carthage music department presents
Beyond Imagination A Student Recital featuring Matthew Thorne, Organ
Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020 | 2 p.m. | A. F. Siebert Chapel
program There is no intermission Nun danket alle Gott
Sigfrid Karg-Elert (1877-1933)
Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 645 Es ist ein Ros’ entsprungen
J.S. Bach (1685-1750) Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Christ lag in Todesbanden, BWV 625 Berceuse Hymn : O God Beyond All Praising
All are invited to sing: O God beyond all praising, we worship you today and sing the love amazing that songs cannot repay; for we can only wonder at every gift you send, at blessings without number and mercies without end: we lift our hearts before you and wait upon your word, we honor and adore you, our great and mighty Lord.
The flower of earthly splendor in time must surely die, its fragile bloom surrender to you the Lord most high; but hidden from all nature the eternal seed is sown though small in mortal stature, to heaven’s garden grown: for Christ the God from heaven from death has set us free, and we through him are given the final victory!
J.S. Bach
Louis Vierne (1870-1937) Gustav Holst (1874-1934)
Words © 1982, 1987 The Jubilate Group
program
Then hear, O gracious Savior, accept the love we bring, that we who know your favor may serve you as our king; and whether our tomorrows be filled with good or ill, we’ll triumph through our sorrows and rise to bless you still: to marvel at your beauty and glory in your ways, and make a joyful duty our sacrifice of praise.
Carillon
Louis Vierne
program notes Nun danket alle Gott Arguably, this is Karg-Elert’s most famous piece for organ. The text that served as the basis for this composition was written by Martin Rinkart (1586 – 1649). Interestingly, Rinkart was a former pastor at the very church I grew up in, in northern Wisconsin. The music is written with manual, or keyboard changes to create various textures and sounds without changing registration. Registration is the combination of ranks combined to create a desired sound. A rank is a set of pipes, one for each key on the keyboard, that produce the various sounds on a pipe organ. A particular challenge is the scalar run that occurs four times throughout the piece. A scalar run is when a series of notes on a keyboard are played in succession at a very fast pace. Perhaps one of the highlights of this piece is the call and response motive, or musical idea at the beginning, with the notes in the pedal answering the notes first played by the hands, before the voices all blend together. Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 645 Wake, Awake, for Night is Flying – This is called a chorale prelude. A chorale prelude is a written using an original melody or hymn as the basis for the harmony. This particular chorale comes from Bach’s Cantata No. 140, the fourth movement. A cantata is a piece of music written for a mix of performers, and most often has an instrumental accompaniment. Cantatas were one
program notes of the most important forms of vocal music in the Baroque Era (1600-1750). The fourth movement was arranged for organ, and became one of the Six Schubler Chorales. These chorales may have been arranged by someone other than Bach, but it is uncertain. In the Baroque Era, the solo rank, or set of pipes used for the melody was likely a narrow reed, meaning the pipe that produces the sound is engineered thin to produce a bright sound, with a foundational accompaniment to fill the harmonies. Es ist ein Ros’ entsprungen Lo, How a Rose e’er Blooming – The first phrase of this chorale reflects its title – the blooming of a rose – as the harmony expands to the first cadence, or end of a musical phrase. This particular version was often played on a pipe organ or a pump organ since pump organs were popular during Brahms’ lifetime. A pump organ is a smaller instrument that does not have a pedal division to play notes, but requires pedals to be pumped to generate air-flow to produce sound. They were often found in homes and small churches during the 19th century. The melody does not stand out as heavily in this chorale prelude as the harmonies from the chorale itself do. An interesting fact is that there is no pedal registration, only couplers, or an option that simultaneously allows more than one keyboard to play the same notes. Christ lag in Todesbanden, BWV 625 Christ Jesus Lay in Death’s Strong Bands – Bach calls for an Easter rejoicing in this prelude. The cantus firmus, or original melody of this chorale is likely related to that of the Gregorian Chant sequence “Victimae paschali laudes”, tr. “Christians, to the Paschal Victim, offer sacrifice and praise.” The registration is full organ with reeds, to celebrate Christ’s victory over death. This is also illustrated by the Picardy third, or the major-chord resolution to a piece written in a minor key, which builds in the final cadence. Berceuse A Berceuse is a musical composition that resembles a lullaby. Vierne uses a repeating motive, or musical idea, throughout, and employs a myriad of variations of the motive. The motive travels between 4 voices as are in a choir, SATB, and is decorated with rich harmonies. To add interest to the motive, Vierne uses inversion, or a changed arrangement of the intervals, or spaces, between the series of notes in the motive, in addition to the technique of tonicization, which modulates, or changes the key the piece is being played
