How much prep?

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Katherine Crosier
A picture of me playing the organ.

A picture of me playing the organ.

My last post generated a lot of discussion about the whole notion of poor pay being the reason for the organist shortage, especially considering the amount of preparation time required to play a church service. I suppose if you go back to my ten years of private organ lessons, four years of college with courses in organ performance, organ literature, organ history, conducting, church music, one year of graduate school doing more of the same, daily organ practice, and my forty-plus years on the organ bench being a professional organist — that’s a lot of prep!

One of my former students replied: To substitute, I have to practice approximately 25 hours to survive the service. This means I would get paid about $5 an hour, $2.78 after taxes. If I were doing it for the money, I’d be better off working at McDonald’s. At least they’d give me minimum wage and 10% discount for a Big Mac. [And she didn't even mention the price of gas required to drive to the church! or the price of music! Most organists that I know, including myself, purchase ALL their own music which is not cheap these days.]

I guess it’s a wonder that there are any organists at all!

Ah! but there’s the second part of that quote that I need to address: Most organ jobs do not pay enough and do not provide enough personal satisfaction to make them worth taking. 

I’ve frequently talked about the “magic” of playing the organ or the “wow factor.” It’s that tremendous sense of power, that enormous feeling of control a person gets when playing on full organ. With very little effort, even if you are a small person (or a small child), you can create a huge sound.  I’ve often said that the success of the church service is dependent upon the organist — the organist can make or break the service and its flow from one element to the next. And with a wide range of a tonal palette that the organ stops offer, you won’t tire of hearing only one sound. Our friend and colleague, John McCreary, used to say that the reason he switched from the piano to the organ was that “the piano only had one stop!”

Mastering the pedals can be challenging but fun.

Mastering the pedals can be challenging but fun.

Ah! so there is some personal satisfaction to playing the organ after all, in spite of church politics and having to deal with difficult people. Of my own playing, I’m most satisfied when I’ve mastered a challenging fugue by Bach, or a harmonically and rhythmically complex piece by a contemporary composer, or been able to expressively play a quiet, lyric piece that “touches your heart.”

I’ll never forget that one Sunday when I was up in the organ loft at St. Sulpice, Marcel Dupré improvised a particularly touching and heart-rending piece during the Communion, and he started to weep! There was a buzz among the organ students that the great “maître” had improvised a piece of such beauty that even he was overcome with emotion.

So playing the organ can be satisfying after all, not only to the listeners but to the performer too. As for professional concerns and raising salary standards — everyone needs to keep working on it.

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Why there are no more organists

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Katherine Crosier

The low numbers of students learning to play the organ has been a hot topic of discussion on the pipe organ LISTSERV to which I subscribe. Although I am more of a “lurker” rather than a contributor, I thought I’d weigh in on the discussion. It all started when the following statement was made:

People go on and on about the need to reestablish organ departments in colleges and bemoan that it is becoming harder and harder to find organists. “No one’s taking piano lessons anymore, they are all playing keyboards…” “All the music is turning to praise bands.” But the true reason is simple. Most organ jobs do not pay enough and do not provide enough personal satisfaction to make them worth taking.

One person immediately answered that getting money was not the only source for happiness; another quoted a Baptist minister as saying “No musician should be paid.” Another said he was in an evangelical church where there were keyboardists, drummers, and guitarists, plus a person who played the pipe organ and no one except the music director was paid. He couldn’t see how the poor pay is the reason students have stopped learning to play the organ.

One of my youngest organ students.

One of my youngest organ students.

Here in our little corner of the world, as you know, I’m trying to buck the trend. It all started in the year 2000 when I was exposed to the teaching materials of Wayne Leupold, who said that the organ could be a first rather than a second instrument on which to learn music — there was not a requirement to learn the piano first. He said that we should get children on the organ when they were fascinated by all the keys, buttons, pistons, gadgets, etc. and not tell them to wait until they could play 2- and 3-part inventions of Bach. After all, Bach did not play the piano first! It was then that I started teaching children as young as four years old to learn to play the organ.

