Sunday Afternoon Recitals
Sunday, January 24, 2021
The Third Sunday After the Epiphany, Year B
3:15 p.m. Recital
Kirk Rich, organ (All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Atlanta)
Louis Marchand, “Grand Dialogue” from “Troisième Livre d’Orgue”
Jean-Adam Guilain, “Tierce en taille” from “Suite du Deuxième Ton pour le Magnificat”
Guillaume Lasceux, “Judex crederis — Verset du Te Deum”
César Franck, “Pièce héroïque” from “Trois Pièces”
Program Notes
The penultimate piece on today’s program comes from an underrepresented period in the organ’s repertoire and requires some explanation. Guillaume Lasceux (1740-1831) was a French organist and composer who, before the Revolution, served the parish of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont. (Maurice Duruflé served the same parish from 1929 until his death in 1986.) Like so many of his contemporaries, Lasceux lost his post during the Revolution and subsequent Reign of Terror, during which churches were converted into “Temples of Reason” and many organs destroyed.
Certain organists adapted to these new circumstances, including Claude Balbastre, who improvised on revolutionary hymns and popular songs to the amusement of soldiers. Similarly, Lasceux was known for his improvised tableaux on the Final Judgment. In his Essai théorique et pratique sur l’art de l’orgue (1809), he included an extended work, the Judex crederis esse venturus (“We believe that thou shalt come to be our judge”), a verset from the Te Deum. This piece is an example of how Lasceux might have improvised on the subject of the Final Judgment and provides a model for others to do the same. The composer offers his conception of the work in the Essai:
The final day will surprise the mortals in the middle of their cherished occupations, from concerns of greed, the abandonment of their passions, of their desires and pleasures…. One begins by expressing through dances the immodest joy of men and their futile amusements. These pleasures are interrupted by muted and distant winds that finish by becoming impetuous. The music stops for a moment, but then begins once again more gently. The winds begin again with more violence, and they are followed by a thunderclap. Joyous songs yield to cries of fear. The winds start to become more unruly. Four trumpets bring terror to the four corners of the world. A sinister and continuous crashing sound paints the rising up of the tombs and the resurrection of the dead. Then a solemn march announces the arrival of the Supreme Being and celestial ranks. A great thunderclap is heard, and after an absolute silence, an obligatory recitative in the bass renders, as much as possible, the words of a vengeful God and his condemnation of the unrepentant. This song is cut short by the complaints and cries of the helpless. The last phrase of the song seems to say, “Go to the eternal fire, ye evil ones!” Here a horrible sound paints the falling of stars and total annihilation of creation. This grand tableau finishes, so to speak, with a consoling song that expresses the words, “Come, blessed of my Father,” and with the ineffable joy of the elected.
Translated from the French by Robert Bates and Kirk Rich
Kirk Michael Rich is the Director of Music at All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Midtown Atlanta where he conducts the adult choir, plays the Kenan Memorial Organ, Buzard, Op. 29, and oversees a concert series. He holds the Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin College, where he studied organ with James David Christie. His Master of Music degree is from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, where he studied organ with Christopher Young. In 2018, Kirk received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music, studying organ with Robert Bates. At the Moores School, he also served as a graduate teaching assistant in the division of choral studies under Charles Hausmann and Betsy Weber. As an organ recitalist, Kirk has performed in venues such as the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and St. Thomas Church in New York. He served as organist for the 2019 RSCM America National Choir residency at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland, and has guest conducted the choir of Trinity Cathedral in Portland, Oregon. Kirk serves on the board of the online organ journal Vox Humana and has an article published in the March 2020 Choir and Organ magazine.
Earlier this season:
Sunday, September 13, 2020
3:15 p.m. Recital online
Caroline Robinson, organ (The Cathedral of St. Philip)
The Sunday afternoon recital series kicks off today, and we are thrilled that our new Associate Organist-Choirmaster, Caroline Robinson, will present the opening program. The series will be streamed live on the Cathedral website and Facebook pages every Sunday at 3:15 p.m. Though we would very much like to welcome you into the Cathedral nave, due to current Covid-19 guidelines, we are only presenting the series online at this time.
Eugène Gigout, Grand Chœur Dialogué (from Six Pièces, 1881)
Herbert Howells, Rhapsody No. 1 in D-flat, Op. 17
Jean-Louis Florentz, Harpe de Marie (from Laudes—Kidân za-nageh, Op. 5)
William Bolcom, What a Friend We Have in Jesus (from Gospel Preludes, Book 1)
Maurice Duruflé, “Toccata” (from Suite for Organ, Op. 5)
Sunday, September 20, 2020
3:15 p.m. Recital online
Sarah Hawbecker, organ (Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Atlanta)
Felix Mendelssohn, Sonata in B-flat Major, Op. 65, No. 4
Leo Sowerby, Meditation on Picardy
Louis Vierne, “Pastorale” from Symphony I in D minor, Op. 14
Rachel Laurin, Finale pour orgue, Op. 78
Sunday, September 27, 2020
3:15 p.m. Recital online
Oak Martin (BMus student at The Curtis Institute of Music)
Johann Sebastian Bach, Trio Sonata in C Major, BWV 529
Margaret Vardell Sandresky, Sonata No. 1 for Organ (based on Grant Wood’s painting Spring Turning)
William Grant Still, Elegy
Sunday, October 4, 2020
The Feast of St. Francis
3:15 p.m. Recital online
Oliver Brett, organ (Associate Organist & Choirmaster, Peachtree Road United Methodist Church, Atlanta)
Herbert Howells, Rhapsody No. 3 C sharp minor
John Ireland, Elegiac Romance
Edward Elgar, “Andante espressivo” from Organ Sonata in G
William Walton, Coronation March “Orb and Sceptre”
Sunday, October 11, 2020
The Feast of St. Philip, Deacon & Evangelist
3:15 p.m. Recital online
Raymond & Elizabeth Chenault, duo-organ (Organists Emeriti, All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Atlanta)
Gaston Litaize, “Choral” (from Sonate à Deux)?
