of articles for The Diapason and The American Organist.

The 2006 Institute for Sacred Music sponsored by the University of Iowa was held January 26–28 in Iowa City. This year’s presenters included Don Saliers, who is the William R. Cannon Distinguished Professor of Theology and Worship at Emory University; Carole Terry, Professor of Organ and Harpsichord at the University of Washington; and Thomas H. Troeger, who is currently the J. Edward and Ruth Cox Lantz Professor of Christian Communication at the Yale Divinity School.

Thursday

Don Saliers opened the conference on Thursday afternoon with his lecture “Singing Our Lives to God: Exploring the Assembly’s Sung Prayer,” in which he developed five theses. Thesis number one is that “Text depends radically on that which is not verbal.” Saliers feels that some liturgies are too verbal and asks the question, “How shall these texts sing?” His second thesis explains that words or text well set, whether in hymns or psalms, become more than just sounds—they invite one to see and taste. Thesis number three involved producing an ‘ordered’ sound that acts upon our senses. In worship, when the ear starts to see and the eye begins to hear, music will open all the senses (thesis number four). Finally, thesis five states that most crucial theology is understood in singing. Because music lies so close to the soul, when we sing the prayer is formed not only in music but also in theology. Saliers feels that shared music making in a gathered assembly helps the body to come to life and to receive life back from one another. Worship requires music that sees, hears, gestures and inhabits space. Yet music is not just performed for the assembly but must involve the assembly in active participation in prayer. We cannot assume that the congregation does not hear or participate, and should begin to think about various levels of participation that will provoke the assembly to realize the joys of singing, which should extend beyond the sanctuary to everyday outside activities such as fellowship. Finally, Saliers feels that the ecology of singing is missing in many assemblies, and he recommends quarterly hymn sings to give new life to congregational participation.
Thomas Troeger completed the Thursday afternoon session with his presentation “God Made All Things for Singing: how music and worship form our identities as creatures.” Dr. Troeger began by stating that we are all ‘mud creatures’ who have had life breathed into us by God and who are inherently musical. We have a drum (heart) that beats 40 million times a year. We are all ‘orchestras’ and to know that one is musical is to be “Lost in Wonder, Love, and Praise.” But he warns that if we human beings forget our primordial identity, we are apt to sponsor some dangerous illusions—my group is better than yours or my race is better, etc. Who, then, will call us back to our primordial identity? Troeger feels that no one is better equipped to remind people who they are and to lead them back to their essential identity than the church musician. Because the church musician has the ability to provide the medium (music) to bring people back to God, Troeger feels that the School of Music is perhaps the most important school at the University of Iowa. The church musician’s role is to try to put people into harmony with basic life by teaching that to love God is to sing. “Hit the first note of a hymn and all disparate groups hit the same note.”
On Thursday evening, the River Valley AGO Chapter hosted a dinner for area clergy and conference attendees at First United Methodist Church in Iowa City. The conference worship service, entitled “Lost in Wonder, Awe and Praise,” followed the dinner. The homilist was Thomas Troeger, the liturgist Don Saliers, and Carole Terry was the organist. A special schola was arranged for and directed by T. Andrew Hicks.

Friday

Friday morning was devoted to a masterclass led by Carole Terry and included a recital by the undergraduate and graduate organ students at the University of Iowa. The masterclass in the Krapf Organ Studio demonstrated why Carole Terry has such national and international acclaim as a lecturer and pedagogue. Participating in the masterclass and the following recital held in Clapp Recital Hall were Jin-Ah Yoo, Erin MacGorman, Tom Hamilton, Julia Howell, Michael Davidson and Aaron Sunstein. Friday afternoon opened with a lecture by Dr. Saliers entitled “Humanity at Full Strength: Doxology and Lament in Christian Worship.” In this lecture, Saliers tells us that music has the power to touch into the deepest places in our lives. It touches even those souls who can’t sing well—music takes them to places for which they have no words. Texted music can create sensations—a way of understanding the world through deep affections. In the context of the Judeo/Christian traditions, those affections conjure up a very special object—God. Text and music allow for the possibility of joy with tribulation. The Christian assembly must develop a capacity for experiencing joy, delight, and praise as well as the capacity for grieving. In fact, the capacity to grieve is the most basic and most profound thing that a person can experience. In responding to a joyful or grieving song, we experience how music has the ability to shape and give meaning to a deep appreciation and to serve as a representation of the manner in which we take in the world. In discussing liturgy, Saliers feels that ‘good’ liturgy requires our humanity to be stretched to the fullest. His thesis is that one must know the psalms to know scripture; to illustrate this thesis, he made five points: one, that psalms are language of the human heart and are a rigorous reminder of life on earth; two, that psalms are addressed to God; three, psalms are integral to our movement through time; four, psalms are the crucible of encounter (through the psalms we hear God speaking to us); and five, singing the psalms requires that the assembly is aware of and accepts the double message that the psalms impart in terms of the mystery of God and the depth of humanity.
Thomas Troeger completed the conference lecture series on Friday afternoon with his presentation “Created to Create: how music and worship form our identities as creators.” He noted that when one delves into the whole notion of creativity, there lies a great danger that there are many things created by humanity that are perverse—war, torture, etc. However, to move into the depths of what is beautiful and good is the only direction that should be strived for in creation. Troeger feels that God took a great risk in creating those (we musicians included) who create. Troeger’s presentation can best be summed up by the following hymn text, The Crickets Chanting through the Night:

