An organ recital celebrating the completed restoration of the 1909 Austin Pipe Organ was held on Sunday, September 29, 2019. Logan Hamilton was the featured organist. Helyn Dahle and Carl Olson also performed. Below is more detailed information about each organist and the pieces that were played. The church was filled to capacity for this very special event in our church's history.
Logan Hamilton
Logan Hamilton
Logan Hamilton travels from Seattle, WA after graduating from Grove City College with a Bachelor’s of Music and a Master of Music from the University of Washington. He has served as the organist for St. James Memorial Episcopal Church while attending high school at Maplewood Jr./Sr. High from 2011-12. He then was the organist at Grace United Methodist Church as well as the assistant to the college organist at Grove City College from 2013-17 where he has serviced many credible services such as Homecoming and Family Weekend, as well as a guest recitalist in the Mercer Music Community. He currently serves as the organist at University Lutheran Church in Seattle, WA where he ministers to the congregation in weekly services and organizes various recitals and concerts for the enrichment of the University District community. He has had the privilege to play in various recitals and master classes at St. Mark’s Cathedral of Seattle, WA and act a distinct educator and performer in the Pipe Organ Encounter supported by the American Guild of Organists.
Program Selections
I. Prelude and Fugue in D Major, BWV 542 - Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
During his time as the Court Organist, and later Director of Music at Weimar, Germany, Johann Sebastian Bach composed many of his organ works including several preludes, fugues, choral preludes, and other miscellaneous pieces. One of the prominent pieces of repertoire from this era of Bach’s life is his Prelude and Fugue in D major, following a north German style of composition pioneered by one of the organists Bach had admired, Dietrich Buxtehude, known as stylus fantasticus or theatrical style. This form of composition usually has five distinct parts that make up the whole piece. In this case, the Prelude is made up of four parts: a fanfare opening, a dramatic-violinistic middle section, an Italian inspired “Alla Breve”, and a fantasia closing. The fugue is added as the fifth element, thus creating the north German tradition of stylus fantasticus.
II. Scherzoso - Josef Rheinberger (1839-1901)
From Sonata No. 8 in E minor, opus 132.
Josef Rheinberger was a prolific organist and composer, who was appointed as the Royal Professor of Organ and Composition at the Munich Conservatorium; a post he held till his death in 1901. Today, he is remembered for the plethora of repertoire he has left for the organ including, the 20 organ sonatas in 20 different keys (a project inspired by J.S Bach’s “Well-Tempered Clavier”).
The 8th Sonata contains an acrobatic Scherzoso with two contrasting themes: one based on sinister, octave leaps, and the other a lyrical melody that breaks the former’s tension. The Scherzoso ends with an improvisatory coda that reprises the sinister theme before closing on a bizarre chord which segues into the Passacaglia.
III. Passacaglia - Josef Rheinberger
A passacaglia is an older form of composition that features a repeating theme with accompanying variations. Rheinberger introduces the theme in the pedal that lasts for 8 measures before repeating with the first variation heard in the manuals. Throughout the Passacaglia, the theme travels between the feet and hands as the rhythmic structure of the variations increase from eighths, triplets, sixteenths, to finally sexteplets. The passacaglia ends when the piece breaks free from the ostinting theme with a tremendous roar.
IV. O mensch, bewein dein sünde gross, BWV 622 - Johann Sebastian Bach
As Bach was teaching during his time in Weimar, he constructed the Orgelbüchklien as a pedagogical tool, instructing organists how to perform various choral preludes in aid of Lutheran worship that spans the entire Liturgical year. One of these choral preludes is based on the Passion hymn, “O mensch, bewein dein sünde gross” which translates to “O man, bewail thy sins so great.” As Bach studied many other countries’ ways of composing, this piece adopts the French school of organ composition which integrates elaborate ornamentation. This is applied to the melody of the chorale, as it is played on a soloing manual with the left hand and pedal accompanying on separate parts of the organ. The original German text and translation by Catherine Winkworth are printed below.
O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde gross,
darum Christus seins Vaters Schoss
verliess und kam auf Erden.
Von einer Jungfrau rein und zart
für uns er hier geboren war:
er wollt der Mittler werden.
Den Toten er das Leben gab,
und legt dabei all Krankheit ab!
Bis sich die Zeit herdrange
daß er für uns geopfert würd
trug unser Sünd ein schwere Bürd
wohl an dem Kreuze lange.
O man, thy grievous sin bemoan,
For which Christ left His Father's throne,
From highest heaven descending.
Of Virgin pure and undefiled
He here was born, our Saviour mild,
For sin to make atonement.
The dead He raised to life again.
The sick He freed from grief and pain.
Until the time appointed
That He for us should give His Blood,
Should bear our sins' o'erwhelming load,
The shameful Cross enduring.
V. Adagio - Louis Vierne (1870-1937)
Louis Vierne was a French organist who was the curator of the Cavaillé-Coll organ at Notre Dame Cathedral of Paris, France. Vierne suffered a life full of trials which started with near blindness at infancy, however was notable at being a compassionate teacher to his pupils. As a composer, Vierne developed a distinct, chromatic language that makes his repertoire one of the most exotic and passionate literature of music. The Third Organ Symphony was completed soon after Vierne’s life was in shambles when his wife left him for an organ builder, his student and friend, Marcel Dúpre betrayed his wishes when Vierne was away from France, and his son was killed in action during World War I.
The Adagio is a “song without words” as the main theme is supported by heavy sighs and suspensions that portrays the grief that Vierne must have felt with loss of so much of his life. The middle section of the piece is filled with turmoil as the Vierne causes the music to expand to the climax of the piece. Vierne then calls for a solo flute that reprises the main theme, which leads to the end of the movement where the piece ends with a hopeful glimmer as it travels from B minor to B major.
VI. Finale - Louis Vierne
From Symphony No. 3, opus. 28
The Finale is a violent toccata featuring two subjects: one that is filled with rage heard at the beginning of the movement, and the other, a soft dialogue between the pedal and right hand accompanied by an ostinating trill in the left hand. The symphony ends with a grand triumph when Vierne combines the osinating figure from the second subject to the pedal, and the first subject transposed from F-sharp minor to F-sharp major in the manuals.
During his time as the Court Organist, and later Director of Music at Weimar, Germany, Johann Sebastian Bach composed many of his organ works including several preludes, fugues, choral preludes, and other miscellaneous pieces. One of the prominent pieces of repertoire from this era of Bach’s life is his Prelude and Fugue in D major, following a north German style of composition pioneered by one of the organists Bach had admired, Dietrich Buxtehude, known as stylus fantasticus or theatrical style. This form of composition usually has five distinct parts that make up the whole piece. In this case, the Prelude is made up of four parts: a fanfare opening, a dramatic-violinistic middle section, an Italian inspired “Alla Breve”, and a fantasia closing. The fugue is added as the fifth element, thus creating the north German tradition of stylus fantasticus.
II. Scherzoso - Josef Rheinberger (1839-1901)
From Sonata No. 8 in E minor, opus 132.
Josef Rheinberger was a prolific organist and composer, who was appointed as the Royal Professor of Organ and Composition at the Munich Conservatorium; a post he held till his death in 1901. Today, he is remembered for the plethora of repertoire he has left for the organ including, the 20 organ sonatas in 20 different keys (a project inspired by J.S Bach’s “Well-Tempered Clavier”).
The 8th Sonata contains an acrobatic Scherzoso with two contrasting themes: one based on sinister, octave leaps, and the other a lyrical melody that breaks the former’s tension. The Scherzoso ends with an improvisatory coda that reprises the sinister theme before closing on a bizarre chord which segues into the Passacaglia.
III. Passacaglia - Josef Rheinberger
A passacaglia is an older form of composition that features a repeating theme with accompanying variations. Rheinberger introduces the theme in the pedal that lasts for 8 measures before repeating with the first variation heard in the manuals. Throughout the Passacaglia, the theme travels between the feet and hands as the rhythmic structure of the variations increase from eighths, triplets, sixteenths, to finally sexteplets. The passacaglia ends when the piece breaks free from the ostinting theme with a tremendous roar.
IV. O mensch, bewein dein sünde gross, BWV 622 - Johann Sebastian Bach
As Bach was teaching during his time in Weimar, he constructed the Orgelbüchklien as a pedagogical tool, instructing organists how to perform various choral preludes in aid of Lutheran worship that spans the entire Liturgical year. One of these choral preludes is based on the Passion hymn, “O mensch, bewein dein sünde gross” which translates to “O man, bewail thy sins so great.” As Bach studied many other countries’ ways of composing, this piece adopts the French school of organ composition which integrates elaborate ornamentation. This is applied to the melody of the chorale, as it is played on a soloing manual with the left hand and pedal accompanying on separate parts of the organ. The original German text and translation by Catherine Winkworth are printed below.
O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde gross,
darum Christus seins Vaters Schoss
verliess und kam auf Erden.
Von einer Jungfrau rein und zart
für uns er hier geboren war:
er wollt der Mittler werden.
Den Toten er das Leben gab,
und legt dabei all Krankheit ab!
Bis sich die Zeit herdrange
daß er für uns geopfert würd
trug unser Sünd ein schwere Bürd
wohl an dem Kreuze lange.
O man, thy grievous sin bemoan,
For which Christ left His Father's throne,
From highest heaven descending.
Of Virgin pure and undefiled
He here was born, our Saviour mild,
For sin to make atonement.
The dead He raised to life again.
The sick He freed from grief and pain.
Until the time appointed
That He for us should give His Blood,
Should bear our sins' o'erwhelming load,
The shameful Cross enduring.
