American Guild of Organists Pittsburgh Chapter
38th Season 2016-2017
SIMON THOMAS JACOBS Organist
Friday, 17 February 2017 Saint Paul Cathedral 8:00 p.m. Co-Sponsored with
Saint Paul Cathedral Concert Series
Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Guild of Organists
Organ Artists Series Committee Mark A. Anderson William C. Gladden John D. Henninger, Director Gail M. Henry Dr. Sara Ruhle Kyle J. Barbara McKelway Stephen R. Schall John Thickey Keith Wannamaker Ex Officio: Dr. Edward Alan Moore, Nathan Carterette, Donald K. Fellows The Organ Artist Series (OAS) Committee of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Guild of Organists (AGO) has been in existence for over 37 years. It is dedicated to promoting the performance, recognition, and appreciation of organ music as an art form by bringing to Pittsburgh many of the world's foremost organists. It also sponsors competitions, workshops, commissions, original works, and other related activities to advance the cause of organ music in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. As part of the non-profit AGO, the OAS relies on individual contributions, program advertisers, ticket sales, and cooperative programs with institutions to be able to present quality programming. www.organseries.com www.facebook.com/OASPittsburgh
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Program Psalm 150
Toon Hagen (b. 1959)
Offertory: Veritas mei
Robert Coxsun (fl. 1542-1547)
Upon la mi re
attr. Thomas Preston (died c. 1563)
Peter Philips
Veni Sancte Spiritus
(c.1560-1628)
Mein junges Leben hat ein End
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621)
Vater unser im Himmelreich, BuxWV 219
Dietrich Buxtehude
Toccata in F, BuxWV 156
Dietrich Buxtehude
(1637-1707)
~~ Intermission ~~ Prelude in D, BWV 532/I Vater unser im Himmelreich
J.S. Bach
(1685-1750)
Georg Böhm
(1661-1733)
From the Leipzig Chorales J.S. Bach Trio super Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Her' à 2 claviers et pédale, BWV 664 Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Ehr' à 2 claviers et pédale / canto fermo in soprano, BWV 662 From The Orgelbüchlein Project Nun ruhen all Wälder Fugue in D, BWV 532/ii
Jacques van Oortmerssen
(1950-2015)
J.S. Bach
Audio or video recording of this recital, using any device, without prior written consent is strictly prohibited.
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This Evening’s Artist Simon Thomas Jacobs “Jacobs performs with great panache; his playing is rhythmically vital and shows fine attention to articulation and the clarity of the contrapuntal lines…conspicuous virtuosity.” (Martin Clarke, Organists’ Review, June 2016) Simon Thomas Jacobs was awarded both First Prize and Audience Prize at the 2013 St Albans International Organ Competition, thus securing a place alongside some of the world’s finest concert organists. In May 2015, The Diapason magazine included him on its “Twenty Under Thirty” listing of artists who are exhibiting “superior accomplishments, leadership, and creativity” within the pipe organ profession. His 2015-16 season included solo recitals in Georgia, Virginia, California, and Illinois, as well as in England, Ireland, and Scotland. In 2016 he performed solo recitals at Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, and as part of a gala concert at the International Performing Arts Center in Moscow, Russia. Simon Thomas Jacobs served as organ scholar at Clare College, Cambridge University, and received an honors degree in music in 2009. While at Cambridge, Simon studied organ with David Sanger and Jacques van Oortmerssen, and worked closely with Timothy Brown and Clare College’s renowned chapel choir. In 2009, he moved to the United States and was appointed Associate Director of Music at Christ Church Greenwich, CT and then as Associate Organist/Choirmaster at Christ Church Cathedral, Indianapolis, IN. He was awarded an Artist’s Diploma from Oberlin Conservatory in May 2015. From August 2015 to July 2016 he served as Interim Organist/Choirmaster of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, PA.
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Simon Thomas Jacobs’ debut CD recording, Parthenia Nova, on the American-built Richards, Fowkes & Co. organ at St. George’s Church, Hanover Square in London, was released on the Fugue State label in November 2015. The CD was featured on American Public Media’s radio show Pipedreams in early January 2016, and most recently reviewed in Choir & Organ as “brilliantly played…attractively presented and well worth having.” Additional information and recordings can be found at www.simonthomasjacobs.com. Simon Thomas Jacobs is represented exclusively in North America by Phillip Truckenbrod Concert Artists, LLC.
