Peter Pelham and Charles Pachelbel: New England’s Immigrant Organists

Handout

This paper surveys the lives and work of two vital early American musicians, Peter Pelham (1721–1805) and Charles Pachelbel (1690–1750), including the music they performed and composed, the organs they played, and their struggles to achieve professional success during turbulent colonial and revolutionary times. Pelham’s 1744 manuscript of keyboard lessons is the primary source for the musical examples. The manuscript contains several original works of Pelham and Pachelbel, as well as an excellent representation of the keyboard music popular in colonial America, including works by Handel, Thomas Arne, Johann Pepusch, Maurice Greene, and others.

Joseph Butler

H. Joseph Butler is professor of music and university Organist at Texas Christian University, where he is also associate dean of the College of Fine Arts. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the Eastman School of Music, a Master of Music from New England Conservatory, and a Bachelor of Arts from Bowdoin College. He studied organ with Russell Saunders, Yuko Hayashi, Harald Vogel, Bernard Lagacé, and Marion R. Anderson. He has performed widely in the United States, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and China. His recordings on the Pro Organo label have received critical acclaim; these include Julius Reubke: The Keyboard Works and Vive le Roi: The Music of André Raison. His editions of early American keyboard music, published by Wayne Leupold Editions, include The Peter Pelham Manuscript of 1744: An Early American Keyboard Tutor and The Keyboard Manuscript of Francis Hopkinson. He is represented by Windwerk Artists.

The Chant-Based Organ Works of Flor Peeters

Organist, composer, and teacher Flor Peeters (1903–1986) was one of the most influential twentieth-century church musicians. This study of his chant-based organ works, in light of his Practical Method for the Accompaniment of Gregorian Chant (1942), assesses his development as a composer over several decades. As he progressed as an organist and composer, his chant-based settings became more complex, both melodically and rhythmically. The study also investigates his role in the development of twentieth-century American church music, through his recitals, compositions, writings, masterclasses, and study of early music.

Linda Patterson

Linda Patterson, DMA, holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in organ performance from the University of Houston. Her teachers included Don Ryno, Seth Wertz, Dr. Marilyn Mason, and Dr. Robert J. Jones. She received Belgian fellowships for Flor Peeters’ International Masterclass and his Memorial Masterclass and Competition. She received her Doctor of Musical Arts in organ performance, sacred music emphasis, from the University of Texas, Austin, studying with Drs. Gerre and Judith Hancock. A member of the Association of Anglican Musicians, she has served as organist/music director of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Brenham, Texas since 1994. She leads Youth and Adult Choirs and administers a recital series. She has chaired the Episcopal Diocese of Texas Music Commission since 2003. A teacher, accompanist, and organist, she has performed, taught, and accompanied for national and regional gatherings. The mother of three, she lives in Round Top, Texas with her husband and youngest daughter.

Early Music in the Modern Church: What can we do?

As church musicians, a great deal of the music we encounter on a day-to-day basis falls under the heading of “early music”. In order to present this music effectively in a modern liturgical context, we must make sure it is performed with honesty, affection, and a sense of style. Despite the constraints of time, money, and energy, there are ways we can educate ourselves, our choirs, and our congregations about this music. How can we make it possible, despite the many pressures of making music in the modern parish, to present these works in a historically informed style?

Elizabeth Clark

Elizabeth Clark, a native of Durham, North Carolina, is a graduate of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she earned dual Masters of Music in organ and sacred music, studying with Christopher Young, and in harpsichord, studying with Elisabeth Wright. She graduated from St. Olaf College in 2010, where she was a Regents Scholar. At St. Olaf, she studied organ with Catherine Rodland and served as a teaching assistant for music theory and as the organist of Main Street Moravian. She pursued additional organ study with Bjørn Andor Drage at the Music Conservatory of the University of Tromsø. She is currently the director of music/organist at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Columbus, and director of children’s choirs at First United Methodist, Columbus. She is also an intern for the early music radio program Harmonia and serves as keyboardist of Les Élémens Baroque Orchestra.

Discovering the Dramatic Essence in Liszt’s Prelude and Fugue on B.A.C.H.

Franz Liszt’s Prelude and Fugue on B.A.C.H. represents something radically new in the organ repertoire: it is the first major organ work in which gradual changes of dynamics and tempo are essential elements of expression and structure. This paper applies Hugo Riemann’s theories to B.A.C.H., showing that the pacing and dynamic shape—or musical flow—of the piece are affected by dynamic tension, from the motivic level to the larger structural level. The paper draws on organ descriptions and texts on registration, tempo, articulation, and phrasing in the German Romantic tradition generally and in sources that relate to Liszt specifically.