Now my students are getting older and more skilled in playing the organ. What I’m telling them is this: “Someday playing the organ may be your bread and butter. There are always going to be churches who need organists to play services, weddings and funerals. It may not be too much money — but for a kid, it beats working at McDonald’s.”

Two of my young students recently played the organ for their first church services — one started with me as a first-grader (and is now in 7th grade); the other started in 6th grade (and is now in 10th grade). They both were thrilled to get their first paychecks ($125-$150). Former student Joey Fala will be subbing for me this Sunday, and he has picked up a number of substitute organ jobs while at college in New York.

That’s not to say that one can live on substitute organ pay — because you can’t. As some of you know,  I’ve had to cobble together four jobs (organist at LCH; chapel organist at Iolani; parish administrator at St. Elizabeth’s; and private organ teacher).

But to that person who said “no musician should be paid,” I have to counter with: “So that means you don’t pay your janitor? your bookkeeper? your gardener? your secretary? your minister?”

I’ll never forget when I heard someone say at an Association of Lutheran Church Musicians conference that the pay for a church musician and pastors should be equal. If you pay your minister $80,000 you should pay your church musician $80,000. So that would take the pay factor out of the equation — but would it ever happen?

In another post, I’ll describe how many hours it takes to prepare to play a church service. When people say, “wow, $125-150 for an hour of work” they don’t realize there are many more hidden hours of practice and preparation for that one hour service on Sunday morning.

Young Organists Concert, 2011

Young Organists Concert, 2011

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The union of musical minds

Posted on May 12, 2012 by Katherine Crosier
Yuri McCoy and Asuka Okamoto were married on May 12, 2012

Yuri McCoy and Asuka Okamoto were married on May 12, 2012

This afternoon Carl Crosier and I attended the wedding of Yuri McCoy and Asuka Okamoto at St. Andrew’s Cathedral, two musicians from opposite ends of the globe — he from West Virginia and she from Kobe, Japan. They met four years ago when they both attended the University of Hawaii to study piano. It was most interesting to me to see what music they chose for their wedding, especially since Yuri has been the Organ Scholar at St. Andrew’s (which is how we know him). I knew that the music was going to be extraordinary!

There was no prelude. The service began with the blowing of the pū (conch shell) and the singing of the oli (Hawaiian chant) as the choir processed into the nave. Here then is the rest of the music performed:

Procession of the Bridal Party: I was glad (Hubert Parry)
— Yuri played the organ for this!
Hymn: Lord, make us servants of your peace (Dickinson College)
Psalm 128 (Yuri McCoy)
Anthem following sermon: I sat down under his shadow (Edward C. Bairstow)
Blessing Anthem: Ubi caritas et amor (Maurice Duruflé)
Postlude: Prelude and Fugue in D major (J. S. Bach)

Yuri & Asuka exited with the music of Bach.

Yuri & Asuka exited with the grand music of Bach's Prelude and Fugue in D Major.

I half expected Yuri to play the postlude, too, but instead it was John Renke who played a grand rendition of this great work. Unfortunately there was a cipher on the trumpet stop, but luckily it was on “A” which was in the right key!

The music was all elegantly presented, and St. Andrew’s Choir sounded especially beautiful. One thing that was interesting to note was the brief delay after the magnificent Parry anthem, “I was glad,” while Yuri changed out of his organ shoes!

Following the wedding there was a short concert in the Cathedral and both Yuri and Asuka played.

By the way, Carl and I will soon celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary on July 15th and we too performed during our wedding. I played “Tierce en taille” by Couperin during the communion, and Carl sang Duruflé’s “Ubi caritas” with the choir.

We wish for Yuri and Asuka many years of happiness!

I’m embedding Kings College performance of Ubi caritas for your listening and viewing pleasure.

