It will be interesting to leasten to this Franz Schmidt, if it is so good
composer, and his "mind-boggling"  Chaconne.
May be there is some video in You tube? or only to by, thank you.

best regards,

Liudmila Matsyura.

--- In organfocus-newsletter@yahoogroups.com, Arthur LaMirande
<alamirande2001@...> wrote:
>
> Glad somebody has made mention of Franz Schmidt!  And his "mind-boggling" 
Chaconne.
> I have recorded that work three times:  in 2000 in Vancouver (Holy Rosary
Cathedral), 2001 in Washington DC (National Cathedral), and 2002 in Paris (Notre
Dame Cathedral).  Copies are available:$25 postpaid.   I will be performing the
Chaconne again the first Sunday of May 2011: St. Thomas Church, 5th Avenue,
NYC.  As far as I know, this will be the first performance of the Chaconne in
NYC since I performed it on January 28, 1973:  St. Alphonsus Church in lower
Manhattan (demolished in the early 1980s).
>
> Mention was also made of Walter Pach.  He was a fine composer in his own
right, but you never hear any of his music performed here.  Not since I
performed his mighty Praeambel und Chaconne at the Riverside Church, way back in
January 1974!
>
> Arthur LaMirande
>

Dear Friends,

As I sat down to write this newsletter, it was still Sunday night in NYC.
Happy belated birthday to J.S. Bach, and happy Monday, everyone!

** Web News **

* Preview: Auckland Town Hall Organ Official Opening Concert *
"Auckland City Organist and composer John Wells has every
justification to be proud tomorrow afternoon, along with all the
others who have devoted so much energy to the restoration of the town
hall organ."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=1\
0633436

....Hopelessly antique? Ouch!!
* Organist brings a classic to life *
"The pipe organ may seem like a hopelessly antique instrument to many
people (if they've even heard of a pipe organ at all), but artists
such as Hector Olivera keep the tradition of the great instrument
alive."
http://www.bakersfield.com/entertainment/local/x1664565511/Organist-brings-a-cla\
ssic-to-life

....I love this: an organist who is a serious athlete!
* Ward organist named Utah's Ms. Basketball *
"Lexi Eaton was born to be a basketball player....Eaton is the
organist for her LDS ward, and she is an accomplished violinist."
http://mormontimes.com/people_news/sports/?id=13886


  * Festival of Organists at Crescent Avenue Presbyterian Church in
Plainfield on March 28th *
"Five Central Jersey and one Pennsylvania organist will perform music
ranging from J.S. Bach to Maurice Durufle when Crescent Concerts
presents its sixth concert of the season.
http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20100317/GETPUBLISHED/3170322/-1/newsfron\
t/Festival-of-Organists-at-Crescent-Avenue-Presbyterian-Church-in-Plainfield-on-\
March-28th

* Final of four auditions held to be organist at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral
"When he was 15, Brad Hughley told his audience Thursday night, he
bought a recording of David Craighead playing the Rosales organ at
Portland's Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and listened to it almost
daily. Fifteen years later, he sat down at the same instrument and
auditioned to be the church's next organist and music director,
replacing John Strege, who ends his 37-year tenure in May"
http://www.oregonlive.com/performance/index.ssf/2010/03/final_of_four_auditions_\
held_t.html

* Old Ensley Highlands Presbyterian organ reclaimed from empty church *
"The dilapidated sanctuary was buzzing with activity as workers took
down the 1,224 pipes of the 17-rank organ. Organ builder Robert
Coulter will refurbish the pipes. "It'll be restored in our shop in
Atlanta," Coulter said."
http://blog.al.com/living-news/2010/03/old_ensley_highlands_presbyter.html

Have a great week,
Lana

Dear List,
I am forwarding an email from concert organist Liudmila Matsyura in Spain.

=========

Dear friends!

 This year we are preparing our IV International Organ Festival
"Catedral de Alcalá"

Here is the promotional video of the Fourth International Organ
Festival "Catedral de Alcalá"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2z5KPpMxq5k

The full schedule of concerts here
 http://www.catedraldealcala.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1055

  I invite everyone to attend the concerts of the Festival!