The crickets chanting through the night,
The windswept, whistling trees,
the birds that welcome morning light,
the humming, roaring seas
are each assigned the notes they sing
while we make up our part
and fashion God an offering
through our creative art.

The budding wood, the flowered field,
the mountain robed in snow,
the burrow and the nest that shield
the beasts from winds that blow
are from the same inventive mind
that dared to set us free
to probe how nature is designed
and bring new worlds to be.
Created to create, we ask,
O God, before we start
that you will join us in our task
by moving in our heart
so everything that we create,
compose, produce, invent
will help the earth to celebrate
and honor your intent.

Text: Thomas H. Troeger (born 1945), from Borrowed Light, ©1994 Oxford University Press, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Carole Terry’s recital in Clapp Recital Hall on Friday evening was an eclectic program ranging from Sweelinck, Mendelssohn, Bach, Bolcom to Reger, Messiaen and finally to a thrilling presentation of three movements of the Vierne Symphony No. III. The entire recital reflected an intense personal involvement in each piece on the program and was enthusiastically received by a large and very receptive audience.

Saturday’s conclusion

The 2006 Institute for Sacred Music concluded with a roundtable discussion on Saturday morning. All three presenters discussed books that they have either published or that are in the works. The conference attendees and presenters discussed the need to (1) prepare the assembly so that they can better accept liturgy and music; (2) train seminarians in their role to properly lead the assembly; and (3) to continue with development of interaction between different religious organizations. In discussing ways to help in the formation of the assembly’s capabilities, it was noted that the use of children to lead the assembly in accepting various liturgical and musical paths should be considered and encouraged. Suggested reading on these subjects included Composing Music for Worship by Steven Darlington (Canterbury Press), and Music in Christian Worship by Charlotte Kroeker. The planning committee for this 2006 Institute for Sacred Music included Delbert Disselhorst, Brett Wolgast, Wallace Bubar and T. Andrew Hicks. Congratulations to this group for providing a most enlightening and engaging conference. And, of course, this not would have been possible without the talents of Drs. Saliers, Terry and Troeger.

W. Michael Brittenback is currently minister of music at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Plymouth, Michigan. He serves as Chair of Region V of the Association of Anglican Musicians, and as a member of the Executive Board of the Ann Arbor AGO Chapter. Gordon Atkinson is a past president of the RCCO (1976–1978) and currently serves as organist and choirmaster of All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Virginia Beach, Virginia.

The 43rd International Conference on Organ Music, Marilyn Mason, director, sponsored by the University of Michigan, was held October 5–8, 2003, in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, Michigan. The offerings this year represented Germany, Holland, France, Russia and the United States, and the organ music ranged from the beginnings of the North German-Dutch School through the twentieth century. The two cities of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, separated by only a street, boast three thriving university organ programs, and the conference showcased all three schools.

The festivities began with a traditional Lutheran hymn festival on Sunday evening at Concordia University Chapel with the choirs of Concordia University and St. Lorenz Lutheran Church, Frankenmuth, Michigan, conducted by Paul Altvogt, with Michele Johns and Scott Hyslop playing the large Schlicker organ.

On Monday morning the conference began at the University of Michigan School of Music with a lecture by William Gudger on the editing and performance of Handel’s organ concertos. On Tuesday he gave a recital of music by British composers (including Handel) at Eastern Michigan University. Dr. Gudger is currently on the faculty of the College of Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina, and is co-editor of the critical edition of the Opus 4 Organ Concertos of Handel.

The lecture was followed by a splendid recital of music of Sweelinck, Scheidt and Scheidemann given by Gail Archer, director of the music program at Barnard College, Columbia University, New York City, on the Marilyn Mason Organ built by Fisk. On Tuesday, Dr. Archer gave an animated lecture on performance practices of Sweelinck and his contemporaries as well as insights into the organs of the period.

