Rescheduled from summer 2020, I'm so glad to be able to perform in the beautiful retreat setting of Sinsinawa Mound retreat center's chapel. This event will be presented both in-person and live-streamed at http://www.sinsinawa.org/live. Admission is FREE.
The program title is "Making Space." Let's be inspired to make space for divine inspiration as we hear this pipe organ's many musical voices in community, singing music from diverse times, people, and places.
Repertoire and program notes for those attending online:
"Making Space"
As we gather in this worship space, which is so gorgeous both visually and acoustically, let us be inspired to make space for divine inspiration as we hear diverse musical voices.
JEHAN ALAIN (1911-1940): Postlude pour l'Office de Complies (Postlude for the Office of Compline)
Gregorian chant has expressed and inspired faith for centuries. The fragments of chant incorporated in this meditative piece by the French composer Jehan Alain recall his memories of the abbey of Valloires, where this piece was composed in 1930. It was inspired by the singing of the nuns at the evening service, called Compline.
FRANÇOIS COUPERIN (1668-1733): Offertoire sur les Grands Jeux, from Messe pour les Convents
Alain’s fellow Frenchman, nearly three hundred years earlier, François Couperin inherited his position as organist at St-Gervais church in Paris upon the death of his father. In turn, François served there until his own death. He was also organist at the Versailles palace of the “Sun King,” Louis XIV, who was an enthusiastic arts participant and supporter. This offertory from Couperin’s mass for convents or abbey churches utilizes the “grand jeux,” standard combinations of louder organ voices, expressing gratitude in worship.
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750): Prelude and Fugue in G Major, BWV 541
The genius of Johann Sebastian Bach was rooted in his ability to create musical conversations that fully explore, and therefore allow performers and listeners the space to discover, all facets of an idea. This Prelude and Fugue set is one of his most joyful. Bach composed it in his twenties and revised it over his lifetime as a musician full of curiosity, dedicated to life-long learning and growth. The Prelude, marked Vivace (“lively”), is virtuosic and energetic, and the Fugue further explores the jaunty repeated-note patterns established in the Prelude.
J.S. BACH: Christus, der uns Seelig macht (Christ, who makes us holy), BWV 747
Several listeners have commented that Bach’s setting of this Passion hymn doesn’t sound much like Bach. Its unique features have caused some scholars to conclude that it must have been composed very early in his compositional career, or that perhaps it was written by one of his contemporaries. It’s a seldom-played piece deserving of more hearings, and it illustrates a master composer’s creative space, perfecting his craft.
J.S. BACH: Fugue in E-flat Major ("St. Anne"), BWV 552b
The four volumes of Bach’s ClavierÜbung (Keyboard Practice) showcase his mastery in compositions for all keyboard instruments of his time. Book III, for organ, was published late in Bach’s career, and is a musical summary not only of his expertise as a composer but also of his religious convictions. The Fugue in E-flat Major is the final piece in the book. It has been nicknamed the “St. Anne” fugue because its main subject sounds like the hymn tune ST. ANNE (“O God, Our Help in Ages Past”). Trinitarian references abound in this work, the twenty-seventh piece in ClavierÜbung Book III. Twenty-seven is the ultimate sign of the Trinity, as 27 = 3x3x3. Additionally this work’s key signature contains three flats, and the fugue is in three distinct parts, each developing its own subject. The main “St. Anne” theme is interwoven throughout, appearing a total of twenty-seven times. In these and many other ways, this fugue interweaves academic disciplines of the Baroque – theology, music, and math – in a beautiful and scholarly masterwork.
HERBERT HOWELLS (1892-1983): Psalm-Prelude, Op. 32, No. 2 (Psalm 37:11)
Herbert Howells’ life was unfortunately marked by multiple tragedies – financial, personal, and physical. He often found escape and comfort in music-making. He wrote this Psalm-Prelude in London, around 1915, the year he was diagnosed with an autoimmune illness called Graves’ disease. This is Howells’ musical interpretation of Psalm 37, verse 11: “But the meek-spirited shall possess the earth, and shall be refreshed in the multitude of peace.”
RALPH SIMPSON (b. 1933): King of Kings
Ralph Simpson grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, and in 1964 he became the first African-American to earn a Ph.D. in music at Michigan State University. He taught and served at several U.S. churches and universities, including chairing the Department of Music at Tennessee State University. He dedicated this setting of an African-American spiritual to Joyce Finch Johnson, who is professor emerita of music at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, where she has served since 1955. The American Guild of Organists honored her with its Edward A. Hansen Leadership Award during its virtual convention last summer.
MAURICE DURUFLÉ (1902-1986): Sicilienne and Toccata from Suite pour Orgue, Op. 5
Maurice Duruflé graduated with top honors from the Paris Conservatory and later became the Conservatory’s professor of harmony. A virtuosic performer who performed across the globe, he often appeared as a duo artist with his wife, Marie-Madeleine. Duruflé was highly self-critical and a perfectionist in all things, so he consented to publish only a handful of his many compositions, and he often continued to edit and change them, even after publication. This Toccata is known to have been revised many times. Duruflé destroyed many other works, judging them unworthy. His Suite for Organ is one of only two remaining multi-movement works for organ. Its second movement, Sicilienne, contains lovely, lilting melodies woven together in misleadingly difficult ways. The final movement is titled Toccata, which means “to touch,” an indication of its very active finger-work. The alternation of intense harmonies and complete silences in this work provide space and inspiration to make the most of the fantastic acoustic here at Queen of the Rosary Chapel.