V. Adagio - Louis Vierne (1870-1937)
Louis Vierne was a French organist who was the curator of the Cavaillé-Coll organ at Notre Dame Cathedral of Paris, France. Vierne suffered a life full of trials which started with near blindness at infancy, however was notable at being a compassionate teacher to his pupils. As a composer, Vierne developed a distinct, chromatic language that makes his repertoire one of the most exotic and passionate literature of music. The Third Organ Symphony was completed soon after Vierne’s life was in shambles when his wife left him for an organ builder, his student and friend, Marcel Dúpre betrayed his wishes when Vierne was away from France, and his son was killed in action during World War I.
The Adagio is a “song without words” as the main theme is supported by heavy sighs and suspensions that portrays the grief that Vierne must have felt with loss of so much of his life. The middle section of the piece is filled with turmoil as the Vierne causes the music to expand to the climax of the piece. Vierne then calls for a solo flute that reprises the main theme, which leads to the end of the movement where the piece ends with a hopeful glimmer as it travels from B minor to B major.
VI. Finale - Louis Vierne
From Symphony No. 3, opus. 28
The Finale is a violent toccata featuring two subjects: one that is filled with rage heard at the beginning of the movement, and the other, a soft dialogue between the pedal and right hand accompanied by an ostinating trill in the left hand. The symphony ends with a grand triumph when Vierne combines the osinating figure from the second subject to the pedal, and the first subject transposed from F-sharp minor to F-sharp major in the manuals.
Helyn Dahle Helyn Dahle
Helyn Dahle (nee Horne) has been the Organist and Choir Director at St. James for the past 6 years. She was born in Oil City and grew up in Titusville where she studied piano with Francis Dowler, Betty Streich and Joan Peebles. Hannah Leckie at Titusville First Presbyterian Church was her first organ teacher. She also studied organ with Robert Rayfield at Indiana University. Helyn learned about directing a choir from the venerable Don Mowrey, whose choirs she accompanied throughout her school career. Helyn has lived in Pittsburgh and in California (San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area). Prior to moving to California with her family, Helyn was the Organist and Choir Director at Wilson United Presbyterian Church in Clairton. In California Helyn worked for almost 30 years on the administrative side of 3 different start-up biotechnology companies. She earned a B.A. from San Diego State University.
Selection: Praeludium, Fuge and Ciacona Dieterich Buxtehude
Although its English title might lead one to believe otherwise, Dieterich Buxtehude's Praeludium for organ in C major, BuxWV 137 -- known as the Prelude, Fugue and Chaconne -- is really not a very lengthy piece of music. It does indeed have three sections of music, the first of which is a free prelude, the second fugal, and the last built up from a ground bass. But each section is comparatively brief, and there are no breaks between the three (which is why Buxtehude called it simply Praeludium, a word that in his day could encompass works with many sections as well as those with few or one); the final Chaconne is differentiated from the other sections through a tempo change to Presto, as opposed to the undefined but probably moderato tempo of the opening. The Prelude portion of BuxWV 137 -- which is incidentally a work whose date of composition remains unknown and, given Buxtehude's long period of active composition can only be narrowed to the second half of the seventeenth century -- is itself made up of several short, discrete musical sentences. The main idea from the first of them, an oscillating sixteenth note figure, is re-forged first into the subject for the Fugue portion, and then, by way of more sweeping rhythmic changes, into the ground bass for the Chaconne section, which ends in an impressive quasi-cadenza blaze. |
Carl Olson Carl M. Olson
Carl M. Olson is a local musician and music teacher who taught for 32 years in the Titusville Area School District. Although he retired in June, 2008, Carl remains active as a keyboard player in northwestern Pennsylvania. He has served as guest conductor, clinician, and, soloist with bands and choruses throughout the region. Carl was the Organist and Choirmaster at St. James Episcopal Church in Titusville for twenty years. As a freelance musician, Carl plays keyboards as a soloist, and, in a variety of ensembles playing many different styles of music. He resides with his wife Edith, in Pleasantville, Pennsylvania.
A native of Erie, Pennsylvania, Carl earned his Bachelor’s degree from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and his Master of Music degree from Youngstown State University. He has continued his education by taking graduate music courses at the Eastman School of Music, Penn State University, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, New England Conservatory, West Chester University of Pennsylvania, Oberlin Conservatory, the University of Chicago, and Duquesne University. He also takes private music lessons from Master Teachers. Carl is a member of Local 118 of the American Federation of Musicians. Selection: Go Ye Now in Peace Joyce Elaine Eilers
"Go ye now in peace and know that the love of God will guide you. Feel his presence here beside you, showing you the way. In your time of trouble when hurt and despair are there to grieve you, Know that the Lord will never leave you, He will bring you courage. Know that the God who sent His Son to die that you might live, Will never leave you lost and alone in His beloved world. Go ye now in peace. Go ye now in peace. Go ye now in peace." |