ORGALT ORGAN ALTERNATIVES Fall/Winter 2004 · Issue 39 ORGANCONCERTS.CA (web capture, September 2004) CONTENTS: Anonymous-14 Bales-17 Beauséjour-14 Bethel Christian Reformed Church, Newmarket-7 Bish-15 Bouchard-15 Casavant Frères-7,18,19 Competitions-15,17 Corrette-14 Fagiani-4 Festival des Couleurs de l’Orgue Français-15 Festival Orgue et Couleurs-17 Goettsche-6 Halley-5 Herrick-14 Improvisation-4 Italy-4 Knox Col- lege-14 Orgues Létourneau-14,15,16 Cantos Movie Mondays (Calgary)-15 Montréal-15,17 organconcerts.ca-2 Fireworks-14 Orgel Probe-3 POW! Pipe Organ Weeks-20 Préfontaine-14 Summer Institute of Church Music-17 Stratford Summer Music Organ Concerts & Academy-6 St. John’s, York Mills-13 Sundays at 3, Edmonton-16 Te Deum Laudamus-17 Tryptych-5 Vanderlinden/Van Suijdam-14 Vandertuin-5 Vinyl-3 Winspear-14,16 ADVERTISER INDEX: Casavant Frères-11,19 Centenary United Church, Hamilton-3 Classic Organworks-4 Festival des Couleurs de l’Orgue Française-10,15 European Organ Centre-20 Halbert Gober-6 Alan T. Jackson & Company-11 Kelman Hall Publishing-3 Orgues Létourneau-16 Thomas Linken-13 Andrew Mead-13 Opera Store-20 Pole & Kingham-6 Sibelius in North America-2 Leslie Smith-14 John Struve -14 Trinity United Church, Kitchener-3 Hellmuth Wolff et Associés-7 ORGAN ALTERNATIVES…ORGALT.COM - 1 RGAN LTERNATIVES O A www.OrgAlt.com [email protected] ORGANCONCERTS.CA - Christopher Dawes 103 King Street, Georgetown Ontario, Canada L7G 2G8 The information-choked Internet’s brief lifetime has proved nothing to be more valuable tel: (416) 356-3138; faxes by appointment only that an easy-to-remember and easy-to-find route to the information people want. After a four month testing period OrgAlt is pleased to bring to the Canadian organ world (and the Organ Alternatives is a production, management international curious) organconcerts.ca: Canada’s organ concert listings. and communications company dedicated to the future of the King of Instruments. OrgAlt, Can- Next to the OrgAlt newsletter itself, organconcerts.ca is Canada’s only universal reposi- ada’s Internet journal of culture and creativity, is tory of information about organ performance. The limited frequency of the OrgAlt news- published twice annually (September and Febru- letter has always defied the average disorganized and too-frequently “publicity-challenged” ary/March) in PDF format at www.OrgAlt.com, and presenter. If only something could always be available, always be up-to-date and always be mailed in hardcopy around the world. accessible to all those wanting to give, promote and attend organ concerts in Canada… Downloading OrgAlt in PDF is free; a year’s two- The other part of this story is the increased size and decreased frequency of the OrgAlt issue paper subscription is $20 CDN within Can- newsletter. As advertising has continued to grow, a corresponding content increase has ada and $20 US in other countries. At been necessary to maintain a reasonable ratio in each issue (we remain open to feedback www.OrgAlt.com, Organ Alternatives also main- on this point). At the same time universal access to the Internet, faster connections, com- tains organconcerts.ca (Canada’s organ concert puter processors and larger hard drives, and the most time-sensitive content, the former listings), and resources for presenters, performers, “King in Concert” listings being now online 24/7 at organconcerts.ca have all indicated a churches and concertgoers. change. Thus, the shift to 20-pages per issue, and to biannual publication, in September Editorial coverage of the organ culture, and list- and February/March to match the rhythms of the Canadian organ community as we see it. ings of concerts and broadcasts in Canada are organconcerts.ca consists of one very large, easily searchable and easily printable page provided free of charge in OrgAlt and on organ- within the OrgAlt.com main web site, and contains a permanent list of presenters divided concerts.ca. Recordings, compositions and other into Series and Festivals and all of their currently promoted Single Events. There is also items for review are always welcome. Organ a simple Archive page: a sort of “graveyard” to which are moved all expired listings on a Alternatives is supported entirely through revenue from paper subscriptions, and from advertising in monthly basis; a Submit page, where users may submit complete information on any ser- OrgAlt and on organconcerts.ca, and other high- vice, concert, series, convention, festival or other qualifying organ event, and a compre- traffic areas of the website www.OrgAlt.com. hensive users’ Guide including Frequently Asked Questions. Inquiries of all kinds are always welcome. organconcerts.ca is far from a fait accompli: many objectives regarding bilingualism, OrgAlt ISSN 1203-7372, Volume 12, Number 2 serachability and other usage factors, and building national awareness and support are yet to be achieved: but the start is made, the hit count high, and hopefully, the contribution Cover: organconcerts.ca web site main start begun in a way that will draw the needed support from the thousands whom it benefits. page screen capture, September 2004. -CD ORGAN ALTERNATIVES…ORGALT.COM - 2 Orgel Probe THE PERFECT SOLUTION ?