Monday afternoon’s events were held at First Congregational Church of Ann Arbor, featuring the large three-manual Wilhelm organ. Marilyn Mason and Robert Luther gave an exciting recital of organ music for four hands and feet. For the last selection Dr. Mason was joined by pianist Seth Nelson playing the Classic Concerto for Organ and Piano by Leo Sowerby, one of the highlights of the day.

This was followed by a fine lecture on Russian organ music and organs in Russia by Iain Quinn, a Welsh organist and scholar. His lecture made everyone look forward to his recital on Tuesday on the fine Aeolian-Skinner organ at Pease Auditorium on the campus of Eastern Michigan. A recital by Matthew Bogart, Erin MacGorman, Seth Nelson, and Abigail Woods—students of the University of Michigan organ department—closed the afternoon’s events.

The day culminated with a splendid recital by Petr Plany, professor of organ at the University of Olomouc, Czech Republic, on the Létourneau organ at St. Francis Catholic Church in Ann Arbor. The evening began with one of the best performances of the Gothic Symphony in recent memory, and ended with music by the Czech composer Euben Reuchsel. On Wednesday Professor Plany gave an insightful lecture on the organ music and organs of the Czech Republic.

On Tuesday all events were held at Eastern Michigan and began with an exciting recital on the recently restored Aeolian-Skinner organ given by Donald Williams, professor of organ and university organist at Concordia University; Scott Elsholz, visiting instructor of organ at Eastern Michigan University; and James Wagner, adjunct faculty at Marygrove College. The program featured organ music of the 20th century. This was immediately followed with a recital given by Shin Ae Chun, Greg Hand, and David Saunders, graduate students of the organ department of the University of Michigan.

The afternoon events moved into the organ studio at Eastern Michigan where a fine three-manual Kney resides. After Dr. Archer’s lecture and Dr. Gudger’s recital, a discussion was led by Michele Johns, adjunct professor of church music at the University of Michigan, on “Recruitment and Positive People Skills for Church Musicians.” Dr. Johns was assisted by two students: Luke Davis and Kirsten Hellman.

The evening recital was given by Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra, professor of organ and university organist at Eastern Michigan, on the Aeolian-Skinner in Pease Auditorium. The program featured music by Demessieux, Boulanger, Olsson, Lindberg, and Bovet.

The final day was held at First Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor, showcasing their new Schoenstein organ. The first event was a recital by students from the organ department of the University of Michigan and included Luke Davis, Michael Frisch, Kirsten Hellman, Andrew Herbruck, and Susan DeKam. This was followed by a masterclass in improvisation given by Justin Bischof, on the theory faculty of Manhattan School of Music and organist/choir director of Westchester Reform Temple. His teaching skill made the art of improvisation seem accessible to any musician. Next followed an improvised recital on hymn tunes suggested by the audience. Dr. Bischof performed convincing improvisations in the style of Max Reger, John Adams, and Messiaen, and then played a thirty-minute improvisation in his own style of a complete four-movement symphony for organ.

Following Petr Plany’s lecture on organ music of the Czech Republic, Joseph Daniel performed the final recital of the conference featuring music by Widor, Franck, and Duruflé.

The conference closed with a wonderful patio reception at the home of Marilyn Mason. The extraordinarily high caliber of all of the presenters and the variety of the material presented truly gave something for everyone who attended to learn and enjoy.

—W. Michael Brittenback

The University of Michigan’s 43rd Conference on Organ Music, “The European Connection,” was held October 5–8, 2003, and highlighted music from England, France, Germany, Holland, Russia and the United States. Three full days of organ music and lectures were preceded by the opening program at Holy Trinity Chapel, Concordia University, Ann Arbor, entitled “Oh, That I Had a Thousand Voices—Hymns, Psalms and Spiritual Songs for the Church Year.” The unique triangular shaped building with its stunning stained glass, reminiscent of that at Chartres (the artist Charles Loire’s studio is in Chartres) was an appropriate venue, particularly as the sun set. With important events in the church year outlined by the narrator, Rev. Stephen P. Starke, music was presented with opportunity for congregational participation. The choirs of Concordia University and St. Lorenz Lutheran Church, Frankenmuth, Michigan, with organ, brass quintet and handbells, provided strong leadership, and sang anthems by Alfred Fedak, Scott Hyslop, Martin How and K. Lee Scott. As a result of careful planning, there was great variety in the arrangements of hymns, with some verses sung by choir alone, solo verses, congregation alone, and instrumental solos, the latter affording the congregation time to reflect on the words. Conducted by Brian Altevogt, Andrew Schultz prepared the brass players, and Scott Hyslop was the organist. The 1963 Schlicker provided powerful accompaniment for the 300 people present.