 Best regards,

Liudmila  Matsyura
concert organist

Artistic Director of the Festival.
lmatsioura@...
tel.(+34) 647 102 656
www.liudmilamatsyura.com

Dear Friends,

Hope this Spring finds you well.

*** Member News: ***

Dr. Carol Williams, Civic Organist of San Diego, has just returned
from the UK performing six concerts. Concert venues included the
Salomons Country Estate in Tunbridge Wells in Kent, with a performance
on the historical Welte organ – this unique organ which dates back to
1914 was  filmed for the TourBus DVD series.

The Welte organ is unusual in that it can take both Philharmonic and
the earlier Orchestrion type rolls. Leading performers of the day who
cut rolls, such as Edwin Lemare, can be heard on the Welte organ. Then
a concert on the Compton organ with its two consoles (one classical
and one theatre console) in the Guildhall in Southampton. Finally a
concert at Gloucester Cathedral with its delightful acoustics and
stunning stenciled organ case. At this concert, Williams performed
Carillon-Fanfare by Robert Jones, a work the composer dedicated to Dr.
Williams.

(Photo included of Carol and Robert Jones who was present at the concert).

For full information about Carol Williams, please visit her website at
www.melcot.com


*****************************

*** New CD of interest: ***
FROM THE CHANT DU MONDE NEWSLETTER:

Les trois concertos pour clavier
The Three Keyboard Concertos

Concerto pour clavecin et cordes/for harpsichord and strings
Concerto pour piano et cordes/for piano and strings
Concerto pour orgue et cordes/for organ and strings

Céline Frisch clavecin | harpsichord
Jay Gottlieb piano | organ
Eric Lebrun orgue
Ensemble Musiques Nouvelles
Jean-Paul Dessy direction | conducting

  In 2003, the Uzbek composer Dmitri Yanov-Yanovsky set himself an
extraordinary challenge: to write three separate concertos with
different solo parts (organ, harpsichord, piano) but the same
orchestral part. The result is three astounding, virtuoso and poetic
pieces, a prodigious musical incarnation.

1  CD Chant du Monde LDC 258 1152 (distr. harmonia mundi)
http://www.chantdumonde.com/en/editions/fiche_compositeur.php?compositeurid=69

*****************************

*** New Link added to Church Musician Resources at OrganFocus ***

http://www.MusicByThoburn.com
Choral Music by Crawford R. Thoburn: Quality Choral Literature for
Church, School, and Community.  Info on 100+ published works for mixed
and treble voices.

http://organfocus.com/links/index.php?CID=22

*****************************

*** Web News: ***

*** PENNSYLVANIA: First Presbyterian says goodbye to 100 year old organ

""There was strong support in the congregation for a new pipe organ,"
stated Organist, Mary Nicol and member of the church for more than 20
years."
http://www.phoenixvillenews.com/articles/2010/04/17/life/srv0000008060971.txt

*** IOWA: Restored Kimball pipe organ to be played at Sunday concert -- TODAY!

"CLERMONT - Bright and shiny. Clean and cheery. After probably the
most thorough restoration in its 114-year history, the Kimball pipe
organ inside the Union Sunday School is nearly ready for action."
http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/article_928f3a54-496b-11df-ad7f-001cc4c03286.ht\
ml
VIDEO:
http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/article_928f3a54-496b-11df-ad7f-001cc4c03286.ht\
ml?mode=video

*** PENNSYLVANIA:  Group offers chance to see theater organs bring
silent films to life

With the lights out, a silent movie flickering on the screen and an
organist playing a prized Wurlitzer, several hundred South Hills
residents got a look at the way the movies used to be - and supported
a local musical society at the same time.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10105/1050730-55.stm

*** KANSAS: Grace Cathedral Pipe Organ Undergoes Repairs

Grace Cathedral's pipe organ, damaged in a lightning strike several
years ago, is being repaired.
http://www.wibw.com/home/headlines/90969744.html
** Be sure to watch the videos included with this short article. I
think this is a very good example of bringing the issue into the
public eye and explaining what is being done and why, for community
interest and involvement.

