sinden.org/blog

Gosip - Sinden

noreply@blogger.com (Sinden) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 16:44:00 +0000

Bielby, Jonathan - triple chant by

noreply@blogger.com (Sinden) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000

One year ago (28 Jan 2009) 12 inches of snow fell and I live-blogged a triple chant.

One year later, I can hear the chant and remember how much fun shoveling the driveway was. I also have a composer to go with that delightful triple chant: Jonathan Bielby.

It's sung on this webcast

noreply@blogger.com (Sinden) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:29:00 +0000

Landmark for Peace Memorial, Indianapolis, Indiana, May 2008

Pipedreams - Lake Delaware Organ on

noreply@blogger.com (Sinden) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:34:00 +0000

The centennial celebration for Lake Delaware Boys Camp continues, even as the camp tents are packed away and the camp grounds are surely covered in snow and ice.

The camp's organ, an 1886 Roosevelt is featured on this week's Pipedream's broadcast.

Michael Kleinschmidt, the organist of Trinity Church, Boston, plays works by Horatio Parker and Jean Langlais.

Nine Lessons and Carols - a Festival of, 2009 (preview)

noreply@blogger.com (Sinden) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 01:00:00 +0000

Looking toward the choir stalls in King's
photo by the author

As always, the service begins with "Once in royal David’s city". This carol has opened the service at King's since 1919. Other than this carol and the final two hymns "O come, all ye faithful" and "Hark! The herald angels sing" (which are also sung every year) there are no repeats of any of the music sung in the 2008 service.

An encore of a relatively new carol appears after the Bidding Prayer: "Ding dong! merrily on high" arranged by Mack Wilberg. Peter Stevens, the senior organ scholar at King's, arranged the organ part. This carol was first performed in 2007 when it was immediately before the ninth lesson. Mack Wilberg is the director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

This is the third consecutive year that the Bidding Carol has been a recent composition. Prior to this sequence, the bidding carol had been a somewhat more established piece of the repertory.

After the first lesson is "Jesus Christ the apple tree" by Elizabeth Poston. This carol has only been performed in this location in recent memory, and was last sung in 2004.

The carol "Adam lay ybounden" often is sung after the first lesson and it has been sung as the second carol after this lesson since 1998. The setting of this carol text is most popularly the unaccompanied one by Boris Ord (Director of Music at King's 1929-1957) or the accompanied setting by Peter Warlock. Philip Ledger (Director of Music 1974-1982) who immediately preceded the current Director of Music, Stephen Cleobury, is the composer of this year's carol. Ledger's setting was last sung in 2000.

Robert Lucas Pearsall's arrangement of "In dulci jubilo" remains popular. It is sung this year immediately after the second lesson. This is is the sixth time it has been sung in the last ten years.

"One star, at last" by Peter Maxwell Davies was commissioned for the service in 1984. It has not been sung in recent years, though it was recorded on the King's College Choir's "On Christmas Night", a 2-CD compilation of these commissioned carols.

After the third lesson we encounter one of several carol treatments by David Willcocks (Director of Music 1957-1973). Having paid homage to Willcocks successor, Philip Ledger, it is particularly fitting that Cleobury include a number of pieces of music by Willcocks this year as he will celebrate his 90^th birthday less than a week after the service.

After Willcocks's "Sussex Carol", Cleobury interrupts his rotation the hymns prior to the fourth lesson ("Unto us is born a Son", "It came upon a midnight clear", "O little town of Bethlehem") with "God rest ye merry, gentlemen".

After the fourth lesson follows that famous medieval trio "There is no rose". A medieval carol was also sung last year, but prior to that one had not been heard since 2000.

Jan Sandström's transcendent treatment of Praetorius's "Det är en ros utsprungen" for 12 voices (3 SATB choirs) follows. The work was first performed at this service two years ago.

After the fifth lesson is sung:

Mary’s Magnificat by Andrew Carter. This video dates from 1995, but I am only aware of the carol being sung at this service in 2004.