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Aloha, Patricia Chamberlain (1926-2012)

Posted on May 12, 2012 by Katherine Crosier
LCH Choir at ACDA Convention, March 11-14, 1992, Central Union Church

LCH Choir at ACDA Convention, March 11-14, 1992, Central Union Church

On Wednesday night, I and a few other folks from LCH attended the Spring Concert of St. Andrew’s Priory choirs conducted by our own Naomi Castro, with Carl Crosier, accompanist. Randy Castello (one of the LCH tenors) turned to me and said, “Did you see the obituary for Pat Chamberlain this week?” In the picture above, taken at the American Choral Directors Association’ convention in 1992, Pat is in the second row, fifth from the left.

Here’s the obituary as found in the Star-Advertiser:

Patricia Chamberlain
April 28, 2012
Patricia “Pat” Chamberlain, 86, of Honolulu, a homemaker, died in Honolulu. She was born in Wisconsin. She is survived by sons Robert and William, daughter Susan J., a grandchild and four great-grandchildren. Private services.

 

Both Pat and her husband, Charles “Chuck,” were extremely active members of the Lutheran Church of Honolulu choir for years and years. (Chuck died on May 27, 2010; also at age 86) Pat had a beautiful soprano voice that just soared. She started out in the first soprano section, then as she aged, moved to second soprano, then first alto, and finally ended up in the second alto section. Pat was for a time the church secretary, but was also very willing to volunteer for any kind of clerical task at the church — for years and years she was on the “Heart Beat” (at the time, a weekly newsletter) folding team.

From one of my scrapbooks: Pat and Chuck Chamberlain

From one of my scrapbooks: Pat and Chuck Chamberlain

Chuck sang in the tenor section and was very interested in recording and sound production. It was because of Chuck that we have a number of historical recordings of the choir and the organ at LCH.

Both Chuck and Pat were also organ aficionados and were members of the local chapter of the American Guild of Organists, although to my knowledge, neither of them played the organ. I remember them always coming out for church work days — they could always be counted on to help. They were also avid barbershoppers — Pat was for years a member of Sweet Adelines, and Chuck sang with the local chapter of the Society for the Preservation of Barbershop Quartet Singing in the America (SPBQSA).

In a previous post, I identified all the people in the ACDA photo above, and it’s a little sad to think that only eight people are still with the choir today, twenty years later. Not counting myself, the list includes Carol Langner, Randy Castello, Allen Bauchle, Olivia Castro, Jerome Vasconcellos, Roy Helms and David Del Rocco.

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McNeil Robinson, musician extraordinaire

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Katherine Crosier
McNeil Robinson, b. 1943

McNeil Robinson, b. 1943

This Sunday, the LCH Choir will be singing two anthems by McNeil Robinson, an acclaimed New York organist and improvisateur. We first met Neil when he came to Honolulu to dedicate the Beckerath organ at LCH in 1975. At that time I was fortunate to spend about 20 hours in organ study with him and it is he who taught me the special techniques used to play a tracker organ. Two years later he came back to Honolulu to play an all-Bach recital at LCH and an all-Franck recital at St. Andrew’s Cathedral. He then stayed an extra week to play for our wedding.

His organ playing is virtuosic, but what sets him apart from other organists is his incredible talent for improvisation. According to Wikipedia, improvisation is the practice of “making and creating in the moment.” That means that the performer “makes it up on the fly” and doesn’t look at a musical score to play even whole symphonies and fugues. In France, it has long been a tradition to improvise the organ voluntaries for the service. In 1968 when I was a student in Paris, I went every Sunday to Saint Sulpice to hear Marcel Dupré improvise.

This Sunday, the choir will sing “God is Love (Beloved, let us love another)” at the offertory and “Lo the winter is past” at the communion. This last piece is unpublished since we are reading it from hand-written manuscript. Both of them are composed in the same mood as Robinson’s “Improperium,” which we have sung in the past on Palm Sunday — very melancholy and soulful.

