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San Anselmo Organ Festival

March 19, 2003
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Samuel Douglas is Music librarian at the San Francisco Public Library and Organist, First Church of Christ, Scientist, Mill Valley, California.

"Cathedral Organist: A celebration of Louis Vierne at 125" was the theme of the 1995 San Anselmo Organ Festival. The Sunday evening opening concert was performed by Olivier Latry, Titular Organist of the Cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris. First Presbyterian Church, the "host" church, was filled to capacity, even though the temperature had soared to a record 100+ degrees. Latry offered works by Bonnet, Dupré, Barie, and Vierne's Symphony no. 1 in d minor, op. 14. He closed his program with a brilliant improvisation on two themes from the collection Vierne himself had prepared for his students at the Paris Conservatoire. At the concert and subsequent concerts, the symphonies were introduced by Rulon Christiansen, who has published articles on Vierne and Widor in The American Organist.

Monday's events began with a keynote address by John
Pagett, which provided a historical and musical context for the events to
follow. Late in the morning Robert Bates of Stanford University's Memorial Church presented Vierne's Symphony no II in e minor, op. 20. Monday afternoon Karen Hastings-Deans presented a lecture on the development of the organ symphony and organ mass, contributing greatly to the understanding of the context within which Vierne lived and composed. Latry held an interesting
improvisation demonstration from which all gained some very useful "tips." The festival then walked up the hill to the beautiful campus of the San Anselmo Presbyterian Seminary, with its magnificent views of Marin County's Mt. Tamalpais, accompanied by piper Merritt Robinson. Susan Landale, organist at the Church of St. Louis des Invalides, Paris, talked about her exciting days as a young student of Marchal's in Paris. The National Improvisation Contest was held Monday night. The theme, submitted by Festival Director David Farr, was the hymn tune "Kedron" as in Pilsbury's United States Harmony (1799). It can be found in the Presbyterian Hymnal, no. 121. Judges Ron McKean, Susan Landale and Olivier Latry did not award a first prize this year. John Schwandt of Wisconsin was awarded a second prize and Chris Putnam, assistant organist at Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, was awarded third prize.

Tuesday morning began with an improvisation lesson for the
beginner presented by Latry. The morning lecture was by organbuilder Manuel
Rosales, sharing slides and recordings of Cavaillé-Coll and other organs
he had visited on a study tour of France. During the morning break John Pagett
played some recordings of Vierne performing at Notre Dame and St. Sulpice. What
a treat to be able to hear the master himself! Paul Jacobson, organist at San
Francisco's First Unitarian Church, presented Vierne's Symphony No. III in f sharp minor. In the afternoon, Rulon Christiansen, director of music at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, Ogden, Utah, lectured on the piano music of Vierne. He then performed a selection of the works, showing that Vierne had a first-rate idiomatic understanding of the piano. Tuesday evening's program "Virtually Vierne I" included music for a variety of instrumental ensembles, as well as music by Widor and Dupré. The Soirs Étrangers, op. 56, for cello and piano, the Rhapsodie, op. 25,
for harp, and the Largo and Canzonetta, op. 6, for oboe and piano, show the
wide range of Vierne's interests. The performances by Bay Area musicians
were of the highest quality. Wyatt Insko of the San Francisco Conservatory of
Music organized the evening's performances.

Wednesday's events took place in the East Bay. Oakland's
First Presbyterian Church, with its marvelous new Rosales organ, was the venue
for Latry's improvisation lesson 2 for the advanced student. Following an
open console, host organist Ron McKean presented Vierne's Symphony no. IV
in g minor, op. 32. Then on to the Walnut Creek home of Eric Walling, where he
has installed the 3-manual Moller organ removed from Trinity Cathedral,
Portland. The organ is in a large music room having a very warm acoustic,
allowing the sound to "bloom" quite nicely.

Thursday began with a masterclass on the works of Vierne and
other French composers by Latry. The morning lecture, "Vierne and his
students: Vierne the teacher" was presented by Landale. It was an
interesting look at organ pedagogy at the turn of the century. Following the
lecture Christiansen performed Vierne's Symphony No. V in a minor, op.
47. The afternoon was devoted to the harmonium and its music, with a lecture by
Jim Tyler, Regional Counsellor for the U.S. West, Reed Organ Society. The
instruments were demonstrated by James M. Bratton, Professor Emeritus,
University of Denver. An open console followed. The evening concert,
"Virtually Vierne II," consisted of choral and vocal music by 20th-century French organists, featuring the David Farr Chorale, organists John Pagett and Paul Jacobson, and other Bay Area musicians. Works by Dupré, Guilmant, Fauré, Duruflé, and Messiaen were presented. The evening closed with a rousing reading of Vierne's Missa Solenelle, op.
16.

Friday morning's lecture by Christiansen emphasized
that the stylistic performance of Vierne's music depends on an understanding of Cavaillé-Coll's organs and an awareness of Vierne's own performing style as reported by his pupils. San Francisco organist Josephine Bennington hosted a dinner for the Festival at her Presidio Heights residence. Grace Cathedral was the site of the closing recital by Susan Landale, who played Vierne's Symphony No. 6, op. 59, and works by Tournemire and Messiaen.

This year's Festival was highly successful in many
ways. Musicians of the highest calibre performed. Guest artists were charming,
approachable, and affable. Vierne's music is, of course, magnificent, and
hearing so many of the instrumental, vocal, and choral works revealed him to be
a composer of enormous skill and breadth.