The ORGELNEWSLEIN

 

Newsletter of the Ogden Chapter

AMERICAN GUILD OF ORGANISTS

April 2001

 

 

Guest Organ Recital For April

 

Dr. Don Cook, professor of organ at Brigham Young University will be the guest organist at the Ogden Tabernacle on Friday, 27 April. The program will include works by Dieterich Buxtehude, Johann Sebastian Bach, Don Cook Thomas M. Kuras, C. Hubert H. Parry, Joseph Downing, and Samuel Barber. A special feature of the program will be  Barber’s Toccata Festiva, performed with full orchestra accompaniment.

 

Dr. Cook serves as organ area coordinator and as university carillonneur at Brigham Young University.  He is the author of OrganTutor Organ 101, a computer-assisted tutorial providing instruction on basic organ techniques, hymn playing, and organ registration. Many of our members will recall Dr. Cook’s presentation on his OrganTutor program at our chapter meeting in September 1999.

 

Additional faculty responsibilities include teaching organ for the BYU Workshop on Church Music. He appears frequently as a Guest Organist at the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City. Dr. Cook is a full member of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America. He serves on the Board of Directors and chairs the music distribution committee for the Guild.

 

(Reminder: have you invited someone, or several someones, to attend this recital?)

 

Date:      Friday, 27 April, 2001

 

Place:     Ogden Tabernacle

21^st & Washington Blvd

 

Time:     7:30 p.m.

 

Event:   Organ Recital

Dr. Don Cook, Organist

 

This recital is sponsored by grants from the Utah Arts Council, Ogden City Arts, the Junior E. and Blanche B. Rich Foundation, and by the Ogden Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. There is no admission charge.            §§§

Invitation to Paris

 

Paris, Idaho, that is. The Eastern Idaho Chapter of AGO has extended an invitation to the Ogden Chapter to join with them on an interesting organ tour on Saturday, 28 April. They will visit the Paris Tabernacle, which houses a 1928 Austin 2-manual pipe organ. Gene Johnson (a member of our chapter) will be there at 10:30 a.m. to give history and background information on the organ, following which everyone will have an opportunity to play. There will be plenty of time (Gene says we can spend 2 hours or even longer), so bring music!

 

After leaving the tabernacle, the tour will continue to Kelvin Smith’s home, at 75 W 1^st S, 1 block west of the tabernacle. Mr. Smith has built a 30+ rank pipe organ in his home. Again, everyone is invited to play this organ for as long as they would like.

 

We will organize car pools to include anyone from our chapter who would like to participate in this activity. Please call Dean Karen Miller (393-1546) by Friday, 27 April if you would like to join in. It will be a good opportunity to see and hear some unique organs as well as to get acquainted with other organists.

 

Some additional information: Bring a sack lunch to eat at the Smith home. There isn’t a good cafe or restaurant closer than Montpelier, about 9 miles away. Also, on the way home you might want to consider stopping in Logan at the Book Table, where they have a good selection of organ music. The Book Table is located on main street next to the Eccles Theater on Main Street.   §§§

 

 

Another Organ Recital Coming Up

 

Karen Miller will present a solo organ recital on Sunday 6 May. The recital will be performed at First United Methodist Church, 2604 Jefferson Ave., at 6:00 p.m. On the program will be music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Marcel Dupré, Josef Rheinberger, and Searle Wright. The recital is free. Everyone is invited to attend.                         §§§

Seasonal Humor

 

A nervous taxpayer was unhappily conversing with the IRS tax auditor who had come to review his records. At one point the auditor exclaimed,

 

“Mr. Foggybottom, we feel it is a great privilege to be allowed to live and work in the USA. As a citizen you have an obligation to pay taxes, and we expect you to eagerly pay them with a smile.”

