Pastor Jeff Lilley exclaimed, “We used every single chair in the place! We even had to take the chairs from out of my office!” And so the ushers left the door open to the nave, enabling the 25 people who were in the courtyard to hear the concert inside the church, because there were no more seats, and no more standing room.
That was the scene at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu, where the people of Honolulu celebrated the 38-year tenure of its late cantor, Carl Crosier, with the world-premiere of Frank Ferko’s Missa O Magne Pater, and a moving performance of Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem.
“BRAVISSIMO!!!!!!” wrote Ernest Harada. “a totally AWESOME evening! it was totally sumptuous and moving.”
“It was a wonderful concert! Bravi tutti.” (Miguel Felipe)
“What a triumph. Carl would have been touched by the attendance, and the music. I loved the Ferko. Thanks so much.” (Carol Langner)
Jonathan Dimmock, guest organist, posted on Facebook: “What a lovely evening! Frank Ferko’s world premiere of “Missa O Magne Pater” was beautiful! And it was my first time to play the chamber orchestra version of the Duruflé Requiem. Timothy Carney conducted the Duruflé (who, years ago, taught my husband, George Emblom at St. Olaf College), and Scott Fikse conducted Frank’s piece. The event was in loving tribute to the life of Carl Crosier—and it was a testament to his character that the church was standing room only, with 25 people out in the courtyard. Katherine Crosier has been an unbelievable host to me these past five days in Honolulu.” (And I marveled at the gorgeous registrations Jonathan used in making the Beckerath organ sound like a Cavaillé-Coll instrument!)
“Gorgeous organ accompaniment to the Durufle! Mahalo!” (Betsy McCreary)
Scott Fikse wrote, “Jonathan, it was a pleasure meeting you and working together. You brought such haunting and beautiful sounds out of the organ. Safe travels when you return to the mainland, and I hope our paths cross again.”
Some of the biggest applause of the night was when Scott Fikse acknowledged composer Frank Ferko, after the stunning performance of his Missa O Magne Pater, which was a triumphant victory for the combined choirs of the Lutheran Church of Honolulu and Hawai’i Vocal Arts Ensemble. Special kudos to Scott for taking on this challenging yet beautiful piece and conducting it so masterfully.
Thank you to everyone who braved the parking challenge (we are most grateful to Punahou School and St. Clement’s Episcopal Church for making their parking lots available) and to all who attended this most wonderful tribute to Carl Crosier.
And thanks to all the musicians and the volunteers who contributed to a great evening.
If you would like to see the copy of the program, you can click here.
Dear Katherine, what a tribute to your beloved husband. Now that this is over please make sure to take care of yourself. Do special things for yourself each day and know that many people are wishing you well. sincerely, john
Kathy- What a fitting tribute to Carl. I thought I would have a teary time, however I did not. Instead it was a time of real celebration of memories and thoughts for all the countless people near and far who participated with Carl over the decades. I am glad we were packed in like sardines as it made our collective experience more visceral!
[…] And we are both on the Board of Directors of Early Music Hawaii, and have collaborated on quite a few projects at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu, the first of which was the Duruflé Requiem concert in memory of Carl Crosier in 2015. Scott bravely conducted the world premiere of Frank Ferko’s Missa O Magne Pater. (Go back and read about this remarkable concert here: SRO Bravissimo!) […]