program notes in. The registration was specifically chosen by Vierne to reflect his desired timbre, or character of the music, and to highlight the voice in which the recurring motive is being played. O God Beyond All Praising The music for this hymn comes from Gustav Holst’s orchestral suite Planets. Holst was an English composer who lived from 1874-1934. When writing hymns in England, the architecture of the churches inspired an exclusive style of hymnody. For example, there can be a 9 or more second reverberation in an English cathedral, which can cause an undesired sound if harmonies are blended too quickly. For this reason, English hymns are often written to be played with breadth and grandeur, for distinct sound, and to allow full absorption of the harmonies. O God BEYOND All Praising: I chose to include this hymn, because the message it brings is BEYOND any combination of words I could compose. As the introduction is played, I invite you to close your eyes, and allow your mind to relax, and see where the music takes you. The text is very powerful, and is illustrated through the music. Meditate on the text, think of what the words mean to you, and allow the power of the words to manifest inside your heart. “At blessings without number, and mercies without end”, that extend BEYOND one’s wildest IMAGINATION. “For Christ, your gift from heaven, from death has set us free”, a gift BEYOND our ability to understand, yet greater than any gift we’ve ever received in this life. “Whether our tomorrows be filled with good or ill, we’ll triumph through our sorrows and rise to bless you still, and make a joyful duty our sacrifice of praise.” Isn’t that what it’s all about? When we persevere through whatever comes our way, and strive BEYOND our challenges to be the best we can be, and do so with joy, because of the gifts and blessings we receive. That, dear friends, is how I got here today. The road to this celebration has been filled with many experiences that have taught me valuable lessons, it has been strewed with endless blessings, and it has taken me BEYOND the wildest IMAGINATION of where I thought it would.
Carillon The proper name for this piece is Le Carillon de Longpont. Vierne was inspired to write this after hearing the bells of a church in Longpont, where he traveled to visit some friends for a celebration. The carillon is written in ternary form, meaning it is divided into three broad sections – A,B,A. The B section is a
program notes contrast to the two A sections, and the second A section repeats ideas from the first and develops them further. The pedal introduces the motive (musical idea) he developed from the carillon, which serves as the basis for the piece, and repeats through the first A section. The B section uses the motive in various voices – alternating between keyboards and hands, changing keys at times, and played with different sounds. Finally, in the second A section, we hear a developed, or enhanced repeat of the beginning, and a coda, or extension at the end.
performer biography Matthew Thorne will be graduating from Carthage College with a Bachelor’s degree in Music, where he studied the pipe organ under Dr. Christopher Berry . Matthew transferred to Carthage after two years at Concordia University, Wisconsin, under the instruction of Dr. James Freese. Prior to that he studied organ privately with Dr. Deborah Maier in northern Wisconsin, where he also served as a guest musician for many local churches. Matthew was an active participant in musical activities at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in Wauwatosa, WI through his years in college, where he also had an internship for the Ministry of Music under the direction of Mr. John Paradowski. He is now looking forward to graduating, and waiting for a safer time in society to find a church to serve as a Minister of Music.
thank yous I would like to thank Dr. Christopher Berry, and all my teachers over the years, who have molded me into the musician I am today, each of whom played a crucial part in my journey. I would especially like to thank John Paradowski and the people of St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, Wauwatosa, who brought new life and renewed hope to my journey. I would like to thank all my family and friends who have shown me love and support over the many years of this journey. I would like to thank Carthage College, for treating me with great respect, and providing a wonderful experience to achieve this capstone in my journey. Finally, I would like to thank my dear friend Charlotte, as this journey would not have been possible without her.
upcoming events for carthage community Student Recital: Tim S. Wagner Monday, Nov. 16 • 7:30 p.m. A. F. Siebert Chapel • Tickets required Opera Workshop Nov. 21 • 3 p.m. Nov. 22 • 6 p.m. Pre-Recorded Virtual Event Flying and Falling, Fall Dance Show Dec. 4-5 • 7:30 p.m. Dec. 6 • 3 p.m. Pre-Recorded Virtual Event A Carthage Christmas “ Come, With Healing in Thy Wings” Dec. 11-12 Dec. 13 Pre-Recorded Virtual Event • Registration required carthage.edu/events/christmas-festival
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