Monday morning’s session, held in the Blanche Anderson Moore Hall at the University of Michigan, commenced with William Gudger’s lecture, “Editing and Performing Handel’s Organ Concertos.” He pointed out that the early concertos were intended for performance with the early oratorios. No. 4 with its “Alleluya” chorus was performed with Athalia, the chorus part founded on the material of the final fugue. This concerto, which is not a reworking of earlier compositions, can be called the first keyboard concerto by any composer. Concerning registration, the single-manual instruments contained two diapasons, one metal, one wood, with metal principals at 4’, 22/3’, 2’ and 13/5’; 4’ flutes were sometimes available. “Swiss cheese registrations” (8’ and 2’, 8’ and 22/3’) have no validity historically. In 1738 John Walsh published a transcription of the Six Concertos for the Harpsichord or Organ, making them available as solos for a single player. Of note, this edition was available by successors to Walsh and others until the late 1890s, when it was supplanted by romantic style editions with flamboyant cadenzas. An excellent handout was provided.

Gail Archer played music by Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck and two of his many students, Samuel Scheidt and Heinrich Scheidemann, with great style and authentic registration. The Fisk Opus 87, which most closely resembles the Silbermann instrument in Rotha, Germany, was wholly appropriate for this recital.

At First Congregational Church, Marilyn Mason and Robert Luther played a program of duets, the commissioned Celebration of Two Hymn Tunes by Alice Jordan; Martyrs, op. 7 of Kenneth Leighton (“not for the faint-hearted, players or listeners”); and Concert Variations on Auld Lang Syne by Eugene Thayer. Dr. Mason, joined by Seth Nelson, played Leo Sowerby’s Classic Concerto with grace and style, the strings arranged for piano by the composer in 1948, in order “that there be more performances.” (I recall hearing Dr. Mason play this with strings conducted by Dr. Sowerby at Westminster Abbey for the International Congress of Organists in 1957.) The Karl Wilhelm instrument is always a joy to hear.

Two recitals and lectures featured music from countries of which many musicians know little, the first by Iain Quinn in his lecture, “The Tsar of Instruments.” He gave an overview of the history of the organ in Russia from Byzantine times to J. S. Bach and beyond. Organs from Holland and England were owned by the nobility, as organs had no place in the Orthodox liturgical world and were denounced by church authorities. During the time of Peter the Great, the mid-18th century, an interest in the culture of Europe developed, and more organs were imported, including those of Arp Schnitger. European artists made tours. Johann Wilhelm Hassler (1747–1822) influenced the musical life of Moscow and introduced the music of J. S. Bach to Russia. The 19th century saw the importation of organs by Walcker, Sauer, Steinmeyer and Ladegast from Germany; from England those by Brindley and Foster; and the Cavaillé-Coll from France for the Moscow Conservatory. Liszt, Widor, Tournemire and Bossi made tours, Widor playing five of his symphonies in one concert. Newly established organ departments of the conservatories of St. Petersburg and Moscow had “non-ecclesiastical” organ studies. A helpful handout of publications listing compositions by Glasunov (“arguably the most important Russian organ composer”), Gretchaninov, Glière, Glinka, Rachmaninov (an Andante for harmonium from Trio elegiaque, written in memory of Tchaikovsky) and Shostakovich shows the extent of organ compositions in the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries.

A daily addition to the conference featured recitals by students in the organ department from the studios of Marilyn Mason, Robert Glasgow and James Kibbie. Matthew Bogart, Abigail Woods, Stephanie Muller, Seth Nelson and Erin MacGorman concluded the afternoon sessions.

That night at St. Francis Catholic Church (Létourneau organ), Petr Plany of the University of Olomouc, Czech Republic, played a program which opened with Widor’s Gothic Symphony. The last movement with its numerous tempi changes was stunningly performed, the player, organ and the building’s sympathetic acoustics a fine match. Chorale preludes and a Prelude and Fugue in f by B. A. Wiedermann (1883–1951) and Promenades en Provence by Eulen Reuchsel (1900–1988) completed the evening.

