PortlandPrestant

2011 - 2012Offi cers/Volunteers

DeanJames Isaak

Sub-DeanGrant Edwards

SecretaryWilliam Schuster

TreasurerFred Beal

RegistrarE. Ann Farrington

Auditor Bill Kuhn

Placement & Positions CoordinatorJon Holland

Website EditorHeidi Kohne

Prestant Newsletter EditorAllison Zimmerman

Executive Committee MembersKaren Corbett, Mitch Groh

Tom Skyler

Program Committee MembersBob Hinson, Ralph Nelson,

Chris Nordwall

Professional ConcernsJames Ledbetter

Regional CouncillorDean Jamieson

The Portland Prestant is theoffi cial publication of the

Portland Oregon Chapter ofthe American Guild of Organists.

Deadline for submissions isthe 20th day of the month

preceding publication.pdxally@gmail.com

Portland Chapter

American

Guild of

Organistswww.portlandago.org

March 2012

The Portland Chapter of the AGO invites you to

BACH-A-THON 2012Sunday, March 11 2:00 to 4:30 PM “Arrive when you can, leave when you must!”

The Anglican Parish of St. Mark1025 NW 21st Avenue in Portland

1966 Werner Bosch tracker organ, 3 manuals, 44 ranks

Visit the facebook site for further info:http://www.facebook.com/events/224849694277241/#!/events/224849694277241/

This year we are proud to present an exciting varietyof major works on an instrument wonderfully suited

for the music of Bach...don’t miss it!

Performers (times are approximate):2:00 Grant Edwards Toccata & Fugue in D minor

2:15 Stephen Janzen “O Mensch” & the “St. Anne”

2:30 Arthur Eagle Fantasia in C minor

2:40 Heidi Kohne A special surprise, plus the Passacaglia, & more!3:10 Karl Jurisons 3 settings of “Jesu meine Freude”3:20 Christopher Keady Fantasia & Fugue in G minor, “Schmücke dich” and more!

3:50 James Isaak Prelude & Fugue in F minor

4:05 Dr. Walter Krueger Trio Sonata no. 5 and “The Dorian”

March 2012

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Portland Prestant Portland Prestant

Many of the churches we serve have now entered the season of Lent, a season I like to call “The most wonderful time of the year”. Seriously, though, the texts and tunes associated with Lent in many traditions are quite serious. But while I think a common stereotype of

Lenten music is that it is in a minor key, if we look at some of the better-known chorale preludes associated with Lent, that stereotype has less truth in it than some might think. Let’s start with two chorale preludes from the Orgelbüchlein, “O Mensch bewein’” and “O Lamm Gottes unschuldig”. While Bach treats both of them with a considerable amount of chromaticism and dissonant harmony, they are both technically in major keys. One wouldn’t exactly call them spritely, however. Bach does give one chorale prelude associated with Lent, “Wir danken Dir, Herr Jesu Christ”, a rather triumphant treatment. That may be the exception rather than the rule, but it is certainly true that many of the chorales and hymn tunes associated with Lent or Holy Week are, in fact, in major tonalities. Consider, for example, “Jesu Kreuz, Leiden und Pein”, “Spanish Hymn”, and “Christus, meines Lebens Leben”. But just as we tend, I think, to stereotype Lenten music as being in a minor key, we tend to associate Easter and Christmas with major tonalities and trumpets and drums. And while that does tend to be true, we fi nd plenty of exceptions to that rule as well. Several Easter chorales are in minor tonalities, such as “Christ lag in Todesbanden”, “Christ ist erstanden”, and “Jesus Christus, unser Heiland (der den Tod überwandt)”. The two settings I am most familiar with of that last chorale, one by Bach (again in the Orgelbüchlein) and one by Buxtehude, are both quite meditative in character. When we turn to Christmas, I am always reminded of the fi nal chorus of the Christmas Oratorio of Bach. Here we have a triumphant setting, complete with trumpets and timpani, of none other than “Herzlich tut mich verlangen”, the tune more commonly associated with the St. Matthew Passion and with the hymn “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded”. And lest we think this is just a German (and Lutheran) oddity, consider “The Coventry Carol” and “I Wonder as I Wander”. The point of this exercise is that we can fi nd music of different style and character for any time of year. When I am planning music for Lent, I try to look at the overall picture for the service. Are all of the hymns in minor keys? What about the choir anthem? Prelude? Offertory? If so, maybe I need to balance some of the selections so that the congregation is not getting too much of the same thing, just as I wouldn’t play a trumpet tune on every single Sunday of Easter. Easter will, after all, be on us sooner than we think. James Isaak, Dean

E. Ann Farrington, Registrar

Please welcome new membersKeith T. Rollinson keith@sector550.com

Stephen E. Tillotson stevetil42@yahoo.com.

We have also received new member forms from Stephen Janzen s.janzen@comcast.net This brings our membership up to 106.

From the Registrar

D e a n ’ s L e t t e r

Free to a Good Home . . .Two banker’s boxes of hymn-based organ music (introductions, alternate harmonizations, prelude/postlude settings). Thismusic was donated by retired organist Lynn Marie Hanson.If you’re interested, please contactAllison Zimmerman at pdxally@gmail.com or 503-777-9053.