*** PENNSYLVANIA: Organist's humor adds to church concert's charm in Reading
Review of Diane Bish's concert: "Bish, like Gaither, weaves in humor,
telling of her visits to Notre Dame in Paris. (She tapes concerts in
European cathedrals for her weekly "Joy of Music" TV show.)"
http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=213449

Have a great week!

Lana
PS Several of you have mentioned to me privately that visitors to organ concerts
at your venue found the info at OrganFocus.com. I would love to hear more
stories like this. Please feel free to post them here or contact me at
organaut@... .

"The pipe organ: a practical guide of its idiomatic writing with illustrations
from Moussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition"

Abstract: Aiming at exposing the organ, an instrument distant from Brazilian
audiences, this dissertation will deal with practical information for consulting
the organ's physical characteristics and its expressive qualities. This research
presents itself as an important reference for the study of the organ due to the
instrument's narrow exposure, scarce production of national works, limited
literature on this subject written in Portuguese, and the organ's not being
included in current Brazilian culture. It envisages to be a practical research
material for the understanding of the pipe organ's idiomatic writing, its
functioning and its sound characteristics, these being illustrated by different
transcriptions of Modeste Petrovich Mussorgsky's (1839-1881) Pictures at an
Exhibition (1874). This project has two chapters. In the first chapter, data
such as the description of the instrument, its notation and interpretive
techniques are presented; and in the second chapter, these techniques are
illustrated with examples taken from transcriptions for the organ. In the
latter, various procedures utilized in published and commercial transcriptions
and recordings are compared, especially pinpointing procedures which are less
faithful to the original text in that universe. This work will show the elements
of notation, texture, tessitura, registration, timbre and acoustic results,
which are highly varied due to the fact that the authors of such transcriptions
having come from different European countries, each of which cultivated
differentiated organ traditions along the centuries. The intent of this
dissertation is to support one in the art of registration, in the adaptations
that organists need to make when interpreting pieces on different organs, as
well as in the rendering of compositions and idiomatic writings.

Keywords: Musorgski, Modest Petrovich - Pictures at an Exhibition ; Pipe organ ;
Organ music – history and criticism ; Idiomatic writing ; Organ registration ;
Arrangement (Music).

http://libdigi.unicamp.br/document/?code=000436845

Thanks for your attention,

Miriam

If I have read the post correctly I can't understand why ever should
Miriam, in her important work, want to use a transcription of Pictures
at an Exhibition to illustrate the sounds etc. of a pipe organ?
Is there not enough 'genuine' organ music that can do the job even
better?    The words - ' Idiomatic writing' - would lead me to expect
REAL organ music suitable for the instrument.
The organ is not a one-man-band or even an orchestra or piano, bearing
in mind the origins of the work, it is a unique instrument with a
unique repertory.   True, the 'symphonic' organs of the early
20th century will have the orchestral colours (or a reasonable
imitation of the same) that could possibly do some justice to Ravel's
transcription, but this is only concentrating on a very limited period
in the development of the instrument.

I have no quarrel with the general thrust of Miriam's dissertation -
her desire to bring the organ to the attention of a particular nation
is truly laudible - but why, O why.......?

John Mingay

I read through the dissertation last night, although my Portuguese is
minimal, and I got a good sense of the message of the treatise given
its intended audience.  Miriam described a cultural environment in
Brazil that is not unlike that in the United States, where the organ
and "real organ music" is scarcely known.

It seems to me likely that the first notes ever played on an organ
were those of a vocal song, and thus a transcription of sorts.
Medieval Organum was interchangeable among vocal choirs, instrumental
groups or the organ.  Bach transcribed Vivaldi concertos, and how can
we forget the great era of early 20th century organ transcriptions of
orchestral music?  By using music that is more familiar to her
audience as piano or orchestral music, then illustrating its
interpretation on the organ, Miriam uses an approach that might put
into the ear of the reader how an organ might participate in musical
culture.