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Program Notes Psalm 150
Toon Hagen
(b. 1959) Toon Hagen is organist of the Grote Sint-Michaëlskerk, Zwolle in the Netherlands, home to a monumental instrument by the highly influential German organ builder Arp Schnitger (1648-1719). The text of Psalm 150, with its message to praise God with music and dancing, is brought to life with jazzy, syncopated rhythms and an overall sense of exuberance. Repetitive figurations—displaying a Dutch affinity for minimalistic ideas—mirror the psalmist’s repetition of the word “Praise” at the beginning of each verse.
Offertory: Veritas mei
Robert Coxsun
(fl. 1542-1547) Like many musicians who lived and worked during the reign of King Henry VIII, little is known about Robert Coxsun. His Veritas mei is one of only two surviving pieces ascribed to him. As with all sixteenthcentury liturgical organ music from England, this offertory would have been constructed around a plainsong melody, in this case Veritas mei, the brief incipit of which is provided at the start of the manuscript. Two ornamental voices are provided by the keyboardist, to which the chant melody, in the form of a sung cantus planus would probably have been added. However, as yet, no one has solved the problem as to exactly how the cantus planus fits with the two ornamental voices. With its unsettling syncopations and almost schizophrenic changes of figuration and rhythm, one can see why John Caldwell observes that Coxsun was “the possessor of a gift for the bizarre.” One might also wonder just what these Tudor church organists would have been like in person…
Upon la mi re
attr. Thomas Preston
(died c. 1563) While the word “Minimalism” is likely to call to mind contemporary composers such Philip Glass and John Adams, when faced with this sixteenth-century English ‘ground,’ based on a three-note ostinato motif (a e d) played in half notes and repeated 53 times without a break, it is hard to think of a word other than “minimal” to describe it. Above the ostinato bass lies a middle part that is constructed in a similar manner, the same motif being transposed up a fifth and shifted by a quarter note, so that the two voices form a kind of canon. The top part is faster moving, its free lines and constantly changing figures reminiscent of a Hornepype. As Willi Apel concludes, “All these
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congruent elements produce one of the strangest compositions in keyboard literature—a work whose intractability irritates as much as it fascinates.”
Veni Sancte Spiritus
Peter Philips
(c.1560-1628) A student of the great English composer William Byrd, Philips spent much of his life and professional career in Continental Europe, his Roman Catholic faith being at odds with the political and religious climate in his native England. He was even imprisoned for a brief period under suspicion of being involved in a plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I. Philips’s setting of the thirteenth-century Whitsun sequence, Veni Sancte Spiritus, is one of the more unusual and interesting melodybased compositions of the period and displays many common features of English keyboard style. The dance-like character of the music, owing to its triple-time signature, not only reflects the contemporary practice of chant singing (as do the sharpened leading tones) but has also led to one description of the piece as “albeit sacrilegiously…a galliard on a cantus firmus.” In his treatment of the plainsong melody, Philips takes advantage of the form of the original sequence (AA BB CC etc.) by setting the two parallel statements of each verse in contrasting styles: the first as a straightforward chordal harmonization; the second in a more virtuosic manner, embellished with virginalistic figurations.
Mein junges Leben hat ein End
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
(1562-1621) One of the most influential composers and keyboardists of his day, Sweelinck spent almost his entire life in Amsterdam where he was organist of the city’s Oude Kerk for 44 years. Although Sweelinck played the organ from an early age, no keyboard music by him survives in sources before 1600—the assumption being that he belonged, initially, to the older tradition of contrapuntal keyboard improvisation. In 1593, however, Sweelinck met Peter Philips and the renowned Sweelinck scholar, Pieter Dirksen, believes that Philips likely introduced Sweelinck to the extended keyboard compositions of William Byrd, thus inspiring Sweelinck to put his own ideas to paper. Sweelinck’s compositional ingenuity and virtuosity can be observed in the large corpus of keyboard works that survive today, from largescale fantasias to settings of hymns and songs. The variations on the German song Mein junges Leben hat ein End (“My young life has an end”) is perhaps one of his best-known works and a superb example of his eloquent and succinct compositional style.
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Vater unser im Himmelreich, BuxWV 219 Toccata in F, BuxWV 156
Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)
For anyone attending a service at the vast Marienkirche in Lübeck it must have been quite a thrill to have heard the great Dietrich Buxtehude improvising—be it a brief but exquisitely crafted chorale prelude, such as Vater unser im Himmelreich (“Our Father in Heaven”) or a mighty Praeludium or Toccata to follow the service. In addition to being one of the most highly respected organists of his day, Buxtehude was also a prolific composer, not only of organ music, but also cantatas and other choral works. The somewhat erratically transmitted examples of Buxtehude’s written organ works only provide a few hazy indications of performance practice. The extent to which true extemporization contributed to them remains a mystery. Without the benefit of an archived broadcast of a Sunday service, circa 1668, we have only the music and the original instruments from which to learn. The Toccata in F is a treasure trove of clues to understanding what contributed to the “North German” stylus phantasticus. Unlike the more formally constructed praeludia, the Toccata lacks a balance and cohesiveness seen in other works such as the Praeludium in C, BuxWV 137. The standard elements are there (free and virtuosic sections alternating with short fugues), but their placement is sporadic and unpredictable and there is no recurring thematic element to link the sections. The “cut-and-paste” structure of the piece brings with it an inherent spontaneity and perhaps a sense of Buxtehude engaged in a true display of virtuosic whim!
Prelude in D, BWV 532/I
J.S. Bach
(1685-1750) While it is commonplace these days to perform Bach’s Preludes and Fugues as pairs, it is highly unlikely that many of them were conceived to be played in this manner. Although some parallels have been drawn between the Prelude in D major and the Fugue with which it shares a BWV number, Peter Williams believes that the Prelude was most likely composed before the Fugue, which in its length and scale indicate a later work.
The Prelude, in its virtuosity and sectional nature, hearkens back to the North German Toccata style of Buxtehude and Bruhns, except this time the opening flourish is heard in the pedals. A more formal and extensive section follows, marked alla breve and making expert use of sequential figurations. This is interrupted by a languishing adagio section that can be closely compared to the Grave of the middle movement of the Toccata in C, BWV 564 and in which one hears echoes of Buxtehude and Frescobaldi.
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Georg Böhm
Vater unser im Himmelreich
(1661-1733) Earlier in the program, we heard Buxtehude’s setting of this same chorale treated in a similar manner: the melody appears in the soprano, ornamented and accompanied with left hand and pedal. Böhm’s setting, however, is considerably more extensive and is unique in its combination of three national styles: a German genre (the chorale prelude), an Italianate accompaniment (reminiscent of a basso continuo), and a surfeit of French ornamentation, providing lavish embellishment to the chorale melody. It is important to note that the ornamentation that appears in the manuscript comes to us via the composer Johann Gottfried Walther and not Böhm himself. Nevertheless, one is probably safe to assume that this reflects contemporary practice and Böhm’s Francophile tendencies are well documented. In fact it was most likely Böhm who introduced his young protégé Johann Sebastian Bach to the delights of French Baroque organ music. Following his teacher’s example, Bach himself would go on to become perhaps the greatest of all musical synthesizers.
From the Leipzig Chorales J.S. Bach Trio super Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Her' à 2 claviers et pédale, BWV 664 Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Ehr' à 2 claviers et pédale / canto fermo in soprano, BWV 662 While it is difficult (and probably somewhat contentious) to single out specific works by Bach as “his finest,” the so called Eighteen or Leipzig Chorales—the collection from which these two settings are taken— were compositions of which Bach seems to have been particularly fond. Originally composed during his early years in Weimar, he revisited and revised them during his time in Leipzig, towards the end of his career, leaving us with some of his most extensive and profound chorale-based works for organ. The chorale melody on which these two settings are based was an integral part of the Lutheran Mass, being the German adaptation of the Gloria in excelsis deo, sung each Sunday in Leipzig. BWV 664 is an effervescent trio in A major (three sharps in the key signature), deriving a majority of its thematic material from the first three notes of the chorale: do-re-mi (a major 3 ), most often heard in the bass part. It is conceivable that this focus on the number 3 is an allusion to the Holy Trinity—something not uncommon within Bach’s oeuvre. It is also worth noting that these two settings form part of a trilogy and some scholars have suggested that each one correlates with verses of the hymn relating to the individual persons of the Trinity. rd
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BWV 662, also in A major and marked Adagio, presents the chorale melody in the treble, highly ornamented and with flourishes reminiscent of an obbligato string or wind aria from one of the Weimar cantatas. One of the most distinctive motivic ideas pervading this chorale prelude is the descending Lombardic figure ( ) heard in the accompanying voices right from the start. Peter Williams notes that this distinctive pattern could be seen as a symbol of God’s grace coming down from heaven.
Fugue in D, BWV 532/ii
J.S. Bach
This Fugue, perhaps one of Bach’s most famous and exciting works needs little introduction. Peter Williams observes how it is “exceptional in melody and modulations” and goes on to note that there is not actually a final cadence, perfect or plagal. In short, this is “an astonishing piece,” its virtuosic coda barreling to the end in a flurry of hands and feet.
Simon Thomas Jacobs
A note of thanks!
We can't thank our patrons, advertisers, and co-sponsors enough for their continued generosity. They have contributed to the success of past seasons and guarantee our offerings in this and future seasons. Please consider joining the ranks of our regular contributors. Your donation will help us continue a Pittsburgh tradition of live performances of great organ music. You can also invite a friend to join you at the next OAS concert. Inviting a friend is a very practical and enjoyable way to support the series and help us increase our audience. Again, thanks to all who have supported the series in so many different ways. We couldn't do it without you!
John D. Henninger
Director, Organ Artists Series
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2016-2017 Program Partners East Liberty Presbyterian Church Cathedral Concerts Heinz Memorial Chapel in memory of Dr. Robert Sutherland Lord Saint Paul Cathedral Saint Paul Cathedral Concert Series Shadyside Presbyterian Church Music in a Great Space Westminster Presbyterian Church Music & Arts Series
Previous Artists in the Series – 1979-2016 1st Season – 1979-1980 Marilyn Mason Joyce Jones Roberta Gary Robert Noehren David Hurd Timothy Albrecht 2nd Season – 1980-1981 Carol Teti Thomas Murray Jeffrey Walker David Messineo 3rd Season – 1981-1982 Jean Langlais Keith Chapman Todd Wilson Frederick Swann 4th Season – 1982-1983 Gillian Weir Diane Bish Herman Berlinski Brett Wolgast 5th Season – 1983-1984 John Obetz Mark Laubach Marilyn Keiser Robert Glasgow 6th Season – 1984-1985 David Craighead Margaret Evans Anne Wilson William Albright 7 Season – 1985-1986 Robert Anderson David Chalmers Janice Beck John Weaver th
8 Season – 1986-1987 Olivier Latry David Higgs John Longhurst Louis Robilliard th
9th Season – 1987-1988 Susan Landale John Walker Diane Belcher James Moeser
17th Season – 1995-1996 Wolfgang Rübsam Douglas Cleveland Wilma Jensen Jeffrey Brillhart
10th Season – 1988-1989 Marie-Claire Alain Charles Tompkins J. David Williams Mary Preston
18th Season – 1996-1997 Colin Walsh Bruce Neswick Marvin Mills Catherine Rodland
11th Season – 1989-1990 Thomas Trotter Christopher Young Patricia McAwley Phillips Gerre Hancock
19th Season – 1997-1998 Jared Jacobsen Heather Hinton Marianne Webb Stephen Farr
12th Season – 1990-1991 James Kibbie Eileen Guenther Thomas Murray Frederick Hohman
20th Season – 1998-1999 David Briggs Mollie Nichols William Peterson Christa Rakich
13th Season – 1991-1992 Cherry Rhodes Matthew Dirst Dean Billmeyer Peter Dubois Marie-
21st Season – 1999-2000 Gordon Stewart Ann Elise Smoot Michael Kleinschmidt Susan Armstrong
