Windows

June 1 & 8, 2023

Gifts to the Church

Memorials and honoraria are published in the newsletter only after the family has been personally notified by our business office. Today we gratefully acknowledge the following gifts in memory of:

• Nancy Lilly (Sam Weddington’s grandmother): to the Minister’s Discretionary Fund from Barb Duncan, from Dot Mattison
• Tony Raccioppo: to the Memorial Fund from Cora Lee Raccioppo

Organist's Footnotes

June 4: Some time ago I stumbled upon a volume called Three Characteristic Pieces (Novello & Co. Ltd., 1957) composed by the famous blind French organist, Jean Langlais (1907–1991). I had never heard of these pieces, much less played them. I decided that when the time was right, I would learn them and play them for worship. This Sunday I will play them in book order, the first piece for the opening voluntary, the second for communion, and the third for the closing voluntary.

The “Composer’s Note” in the introduction reads: “I pay homage to John Stanley with these pieces, and the subject material of “Bells” [the third piece] is directly inspired by his music. Any of the pieces can be used as voluntaries, or they may be played together as a suite for recitals. The music does not demand elaborate colour, and the suggested schemes of registration may be modified to suit the smallest organ. Paris, May, 1957, J. L.”

I was puzzled by Langlais’s reference to John Stanley (1712–1786), an English composer who lived two centuries earlier. I could see no resemblance at all in their music. Perhaps Langlais was trying to ingratiate himself with the English by speaking well of one of their own? Whatever the reason, I decided I needed to learn more about Stanley, about whom I knew almost nothing.

When I learned that Stanley became blind when he was two years old, just as Langlais had, I began to understand Langlais’s sense of kinship to him. In my student years, my organ teacher told me that many of the great organists were (or are) blind. After reading about Stanley and Langlais, I decided to do a search to see just how many blind organists I might find. It did not take me long to find many blind organists, some whose music I have already studied and others I’ve never heard of before.

The idea came to me that I could fill my summer 2023 repertoire with music composed entirely by blind organists. There is no shortage of music to choose from. I will probably play some old favorites, but mostly I will explore new repertoire. This will be an adventure for me and, I hope, for you, the listener.

Langlais was born February 15, 1907, in La Fontenelle, a village near Mont Saint-Michel in Brittany, France. In 1918 he was sent to the Paris National Institute for the Young Blind, where he studied piano, violin, harmony, and organ with the great blind teachers Albert Mahaut and Andre Marchal, among others.

Later, he entered the Paris National Conservatory of Music in Marcel Dupre’s organ class, obtaining a First Prize in 1930. After studying improvisation with Charles Tournemire, he received the Grand Prix d’Execution et Improvisation des Amis de l’Orgue in 1931. He ended his studies with a Composition Prize in Paul Dukas’s class at the Paris Conservatory in 1934.

A professor for 40 years at the National Institute for the Young Blind, he also taught at the Paris Schola Cantorum between 1961 and 1976, where he influenced both French and foreign students. In 1945, he became the successor to Cesar Franck and Tournemire as the prestigious organiste titulaire at the Basilica of Sainte-Clotilde in Paris, a position he held for 42 years until retiring in 1987 at the age of 80.

Langlais was a great recitalist who played more than 300 concerts in North America. He was also a prolific composer, with a catalog comprising 254 opus numbers (organ, vocal, and instrumental music). He died in Paris on May 8, 1991, at the age of 84.

June 11: I must confess that I have not played much of John Stanley’s music. Reading through his Ten Voluntaries for the Organ or Harpsichord, I found I liked them all. Deciding which two to play was a struggle. I finally settled on “Voluntary X in A minor” for the opening voluntary and “Voluntary VI in D minor” for the closing voluntary. All of Stanley’s voluntaries begin with a slow section (typically marked adagio) followed by a fast section (usually marked allegro). They are meant to be played on manuals alone—no pedal—because the organs in England at that time had no pedal division. Some later editors have felt the need to add pedal parts and voicing to fill out the harmonic texture of his music, but that is now widely regarded as a mistake. A lighter, clearer sound employing just a few stops better approximates what Stanley had in mind.

Stanley was born in London on January 17, 1712. At about the age of two, he fell on a marble hearth with a china basin in his hand, an accident that left him nearly blind. He began music lessons when he was 7 and, after a false start, progressed so quickly that he was made organist at a nearby church when he was only 12.

In 1734 he was appointed organist to the Society of the Inner Temple, a position he held until his death in 1786. It was at the ancient Temple Church that his brilliant playing upon the organ and harpsichord attracted the attention of many fine musicians, including George Frederic Handel, who regularly visited the church to hear him. Stanley was also an outstanding violinist.

He had a remarkable memory, which helped him direct many of Handel’s oratorios and to enjoy music-making and card games with his many friends. If he had to accompany a new oratorio, he would ask his sister-in-law (who became his amanuensis) to play it through just once—enough to commit it to memory. He frequently played the organ at Vauxhall Gardens and was first choice to play at charity events and at the launch of any newly built church organ. He even found time to teach. His oratorio Jephthah was first performed in 1757. /Bob Greene

We want to pray for and celebrate with you! Send us your prayer requests and glad tidings.



Congratulations

We rejoice with Andrew and Ashton Powers, son and daughter-in-law of Lea and Rush Powers, in the birth of a daughter, Sunny Marie Powers. God bless this beautiful family!

The session continues to encourage masks for those at higher risk of complications from COVID-19 or not fully vaccinated. The session encourages everyone to consult their medical professional about vaccinations and boosters.

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