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The International Year of the Organ
John Schaefer tells us why The American Guild of Organists has named 2008-09 "The International Year of the Organ."
Monthly Organ Column
by John Schaefer
"A mighty machine making magnificent music" - that is an apt description of the pipe organ. It is true that there are many small instruments that produce gentle sounds. For example, St. Luke's Hospital Chapel in midtown Kansas City has a three-rank instrument that is perfect for that small space. Nevertheless, the mechanical aspects of that instrument and of all pipe organs are complex, since there are so many parts that must work together, whether the key-desk (console) is right against the pipes or many feet away. It is possible, too, that those who love the sound of organ music really enjoy the amazing range of colors and wide dynamic range that are the hallmarks of larger instruments.
The American Guild of Organists has named 2008-2009 "The International Year of the Organ."
The first major celebration is Sunday October 19th; organ recitals too many to number will be held throughout the nation and the world. In our own community, the Greater Kansas City Chapter of the Guild will present its recital at the Community of Christ Auditorium in Independence. There one finds the largest organ in the area, a four-manual and pedal instrument built in 1959 by the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company of Boston. The organ rises majestically above the platform at the south end of the building; the warm acoustics of the auditorium allow the organ to be heard easily in every one of the nearly 6,000 seats. The organ has 113 ranks and 6,334 pipes; one can delight in the enormous range of voices and dynamics, from the ultra soft Flauto Dolce to the formidable Trompette en Chamade at the north end of the building.
The 3 PM recital on October 19th features two of our finest local artists and the winner of the 2007 AGO Region VI Organ Playing Competition. Dr. Jan Kraybill, the principal organist of the Community of Christ Church, is to play music for organ and brass by the Belgian composer Flor Peeters; several works for violin and organ, one of which Ornament of Grace was the AGO Composition Competition winner; and Symphonie I by Alexandre Guilmant, a "show-stopper." Jan van Otterloo, a member of the organ staff at the Auditorium, will present Blithely Breezing Along, by Stephen Paulus; this work is the commissioned work for the International Year of the Organ. Adam Peithmann, the Competition winner, will play works by Leo Sowerby, William Bolcom and Franz Liszt; the Sowerby work, his Pageant, is a tour-de-force for the feet. I can attest that it is really HARD, but great fun.
Though the organ stops are the same for all three players, each artist will bring his or her own particular sound concept to the performance. The variety that you will hear will amaze you.
The International Year of the Organ Kansas City recital begins at 3:00 p.m. on the 19th. The Auditorium is located at River and Walnut Streets in Independence, two blocks south of Truman Rd. Admission is free.
Dr. Ann Marie Rigler of William Jewell College will also present a recital honoring the International Year of the Organ, on Sunday October 5th at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, near Bartle Hall in downtown Kansas City. Her recital begins at 3 PM. In this writer's opinion, she is also one of the outstanding organists in this area.
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