In 2004, the carol was preceeded with one by Cleobury. Here a different Cleobury carol "Joys Seven", perhaps my favorite of his carol treatments, follows.

The carols after the Sixth lesson, "Infant holy" and "Il est né," are both Willcocks arrangements. Stephen Cleobury's setting of "Infant holy" was sung last year.

This year's commissioned carol, "The Christ Child" by Gabriel Jackson follows the seventh lesson.

This year the composer Gabriel Jackson has used G K Chesterton's 'The Christ Child Sat On Mary's Lap' as the text for his carol. Gabriel is a leading composer of choral music who has written pieces for the BBC, the Tate Gallery and the National Centre for Early Music.
He said: 'While writing the piece I was thinking all the time about the wondrous space that is the King's Chapel, the special atmosphere of the service, the acoustic of the building, and the unique sound of the King's choir in that building. Now that it is finished I cannot wait for Christmas Eve, to be there in the Chapel at King's and to hear my piece quietly take its place in the age-old rite, as Stephen and his choir work their magic once again.'

The hymn "While shepherds watched their flocks by night" follows. Interestingly, "God rest ye merry, gentlemen" (see above) when it was sung, occupied this post.

Two classics follow the eighth lesson: "In the bleak midwinter" by Harold Darke and "Personent hodie" by Gustav Holst. Darke was Boris Ord's substitute during the war (1940-1945). "In the bleak midwinter" was last sung in 2003; "Personent hodie" was last sung in 1998.

The service ends in the traditional manner. The second organ postlude is Toccata-Gigue on the Sussex Carol by George Baker.

together - one gathered

noreply@blogger.com (Sinden) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 03:17:00 +0000

We know that people don't come to Sinden.org for CD recommendations, and we don't normally put out a "best of the year" list in recorded music. But if we did compile a list for 2009 David W. Solomons "When one is gathered together . . ." (iTunes link) would be near the top of the list.

The title should alert you that something odd is going on here. As you may have already guessed, David W. Solomon is singing all the parts for all of the choral music recorded on the album.

The ascription "dwsChorale" simply refers to a phantom vocal ensemble comprised entirely of himself.

The resulting effect is eerie but captivating. The album is a real feat of engineering and a triumph of art.

It's worth a listen.

noreply@blogger.com (Sinden) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Bloomington, Indiana 27 November 2009

prayer - bidding, Advent

noreply@blogger.com (Sinden) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:05:00 +0000

I'm just going to put this out there: the Bidding Prayer in the Book of Occasional Services leaves a lot to be desired.

The one read at St. John's College, Cambridge, however, is spot on. You can listen to the service this week from the BBC.

hint - crossword

noreply@blogger.com (Sinden) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:05:00 +0000

For all of you working on the Sunday crossword in the New York Times, 42 down is "organ".

Yet another example of our instrument's cultural relevance.

Take that, harpsichord!

entertainment - liturgical

noreply@blogger.com (Sinden) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:15:00 +0000

A very unusual Howells prelude from St. Thomas this week. Various clergy voices are heard every time someone's microphone pops on. 11:00 Choral Mattins and Choral Eucharist

Kenny G - Weezer featuring

noreply@blogger.com (Sinden) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:17:00 +0000

I don't have a lot of respect for or really much interaction with AOL other than getting a lot of CDs in the mail in the late 90s.

But by bilking money from millions of hapless subscribers they have finally given something worthwhile to the world.

This revelatory "AOL sessions" performance pairs Weezer with noted saxophonist Kenny G.

(thanks T. K. for alerting me to this)

Manz, Paul - obituary in the Chicago Tribune

noreply@blogger.com (Sinden) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:37:00 +0000

Paul O. Manz, 1919-2009: Organist for Lutheran churches and schools in Chicago and Minnesota

All Souls (Unitarian) - Feast of

noreply@blogger.com (Sinden) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:43:00 +0000

I found myself in All Souls Church on All Souls Day, but interestingly I was the only soul around.

I was at All Soul's Unitarian Church in Indianapolis. I see elsewhere on this blog a record of my intention to play this organ in the summer of aught five. It took me four years, but I am just now getting around to spending some time with this instrument.