 

“Thank goodness,” returned Mr. Foggybottom with a giant grin on his face from ear to ear, “I thought you were going to want me to pay with cash.”     §§§

 

 

Increasing Our Volume

 

We are very pleased to welcome Charlene Soderquist and Thomas Poppleton as new members of the Ogden Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. The following information can be used to update our membership directory:

 

Charlene Soderquist

1117 35^th St

Ogden UT 84403

 

phone 801-393-6081

 

Thomas Poppleton

3910 Jackson Ave

Ogden UT 84403-1945

 

phone 801-621-7821 §§§

 

 

Just For Laughs

 

Did you hear about the bass player who locked himself out of his convertible, with the top down? The drummer had to break a window to get out!      §§§

 

 

 

Annual Organist/Director Workshop

 

We were delighted with the success of our annual organist and conductor workshop held on 20 March.. This accomplishment was made possible by our clinicians Ron Poll, Ken Becraft, and Stephen Miller, who willingly shared their time and expertise to help us improve our skills. We are very appreciative of their abilities and generosity in teaching our workshop sessions.

 

Following is a listing of the music and/or arrangements used in the hymn-sing portion of the evening:

 

Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise (hymn tune Ellacombe). For the last verse John Harris played from Hymn Innovations for the Organist by David Hegarty.

 

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (hymn tune Lobe den Herren). Diane Bordinaro played from the hymnal, varying the verses by modulating to a lower key, adding to the registration, and filling out the chords.

 

For All the Saints (hymn tune Sine nomine). The organist for this hymn, Karin Foster, chose an accompaniment from Sing Praise, Varied Accompaniments for Fourteen Hymns by Matthew H. Corl.

 

Beautiful Savior was used in the choir director portion of the workshop by Stephen Miller to demonstrate techniques to improve the choir sound. Members of the chancel choir of First United Methodist Church (with a few added voices from other  workshop participants) learned this hymn and then performed it for the other workshop attendees. The arrangement is found in The Choirbook (published by the Church of Jesus Chriust of Latter-day Saints, 1980). Organist Karen Miller added an introduction, interludes, and registration changes for each of the verses.

 

How Great Thou Art (hymn tune O Store Gud). Ken Becraft directed and Rulon Christiansen served as organist to create an ‘instant arrangement’ for choir and organ, varying the accompaniment and registrations for each verse.

 

The lovely prelude music played by Kathy Peterson was the Andante movement, Finale from the Sixth Organ Sonata by Felix Mendelssohn. §§§

 

 

 

Would You Believe?

 

A French detective, investigating the murder in Lyons of a widow named Annette Roques, who often gave meals to jobless sailors, had only one clue: the discovery, near the body, of a flute that had a defective G note. A year later the detective arrested a sailor carrying a parrot which imitated the sound of a flute with a flat G. The sailor confessed and was sentenced to life imprisonment (1922-1923).    §§§

 

March Guest Recital Review

 

Our March recitalist, Dr. Kenneth Udy, performed a wonderfully unique program of organ music. The program was called “Homage to Alexander Schreiner (1901-1987).” It was presented this year because it is the 100^th anniversary of the birth of Alexander Schreiner. All the organ music was either written by Alexander Schreiner, frequently performed by Alexander Schreiner, or was composed by teachers of Alexander Schreiner. Most of the music was composed by organists who lived from the late 1880s through the first part of the 1900s.

 

Dr. Ken Udy is to be greatly complimented on this program, which was not only performed flawlessly, but also with warm and listenable registrations. The arrangement of the program was such that each individual selection contrasted with the following selection. Dr. Udy used the chimes to open the Vierne “Carillon de Westminster” (an addition to the printed program), and then building up to an exciting and dynamic climax.

 

The music written by Alexander Schreiner illustrated his mastery of theatre organ technique, and Dr. Udy’s expressive interpretations made these pieces exceptionally memorable. Comments after the program by members of the audience showed real appreciation for the “Maestoso in C-Sharp Minor” by Vierne and the concluding “Toccata” by Lanquetuit. Interspersed among these impressive selections were such delightful favorites as “Woodland Flute Call.”

 

Dr. Udy not only was a very gracious performer during the recital, he was also willing to stay for nearly an hour after the recital’s conclusion to visit with AGO members and visitors. During the recital Dr. Udy also gave the audience interesting information about Alexander Schreiner, about his teachers, and about the music. Thanks to Dr. Udy for presenting yet another outstanding recital for us!

— Diane Bordinaro §§§

 

 

Correction For March

 

Credit should have been given to Diane Bordinaro for the Flute and Organ Concert Review which appeared in the March newsletter. Our apologies to Diane for that oversight.

                         §§§

Music Facts?

 

Stuff you just have to know about music, from stories and test questions accumulated by music teachers:

 

A harp is a nude piano.

A tuba is much larger than its name.

 

Instruments come in many sizes, shapes and orchestras. §§§

 

 

Ogden Community Choir Concerts

 

This month the Ogden Community Choir will be presenting two performances of John Rutter’s Requiem. The first will be held on April 22 at the Ogden Tabernacle. The second performance will be on Wednesday, 25 April, at the Assembly Hall on Temple Square. Both concerts will begin at 7:30 p.m. The choir is directed by Evelyn Harris, with Ken Becraft, associate director, and Karen Miller, organist. The  accompaniment will consist of cello, flute, oboe, organ and percussion. The program will also include pieces by Copland, Gounod, Mozart, and Stroope.          §§§

 

 

May Members’ Recital Coming Soon

 

Our annual Members’ Recital is scheduled for Friday, 18 May. This is an official reminder to all those planning to play to get the information on your program selection turned in to the Dean by 4 May. (And for those who haven’t yet made their decision between the 2 or 3 pieces under consideration, this is a gentle nudge to make up your mind.)

 

Practice time on the organ at the Ogden Tabernacle can be arranged in two ways: 1) Between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., go to the Mission Office entrance on the south side of the Tabernacle where someone can let you in when you explain that you are there to practice for the organ recital on 18 May; or 2) Call Lindsey Miller at 334-5034 to schedule an appointment to practice the organ for the 18 May recital. If you wish to save your registrations, be sure to sign the sheet on the music rack.

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Organ Loft Visit

 

The new date for our trip to the Organ Loft has been set for  Tuesday, 29 May. This will be a wonderful evening of musical fun, as those who went with us the last time will remember. Those who haven’t been there before (and also those who have) should prepare to be amazed as JoAnn Harmon performs for us. As before, there will be an opportunity for members and guests to play the organ. Car pooling  arrangements will be announced in the May newsletter. For now, get this date on your calendar. It will be a ‘don’t miss’ event.

                         §§§

May Newsletter Deadline

 

The deadline for submission of items for the May issue of The OrgelNEWSlein is 30 April. We would be happy to include information about your activities, musical and otherwise, as well as jokes, articles, and announcements. Please mail to Karen Miller, 1184 West 5500 South, Riverdale UT 84405, E-mail to kmiller3@weber.edu, or phone 393-1546.                §§§

 

 

Disappointing News

 

We have recently been informed that the organ in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City has not yet been completed. Demonstrations of the instrument will not be possible until it is complete. The goal for completion is October 2001.

 

In light of this development, our planned visit to the organs on Temple Square, including the Conference Center organ, has been canceled for May. Since we toured the other organs on Temple Square just a year ago, it was decided that we would not repeat that same tour again, but will wait until the Conference Center organ is available before scheduling another visit. This will be disappointing to everyone, but we will definitely put this activity on the calendar for next year.                §§§

 

 

What’s Your Favorite Hymn?