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Page 3March 2012

Portland AGO Monthly Board Meeting 7:00 PM The executive board meets monthly. For more information, contact Portland AGO dean James Isaak at jamesisaak@msn.com or 503-242-5734.

Sunday, March 11 2:00 - 5:00 PM Portland AGO Annual BACH-A-THONThe Anglican Parish of St. Mark, 1025 NW 21st Avenue in Portland. 1966 Werner Bosch tracker organ, 3 manuals, 44 ranks. This year we are proud to present an exciting variety of major works on an instrument wonderfully suited for the music of Bach...don’t miss it!

Sunday, March 11 3:00 PM “For the Beauty” Organ ConcertFeaturing organist Chris Nordwall on the Marceau & Associates Pipe Organ Opus XIII. Memorial Lutheran Church, Vancouver, Washington located at 2700 E. 28th Street, which is 5 minutes from the I-5 bridge. Complete directions or more information can be found by calling 360-695-7501 or at www.mlc.org. A freewill offering will be taken to support future concerts.

Sunday, March 18 2:00 to 3:00 PM Bach Cantata Choir Concert of Lenten MusicThe concert, under the direction of conductor Ralph Nelson, will feature J.S. Bach’s Cantata #82, “Ich habe genug”, Dietrich Buxtehude’s cantata “Jesu Meine Freude”, Five Passion Motets by Heinrich Schütz and the two settings of the motet “O vos omnes” – one by Orlando de Lassus, and the other by famous 20th century cellist Pablo Casals. The concert is free and open to the public.A free-will offering will be taken. Rose City Park Presbyterian Church, 1907 NE 45th Ave in Portland.

Sunday, March 18 4:00 PM Bach Birthday Organ ConcertThe whole family is invited to join organist Jonas Nordwall in an all-Bach program to celebrate the composer’s birthday. A festive event is planned, including a birthday reception, following the concert. Suggested donation of $5.00. Tabor Heights United Methodist Church, 6161 SE Stark Stin Portland. For more information, contact the church offi ce at 503.232.8500 or go towww.taborheightschurch.org

Portland AGO Monthly Luncheon 11:30 AM General membership, non-business meeting on the last Tuesday of each month at Newport Seafood Grill, 1200 NE Broadway in Portland (just north of Lloyd Center, next to Safeway). Members and guests are invited to come to enjoy good food and good chatting, some organ-related, some not. Everyone is on his/her own for lunch.

Saturday, April 14 7:30 PM & Sunday, April 15 2:30 PM Titanic 1912: A Musical Night to Remember

What did they really sing as the great ship went down? You’ll fi nd out the weekend of April 14-15, on the 100th anniversary of the sinking of RMS Titanic. First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1126 SW Park Avenue at Madison in downtown Portland.An expert in Titanic’s musical lore, organist Grant Edwards has collected a fascinating cross-section of music written shortly after the 1912 sinking. From descriptive piano fantasies to forgotten masterworks for the organ, from reverent choral anthems to campy popular ditties, this concert will explore a diversity of works commemorating, eulogizing—and yes, even exploiting—the most infamous maritime tragedy of all time.This concert was inspired by a December 1997 article in “The American Organist” by Agnes Armstrong.Many chapter members remember the success of the fi rst “Titanic” concert, presented at the Old Church in April 1999 by Grant Edwards and David Nelsen. This shorter, newly-imagined program has been limited solely to period music directly connected to the tragedy, and is co-sponsored by the

M A R K Y O U R C A L E N D A R

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The executive board meets monthly. For more information, contact Portland AGO dean James Isaak

Portland Prestant

Portland ChapterAmerican Guild of Organists14781 S. Buckner Creek RdMulino OR 97042-9621

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

Region VIII Convention is June 23-26, 2013 in Salem, Or. Our program and budget has been approved by CORC. (Committee On Region Conventions) We are on schedule of the master “task list” and securing contracts with venues and artists. We’ve worked diligently to keep costs down and provide an interesting and relaxing convention. All venues will be within a short walk of each other from the beautiful Willamette University campus. More details will be available soon on our developing web site. Reserve the date now and plan to join us! Elaine McNitt, chair

2013 Region VIII Convention in Salem, Oregon

Oregon Historical Society and First Congregational UCC. OHS members will read historical accounts of the event, and many surprises await.Dr. Michael Kelly will conduct a special “RMS Chamber Choir” and soloists Kim Swennes, Britt Davis, Joshua Randall, Nan Wagner, and Lindsey & Greg McMahon will sing popular songs from the period, including “Land of Hope and Glory,” “The Ship That Will Never Return” and “My Sweetheart Went Down with the Ship.” Also included are organ masterworks by Bonnet, Karg-Elert, and H. A. Matthews. This event is expected to sell out. Tickets (discounted to $15 for AGO members) are available via OHS and First Congregational.For further info, visit either website: www.ohs.org or www.uccportland.orgor visit the facebook site: http://www.facebook.com/events/374118555949621/