… is a card based quiz-game designed by Are your old vinyl records hang- the organ performance class of Dr. ing around gathering dust? A Melvin Dickinson, formerly professor at copy of mid-20th century Dutch the University of Louisville School of organist Feike Asma’s famous Music, Kentucky. Its 530 questions test recording of Widor’s Fifth Sym- knowledge of the organ, its history and phony in f, Op.42 at the Oude literature. Kerk in Amsterdam made an It is available for $6US from the offices intriguing gift to the OrgAlt of the American Guild of Organists, at editor last Christmas, and is one www.agohq.org, (212) 870-2310. of the more creative instances of recycling we’ve seen to date. Does anyone out there know who thought this one up? Don’t immediately start convert- ing all of your old vinyl into candy dishes, though. In a re- lated story, the Music Library at the University of Toronto re- cently replaced some 9000 CD’s as the early examples of this technology reach the 20-year-old stage. Ironically all of their vinyl records are just fine. Submissions for the next issue of OrgAlt (publication late February or early March 2005, th covering spring and summer, are due February 15 . Listings for organconcerts.ca are always welcome. CONTACT: See p.2, or submit to organconcerts.ca online ORGAN ALTERNATIVES…ORGALT.COM - 3 ORGAN “LOST LANDS” II An Interview with Eugenio Fagiani ing the importance of sacred music – but the tradition of liturgical music had all but stopped. What remained was very free and fantasy- like, no formal improvisation of any kind (Symphony, Sonata, etc.). CD: Was Marco Enrico Bossi an example of that musical style? EF: Yes. If you see his compositions, many of them start from that point, and are very free and fantasy-like. For this reason the French didn’t think too highly of Bossi. CD: Would I be right that the Germans held similar views of Italian improvisation? EF: Probably worse! Although another of our really good improvisers, Lorenzo Perosi was invited to become a teacher in Regensburg. He chose however to remain in Italy to help change Italian church music from opera to sacred music, following the Papal decree. CD: Is it true that in Italy, the Mass provides fewer opportunities for liturgical improvi- sation than it does here? EF: Yes. Again, as a hold-out from our operatic past the congregation sings during communion. It’s not like here in Canada, where inmany churches there are many moments for improvisation. CD: So now, in the 21st century you are seeking to develop a 20th century school of improvisation? EF: Yes. For me it is unbelievable that we have improvisers in the world While surveying the history of music in Europe, for most countries it is easy to find who will improvise only the style of Bach and his predecessors. Our stretches of history where a former torrent of fine performers, fine instruments and fine sensibilities have changed in 300 years – we cannot ‘hear’ music the composers slowed to a trickle, or even seemed to stop entirely. Often war, occupation, way Bach intended it anyway. We still have many ancient instru- disease and recession are at least partly to blame. In OrgAlt #38, and in a recent ments, though, so the idea of me and a few colleagues is the reverse online feature at OrgAlt.com, we examined the forgotten and neglected Czech Republic, of what some do: we don’t try to show ancient music on modern in- whose organ culture has virtually always been a secret from the greater world. Just as struments: we try to show modern music on ancient instruments. intriguing is the story of Italy, the home of Roman Catholicism, and the land of Fresco- CD: Are you evolving, do you think, a form of improvising that is indigenously Italian? baldi, the Gabrielis and other giants of the Renaissance. Why did the land of such EF: ‘Indigenously’ is an interesting word. It is nearly impossible to use it international musical superstars as Vivaldi and Verdi slip off the organ musical map? in our time, since the world is so international. But I would say that Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with a representative of a younger generation of what we are developing is Italian in two ways: first, we use Italian or- musician which is seeking to return the Italian organ culture to its former glory.