 

The Dentist’s Hymn: Crown Him With Many Crowns

The Weatherman’s Hymn: There Shall Be Showers of Blessings

The Contractor’s Hymn: The Church’s One Foundation

The Tailor’s Hymn: Holy, Holy, Holy

The Golfer’s Hymn: There is a Green Hill Far Away

The Politician’s Hymn: Standing on the Promises

The Optometrist’s Hymn: Open My Eyes That I May See

The IRS Agent’s Hymn: I Surrender All

The Gossip’s Hymn: Pass it On

The Electrician’s Hymn: Send Out Thy Light

The Shopper’s Hymn: Sweet By and By §§§

 

 

News Of Our Members

 

Kathy Peterson is teaching an organ course for the Ogden Utah North Stake. In addition, her daughter will be married on Saturday, 28 April, and her son will be leaving for an LDS mission to Bulgaria on 2 May.

 

Congratulations to Ken Becraft and Marge on the birth of their new granddaughter early in the morning of 19 April to their son Todd.

 

Gene Johnson recently had gall bladder surgery. We wish him a continued speedy recovery.        §§§

 

 

Who Said That?

 

Do you recognize the following musical quotation?

 

“Oh how wonderful, really wonderful opera would be if there were no singers!” —  ?       

 

Do you know who said it? A prize will be awarded for the correct answer at our next  meeting.

 

In the March newsletter we quoted Robert Pilatus of Milli Vanilli, who said, “Musically, we are more talented than any Bob Dylan. Musically, we are more talented than Paul McCartney. Mick Jagger, his lines are not clear. He don’t know how he should produce a sound. I’m the new modern rock-and-roll. I’m the new Elvis.” Milli Vanilli was later found to be lip-synching to pre-recorded songs.             §§§

 

Improvisation Class Plans

 

The chapter improvisation class, which has generated a lot of interest among our members, has been scheduled for  the summer months of July and August.  It is hoped that there will be fewer conflicts with other meetings,  classes, and rehearsals during the summer. Classes will be held on a weekly basis, probably on Thursdays for 6-8 weeks. We hope this will be a time convenient for all those who have signed up to participate.

 

If there is a problem with this time, or if someone who hasn’t yet signed up wishes to do so, please call Dean Karen Miller and we’ll try to work it out. Rulon will be participating in the Regional Convention in San Diego in late June, and is not free to begin the class until after that time. Put Thursday, 5 July on your calendar for a tentative starting date. Place and time will be announced in the next newsletter.     §§§

 

 

The Lighter Side of Music

 

Wanted: Large mouth bass for Church Choir. §§§

 

Some Thoughts For April

 

Why does a hummingbird hum? Because he doesn’t know the words (sorry, I couldn’t resist). It’s actually due to the 10 primary feathers on each wing. These feathers are extremely long and narrow. When the wings flap, these feathers vibrate, making the humming sound (but I still insist that they don’t know the words).

 

In an average day, a hummingbird will feed at over 1,500 flowers. That’s like going to McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and the Dairy Queen all in one day. Sounds like a  pretty good diet, doesn’t it?

 

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. Let’s stay enthusiastic and keep things humming in our Ogden AGO Chapter.          §§§

 

 

 

Curious Facts About The Organ

And Its History

 

Following is a continuation of the information provided for the Pipes Spectacular! World’s Largest Organ Concert. It is offered  here for organists and nonorganists alike to brush up on their knowledge of the history of the organ.

 

Here are a few more of the amazing twists and turns in the organ’s history.

 

Part Three

 

The First “Modern” Organ. Between 1510 and 1520 a type of organ appeared in the upper Rhineland that incorporated virtually all features to be found in present-day organs. The “modern” organ, with all of its new stops and effects, was described in a work entitled Mirror of the Organbuilder by Arnold Schlick of Heidelberg (1511).

 

John Wayne’s Westerns Never Showed This. In 1524, the first music school in Mexico was established by Spanish missionaries. Organbuilding was among the subjects taught. Native peoples displayed a gift for organbuilding and soon were building organs independently. In 1735, when the Cathedral in Mexico City desired a second large instrument, it was a Mexican, José Nassarre, who was hired to build the organ.