I admittedly have a soft spot for these Holtkamp organs, having played a wonderful 1959 Walter Holtkamp, Sr. (designed with help from Fenner Douglass) at the Episcopal Parish of St. Peter's in Lakewood, Ohio. The Indianapolis instrument is four years younger, but shares many similar qualities.

The Indianapolis instrument does benefit tremendously from a complementary acoustic and is made more versatile with an enclosed swell division.

As a post-1974 graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Holtkamp organs played a relatively minor part of my "official" education, but for earlier students things would have been quite different:

Howells, Herbert - in the New York Times

noreply@blogger.com (Sinden) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:51:00 +0000

The author of Sinden.org kisses Howells's grave
in Westminster Abbey

"If you’re a Howells nut, you’re really a nut," Mr. [Bruce] Neswick said.
Wakin, Daniel J. Little Known in America, an English Composer Finds a Bit of Spotlight. New York Times 31 October 2009.

I confess to being a genuine nut, and one who was pleasantly surprised to see an article about Herbert Howells in Saturday's New York Times.

The occasion for the press is the somewhat coincidental performance of his work at three separate churches. I say somewhat coincidental because Howells Requiem performances this time of year are not entirely unexpected.

(Thanks to S. C. for alerting me to this!)

Manz, Paul - (1919-2009)

noreply@blogger.com (Sinden) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 01:26:00 +0000

Composer Paul Manz has died at 90.

Gentle Jesus, grant him eternal rest.

organists - as seen in popular culture, weddings

noreply@blogger.com (Sinden) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:15:00 +0000

The "stereotypical wedding" as seen frequently on television programs and popular films is one of the last remaining opportunities for people to see the "stereotypical organist."

The "stereotypical organist" is female, and slightly beyond middle age.

The music at such an affair would be the "stereotypical" repertoire: Pachelbel, Wagner and Mendelssohn, in that order.

With the continued growth of post-liturgical movement, we are entering an era where even this holy trinity of music by dead white men cannot be assumed.

Also, we find ourselves in an era where organists are violently silenced in the midst of discharging their professional duties. We resent this depiction of organists as unchanging and irrelevant.

Sinden.org would like to take this opportunity to remind you that recorded music is never appropriate in the liturgy, though sometimes it is funny.

For your reference: JK Wedding Entrance Dance 29.3 million views and counting.

Walker, Charles Dodsley - on Lake Delaware Boys' Camp

noreply@blogger.com (Sinden) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 01:26:00 +0000

On Boys' Camp in the Catskills
Did I ever tell you that I was music director for 50 years at a boys' camp in the Catskills, with an organ that was pumped by the boys? It was a large pipe organ, not just a little harmonium. The camp was a very odd combination of high-church Episcopalianism and the military, with drills and all that sort of thing. The children actually got very good training that way. I had been music director of that camp before the way, and as soon as I was released from service, I went back for the two summer months of 1946, and then I checked in at Harvard and I got my degree in May 1947 -- a master's degree in music. The same month I also successfully passed the [American Guild of Organists] examination to become [a Fellow of the American Guild of Organists].
Higgins, Kathryn A. "Interviews with Charles Dodsley Walker." The American Organist October 2009, p. 62.

Previously: NYT - Lake Delaware Boys' Camp in

Walker as dedicatee: Langlais's "Postlude III" from his Four Postludes is dedicated to Charles Dodsley Walker. I'm sure he had other pieces dedicated to him as well.

Cathedrals - Episcopal, proximity to Starbucks stores (Province II)

noreply@blogger.com (Sinden) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Sinden.org is proud to bring the second installment of our multi-part series of Episcopal Cathedrals and their distance from Starbucks stores. Using field agents and survey crews we have worked tirelessly to bring you this valuable resource.

We continue now in Province II (New York and New Jersey). Province II includes ten diocese, including two that are in neither New York nor New Jersey, and one "convocation".

The winner in this province is (surprise!) New York.

I am happy to be corrected on any of these stats.