Tuesday’s events were held at Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti. At Pease Auditorium with its 1960 Aeolian-Skinner recently restored by Schoenstein, Donald Williams opened the first program with Vincent Persichetti’s chorale prelude Give peace in our time, O Lord, the melody introduced by Sally Carpenter, alto. James Wagner played Messiaen’s Consecration and Apparition de l’Eglise eternelle. Calvin Hampton’s Five Dances were played by Scott Elsholz. In the second recital by students of the School of Music, David Saunders, Gregory Hand and Shin-Ae-Chun were heard. In Iain Quinn’s recital he played much of the music he had discussed the previous day. Of particular interest were the Prelude and Fugue in D, op. 93, and Prelude and Fugue in d, op. 98, of Glasunov.

In the organ studio of the Alexander Building with its 1982 Gabriel Kney instrument, Gail Archer shared her enthusiasm for Sweelinck and his disciples in her lecture, “The Foundation of the North German School,” stressing the tuning of instruments and the fingering used. An invaluable handout included the stoplists of the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam, where Sweelinck as civic organist played daily recitals, and St. Moritz’s Church, Halle, where Scheidt was organist; his instructions for playing chorale-based pieces were also included. “Rules for the Organist in the City of Leiden” (1607) directed that recitals start and end on “ . . . the Principal and in between [he] will use and play all the stops . . . ” Slides were shown of churches in Germany where this music can be performed authentically.

Dr. Gudger’s recital featured English music from the 18th to the 20th centuries, with works by William Walond, Handel (Concerto No. 4), Samuel Wesley, Samuel Sebastian Wesley, Charles Villiers Stanford, and Herbert Howells. Again a handout provided much pertinent information.

For the last part of the afternoon, Michele Johns introduced “Recruitment and Positive People Skills for Church Musicians,” presented by Luke Davis and Kirsten Hellman. In the short time available the audience was divided into small groups in which situations both positive and negative were discussed, some of which were reported at the end of the session. From their research, the presenters defined problems and positive ways in which they could be met.

The evening program at Pease Auditorium, played by Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra, professor and university organist at EMU, featured French music by Jeanne Demessieux and Nadia Boulanger, and Swedish music by Otto Olsson and Oskar Lindberg. The 1935 Prelude and Fugue in d# (!) of Olsson was exciting in its intensity, and Guy Bovet’s well-known Salamanca concluded a delightful evening.

Wednesday, October 8, at First Presbyterian Church, Ann Arbor (with its 2002 Schoenstein organ), commenced with the third program by organ students of the School of Music: Luke Davis, Ben La Prairie, Kirsten Hellman, Michael Frisch, Susan de Kam and Andrew Herbruck. For the second time in the conference a composition for organ and piano was featured, Dupré’s Ballade for Piano and Organ dedicated to his daughter, Marguerite, played by de Kam and Herbruck. In his lecture on improvisation, Justin Bischof said that technique in this art form must be developed, by practicing regularly and striving for excellence. He suggested using as a basis I-IV-V-I, keeping the forward movement in strict time. As one progresses one could move to I-I6-IV-IV6-V-V7-I. In playing a hymn, solo the treble line, then put the melody in the pedal, followed by the melody with a different pedal line from that written (using part of the printed chord), and finally adding other chords. Two people volunteered (or were conscripted) to illustrate his suggestions. Dr. Bischof requested hymn tunes from the audience on which he improvised short pieces. His improvisation in the style of Reger demonstrated his familiarity with the composer’s style. The final piece, in which were quotations from several sources, was a brilliant tour de force.

Petr Plany’s noteworthy lecture included many recorded examples. Composers who wrote prolifically for the organ included J. F. N. Seger (1716–1782), B. A. Wiedermann (1883–1951), and major contributions from present-day Jiri Ropek and Petr Eben. Dvorák and Janácek, probably the best known Czech composers, wrote little for the instrument, the former various preludes and fugues, of which the one in D was heard, and the latter some short adagios, apart from the monumental Postlude of his Glagolitic Mass. An extensive handout provided much information concerning composers from the 17th century to the present day, as well as stoplists, manual compasses and the names of organ builders.

In the final recital, Joseph Daniel performed movements from Widor’s Symphony No. 4, Franck’s Choral in a, and the Choral Variations on Veni Creator Spiritus of Duruflé, the alternatim sung by David Hoffman. The conference concluded with a reception at the home of Marilyn Mason and her husband, Dr. William Steinhoff.

As always, The University of Michigan presented a fine conference with time allowed for relaxation. There was much compelling playing by the students with thanks due their teachers, Marilyn Mason, Robert Glasgow and James Kibbie. Conferees from 12 states appreciated the organizational skills of Dr. Mason and Dr. Johns. It was a time for listening, learning, discussion, meeting old friends and making new ones. After being closed for almost two years for restoration and improvement it will be a delight to be at Hill Auditorium for the 44th Conference in October 2004.

—Gordon Atkinson