AGO Tuesday

The morning started with a continuation of the Rising Star Recitals at Jehovah Lutheran Church on the 1983 Van Daalen organ. Noah Wynne-Morton, a junior at the Julliard School, played a Bach Prelude and Fugue, then a piece titled Hommage a Igor Stravinsky by Naji Hakim (born 1955). Wynne-Morton was followed by Andrew Yeargin of Raleigh, NC who is studying for his master's degree at the Manhattan School of Music. He chose the famous Bach Prelude and Fugue in D Minor, then a piece I'd never heard by Ad Wammes (born 1953) and titled Miroir which was very cool! His program rounded out with W. A. Mozart's Fantasy in F Minor.

After the Rising Star Recitals I was off to Bethel University for a concerto program performed by James Diaz and Stephen Cleobury. It's always exciting to hear the organ played with an orchestra. My favorite piece was Grand Concerto No. 3 played by Diaz and composed by Stephen Paulus, AGO's composer of the year - but the entire concert was amazing!

The next stop was Saint Andrew's Lutheran Church in Mahtomedi, MN. A church with very modern architecture, the organ was built in 1927 by Casavant and then expanded by Schantz in 2001. John Weaver played a short concert including his own Partita on Kingsfold which I enjoyed very much. (Kingsfold is one of my favorite tunes - in fact, we're singing it Sunday!)

The next performer was Cameron Carpenter who has been called "the ultimate maverick of the U.S. organ community." (I borrow from the author Anne Rice and think of him as the "brat-prince of organists.) His playing is simply amazing. John Weaver, one of his teachers, said that Carpenter is a prodigy such as has not been seen since the time of Mozart. He is incredible. If you ever have a minute then just google him and watch some of the YouTube videos. You will be amazed!! I promise. His rendition of Bach's Prelude and Fugue in D Minor is shocking to many organists, but I've heard it played the "right way" so many times that Carpenter's version was incredibly entertaining and I loved every second of it. If you are ever anyplace that Cameron Carpenter is playing a concert, GO. . .and take the family!!

That afternoon I attended a workshop on AGO certification.

The evening event was a concert of music by Olivier Messiaen - and there was not a single organ piece on the program! I don't think I've ever heard any non-organ Messiaen music so this was an enjoyable and educational experience. My favorite was the selections from Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jesus/Twenty Glances on the Child Jesus. This is a work for piano and was played by Lydia Artymiw, a leading piano recitatlist of international fame. We also heard Fete des belles for Six Ondes Martenot. The Martenot is a unique instrument that somehow changes electricity into sound. It can only play one note at a time, so any harmony or polyphony requires more than one instrument. The instument had a unique quality and, although the piece was interesting and well-played, it was a little esoteric and long for my taste. (Perhaps the fact that it was nearly 10:00 pm when it started was a factor.) Still, it was a unique offering and I'm glad I had the chance to hear it.

Top photo: St. Paul's Roman Catholic Cathedral Bottom: St. Andrew's Lutheran Church

AGO Wednesday

Wednesday started the way every day should start - with a service of Matins (Morning Prayer) sung by the choir of St. Paul's Cathedral all the way from London, England. It was a service of organ and choral music with works by Howells, Bairstow, Vaughn Williams, Walton, Elgar and others. The service was held at the Basilica of St. Mary whose acoustics (already discussed) were extremely favorable to English choral music.

The next event was at Hennepin Avenue Methodist Church on its 1979 Sipe organ. This was an enjoyable concert by Todd Wilson who is head of the organ department at The Cleveland Institute of Music, with my favorite piece being one for organ and french horn - Calvin Hampton's Variations on Amazing Grace. The french horn was played by Merilee Kemp.

Then we were off to St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral where we heard perhaps my favorite concert of the week. The original organ was built by Welte (1928) then added to by Moller (1964) and Gould and Sons (1976, 1983). This is an organ whose low tones reverberate in your very soul! The concert was played by Peter Sykes with assistance from Victoria Wagner. They played selections from a transcription of Gustav Holst's The Planets. This piece is generally played by one organist in a normal layout but at some points an additional organist is needed to play one line. In Neptune "at one moment all four manuals and pedal, with four hands, two feet, and even a pencil holding a long note" is required. This was an incredible concert, but it ran a little long so I missed the workshop that afternoon. . . .IT WAS WORTH IT!!

The next event was the annual meeting at which election results were given. Eileen Guenther, DMA became the new president and John Walker, FAGO, DMA became the new vice president.

Finally, that evening we boarded the bus for Wooddale Presbyterian Church where we participated in a recording of Pipe Dreams, the radio show of organ music that is hosted by Michael Barone. The concert had a great deal of variety with many well-known organists but two that I'd never heard of before: Barbara Dennerlein wowed all of us with her jazz improvisation (truly, incredible!) and Isabelle Demers amazed us with Stephen Paulus' As If The Whole Creation Cried, from Triptych. We also heard Ken Cowan, Aaron David Miller, Scott Montgomery, Douglas Reed, Herndon Spillman, and Calvn Taylor. I was really exhausted that night and came very close to skipping this event. . .but I'm sooooo glad I went.

