This morning organist Katelyn Emerson posted her performance of Jeanne Demessieux’s “Te Deum” on Facebook, and what I immediately zoned into were the shoes that Katelyn was wearing: stilettos!

Katelyn writes:

A little video on the 101st birthday of Jeanne Demessieux: her complete Te deum, a portion of which I had a privilege to record with fabulous colleagues from around the country last year for the Jeanne Demessieux Centennial Tribute. I just couldn’t resist showing off both that colorful party horn over the west doors at the Church of the Advent and the shoes I donned for just this occasion, both of which I think are more than suitable for Super Bowl Sunday, don’t you?! This fabulous organist and composer left this world too early, but we continue to celebrate her fabulous virtuosity, elegant musicianship, and incredible pedal technique — even in high heels. Her setting of the “Te deum,” composed just a few years after G. Donald Harrison, who conceived and curated the original iteration of this Aeolian-Skinner organ, passed away and just after Mme Demessieux made a gigantic splash in the American concert scene with three tours to this side of the Atlantic.

A note in the comments:

Colin Harvey Superb performance of this too little heard piece. Great combination of music, performer and organ. I dig the Jeanne Demessieux stilettos too!!

led me to Google “Jeanne Demessieux stilettos” where I found these images of Jeanne Demessieux and her shoes:

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Jeanne Demessieux (1921-1968), the short biography on the Bach cantata website is a good introduction. Her mentor with whom she studied for 16 years, Marcel Dupré said, “Jeanne Demessieux is the greatest organist of all generations,” and Maurice Duruflé reportedly said at her debut concert: “Next to Jeanne Demessieux, the rest of us play the pedals like elephants!” She died tragically at the young age of 47 years.

But playing the organ in high heels is completely beyond me — heck, I can’t even walk in high heels much less play the organ in high heels!

All this is a reminder to put the week of March 12-21 on your calendars, when the Hawaii Chapter American Guild of Organists will host Katelyn Emerson and Alcee Chriss III in a series of concerts at Central Union Church in Honolulu and at All Saints Episcopal in Kapa‘a, Kaua‘i. A detailed schedule can be found on the American Guild of Organists Hawaii Chapter website, www.agohawaii.org.

Here’s Alcee Chriss’s performance of “Sixtes” by Jeanne Demessieux.