 

Not Just a Lot of Wives. An inventory of the estate of Henry VIII, taken in 1547, revealed that he owned dozens of chamber organs, regals, and claviorgana (an instrument that used strings and pipes).

 

Before the European Union. In 1599, Queen Elizabeth of England, seeking trade favors, sent a self-playing organ as a gift to the Sultan of Turkey. During Elizabeth’s reign, keyboard music flourished; she encouraged notable composers such as Byrd, Bull, and Gibbons.

 

Not for Puritans. Fearing Puritan persecution, members of the famed Fallam and Harris organbuilding families fled England for Brittany in 1642. Oliver Cromwell’s Puritan movement, in power as of 1649, was responsible for destroying many organs and other works of art in English churches. For the Puritans, the organ and its music represented anything but the piety and religiosity with which we often associate it.

 

Battle of the Organs. Famed composer Henry Purcell, appointed organist to the Chapel Royal of Charles II in 1682, played one of the organs in the great “battle of organs.” The battle, between builders Harris and Smith, was to decide which builder should build the organ for London’s Temple Church. Smith won!

 

Paul’s Revered Organ. In 1759 Thomas Johnston, a native of Boston, built an organ for Old North Church where Paul Revere was the sexton. The church was soon to become famous as a result of Revere’s ride. The organ was enlarged many times and recently a new organ was built by David Moore, of Vermont, and the beautiful Johnston case restored.

 

George and the Organ. Organs, an integral part of American society since its very beginnings, were exported to the American colonies before the Revolution. An organ by John Snetzler, official organbuilder to King George III of England, was given by George Washington’s physician, Dr. Samuel Bard, to Bard’s daughter, who played the instrument for the father of our country.

 

Haydn’s Hidden Organ. Composer Joseph Haydn wrote a set of pieces in 1772 to be played on a mechanical organ located in a clock.

 

They All Played the Organ. Mozart and Beethoven were both court organists. Mozart’s appointment came in 1779 to the court of Salzburg and Beethoven’s in 1784 to the court of Elector Max Franz. While we often associate J. S. Bach closely with the organ, many today do not think of Mozart and Beethoven as court organists. These were positions of importance to the composers, the courts, and the people of Western Europe. Other famous composers who were organists: Handel, Mendelssohn, Liszt, Franck, Dvo_ák, Bruckner, Fauré, Ives, and Messiaen.

 

Mozart was High on the Organ. “In my eyes and ears...the king of instruments” (taken from a letter to his father dated 17-18 October 1777).

 (to be continued)

                         §§§

Organists’ Humor

 

Following are more definitions lifted from BBC Music magazine.

 

What organ buffs mean when they say. . .

 

Hymns for weddings: The Lord’s my Shepherd, Praise my Soul

Hymns for funerals: The Lord’s my Shepherd, Praise my Soul

 

Choir: 1. Occupational hazard of being a church organist.

2.Ideal accompaniment to the organ.

 

Choir practice: Preparation for going down to the pub.

 

Modern hymn: Musically unchallenged tune for the musically challenged. Limited to about three notes. §§§

 

 

Did You Know?

 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), one of the world’s foremost composers, died while creating a requiem mass for the dead.                  §§§

 

 

2000-2001 Officers:

 

Dean: Karen Miller 393-1546 or 626-7185

Sub-Dean: Karin Foster 778-0061 or 962-2497

Secretary: Diane Bordinaro 782-2739

Treasurer: Kenneth Becraft 731-0889 or 544-1035

 

Website:   https://www.angelfire.com/ut/agoogden/

Webmaster: Alan Gessel, gessel@networld.com, 395-2658

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Let’s Get Acquainted

 

New chapter member Clifford Goff

 

Robert Bird

 

 

 

How many lead singers does it take to change a light bulb? Only one – she just holds the bulb over her head, and the universe revolves around her!

 

How do you know it’s a drummer who’s at your door? The knocking speeds up, and slows down, and speeds up, and...

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