It’s known as “Christmas Creep” — some stores put up their Christmas decorations way before Halloween. And I swear that I saw some Christmas displays right after Labor Day! For musicians, though, preparation of Christmas music definitely begins in the fall, and some of my young students have been practicing Christmas carols on the organ… Read More Christmas music before Halloween
Along with playing for services, organists are frequently called to accompany choirs. I myself started accompanying choirs when I was fifteen and got my first church job at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Burbank, CA. (I was paid $66.67 a month which included two weekly choir rehearsals plus a Sunday morning service and warmup!) When I entered… Read More Accompanying the choir
A few posts ago, I made mention of a Compline documentary film which was shown as part of the Compline celebration we attended at St. Mark’s Cathedral in Seattle. I’m happy to learn that the video has been posted to YouTube. The video is the result of a school assignment that Austin Rickel (son of the… Read More The monks of Broadway
Sooner or later, I teach all my organ students how to play four-part hymns. Contrary to what the average person in the pew may think, it’s not so easy for beginning organ students to play hymns on the organ. The top three voices (soprano, alto and tenor) are played on the manuals (with the hands)… Read More Hymn playing…not so simple
Yes, indeed, there was once a naked lady sitting in the bishop’s chair just before the Compline service at St. Mark’s Cathedral, Seattle, and it was one of many anecdotes we heard last night at the celebration of 57 years of Compline. The story is recounted in Ken Peterson’s new book, Prayer as night falls,… Read More A naked lady in the bishop’s throne!
My wife and I have been married for over 20 years and we went to Compline on our first date. I met my life partner at Compline. One by one, we heard stories like this last night at the Compline celebration at St. Mark’s Cathedral, Seattle, where the monastic service of Compline has been sung… Read More Hallock lovefest
Tomorrow I leave for Seattle where I will join Carl Crosier in a celebration of Peter Hallock’s music and the Compline service at St. Mark’s Cathedral. (Carl has been on the East Coast visiting his sister and former “Complinite,” Linden Doescher.) The Seattle Compline Choir has a new tradition of inviting alumni to sing with… Read More Prayer as night falls
I was reading today’s CNN post about how a gene for Alzheimer’s has been discovered, and how technology will now allow you to find out whether you have a predisposition for Alzheimer’s. But what caught my eye was the teaser headline: “Gene hunter by day, organist by night.” It is the story of pioneering scientist… Read More A drunken church lady
All week long at Iolani chapel services, I’ve been playing the hymn, “I sing a song of the saints of God,” and the focus has been on saints as ordinary people. I sing a song of the saints of God, patient and brave and true, who toiled and fought and lived and died for the… Read More ‘Saint’ Carl
When I turned on public radio yesterday, I heard host Gene Schiller introduce the next piece of music as “the most terrifying ever written” — and not to my surprise, he played an orchestral transcription of Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor. For many, the Toccata and Fugue in D minor and Halloween go… Read More The most terrifying music