Rachel Laurin, Cantabile à Deux – world première
Gerre Hancock, A Fancy for Two to Play
Philip Moore, Allegro for Organ Duet
Sunday, October 18, 2020
The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 24, Year A
3:15 p.m. Recital online
Theodore Davis, organ (Organist & Choirmaster, St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church, Baltimore, MD)
Florentine Price, Suite No. 1 for Organ
Henri Mulet, Esquisses Byzantines
Sunday, October 25, 2020
The Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 25, Year A
3:15 p.m. Recital online
Bruce Xu, organ (student at Rice University)
Johann Sebastian Bach, Prelude & Fugue in B minor, BWV 544
Max Reger, Benedictus, Op.59
Olivier Messiaen, “Alleluias sereins d’une âme qui désire le ciel” from L'Ascension
Olivier Messiaen, “Dieu parmi nous” from La Nativité du Seigneur
Sunday, November 8, 2020
The Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 27, Year A
3:15 p.m. Recital online
Jacob Montgomery, organ (Bethany Presbyterian Church, Rochester, NY)
Marcel Dupré, “Allegro deciso” from Évocation
William Bolcom, Jesus Loves Me
Louis Vierne, “Adagio” from Organ Symphony No. 3 in F-sharp minor, Op. 28
Johann Sebastian Bach, Passacaglia & Fugue in C minor, BWV 582
Sunday, November 15, 2020
The Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 28, Year A
3:15 p.m. Recital online
Julie Andrijeski, violin (Artistic Director, The Atlanta Baroque Orchestra)
Caroline Robinson, harpsichord (Associate Organist-Choirmaster, The Cathedral of St. Philip)
Giovanni Battista Fontana, Sonata Seconda
Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, Violin Sonata No. 3 in F Major
Jean-Féry Rebel, “Caprice” from Violin Suite No. 2 in D Major
Sunday, November 22, 2020
The Last Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 29, Year A
3:15 p.m. Recital online
Will Gotmer, organ (Director of Music/Organist, Grace Episcopal Church, Gainesville, GA)
Felix Mendelssohn, Sonata No. 2 in C minor
Johann Sebastian Bach, Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 531
Charles-Marie Widor, “Andante sostenuto” from Organ Symphony No. 9, Op. 70 (“Gothique”)
Leo Sowerby, Comes Autumn Time
Sunday, December 6, 2020
The Second Sunday of Advent, Year B
3:15 p.m. Recital online
Matthew Michael Brown, organ (St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Atlanta)
George Baker, Ricercare on Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland
Jehan Alain, Deuxième Fantaisie, JA 117
Johann Sebastian Bach, Prelude and Fugue in B minor, BWV 544
Flor Peeters, Toccata, Fugue et Hymne sur Ave Maris Stella, Op. 28
Sunday, January 3, 2021
The Second Sunday After Christmas, Year B
3:15 p.m. Recital online
Eugene Lavery, organ (St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, Waco, TX)
Geoffrey Bush, Trumpet March
Maurice Duruflé, Prélude et Fugue sur le nom d’Alain, Op 7
Robin Milford, Pastoral Dance on “On Christmas Night”
Alfred Hollins, Christmas Cradle Song
arr. Keith Chapman, Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella (17th-century French carol)
Sunday, January 10, 2021
The First Sunday After the Epiphany: The Baptism of Our Lord, Year B
3:15 p.m. Recital online
Cuarteto Orgánico (McDuffie Center for Strings, Townsend School of Music, Mercer University)
Ludwig van Beethoven, String Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Opus 18
Allegro
Andante con moto
Allegro
Presto
Sunday, January 17, 2021
The Second Sunday After the Epiphany, Year B
3:15 p.m. Recital online
Alvin Blount, organ (Organist/Choirmaster, Church of the Good Shepherd, Knoxville, TN)
Ludwig van Beethoven, String Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Opus 18
Grayston Ives, Intrada
Sigfrid Karg-Elert, Harmonies du soir
Sigfrid Karg-Elert, Clair de lune
Dieterich Buxtehude, Präludium, Fuga und Ciacona, BuxWV 137
Adolphus Hailstork, Prelude on “We Shall Overcome”
Adolphus Hailstork, Postlude on “We Shall Overcome”
Adolphus Hailstork, Prelude on “Deep River”
arr. Richard Elliott, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot