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Dr. Charles Barland, ORGAN RECITAL TUESDAY, APRIL 6, 2021 - 7:30 P.M . Debut of John and Alice Butler Hall's new pipe organ, Opus 97 , with over 3,000 pipes! UNIVERSITY of DUBUQUE Dr. Charles Barland, ORGAN RECITAL TUESDAY, APRIL 6, 2021 - 7:30 P.M . John and Alice Butler Hall, Heritage Center Dr. Charles Barland, Professor of Music and University Organist Allegro ................................................................... Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937) from Symphonie No. 6 in G minor, Op. 42 No. 2 Récit de tierce en taille ............................................ Nicolas de Grigny (1672-1703) from Premier Livre d’Orgue Toccata in F major , BuxWV 157 .............................. Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707) Nun freut euch, lieben Christen gmein , BWV 734 ................ Johann Sebastian Bach ............................................................................................................ (1685-1750) Passacaglia in C minor , BWV 582 .................... Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Tuba Tune in D major , Op. 15 ..................................... Craig Sellar Lang (1891-1971) Andante “Choeur de Voix Humaines” ................... Louis Lefébure-Wély (1817-1869) Concert Variations on The Star-Spangled Banner , Op. 1 .. Dudley Buck (1839-1909) Lotus ............................................................................... Billy Strayhorn (1915-1967) from Lotus Blossom ..................................................... Arr. Alec Wyton (1921-2007) Finale ..................................................................... Alexandre Guilmant (1837-1911) from Organ Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 42 2 DR. CHARLES BARLAND Dr. Charles Barland was appointed director of the University of Dubuque Choir in 2002, serving in that role until 2018. Currently, he is professor of music and university organist at the University of Dubuque. A native of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Dr. Barland earned a bachelor of arts degree at Carroll University, a master of arts degree at the University of Iowa, and a doctor of musical arts degree at the University of Kansas. He is a two-time recipient of the University of Dubuque Faculty of the Year Award and was awarded the John Knox Coit Prize, the highest award given to faculty by the University of Dubuque for excellence in teaching and advising. As an organist, Dr. Barland has performed throughout the United States and in Germany, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and England including performances in Armagh, Glasgow, London, Munich, Boston, Orlando, Chicago, Milwaukee, Los Angeles, and Honolulu. Joining colleague Professor Alan Garfield, he has helped lead students from UD on study aboard trips to England, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Vatican City, Austria, Greece, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Scotland, the Netherlands, and Spain. In addition to his duties at the University of Dubuque, Dr. Barland is director of music for Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, senior organist and choir director at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, and a member of the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra Board, serving on the artistic advisory and education committees. An active member of the American Guild of Organists (AGO) and The Organ Historical Society, he is a past officer of the Topeka and Dubuque Chapters of the AGO. Dr. Barland has two adult sons and a grandson. 3 Program Notes Allegro from Symphonie No. 6 in G minor, Op. 42 No. 2 Charles-Marie Widor is closely associated with the Church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris, France, where he was an organist from 1870 until 1934! When this position became available, Widor was considered too young and inexperienced to be appointed to such a prestigious post. Because of this, he was named interim organist for a year. When the first year was up, France was at war, and the church authorities never bothered to reevaluate the organ position. Widor kept silent and his post was never made permanent. In his old age, Widor enjoyed sharing the good story that he had been the temporary organist for more than 63 years. A natural Romanticist, Widor composed symphonies for the organ, 10 in total. His music’s characteristics include manual changes for dramatic effect, staccato touch for brilliance, and double pedaling—all of which are evident in this Allegro opening movement from Symphonie No. 6 . The opening is a choral-type section which is contrasted with a Bach-inspired fantasia. As the movement proceeds, Widor weaves both the choral melody and the fantasia material into a glorious whole. Récit de tierce en taille from Premier Livre d’Orgue Nicolas de Grigny was organist of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Rheims, France. His only collection of organ music (first organ book) contains about 50 pieces including an organ Mass and five Latin hymn settings. Johann Sebastian Bach discovered Grigny’s music while living in Arnstadt, Germany, in 1703. Bach held this music in such high esteem that he copied the book by hand, studied it, and passed it along to one of his students. The Récit de tierce en taille is from the Gloria movement of the Mass. The title instructs the organist that the solo is to be played on the Récit (Swell) manual of the organ using a registration sound of flute stops including the tierce. The melody is played in the tenor (taille) range. 4 Toccata in F major, BuxWV 157 One of the leading figures in the North German organ tradition, Dietrich Buxtehude was the organist of St. Mary’s Church in Lübeck. His organ music is innovative and imaginative. Johann Sebastian Bach respected and admired Buxtehude so much that he walked 200 miles to hear Buxtehude play the organ and for the opportunity to study with him. The Toccata in F major opens with a section that employs scales and chords. The repetition of chord patterns suggests the use of echo effects (changing manuals). A four-part fugue follows and leads into a final section that builds in sound and energy. Nun freut euch, lieben Christen gmein, BWV 734 The great nineteenth century composer, Robert Schumann, once said, “It is with the organ that Bach appears to be his most sublime, most audacious. He is in his own element, and knows neither limits nor bounds, and works for the centuries to come.” The significance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s music cannot be overstated. Arguably the greatest musical genius, Bach is considered by many to be the most important composer of organ music. His music represents the culmination of the Baroque era yet also points toward the future. Bach employed harmonic dissonance in his music as few others did at the time. The rich harmony, sophisticated counterpoint, and technical demands make his compositions among the most rewarding and challenging works written for the organ. Nun freut euch, lieben Christen gmein (Now Rejoice, Dear Christian Congregation), BWV 734, is a chorale prelude with the melody played in the pedal while the hands play perpetual sixteenth notes. 5 Passacaglia in C minor, BWV 582 A passacaglia is a series of variations over a repeated bass line. Written in Weimar, Germany, about 1716, this piece is one of Johann Sebastian Bach’s most famous organ works and tremendously influenced subsequent composers in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Bach’s passacaglia is a set of variations on an eight- measure theme presented in the pedals to begin the piece. The detail and intricacy are fascinating. Bach quotes at least six melodies from Lutheran chorales within this piece. A middle section has the theme transferred out of the pedal to the soprano range. Soon thereafter an arpeggiated section for manuals only outlines the harmonic progression of the theme before it reappears in the pedal. Without pause, a fugue follows. There are 21 variations of the main theme in the passacaglia and 12 entries (the inverse of 21) in the fugue. This numerical type of organization is typical of Bach’s genius. Tuba Tune in D major, Op. 15 Born in New Zealand, Craig Sellar Lang was educated and spent most of his professional life in England. From 1929 until the end of World War II, he was director of music for Christ’s Hospital School in West Sussex, an English charity school founded under Edward VI to accommodate the homeless and impoverished after monasteries were dissolved in Protestant England. Tuba Tune was written in 1929 in the style and character of an English jig. In the context of a pipe organ, the term tuba is a loud trumpet stop on high wind pressure often found on nineteenth century English organs. The John and Alice Butler Pipe Organ has a tuba stop as well as an ophicleide stop both in the solo division. In this performance, the solo line will alternate between these two stops. Andante “Choeur de Voix Humaines” A popular musical figure in Paris, Louis Lefébure-Wély was Charles-Marie Widor’s predecessor at the Church of Saint-Sulpice. Light-hearted and entertaining are two words sometimes used to describe Lefébure-Wély’s music. This is certainly the case for the Andante on tonight’s program. The Voix Humaine stop, which imitates the human voice, is heard in the left hand juxtaposed with flute stops in the right hand. Nicknamed “The Nun’s Chorus,” this piece is charming in its simplicity. 6 Concert Variations on The Star-Spangled Banner, Op. 1 Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Dudley Buck was part of the first generation of American composers centered in Boston. After a period of studying music in Germany and France, Buck returned to the United States whereupon he became the first prominent American organist to play recitals frequently. Each variation of the Concert Variations on The Star-Spangled Banner is written to utilize a virtuosic technique, particularly for the pedals, and to explore the coloristic possibilities of the organ. A review of the period from the Musical Independent states, “The organ selections by Dr. Buck as a whole were taken by the audience in a patient manner, worthy of all praise… (but) the Concert Variations of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ quite awakened the folk from the Sunday-like attention they had bestowed upon the former part of the program.” Lotus from Lotus Blossom Jazz music is not often associated with the pipe organ, but as Lotus demonstrates, it can be quite effective.
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