I enjoyed seeing her work.

Gary Wood

Dear Miriam,

I think that your idea for your dissertation is valid, and possibly wonderful. I
would think that it is difficult enough to find a topic for any dissertation in
the pipe organ world. Moussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition may not be an
organ work, but I think that your idea of using this most expressive piece of
music to demonstrate the sound qualities of the organ could not be any more
appropriate.
Best of luck to you.

Dave


--- In organfocus-newsletter@yahoogroups.com, "miriam" <miriamcarpinetti@...>
wrote:
>
> "The pipe organ: a practical guide of its idiomatic writing with illustrations
from Moussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition"
>
> Abstract: Aiming at exposing the organ, an instrument distant from Brazilian
audiences, this dissertation will deal with practical information for consulting
the organ's physical characteristics and its expressive qualities. This research
presents itself as an important reference for the study of the organ due to the
instrument's narrow exposure, scarce production of national works, limited
literature on this subject written in Portuguese, and the organ's not being
included in current Brazilian culture. It envisages to be a practical research
material for the understanding of the pipe organ's idiomatic writing, its
functioning and its sound characteristics, these being illustrated by different
transcriptions of Modeste Petrovich Mussorgsky's (1839-1881) Pictures at an
Exhibition (1874). This project has two chapters. In the first chapter, data
such as the description of the instrument, its notation and interpretive
techniques are presented; and in the second chapter, these techniques are
illustrated with examples taken from transcriptions for the organ. In the
latter, various procedures utilized in published and commercial transcriptions
and recordings are compared, especially pinpointing procedures which are less
faithful to the original text in that universe. This work will show the elements
of notation, texture, tessitura, registration, timbre and acoustic results,
which are highly varied due to the fact that the authors of such transcriptions
having come from different European countries, each of which cultivated
differentiated organ traditions along the centuries. The intent of this
dissertation is to support one in the art of registration, in the adaptations
that organists need to make when interpreting pieces on different organs, as
well as in the rendering of compositions and idiomatic writings.
>
> Keywords: Musorgski, Modest Petrovich - Pictures at an Exhibition ; Pipe organ
; Organ music – history and criticism ; Idiomatic writing ; Organ registration ;
Arrangement (Music).
>
> http://libdigi.unicamp.br/document/?code=000436845
>
> Thanks for your attention,
>
> Miriam
>

Hans Hellsten wrote:
>
> "The intent of this dissertation is to support one in the art of
> registration, in the adaptations that organists need to make when
> interpreting pieces on different organs, as well as in the rendering
> of compositions and idiomatic writings."
>
> With this in mind - isn´t it quite a good idea to use a transcription
> instead of original repertoire? The dissertation seems to focus on the
> organist as an arranger by necessity, and a transcription of a
> well-known orchestral work will then give added topics of discussion
> compared to a discussion of original organ works.
>
> The logic of choosing Mussorgskij instead of f.ex. a César Franck
> piece is very convincing.
>
> Yours
>
> Hans Hellsten
>
>
>
as much as I find Portugual and organ playing of interest -

must this be sent worldwide -


is anyone in the sound of this email - around the Washington, DC area -


if so - please write.


JM

Dear Friends,

I am finding myself in a funny state...occasionally we have flurries
of activity from other members on the organfocus-newsletter list that
is primarily for getting organ news once a week or so. I think it is
great that the dialogue is happening, especially since I love
Mussorgsky's Pictures at the Exhibition in all its forms, from piano,
to orchestral, to brilliant organ transcriptions. I cannot say more
than this because I cannot read Portuguese. But thank you, Miriam, for
your bravery in posting this to a usually silent list that became very
vocal! That means someone cares and that makes me very happy.
However, this barrage of emails will probably annoy some members. I
would like to remind you that you can set your email preferences to a
daily digest via the Yahoo links appended to every newsletter.

