Chiff Chat — Monthly Newsletter S p r i n g f i e l d M a s s a c h u s e t t s C h a p t e r American Guild of Organists APRIL 2003 ✿✿✿ Page 1 ABOUT CHIFF CHAT REMAINING CHAPTER EVENTS Chiff Chat is the Newsletter of 2002- 2003 Season the Springfield, Massachusetts, Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and is APRIL 6th – Sunday at 4:00 PM published September through June. Closing “Felix Hell in Recital” st th dates are the 1 and 5 of the preceding A joint presentation with “Music at First” month for Articles and Calendar/News Old First Church, Springfield Items, respectively. Please send material electronically (much preferred) or by US MAY 4 th – Sunday at 2:00 PM mail. See Yearbook for Editor s address or “Members Recital” call him (# is below). Our website is St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Cathedral www.springfieldago.org. Springfield * * * * JUNE 9th – Monday at 6:00 PM EXECUTIVE BOARD “Annual Banquet” Delaney House, Holyoke DEAN Larry Schipull * * * * 413-534-7730 IN THIS ISSUE SUB-DEAN Bill Czelusniak 413-586-7600 “Cover” SECRETARY Chancel of Christ Church Episcopal Martha Sienkiewicz Cathedral as viewed from the nave. 413-568-8033 Originally a divided chancel, choir seating TREASURER now is semi-circular around the organ Arlene Howes console, which faces the choir directly. 413-567-8730 The console is in a pit behind the altar. DIRECTORS — Class of 2003 Michael Dulac “Articles” 413-788-9451 th Donald Hooton 50 Anniversary of Austin Organ 413-533-8412 Christ Church Cathedral 3 Introduction DIRECTORS — Class of 2004 Peter Beardsley Karen Lampiasi 413-562-0646 Tonal Changes to Original Organ Current Specifications of Organ Karen McCarthy 413-782-7785 Next Chapter Event 7 Chapter Member Recitalists DIRECTORS — Class of 2005 St. Michael s RC Cathedral Organ Lary Grossman 413-247-9426 Major Recital Reviews 8 Barbara Huber David Briggs, Organist 413-525-6142 Clive Driskill-Smith, Organist Felix Hell, Organist MEMBERSHIP Charles Page 860-749-7829 “Departments” NEWSLETTER EDITOR From the Editor 3 Allen Langord 413-585-1014 Positions Available 11 Calendar of Events 11 PUBLICITY Jacqueline Johnson 413-596-8006 Page 2 FROM THE EDITOR gamut of history on this organ after its installation. Additionally, a profile on Pete developed quite naturally as we talked. In this Newsletter, we visit Christ Church Episcopal Cathedral, Springfield, Originally, this organ, was a 3- which notes the 50th Anniversary of the manual instrument of 53 ranks controlled by Austin Organ installation. Your editor met a standard Austin stopkey console, and with Peter Beardsley, Canon Precentor, on disposed over 5 Divisions including a March 7th to develop material for this article. floating Positiv Division (original). The tonal work under Pete s guidance, which has been done since 1985, is remarkable. In Pete s letter to me he said: Your Editor urges you to call him to arrange While it is not the largest organ in a visit to the Cathedral. Bring your music Springfield, it is arguably the most intensely and organ shoes, and, as our UK friends say, colorful, and in a fine acoustic (matched have a play . You ll be thrilled! only, arguably, by St. Joseph s RC which is tragically being downgraded from full parish It is quite unique for this Chapter status). It is a much different animal than (perhaps any Chapter) to hear, locally, three what Austin installed in 1953, thanks mostly major international organists within a span of to Ted Gilbert and more recently to David just two weeks. See the March Chiff Chat Johnston (formerly of Austin, now with which provided information on organists Czelusniak et Dugal, and a member of the David Briggs, Clive Driskill-Smith, and Cathedral Choir). He concluded by noting Felix Hell. David is a mature, seasoned that And I suppose [to be complete] I have musician with a strong concert career. Clive done much of the grunt work to support is a young Cathedral organist on a fast track Ted s tonal genius. career path. Felix is a teenage virtuoso. Your Editor secured very discerning Chapter (EDITOR: In perusing Orpha Ochse s magnum members who reviewed these recitals for this opus on The Austin Company, opus 2195 is issue. If you did not attend, these reviews mentioned several times. Richard Piper had been will make you want to hear these artists. hired a few years earlier, and he was starting to introduce new ideas, carefully and slowly, into In February, The Executive Board these instruments. For example, the unenclosed decided to have March-June Chiff Chat Positive was one of the first three ever done by Newsletters mailed late each month, rather Austin, and the Krummhorn stop was one of the than mailed for arrival before the beginning