Top Left: The organ at Hennepin Avenue Methodist Church Middle: The facade of St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral (The organ pipes were mostly not visible.)

Bottom: The organ at Wooddale Presbyterian Church

AGO Thursday: Daily Activities

Today I heard two concerts. The first concert was performed at Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church in St. Paul, MN where Jeremy Filsell, principal organist of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in our nation's capitol, played a newly-installed (2007) Casavant organ. From his program of Rachmaninoff and Dupre, I most enjoyed the Trois Hymnes of Dupre.

Following that was a concert by Stewart Wayne Foster at Augustana Lutheran Church. The organ there was built by Glatter-Gotz and later work was done by Rosales (a builder whose work I much admire!). We heard a varied program of Bach, Buxtehude, Karg-Elert, and others. I particularly enjoyed Brian Sawyers' Rising Sun and selectons from Karg-Elert's Seven Pastels from the Lake of Constance. From the latter, I shall look for a recording of The Sun's Evensong which, to my ears, had lots of jazz influence.


Also on this day I attended a seminar about Scandinavian Organ Music and the regional divisions had their meetings.

Top photo: The organ at Augustana Lutheran Church
Bottom: The organ at Natvity of Our Lord Catholic Church.

AGO Thursday: Closing Concert

The closing concert was an incredible experience. It included music by Messiaen, Stephen Paulus ("Pilgrim's Hymn" from the opera The Three Hermits), and John Taverner. The crowing work, however, was the U.S. Premiere of Te Deum by German composer Siegfried Matthus (born 1934). An epic work of praise, war, re-building, and finally again, praise, it was written to celebrate the reopening of Dresden's Frauenkirche which was destroyed by Allied Forces during WW II. The work featured soloists, the Minnesota Boys Choir, an orchestra, and an SATB choir (at least 200 voices strong) all under the direction of Phillip Brunelle. If you ever get a chance to hear this work, do not miss it. It will make you weep. It was an incredible way to finish a week of great concerts and education!

Picture: St. Paul's Roman Catholic Cathedral, site of the closing concert.

Come Sing In Our Summer Choir!

Summer is here so the usual choral, bell, and instrumental rehearsals are on hiatus. If you love to sing, you are invited to join us any Sunday in our Summer Choir. The summer choir meets at 10:30 on Sunday mornings in the music suite where we rehearse hymns for the day and learn a musical offering that can be put together quickly (usually 2-part or unison singing). All singers are welcome! Feel free to bring a friend!

Today's News

Today's news: cyclone in Myanmawr, tornadoes in the heartland, fires in Florida, and an earthquake in China. Did anyone else place all of this in context of last Sunday's (Pentecost) sending hymn? It was #400 and addresses "God of tempest, God of whirlwind. . .God of blazing. . .God of earthquake. . ." I'm not saying God was in these natural disasters. I know there are those who view natural disasters as God's punishment on individuals. (I think if God wants to take a person or a few people out, his aim could be a lot better than a cyclone that wipes out tens of thousands or a tornado that is a mile wide.)

You're probably asking, "Okay Tony, so does this hymn have anything to do with the natural disasters?" I think it does. Look at the last stanza. We often expect God to do something to help those in harm's way, but this hymn calls on God to "stir in US loves restlessness! Where the people cry in anguish (Myanmawr, Oklahoma, China), may we share your heart's distress. Rouse us from content with evil; claim us for your kingdom's work."

Let us pray for those who have been in the path of these disasters, and let us pray for those who now lead the efforts of rescue and relief. Even the non-Christians among them, though perhaps unwittingly, are doing the kingdom's work.

"God of Tempest, God of Whirlwind" is a text by Herman G. Steumpfle, b. 1923. The copyright is held by GIA Publications, Inc.

Scandinavian Vespers on May 4th at 6:00 p.m.

My Grandfather, Ellef Johannes Everson, was confirmed at Bad Axe Lutheran Church in Vernon County, Wisconsin in 1924 by the Reverend O.J. Nesheim (bottom photo). His father was John Everson and John's father was Jens Iverson (James Everson) who came to Wisconsin with his parents and sisters in the 1860's. They were one of the families that helped to build the church at Bad Axe. (The other picture is from my own confirmation at the same church, about 52 years later.) When Norwegians, Swedes, Danes, and Finns came to America they brought their musically-rich religious heritage with them. We'll be celebrating the music of these peoples as part of a vespers service. There will be Scandinavian hymns and handbell and choral music by Scandinavian and Scandinavian-American composers. A reception will follow. (I don't want to give away any surprises, but my krumkake griddle is warming up. . .) Musical selections will include Finlandia (Be Still, My Soul), Thy Holy Wings, and How Great Thou Art. I hope to see you there! By the way, Grandpa Ellef is in the middle row, third from the left.