Also, today I went to a concert and could not "appprove" messages as
they came in, resulting in a delay of dialogue. Currently this list
continues to be moderated in OrganFocus traditions, not for censorship
purposes, but for purity and quality of content. I am considering
letting the list be unmoderated so that messages from members get
posted automatically. Any opinions on this?

Finally, the concert review! No, it was not an organ concert (that's
to come next week), but a concert organized around a very interesting
concept: Facebook, curated by composer Douglas Townsend. All of the
omposers represented are Facebook friends of Mr. Townsend, who at age
88 still actively composes.  A complete program is here:
http://www.carolworthey.com/home-upcoming.php?no=60110

My review (cross-posted to Facebook):
Attended the Facebook Friends concert. Congratulations to dear friend
Nataliya Medvedovskaya on her spectacular, amazing world premiere of
The Wonderful Adventures of Nils! Brava!!!
Most music was very good, and I especially enjoyed music of Mr.
Townsend, Carol Worthey and Steve Cohen. But some music was downright
atrocious. I am referring to Tania Leon's Mistica (2003). Okay, I am
an organist/harpsichordist and I love music before 1800 most of all,
but I can appreciate good new music when I hear it. I do not
understand why such apparently distinguished composer as Ms. Leon
would unleash upon the listeners this aural assault. It was not only
an attack on the audience, but on the piano itself! I felt literally
sick and my only relief came when the piece was over. Why???
Barring this unpleasantness, Kudos to Mr. Townsend for organizing this
musical evening!

Thanks for reading, and again, if you find the multiple emails per day
too much, please set your status to get a daily digest.

Cheers,
Lana



--
--
OrganFocus: pipe organ event listings worldwide
website: http://www.OrganFocus.com
newsletter: http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/organfocus-newsletter/

I agree that this is an open forum and although we don't all enjoy every
posting.. we all have a delete button on our computers.
Thanks Lana,
Chuck

Hello,

This email message is a notification to let you know that
a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the organfocus-newsletter
group.

   File        : /OrganPROMOTION/ORGANPromotion events Summer 2010
   Uploaded by : organaut <organaut@...>
   Description : August 2010: Organ Tour Germany - Organ Master class Leipzig -
South German Organ Academy

You can access this file at the URL:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/organfocus-newsletter/files/OrganPROMOTION/ORGANPr\
omotion%20events%20Summer%202010

To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit:
http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/groups/original/members/forms/general.htmlfiles

Regards,

organaut <organaut@...>

Thank you Arthur, it's a very good question. The composer describes her piece as
"a work of sustained motions of rhythmic and harmonic cycles through cascades of
successive pitches and sudden changes of tempos...[]...Juxtapositions, abrupt
changes of mood, speed, character and sudden ostinatos interweave the recurrence
of the fast-moving gestures". Well, how can you guess what this sounds like from
the description? Music is notoriously difficult to describe justly in words. I
could also say that it was highly dissonant and aggressive. It lacked coherence,
I could not make any sense of it, and from the rare quiet lyrical moments we
were unfailingly jerked back to the violent screeching. I was not able to find
any recordings online, but this concert is going to be podcast and on youtube
eventually, so maybe those interested can hear for themselves. Upon further
research I realized that this was my first brush with modernist music. No wonder
my response to it was so visceral. Entire audiences have been alienated with
this writing style. The Bay area composer David Bithell characterized it thus,
when describing a performance by pianist Sarah Cahill:
"Cahill managed a similar feat in her performance of Tania Leon's Mistica
written in 2003. The work sounded the oldest on the program, with a harmonic and
gestural language mired in mid-century modernism. Sarah Cahill maintained a
fiery intensity and helped to bring shape to this otherwise unclear and dense
work."
http://www.sfcv.org/arts_revs/cahillfroh_10_12_04.php

So, perhaps I sound like those critics that said this about Schoenberg and
Stravinsky and, but there you have it. I don't get it and consider it amusical,
but there are pianists who are willing to perform it. To each their
own...Incidentally, I am going to listen to Stravinsky this weekend at Lincoln
Center.

