Soler’s Fandango
An urtext edition of Fandango (R146) by the Spanish composer Padre Antonio Soler (1729–1783) has been published by Ut Orpheus Editions of Bologna (ES67). Comprising 463 measures, the obsessively repetitive work is both lengthy and mesmerizing—truly a virtuoso exercise in baroque minimalism. The beautifully printed new publication is a careful transcription of the original manuscript.
Bigelow & Co., Inc., Organ Builders, American Fork, Utah
St. Ambrose Catholic Church, Salt Lake City, Utah
St. Ambrose Parish in Salt Lake City has been blessed with a beautiful, large, and acoustically gracious worship space, a talented and ambitious director of music (Christopher Huntzinger), excellent choirs, and supportive clergy (Rev. Andrzej Skrzypiec)—but, until recently, only a seven-rank pipe organ (with no reeds). When the 44-rank Holtkamp organ from St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Salt Lake City became available (replaced by a new Bigelow instrument), St. Ambrose’s musicians and clergy wasted no time in procuring it.
Douglas E. “Doug” Bush died in his home on October 4 after battling cancer. Born in 1947, Bush grew up on a farm in western Montana; his interest in music began while in his high school choir. Bush attended Ricks College (now Brigham Young University Idaho); after a year at Ricks College, Bush was called on an LDS mission to Switzerland, following which he attended Brigham Young University, earning a bachelor’s degree in music performance in 1972 and a master’s degree in music in 1974. He received a Ph.D. in musicology in 1982 from the University of Texas at Austin.
Schoenstein & Co.,
Benicia, California
Fordham University Church,
New York City
But Will It Fit?
The 58th annual Organ Historical Society national convention differed in several ways from some of the recent ones. Its hub, Burlington, is the largest city in northern Vermont, but hardly in the same size league as Washington, Pittsburgh, or Chicago—the sprawling urban sites of recent conventions. Yet it is accessible via train, plane, and interstate, culturally vital, and full of amenities from good food to spectacular views of Lake Champlain, not to mention parking.
What a treat to hear such wonderfully prepared young organists at the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival in September! It speaks well of them developing their God-given talents, and of their excellent teachers. That, combined with wonderful organ music, set the stage for the sixteenth annual festival, held at First Church of Christ in Wethersfield, Connecticut. We are grateful to be able to encourage young organists with this competition.
Roughly midway between Amsterdam and The Hague lies Leiden, at one time the second largest city in the Netherlands. Leiden boasts numerous monumental buildings, typical Dutch canals, and world-famous museums. The city also has a number of old churches, two of these being quite large, all of them with interesting, historic organs, and all within walking distance of one another. In fact, Leiden has the nickname ‘City of Organs.’ To be found in the heart of the city is the Hooglandse (or St. Pancras) Kerk.
Organ Method XIV
This month’s column is a continuation of last month’s discussion of learning to play contrapuntal passages.
In the second movement of Felix Mendelssohn’s Sonata in C Minor, Opus 65, No. 2, the left-hand part is mostly in two voices. Any part of that movement makes wonderful material for practicing multiple voices in one hand in the way that we have been discussing. Here are the first several measures of that piece, shown in Example 1.
It's alive
There’s a small category of inanimate objects that seem alive to those who appreciate and use them. A friend is an avid cyclist who rides hundreds of miles each week. He has a sophisticated bike that was custom-built for him, and he talks about it as though it is a living partner. He’s at one with the machine when he shifts gears, powers up a long hill, or throws it into a turn. The sound of the wind in the whirling spokes is like a song to him.