I just now re-read my blog about our chance encounter with Neil on the streets of New York City in 2005. Here it is again, from my post “It’s a small world after all.”

In 2005 when we were in New York City for the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians conference, we were coming out of the Guggenheim Museum and started to walk up Park Avenue. All of a sudden, we heard a man calling, “Carl! Carl! Carl!” and I thought, well, who knows we are in New York City? But the calling continued, “Carl! CARL! CARL!” We turned around, and a taxicab had pulled alongside on the curb. It was McNeil Robinson, the organist from our wedding, who just happened to be riding in a cab! Neil told us later the taxicab driver nearly had a heart attack for all the commotion he made trying to get the driver to stop. And it also happened to be the day of our 29th wedding anniversary! We had not told Neil we were in coming, and in fact had not corresponded with him in years.

McNeil Robinson is now the Director of Music and Organist at Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church in New York City.

Here’s a YouTube video of his improvisation at Chester Cathedral.

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The organ prelude (continued)

Posted on May 5, 2012 by Katherine Crosier

This morning, the cartoon below was posted on the American Guild of Organists FaceBook page:

I'm sorry, am I interrupting your conversation?

I'm sorry, am I interrupting your conversation?

It seems that having quiet for the organ prelude is a universal and never-ending challenge!

Even back in 1949, Donald Kettring in Church Week, wrote:

Recently I attended a panel discussion on church music in which a brilliant and accomplished instructor on the music faculty of a large university made the statement that an organ prelude should always be quiet so that the organ tone would not intrude on the private devotions of worshipers waiting in quiet ness for the service proper to begin. This statement was made with an intensity, idealism, and a point of view which greatly appealed to me.

As would be expected, the instructor’s assertion struck some sparks in the gathering. Some felt he was not realistic. “Walk into a typical Protestant Church on a Sunday morning before service” they countered in effect, “do you find quietness or hubbub; do you find people in private devotions or chatting?” In the heat of the discussion the question was punctuated with an exclamation point rather than a question mark as though the answer were obvious. Personally, but this was only my opinion, the answer to the question is not obvious. One never knows how many are engaged in silent prayer, and a very few people talking can do more to create the impression of hubbub than a thousand people listening. We can hear the hubbub but not the silent devotion.

(Read the entire article by clicking this link.)

Kettring suggested that the organist start playing very quietly, then begin the prelude as announced in the bulletin, making sure that “a stirring climax is reached.” Then he or she can start gradually getting softer, modulating to the key of the introit. He says that this formula satisfies people who like preludes soft and others who like them loud.

Some day I wish I were brave enough to just stop playing in the middle of the prelude and  see if anyone notices!

 

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Couperin’s Mass for the Parishes

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Katherine Crosier
François Couperin, 1668-1733

François Couperin, 1668-1733

This Sunday, I will be playing selections from François Couperin’s (1668-1733) Mass for the Parishes (Messe des paroisses pour les fêtes solennelles), written when the composer was 21 years old. He had inherited the position of  organist at St. Gervais at age 11 when his father died, but did not formally take the position until he reached age 18. When he was 28, he was appointed principal organist and court organist for Louis XIV, and he held positions at both St. Gervais and the court until his retirement. Today we find it incredible to have such longevity in a job!

During this time of the French Baroque, the use of the organ was strictly regulated in the church, and the organist played couplets in alternation with the chants sung by the choir (schola) for the main parts of the service: Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus and Agnus Dei. We can tell from the titles of the pieces that the color of the organ was foremost, because the titles tell what registration (stops) were to be used. For example, for the prelude I’ll be playing the 8th Couplet for the Tu solus altissimus with the subtitle “Dialogue en trio du cornet et de la tierce,” which refers to the organ stops to be used.

