A Day Late … and

… well really a day short of a week late. Confused yet?

Here’s the deal. On Sunday, June 3, I went to temple. Temple Emanu-El, at Fifth Avenue and 65th Street, for an organ concert. As an interesting side note, the building is an “almost twin” to the Church of the Heavenly Rest at Fifth and 90th, where I sang in the choir for many years. On the outside, at least. The interiors are somewhat different.

So, back to the temple. The organist was Dr. Andrew E. Henderson, who I heard and commented on in my blog post of the 50th Anniversary organ concert at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church. Is everybody singing “It’s a Small World, After All” yet?

Here’s Sunday’s program:
Carillon de Westminster (from Pièce de Fantaisie, Op. 54, No. 6 – Louis Vierne (1870–1937)
Sheep May Safely Graze (from Cantata 208) – Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750); arr. E. Power Biggs (1906–1977)
‘Little’ Fugue in G minor, BWV 578 – J.S. Bach
Master Tallis’s Testament (1940) – Herbert Howells (1892–1983)
Choral No. 1 in E major (1890) – César Franck (1822–1890)
From Six Preludes for Organ (1949) – Ernest Bloch (1880–1959);
2. Poco Lento, 3. Andante, 6. Processional (Moderato)
Adagio for Strings, Op. 11 – Samuel Barber (1910–1981); arr. William Strickland (1914–1991)
Prelude & Fugue in B major, Op. 7, No. 1 – Marcel Dupré (1886–1971)

The first three works were relatively brief, with the first being a pseudo-riff on those famous chimes. A friend of mine always used to define French organ music by its “creepy-crawly” chords, and there were some on display here. The first Bach piece was straightforward (and very pretty) with surprisingly little in the way of ornamentation. The ‘Little’ Fugue introduced plenty of ornamentation in a nicely played performance of this classic. It's hard to describe the theme but I bet a lot of you would recognize it.

The Howells had a subdued beginning, a nice build in sound and power, with a subdued ending. This piece made use of the Echo rank of pipes in the rear of the sanctuary, so that we were surrounded by sound. The Franck was a more extensive piece that provided an excellent example of a French-romantic organ sound and composition, with interweaving themes and a display of the full range of the pipe organ. The Bloch pieces were brief, with each showcasing a distinct quality – mystical, rocking, and slightly expansive grandeur.

Barber’s Adagio was presented in a very effective arrangement, especially as the sound is borne on the wind through the pipes.

The Dupré was true virtuosic writing (and playing in Dr. Henderson’s hands and feet) – my notes include “the real razzle-dazzle aspect of the organ.” This was a great visual and aural example of the technique involved in classical organ playing. The Fugue included some very nice shifting rhythms.

Of note, there was an “organ cam” since the console itself (nor the pipes, for that matter) was not on view. We could see how the machine is a truly integral part of the concert. The organ has four manuals (keyboards for the hands) and a pedal board (not seen, but trust me, I know it’s there!).The combinations of sounds are prepared ahead of time with pre-set pistons, but you have to know/remember which piston is used where and when. Additionally, there are two types of pedal functions – one for playing notes and one for controlling volume. Meanwhile, you're playing all those keyboards. Too much information?

Even though it sounds like you’d need to be a contortionist, Dr. Henderson seemed cool as a cucumber throughout. A really great performance on an organ I was hearing for the first time.

ConcertMeister