Pentecost Online Organ Concert First Presbyterian Church, Salt Lake City, UT

May 31, 2020

Larry Blackburn, organist   

Program   

Fantasia on “Komm, heiliger Geist, Herr Gott” , BWV 651 J. S. Bach (1570-1685) Herr Gott, dich loben alle wire Johann Gottfried Walther (1684-1748)

Eamonn Clarke, handbells Fanfare to the Tongues of Fire Larry King (1932-1990) Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee David Cherwien (b. 1957) Balboa Park Organ Suite: A Celebration of Many Peoples

Michael Burkhardt (b. 1957) Theme and Variations, based on Simple Gifts, Shaker melody Andante Tranquillo, based on Bai, Korean Hymn and Arirang , Korean folk melody Carol Miniature, based on Isla del Encanto, “See the Eastern Star,” Puerto Rican Carol Festival March

“Battle Hymn of the Republic” - 19th Century American Tune “Lift Every Voice and Sing” - J. Rosamond Johnson

Toccata , from Op. 13, No. 2 Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937) He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands Charles Callahan (b. 1951) Prelude and Dance for Pentecos t Rusty McKinney

Performance Notes By Larry Blackburn

The flourish of notes at the beginning of Bach’s Komm, heiliger Geist, Herr Gott , refers almost literally to the Day of Pentecost recorded in Acts 2: “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.” Bach establishes a firm foundation in the pedal, then moves up to begin the hymn tune in bar eight. The overactive hands represent tongues of fire, or the Holy Spirit surrounding us. See if you can follow the melody in the bass/pedal line.

Come, Holy Spirit, Lord God,

fill with the goodness of your grace the heart, spirit and mind of your believers,

kindle in them your ardent love ! O Lord, through the splendour of your light

you have gathered in faith people from all the tongues of the world;

so that in your praise Lord, may there be sung Halleluja! Halleluja!

In 1542, Humanist lawyer turned Protestant Reformer, John Calvin, was preaching regularly at St. Peters Cathedral in Geneva, Switzerland. His Cantor and Master of Choruses was Louis Bourgeois, who wrote the now infamous hymn tune Old Hundredth, we sing it today, along with millions of other Reformed Christians, as “Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow.” About a hundred years later, JS Bach’s cousin, Johann Gottfried Walther, wrote this setting for solo instrument and organ. Fanfare to the Tongues of Fire . Written for the dedication of the very, very loud trumpet en chamade stop at the NYC Riverside Church in 1978, organist at Trinity Church on Wall Street, Manhattan, Larry Peyton King, wrote this piece taking advantage of the distance between the two instruments. The Trompeta Majestatis is located on the opposite nave wall from where the main altar and organ are located, (see the picture below, the trumpets are under the statue on the back wall) and is on 22psi wind. (Interpretation; they are Honkin’ Loud!!!) This modern composition incorporates free-meter and whole-tone clusters. In a free-meter composition no barlines or time signatures are used, instead an indication of seconds is given to delineate how long a passage takes or the period of silence. In the soft sections, tone clusters in both the hands and the feet creates a block of sound with the effect of filling the soul with God’s omni-presence, while the melody of the medieval chant is played on a substantial flute stop. The Gregorian chant Veni Creator Spiritus is the basis for the improvisational style.

Veni Creator Spiritus

Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire and lighten with celestial fire; thou the anointing Spirit art,

who dost thy sevenfold gifts impart.

The melody for Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee is probably the most recognizable melodies in the world. Taken from the last movement of Beethoven’s acclaimed Fifth Symphony, it speaks of the absolute kinship of all of humanity; all brothers and sisters, with the same sorrows and joys, the same wants and needs, regardless of the country of our birth, or the color of our skin, or the language we speak. I chose this setting because of it’s lighter texture and treatment, I see it as a lime sorbet to freshen the pallet. Balboa Park, located Northeast of downtown San Diego, is home to the rare outdoor civic organ. Sugar magnate brothers, John and Adolph Spreckels, donated $100,000 in 1913 to build a pavilion and the world's largest outdoor organ for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. At the dedication, the Spreckels brothers said it was “for the free use and enjoyment not only of the people of Dan Diego, but for the people of all the world.”