first three introduced.) of each new month. As the discussion between Pete and your Editor progressed on how this organ has * * * * been changed tonally over time, it became very clear that these tonal efforts represented CHRIST CHURCH a sterling example of achieving desired goals EPISCOPAL CATHEDRAL on a shoestring budget. Springfield - Massachusetts It absolutely required a musician who knew the organ and its literature, and INTRODUCTION who full well understood the tonal requirements for the artistically valid interpretation of the instrument s vast In January, Peter Beardsley, Canon Precentor at Christ Church Episcopal literature. It also required a musician Cathedral, wrote to me saying that the sensitive to the musical requirements of the liturgy and complex service playing. The original installation of the Cathedral s Austin ability to think outside the box, the impetus, organ, opus 2195, occurred 50 years ago in 1953, and suggesting that an article about and the stewardship of Peter Beardsley this organ might be of interest to readers. I working in artistic lockstep with gifted organ responded enthusiastically. We met in the craftspeople, produced results that could afternoon of March 7th and covered the never have been otherwise accomplished with such minimum funding. Page 3 time he was organist in the First Methodist PETER BEARSDLEY Church in Pittsfield. Pete first became acquainted with Pete grew up in Dalton, MA, very the Austin organ at Christ Church Cathedral, near Pittsfield. His interest in the organ Springfield with recitals in 1974 and 1975 dates from his youth. His dad was organist and I got to be not overly fond of it. at Zion Lutheran Church in Pittsfield for 46 However, I learned through the grapevine years. An MIT engineer who worked for that the Cathedral job was open. I applied, General Electric in Pittsfield, he was, in and, lo and behold, I was hired in September Pete s words, a decent organist who never 1976! I have now been there almost 27 considered himself a professional, and who years . Regarding the choir, I inherited a had a real knack for contemporary music good SATB choir with the soprano section also. Pete s mom also was an organist. He mostly children. The choir today is basically studied privately in the area, and his first as I found it. The beginner kids are paid 70- instruction was on a Hammond Organ. He cents per time they show up. The highest played his first service at age 11 in Grace pay is $2.10. There are 52 members in the Episcopal Church, Dalton. He remarked that choir. In 1999 they went on tour in England. at age 11 he was up to the hymns but not This year they will sing in Lichfield yet Anglican Chant . Pete substituted all Cathedral. The choir is marvelous and we over the central Berkshires area covering have only the usual problems of balance that churches of all denominations. all people have to work on. After graduation from High School His immediate predecessor at the it was off to Middlebury College to study for Cathedral was Robert Knox Chapman (the the seminary. While at Middlebury he also same name as his organ teacher at studied organ with James Chapman, college Middlebury, but not the same person). The organist, who was a Marilyn Mason student. authorities of the Cathedral decided to carpet the church completely in 1970, but the job Within two years he said, I came was done when Chapman was on vacation, to my senses and transferred to Indiana because it was known that he was University as an organ major. Oswald vehemently against carpeting and the ( Ozzie ) Ragatz was his organ teacher. dreadful impact it had on good acoustics. Pete remarks humorously, Ozzie played Chapmen had thought that the only work to here in 1978 in the proud tradition of organ be done was a reconfiguring of the chancel students bringing their teachers to play from a traditional divided form to one recitals. He received both his BM and MM wherein the choir was seated centrally in a degrees from Indiana, and joined the Peace semi-circular arrangement, and that carpeting Corps in 1970. Assigned to El Salvador was NOT part of the project. When he where he taught music in the public schools returned and saw the carpeting, he marched as part of a program supporting the Ministry into the Dean s office and immediately of Education, he recalls seven people were resigned. He was talked out of that, and recruited: one each in woodwinds, brass, stayed for six more years. Austin brightened choral, voice, and theory & keyboard (which all the upperwork of the organ in an attempt he taught), and two for strings. to deal with the carpeting. Returning in 1973 he worked first in TONAL CHANGES the organ maintenance business of Rock Spencer in Albany.