During communion, I’ll be playing “Tierce en taille” (Third in the tenor) which again refers to a certain organ stop. This piece was in fact requested by organbuilder Rudolf von Beckerath at the dedication of our organ in 1975, which was played by Carl Crosier. Then when we received news of Herr von Beckerath’s death in 1976, I played this piece in his memory at the Sunday service following the news. It therefore become a very special piece for us as a couple, so I played it for our wedding in 1977 at the communion.

For the postlude, I’ll play the 2nd Couplet, Fugue sur les grands jeux, which refers to full organ.

When we were in Paris two years ago, we went to St. Gervais to hear an organ recital. What was most surprising to us was that the performer played the Star Spangled Banner! We happened to be there on the weekend of the Fourth of July, but I found it strange to hear American music in Couperin’s church!

I took a picture of the choir rehearsal last night at St. Andrew’s Cathedral to remind you about the Joint Evensong this Sunday night, May 6th at 5:30 pm.

Joint Evensong Rehearsal at St. Andrew's Cathedral

Joint Evensong Rehearsal at St. Andrew's Cathedral

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Jesus College Evensong

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Katherine Crosier
Joint Evensong 2011

Joint Evensong 2011

As the season winds down, there’s one more extra-curricular event for the LCH Choir — and that’s a Joint Evensong with our Episcopal colleagues at St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Sunday, May 6th at 5:30 pm. The heart of any Evensong service are the singing of two canticles: the Magnificat and the Nunc Dimittis. This week’s service will feature the “Jesus College” setting (opus 53) by Welsh composer William Mathias (1934-1992). The reason it is called the “Jesus College” service is that it was commissioned and had its first performance at Jesus College, Cambridge, U.K. on the occasion of the dedication of a new organ on March 6, 1971.

I went to the Jesus College website and learned that the original organ was replaced by a new instrument by John Mander in 1971. The website said the Mander organ served them well for daily chapel services, until 2007 when they received a large donation for a new organ. The Mander organ was subsequently replaced in 2007 by an instrument by a Swiss firm, Orgelbau Kuhn. the first instrument by this builder in the U.K. and is considered “the finest organ in Cambridge.”

We sing a lot of music by Mathias at LCH — in fact during this Eastertide season, we are using his communion setting every week at the 10:30 am service. One of the first pieces we learned was his setting of Psalm 67, which was composed for the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana in 1981. We also sing his Tomorrow shall be my dancing day and  A babe is born for Christmas. A musical prodigy, Mathias started playing the piano at age three and composed his first piece at age five!

The Blue Team and the Red Team (2011) wait in the cloisters at St. Andrew's Cathedral.

The Blue Team and the Red Team (2011) wait in the cloisters at St. Andrew's Cathedral.

Somewhere else I read that some organists put on the Zimbelstern during the Amen of the Gloria Patri of Mathias’ “Jesus College” Magnificat. Whether organist John Renke will do this next Sunday at St. Andrew’s Cathedral remains to be seen! In any case, you’ll be able to easily tell the LCHers from the St. Andrew’s folks: We’re wearing the blue vestments (the Blue Team) and they’re wearing red (the Red Team). (With a reference to politics, someone recently said, “Oh, what a relief!”)

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A quiet miracle

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Katherine Crosier

Over the weekend, I received my April issue of The Diapason, an “international monthly devoted to the organ, the harpsichord, carillon, and church music.” I turned immediately to one of my favorite columns, written by John Bishop, and this month’s topic was “A matter of manners.” Mr. Bishop described a visit to a New York church in which a stack of photocopied sheets in the narthex caught his eye. The papers were titled “Church Etiquette Page,” and had the following advice: Please observe the following courtesies when you are visiting the church.

Silence is the norm while in church. Conversation is to be confined to the narthex or courtyard. Since the acoustics in the church are very fine, any necessary talking needs to be at a whisper.

Proper attire is expected. Since this is relative to taste and fashion, you are expected to use your good judgment.

