The encore is a piece that is added to the performance that is usually not listed in the printed program, and is dependent upon sufficient applause and positive reaction from the audience. Artists usually plan what they’re going to play for an encore—usually a short piece to send the audience on its way. When I play concerts, I usually plan an encore which is very well-known, such as Bach’s “Sheep may safely graze” which I played with Jieun Kim Newland in our duet concert. I’ve also played Bach’s “Jesu, joy of man’s desiring.”

For Hawaii Symphony Orchestra concerts, however, the encore, if there is one, is usually played just before intermission. That is because the big concerto is usually scheduled for the first half of the program, and if there seems to be enough enthusiasm for more, the artist plays the encore at that point.

Many times the artist will play the encore without announcing what the piece is that he or she is playing, and then it’s a guessing game.

“What was that?”

“Do you know what was played for the encore?”

At yesterday’s concert, however, there was no question about what the piece was, even though I heard someone behind me say, “That’s so familiar, but I can’t remember the name!”

Well, I surely knew what it was—a virtuosic arrangement for piano of Alfred Hay Malotte’s “Lord’s Prayer!” I knew what the piece was after the second measure!

OF COURSE, I myself have played the Malotte “Lord’s Prayer” countless times for weddings (but never at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu because you-know-who deemed it unworthy!) and I understand that some congregations sing that version of the Lord’s Prayer every Sunday! They must have a bunch of divas in the congregation!

Today’s soloist was Jae-Hyuck Cho, who is a concert pianist AND organist. In his bio:

Acclaimed pianist and organist Jae-Hyuck Cho is one of the most active concert artists in South Korea. He is one of the rare musicians who makes both piano and organ as his main instruments, he has been described as “a musician who is nearing perfection with extraordinary breadth of expression, flawless technique and composition, sensitivity and intelligence, insightful and detailed playing without exaggeration.”

Since making his debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in 1993 as the winner of the Pro Piano New York Recital Series Auditions, Cho has been very active as a performing artist making appearances in various parts of the world. He has worked with numerous orchestras including Seoul Philharmonic and l’Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte- Carlo. In season 2020-21, Cho is making his UK debut as a recitalist and a soloist in Beethoven Festival of London, working with The Royal Philharmonic.

Here is his performance of Bach’s famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor at La Madeleine in Paris.

I was just surprised to hear Mr. Cho play the Malotte “Lord’s Prayer” after playing Mozart’s “Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466” because the cadenza in the last movement was decidedly un-Mozartean in its style and harmony.

Fortunately, I found Cho’s arrangement of this piece on YouTube so you can hear it! If you look for “Lord’s Prayer piano version,” you’ll find as many arrangements as performers!

Albert Hay Malotte (May 19, 1895 – November 16, 1964) was an American pianist, organist, composer and educator, best known for his musical setting of “The Lord’s Prayer”. Malotte was the son of Charles and Katherine (Donavon) Malotte. He was in Boy Scouts of America Troop 1, the first Boy Scout troop in Philadelphia. Malotte graduated from Tioga High School and sang at Saint James Episcopal Church in Philadelphia as a choir boy. He studied with Victor Herbert, W. S. Stansfield, and later in Paris with organist Georges Jacob. His career as an organist began in Chicago where he played for silent pictures, and he later concertized throughout the US and Europe. Malotte composed a number of film scores, including mostly uncredited music for animations from the Disney studios. Although two movies for which he composed scores won best Short Subject Academy Awards (Ferdinand the Bull in 1939 and The Ugly Duckling in 1940), he is best remembered for a setting of “The Lord’s Prayer”. Written in 1935, it was first recorded by baritone John Charles Thomas, and has remained popular in churches, concerts and recordings. (Wikipedia)