Diocese	Cathedral	Dist to SBUX
Albany	All Saints, Albany¹	0.6 mi (10 N Pearl St)
Central New York	St Paul's, Syracuse	0.4 mi (290 W Jefferson St)
Convocation of American Churches in Europe	American, Paris	0.3 mi² (76 Avenue des Champs Elysees)
Haiti	Holy Trinity, Port au Prince	400 mi (Florida)
Long Island	of the Incarnation	0.5 mi (184 7^th St)
New Jersey	Trinity, Trenton	5.6 mi (1 N Main St, Yardley, PA)
New York	St John the Divine	0.2 mi[from the front steps] (2853 Broadway)
Newark	Trinity & St Philip's	0.3 mi (744 Broad St)
Rochester	none³	n/a
Virgin Islands	Church of All Saints, Charlotte Amalie	1000 miles (Florida)
Western New York	St. Paul's, Buffalo	0.7 mi (235 Delaware Ave)

1. All Saints claims to be home to the longest running Men and Boys' Choir in the country.

2. Actually this distance is 0.5km since miles don't work in France.

3. Rochester is one of nineteen domestic dioceses that has no cathedral (the others being Alaska, ~~Central Gulf Coast,~~ East Carolina, Eastern Michigan, Eastern Oregon, Fort Worth, Georgia, Navajoland, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Northern Michigan, Northwest Texas, Southern Virginia, Southwestern Virginia, Tennessee, West Virginia, Western Michigan).

Houston - lots of Starbuckses in

noreply@blogger.com (Sinden) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 20:38:00 +0000

It's always fun to describe for people the two Starbucks locations across the street from each other in the River Oaks area of Houston.

Now, the city has added to that total.

One corner: three Starbucks stores.

Parry, Charles Hubert Hastings - revalatory moments in the music of

noreply@blogger.com (Sinden) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 02:23:00 +0000

In his anthem "I was glad" how about that subito piano on the "-ru" of "O pray for the peace of Jerusalem"?

The effect is huge! And it's clearly there in the score for everyone to see (and hear).

What's it all about?

Has anyone recorded it that way?

Just listened to John Scott's recording with St. Paul's, London. He chickens out. Or the choir does.

Obama, Barack - NASCAR drivers promote speech by

noreply@blogger.com (Sinden) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 00:51:00 +0000

Duruflé, Maurice (1902-1986) - Fugue in C minor

noreply@blogger.com (Sinden) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:00:00 +0000

This week's program of Pipedreams points us to a Fugue written by a 26-year-old student at the Paris Conservatoire, Maurice Duruflé.

Like the other students competing, Duruflé was locked in a room from 6 am until 11:30 pm, provided with only pencil and music paper. No piano, no reference books. Under such circumstances, a real piece of music is about the last thing one would expect as a result. And yet, that is what Duruflé created, and it compels our attention.

Duruflé left us with 14 or so official opus numbers, so really anything else that we have of his compels our attention.

A score and mp3 recording are available here.

Liturgy - Eddington Festival of Music within the, Evensong from

noreply@blogger.com (Sinden) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 02:36:00 +0000

The BBC broadcast of Evensong this week is from the Eddington Festival of Music within the Liturgy.

Grant proposal: If anyone reading this has some money to give me, I'd love to blog from the festival next year.

Don't miss the this service which includes Stanford's double-choir Latin setting of the Magnificat (it's an interesting combination of Bach-motet-style and "I've been workin on' the railroad") and the festival commission: "Most glorious Lord of Lyfe" by Francis Jackson. Jackson celebrates his 92nd birthday in October.

Last year's commission was a setting of the Lord's Prayer by Nico Muhly.

There are a couple of great chants by Wesley.

The priory church is also home to the first performance of the "Eddington Service" of Grayston Ives. It was originally accompanied on the smallish organ heard on this broadcast.

England - Ely

noreply@blogger.com (Sinden) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Photos of Ely Cathedral, England

France - Paris

noreply@blogger.com (Sinden) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Photos of Paris, France, including the Louvre, the Obelisk, the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame and Saint-Eustache.