Food and beverages have no place in a church. However it is permitted in the narthex and courtyard. The use of alcohol and tobacco is prohibited on church premises. This is not the O.K. Corral.

Gum is not to be chewed in church.

Running is inappropriate. Parents or caretakers need to stay close to their children. Adults mustn’t run either, unless they’re chasing after a child.

Reading newspapers, using cell phones, applying cosmetics, changing clothes (yes, it’s happened) and other similar activities do not have a place in church.

Refuse should not be left in the pews or on the floor around you.

Dogs are allowed to enter the church as long as they observe silence and know the difference between a holy water font and a fire hydrant. After all, they can be better behaved than some humans.

Smoking is simply not to occur anywhere on church property.

I wonder how the author of these rules would react if they ever visited the Lutheran Church of Honolulu! He or she would probably be aghast at the number of people who come in shorts, or bring their coffee cups into the nave during the service, or the barefeet of the acolytes. Recently Miguel Felipe had to remind the choir not to be texting during the sermon!

The problem of enforcing silence, though, seems to be universal, especially when you have someone playing an instrument, where words are not sung. I have often been at the opera when someone behind me has talked all through the overture, forgetting that some people (like me) like to listen. There is a whole slew of suggestions on the ChoralNet of the American Choral Directors website on how to quiet people down to listen to the prelude. Someone on the Organ Forum even made the comment “I have never played in a church where people are quiet for the prelude or postlude. . . Sometimes the din is so loud I cannot hear what I am playing.”

With all this in mind, though, today when I played the organ prelude (which was a Siciliano and Voluntary by 18th-century composer, John Stanley) I was absolutely astounded at how quiet the congregation was. I especially appreciated the fact that no one was talking as I played much of the piece with only an 8′ flute accompaniment. You might re-read my post on the function of the organ prelude which I wrote during Lent. Often I feel that my prelude has to compete with people’s conversations and greetings. Today though, everyone was listening!

As I read Bishop’s column further, I was absolutely thrilled that he gave me a shout-out, and referred to one of my blog postings! Here’s what he wrote: One of my Words-With-Friends friends is organist of a church in Hawaii. Last week she shared a YouTube video on the subject of cell phones in church, saying that she used to play for the church in the video. Here’s the link: Cell phones in church. Yes, that video was made at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Burbank, my very first church organist job!

Anyway, thanks everyone, for listening to my prelude today!

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An embarrassment of riches

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Katherine Crosier
Allen Bauchle and Keane Ishii work on music for two trumpets and organ.

Allen Bauchle and Keane Ishii work on music for two trumpets and organ.

During the Easter season at the 10:30 service, the choir has been singing Gospel Acclamations by Aaron David Miller, which have trumpet, organ and bells for accompaniment. Our resident trumpet player, Allen Bauchle, has been playing along on all the hymns and liturgy, and Peter Hallock’s This is the Feast, adding to the festivity to the services. Yesterday, he was joined by another trumpet player, Keane Ishii! Most people have heard Keane’s beautiful bass-baritone voice, but this was probably the first time we have heard him play the trumpet.

Yesterday Miguel Felipe said that when he visited Honolulu for his interview for the position of Director of Music and Liturgy, he of course was impressed by the two Beckerath organs, the Grotrien grand piano, and the two harpsichords in the nave, but what he was particularly struck by was the vastness of the choral music library. “I bet there’s a half-million dollars worth of sheet music back there!” he said.

Yes, we at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu are richly blessed by our instruments and our immense collection of sheet music. But it is our people which are our greatest asset. Witness the absolutely virtuosic singing of Georgine Stark and Keane Ishii in the two Bach cantatas at last weekend’s Abendmusiken concert! And all those thousands and thousands of sixteenth notes in Carl Crosier‘s performance of the Bach’s D-major Partita! I also include here a YouTube video of 7-year-old Sophia, one of the children in our congregation who won first prize in the talent competition at Iolani School last weekend.

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