Here are some news on scientific research done on the topic:

Audiences hate modern classical music because their brains cannot cope
"Modern classical music is so widely disliked by audiences because the human
brain struggles to find patterns it needs to understand the compositions as
music. "
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/7279626/Audiences-hate-modern-cl\
assical-music-because-their-brains-cannot-cope.html

******************************************
I would like to devote no more bandwidth to discussion of the above issue, and
concentrate on proliferating positive organ news we can all use. To wit,
OrganMaster shoes is offering 10% discount on music of French composers
throughout April.
http://www.organmastershoes.com

Cheers,
Lana

--- In organfocus-newsletter@yahoogroups.com, Arthur LaMirande
<alamirande2001@...> wrote:
>
> If you are going to attack a composer's music as being "atrocious" and "an
aural assault", then it is incumbent upon you to specify WHY.
>
> WHY was is so bad?  WHAT was so bad about it?
>
> Back in the 19th century, they said precisely the same things about Wagner! 
And in the 20th century, they said the same things about Stravinsky and
Schoenberg.
>
> Arthur L.
>

Lana:  This was not your "first brush" with "modernist" music.

You were present when I performed Augustinus Franz Kropfreiter (1936 - 2003) at
All Saints Church, Brooklyn, NY back in February 2007.  I don't recall any
outcry from you then.

Whenever I have performed Kropfreiter and other "modernist" composers, the
reaction of the audience has been enthusiastic.  Believe it or not.  That same
Kropfreiter work received sustained applause (for instance) when I performed it
at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC on July 18,
2004.

Since I have not heard the work by Sarah Cahill which you so deplore, I can't
comment on it.  But I would certainly be interested to hear it.

Now: there is one kind of "modern" music which I DO deplore. HARD ROCK.  Mainly
because it is imbecilic.  We can add RAP to that list. Why is it that the
general public responds favorably to such imbecilities?  Perhaps because it
doesn't take any mental effort to absorb?

Arthur L.

-

I'm glad that I am not so specialized and immersed in classical music that I can
not enjoy the pop stuff of today!  Aren't you folks showing your rear ends?

Darlene

Speaking of "new" music and how much of it falls by the proverbial wayside: 
IMHO, there are three pieces composed for organ since 1916 which stand head and
shoulders above all others:  the Chaconne in c-sharp minor by Franz Schmidt, the
Symphony in G major by Leo Sowerby, and the 1986 composition by Giles Swayne
titled "Riff-Raff."  There is a recording by Thomas Frank (I think) on a German
organ; I first heard the piece "live" in Ocean Grove, New Jersey, in July 2009,
played by the inimitable Carol Williams, and I think the "WOW!!!" I uttered at
the conclusion is still rolling around that much-vaunted hall . .. .. . that is
SOME PIECE OF ORGAN MUSIC, let me tell you!!!  I have managed to procure a copy,
and while I have not yet learned it, I have played it through - - - it's not
nearly as difficult as the first two pieces on my list - maybe comparable to the
Durufle Prelude and Fugue on ALAIN, though the techniques are different.  In
other words, not easy, but not impossible either.  Much too long (18 minutes)
for liturgical use, but for a recital, a knockout!!!  (maybe a wedding prelude,
while the guests - none of whom know organ repertoire and none of whom have any
interest in the organ - are gathering and "bavarder"-ing as wedding guests are
wont to do; it could drown out the incessant hum of the chatter from the
hoi-polloi)(it might also show a thing or two to the bridezillas who get their
ideas of wedding music from marthastewart(dot)com).


Cheers to all, keep up the good work, and VIVANT Schmidt, Sowerby, Swayne,
Kropfreiter, Pach, and all whose output continues to inspire and thrill us!


Joe Lindquist

Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange

Hi all,

John Keys said what a lot of us are thinking. In fact, at least 10 people have
left within days and I am sorry to see them go. Let us try to have quality and
respect in our comments. I am already having to do some heavy moderating and
refusing to post certain messages. As much as I appreciate lively discourse,
most people signed up to receive just news. I would like to limit this list to
mostly news and announcements. There is PIPEORG-L and other lists that are more
suited to drawn-out discussions.