14th Season – 1992-1993 Marilyn Keiser Katharine Pardee Huw Lewis Andrew Lumsden
22nd Season – 2000-2001 Robert Parkins Felix Hell Peter Sykes Victoria Wagner Margaret M. Kemper
15th Season – 1993-1994 John Scott Martin Jean Alan Morrison James Dale
23rd Season – 2001-2002 Brink Bush Susan Ferré Ji-yoen Choi Jean-Pierre Leguay
16th Season – 1994-1995 Andrew Fletcher Gordon Turk Janette Fishell David & Marian Craighead
24th Season – 2002-2003 Olivier Latry David Billings Ann Labounsky Paul Jacobs Anthony Rollett John Walker
Previous Artists in the Series – 1979-2016 25th Season – 2003-2004 Gillian Weir Stephen Tharp Timothy Olsen Richard Elliott
29th Season – 2007-2008 Aaron David Miller Scott Montgomery Patrick Kabanda Rachel Laurin
34th Season – 2012-2013 Christopher Herrick Joan Lippincott Robert McCormick Martin Neary
26th Season – 2004-2005 Elizabeth Melcher Michael Barone David Billings Gretchen Franz Ann Labounsky Christopher Pardini Neil Stahurski John Walker Kola Owolabi Gerre Hancock
30th Season – 2008-2009 Joseph Nolan Marilyn Keiser Harald Vogel Bruce Neswick
35th Season – 2013-2014 Olivier Latry Robert Nicholls John Scott Ahreum Han
31st Season – 2009-2010 Cameron Carpenter Michael Unger Jane Parker Smith Nigel Potts
27th Season – 2005-2006 Eric William Suter Yoon-Mi Lim Craig Cramer Peter R. Conte
32nd Season – 2010-2011 Renée Anne Louprette Todd Wilson Jonathan Biggers John Schwandt
36th Season – 2014-2015 Cherry Rhodes Kevin Jones Michael Messina Barbara Bruns Eric Plutz
28th Season – 2006-2007 James Welch Ken Cowan Carlo Curley J. Christopher Pardini Carol Williams
33rd Season – 2011-2012 Jeremy Filsell Dongho Lee Ken Cowan Christopher Houlihan
37th Season – 2015-2016 Scott Dettra Jonathan Rudy Isabelle Demers Christian Lane 38th Season – 2016-2017 David Higgs Chelsea Chen
Saint Paul Cathedral 108 North Dithridge Street Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213
Rudolf von Beckerath Organ, 1962 Restoration by Taylor and Boody Organbuilders, 2008 Great 16' 8' 8' 4' 2-2/3' 2' V IV 16' 8' 4'
Principal Principal Koppelgedackt Octave Quinte Octave Mixture Scharf Trumpet Trumpet Trumpet
Swell 16' 8' 8' 8' 8' 4' 4' 2-2/3' 2' VI V 16' 8 4' 8' 4'
Quintadena Violflöte Flute Gemshorn Gemshorn Celeste Violflöte Nachthorn Nasat Blockflöte Mixture Cornet Fagott Oboe Schalmei Trompette-en-chamade Clairon-en-chamade
Solo 8' 4' 4' 2-2/3' 2' 1-3/5' 1-1/3' 1' III 8' 4'
Gedeckt Principal Rohrflöte Quintflöte Waldflöte Tierce Nasat Sifflöte Cymbal Vox Humana Musette
Rückpositiv 8' Principal 8' Quintadena 8' Rohrflöte 4' Octave 4' Blockflöte 2-2/3' Nasat 2' Octave 2' Gemshorn 1-1/3' Quinte V Scharf II Sesquialtera 16' Bärpfeife 8' Cromorne Pedal 32' 16' 16' 16' 8' 8' 4' 4' 2' VI III 32' 16' 16' 8' 4'
Principal Principal Subbasse Flute Octave Spielflöte Octave Rohrflöte Nachthorn Mixture Rauschpfeife Posaune Pousane Fagott Trumpet Trumpet
Couplers Swell to Great Solo to Great Ruckpositiv to Great Swell to Pedal Great to Pedal(2008) Tr e m u la n t – Swell & Solo Divisions 10 General/6 Divisional Combinations 256 Levels of Memory