Lars Gjerde

Norwegian organist Lars Gjerde earned doctoral and master’s degrees in organ performance, and sacred music diploma, with David Higgs and Hans Davidsson at the Eastman School of Music. He studied harpsichord with William Porter and jazz piano with Tony Caramia. He received degrees in music and German from Augustana College of Liberal Arts in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and from the Edvard Grieg Academy in Bergen, Norway. He has won many scholarships, participated in academies and performed around America and Europe, and played on Pipedreams. He is director of music at Bethesda Lutheran Church in New Haven. He is dean and 2015 regional convention coordinator for the New Haven chapter of the AGO. His 2013–2014 guest lecture and performance appearances include Eastman’s EROI festival, Yale University, Augustana College, and DePauw University. His research on organ music from Norway was featured in the Norwegian Church Music Magazine in 2013.

Gospel Worship Choir Rehearsal

Panel of American Composers: Searle Wright, Larry King, Clarence Mader

Handout Composer Larry King

The panel will provide insights into the music and lives of the American Composers.

Panel: Peter Krasinski, Moderator

Peter Krasinski

Peter Edwin Krasinskicurrently serves as organist of First Church of Christ, Scientist in Providence and as accompanist at Beth El Temple Center, Belmont, Massachusetts. He is on the faculty of the Boston Archdiocesan Choir School, Cambridge and serves as organ consultant on a number of high-profile projects. He holds both a Bachelor of Music in music education and organ performance and a Master of Sacred Music from Boston University. A winner of the first prize in improvisation in the American Guild of Organists National Competition, he has played in concert at many of the world’s most important organ venues. He has premiered the art of silent film accompaniment at many distinguished venues, including Saint Paul Church, Cambridge; National City Christian Church, Washington, D.C.; Cathedral of St. Joseph, Hartford; Saint Joseph’s Oratory, Montreal; Second Congregational Church, Holyoke; and major halls in Yokohama, Fukui, Miyazaki, and Kanazawa, Japan.

Andrew Kotylo

Andrew Kotylo has concertized throughout the United States and in England, with critically acclaimed appearances at regional and national American Guild of Organists conventions. His performances have earned him top prizes in several major competitions, including the Guild’s National Young Artists Competition and the Arthur Poister and San Marino competitions, and he has been featured several times on Pipedreams. He holds degrees from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he studied with Christopher Young and Larry Smith and wrote his dissertation on the life and works of his former teacher, Searle Wright. Currently, he is associate director of music at the historic Trinity Church on the Green in New Haven, Connecticut, and is involved with every facet of a busy music program that includes one of the nation’s oldest choirs of men and boys. He also maintains an active private teaching studio.

Cherry Rhodes

Cherry Rhodes is the first American to win an international organ competition (Munich). During her brilliant career, she has toured extensively throughout the major music capitals of America and Europe, with recitals and festival appearances in churches, cathedrals, and concert halls, including the Kennedy Center; Lincoln Center; Orchestra Hall (Chicago); Meyerson Symphony Center (Dallas); the Kimmel Center; Royal Festival Hall (London); the International Performing Arts Center (Moscow); the Philharmonic halls of Berlin, Dortmund, and Luxembourg; St. Augustine (Vienna); and Notre-Dame (Paris). She was one of the first organists to perform at Walt Disney Concert Hall, performing there several times as soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and in recitalist. Many of her recordings and performances have been broadcast internationally. She has been featured at numerous American Guild of Organists national and regional conventions. She is adjunct professor of organ at the University of Southern California, Thornton School of Music.

Jacob Benda

Jacob Benda, a native of St. Cloud, Minnesota, is currently completing his Doctor of Musical Arts at Louisiana State University under the tutelage of Dr. Herndon Spillman. Over the past three years, he has developed a profound appreciation and admiration for the organ music of Clarence Mader (1904–1971). His research on the prolific composer has led to interviews and coaching sessions with former students of Mader’s, such as Ladd Thomas, Orpha Ochse, Thomas Murray, and William Beck. He has been featured as a concert artist throughout the United States and is currently in the process of recording the first compact disc to exclusively feature the organ music of Clarence Mader. The recording will include Mader’s monumental Concerto for Organ, and will be released by Centaur Records in 2014.