The Spreckels Organ and Pavilion, Balboa Park, San Diego California The Balboa Park Suite was written for the organ’s 80th anniversary. Its four movements take inspiration from the following texts, for the people “of all the world.”

Simple Gifts (Shaker Folk Song) - USA ‘Tis the gift to be simple, ‘tis the gift to be free. ‘Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be And when we find ourselves in the place just right, ‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight

When true simplicity is gained To bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed, To turn, turn, will be our delight Till by turning, turning we come round right

Lonely the Boat (Hae Jong Kim) - Korea Lonely the boat, sailing at sea,

Tossed on a cold stormy night, …. Trembling with fear, deep in despair,

Looking for help all around, A sailor saw light from above.

“Help can be found; My God is here in my small boat,

Standing by my side; O I trust in the Savior;

Now in my life abide.”

See the Eastern Star (Puerto Rican Epiphany Carol) - Puerto Rico Through the darkest night the Savior we come seeking Using as our guide, the star, so brightly beaming. See the easters star, it tells of God’s great morning, Heaven’s wondrous light o’er all the world is shining! See the eastern star, sing glory in the highest, And upon the earth be peace, goodwill to all.

Festival March - African American Glory, glory! Hallelujah!

His truth is marching on. Julia Ward Howe, 1819-1910

Lift every voice and sing Till earth and heaven ring,

Ring with the harmonies of liberty. Let our rejoicing rise High as the list’ning skies;

Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.

Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us; Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us;

Facing the rising sun Of our new day begun Let us march on, till victory is won.

James Weldon Johnson, 1871-1938

He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands This anonymous spiritual rose out of the oral tradition of African Americans and has become one of the most widely known and loved spirituals, sung by young and old everywhere. After years and generations of ‘just being sung’, it was first published in 1927 in a paperbound hymnal Spirituals Triumphant, Old and New , and has since been published in 55 different hymnals. There are six verses, each consisting of one line of text, repeated three more times. Be held in His hands, in this lush and tender setting.

1) He’s got the whole world in his hands. 2) He’s got the wind and the rain in his hands. 3) He’s got the little tiny baby in his hands. 4) He’s got you and me, brother, in his hands.

5) He’s got you and me, sister, in his hands. 6) He’s got everybody here in his hands.

OK, I know what you’re thinking…”I love the Widor Toccata , he plays it every Easter Sunday!!” Well, thank you, but it’s not that one. Charles-Marie Widor (pronounced Vidor) wrote 10 organ symphonies. In 1870, at the very young age of 25, Widor was appointed as a provisional organist at St-Sulpice in Paris, where he remained for 64 years. The organ at St-Sulpice was the masterwork of his friend and organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. The organ builder pioneered, and many would say perfected, what is known as the Symphonic Organ, containing unique stops with a vast array of sounds attempting to duplicate orchestral instruments, thereby expanding the organs options in color and range from its predecessors. Widor’s Second Symphony Toccata breaks out of the gates of the previous 5 movements, with a burst of unbridled energy, in a full organ French Toccata , with perpetual motion, races us to a celebratory conclusion of the 35 minute work. Written in celebration for my 10 years as organist at First Presbyterian, Prelude and Dance for Pentecost was composed by my friend and former First Pres music director, Rusty McKinney. It is, in whole, a new composition, not borrowing material from any other source. Starting with one note on one stop (sound), the piece is one long crescendo to a completely (and beyond) full organ. The Prelude introduces us to pieces of the melody on flutes, supported by different string families in the organ. The two movements are melded into one, but you’ll know when the dance portion begins as the feet begins to dance in ostinato, and where Rusty incorporates a unique technique in writing for the organ, where a chord stacked one note at a time, then is suddenly released, depicting tongues of fire lapping out of its source in asymmetrical patterns, hence the 7-8 time signature. Finally the big trumpets come in with their version of fire while the pedal provides a grounding and the left hand begins with one voice, then two, then three voices, and four (I only have five fingers on that hand :) Then the crushing 12-note chords in what I call “Tutti-Frutti” …beyond full organ; God and man, saved by the suffering of Christ Jesus, are united through the Spirit made manifest on Pentecost. From First Presbyterian Church, Salt Lake City, Happy Birthday, church! Interim Pastor Steve Aeschenbacher, Associate Pastor Christine Meyers-Tegedar Audio Video Technicians: Mike Kestler and Eamonn Clarke