Robert Bates performs
The Complete Organ Works of Francisco Correa de Arauxo: Correa in the New World, Robert Bates, organist. Loft Recordings, LRCD 1141–45 (5 CDs), $49.98. Available from www.gothic–catalog.com.
An important event in the history of church music in Nigeria was observed in 2018. It connotes longevity and continuity as we celebrate the centenary of the oldest choral group in Nigeria (1918–2018), which finds its home in the oldest Anglican cathedral in Nigeria, the Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina, Lagos. The history of the Cathedral Choir began in 1895, when Reverend Robert Coker inaugurated the first Anglican choir in the country.
Notes in The Diapason: a bit of history
Siegfried Gruenstein, the founding editor of The Diapason, served for forty-eight years. The front-page tribute to him in the December 1959 issue celebrating the magazine’s fiftieth anniversary began with these descriptive words:
R. M. Ballantyne Pipe Organs,
Jurupa Valley, California
Pasadena Stake Center,
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
Pasadena, California
Roger Banks,
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Reuter Organ Company,
Lawrence, Kansas
First Presbyterian Church,
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
From Roger Banks
I first heard the M. P. Möller organ at First Presbyterian Church shortly after its installation in 1964. At that time, I was a senior at Oklahoma City University nearby. As one of the newest and largest organs in the Oklahoma City area, it should have been wonderful. After all, the specification indicated that it followed the latest trends in organbuilding and design at the time, yet I remember that, in that cavernous building, the result was much less
than satisfying.