Thanks!
Lana

Dear Friends,

In this newsletter we have some web news and a concert review. A
detailed reply by Miriam Carpinetti to the discussion about her online
dissertation (Organ in Brazil) is coming up in the next message.

*** Web News ***

* AZ: The king of instruments
"There was cause to celebrate at the church on West Aspen Avenue when
the organ was re-dedicated Sunday, April 18, after an extensive 2-year
restoration project."
http://www.azdailysun.com/news/local/article_b83e854a-0f7e-55ea-a286-7ea0e280313\
2.html

* CA: Cameron Carpenter brings his organist showmanship to L.A.’s
First Congregational Church on Sunday
"The player with a flair for dramatic performances and glitzy outfits
gives a prelude to his Disney Hall debut next season."
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/apr/17/entertainment/la-et-carpenter-organ-2010\
0417

* IA: Organ maker left indelible mark in short time
"MASON CITY — Although not here long, W.C. Verney made an indelible
mark on organ-making at his Verney Organ Co. plant."
http://www.globegazette.com/news/local/article_c467b2e2-50ee-11df-b427-001cc4c00\
2e0.html

*IN: A pipe dream comes true at IU
"With the public debut of the Maidee H. and Jackson A. Sew ard Organ
next weekend in Bloomington, The Indiana University Jacobs School of
Music should become more attractive to students of the pipe organ."
http://www.indystar.com/article/20100423/ENTERTAINMENT/4230306/A-pipe-dream-come\
s-true-at-IU

*SC: Area organ student wins competition at E. Carolina Univ.
"Aiken teen Scott Scheetz has spent the last four years studying the
pipe organ. His hard work paid dividends last weekend when he won the
East Carolina University Young Artists' Competition for Pre-College
Organists."
http://www.aikenstandard.com/Local/0424-Organ-Student

By the way, Scott's organ instructor is none other than Marya Fancey,
the creator of the Pipe Organ Education Project back in 1996, when she
was a student herself!
http://nersp.nerdc.ufl.edu/~bodinew/index.html

* RI: Pulling out all the stops
"Despite today’s digital technology, many musical purists say nothing
beats the presence of a powerful pipe organ —sturdy in design and a
work of art in itself"
http://www.eastbayri.com/detail/135431.html

*** Concert Review ***
This past Sunday, I attended a recital by Isabelle Demers at the
Christ & Saint Stephen's Church, NYC. The program:
J.S. Bach Prelude & Fugue in E minor (BWV 548) ; Two Preludes and
Fugues by Henry Martin (b. 1950);  Excerpts from Romeo and Juliet by
Prokofiev, transcribed by Ms. Demers; Psalm-Prelude by Howells, and
Fantasia on the Chorale "Wachet Auf! rutt uns die Stimme" by Reger.
Isabelle Demers was indeed a force of nature, as the papers have
described her. I also liked that she turned to the audience and spoke
briefly and about each upcoming piece, explaining what she saw in the
music and what to listen to. Her playing was sensitive and virtuosic,
and I think she made the organ sound larger than it really was. At 15
voices and 17 ranks, the new Schoenstein & Co. organ is quite
interesting: Solo on Manual 1, and Great and Swell under expression.
It filled the low-ceilinged rectangular space of the church with
sound, though I was left wanting for more reverb. Here is a link to an
article in NY Times describing the debut of the organ:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/23/nyregion/23organ.html
Disposition: http://www.nycago.org/Organs/NYC/html/ChristStStephenEpis.html

The most memorable pieces, for me, were the two Preludes and Fugues by
Henry Martin, who was also present at the recital. Henry Martin is
composing a cycle of preludes and fugues for organ, a "Well-Tempered
Organ", if you may, commisioned by Michael Barone of NPR's PipeDreams.
The music was very clever, with modern harmonies, but firmly rooted in
both the classical tradition and in jazz. I will definitely listen to
those pieces again and check out his other works.
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~martinh/henry_martin.html

Cheers,

Lana