Spencerville Evensong Concert Series

May 19, 2007: Organist Tom Trenney

The last concert of the 2006/2007 Evensong Concert Series took place on Saturday, May 19 at 4 p.m. Organist Tom Trenney presented works by Charles Ives, Johann Sebastian Bach, and César Franck, along with original improvisations in historic styles and on submitted themes. Mr. Trenney is the most recent winner of the American Guild of Organist’s National Competition in Organ Improvisation which took place this past summer in Chicago. He is the first performer in the history of that competition to sweep both the jury prize and the audience prize and he has becomed renowned for the clarity and virtuosity of his improvisations and his interpretations. Currently, Trenney is the Organist and Director of Music Ministries at First Presbyterian Church and is in high demand for recitals, silent films, and hymn festivals throughout the nation. Come back soon for a thorough review of this excellent concert.

April 28, 2007: Pianist Karl Lo

On Saturday, April 28 at 4 p.m., pianist Karl Lo played a program of works by Viennese composer Franz Schubert. The concert was an excellent showcase of the beautiful works by one of the great composers who Franz Liszt described as "the most poetic musician to have ever lived." That poetry was in ample display throughout Dr. Lo's recital, especially in the exquisite slow movements. After a brief and informative spoken introduction to the three works on the program Lo began with the Sonata in A Major, Op. 120. Immediately apparent in Lo's playing was a clarity of thought regarding the inner voices of the music. Each voice spoke clearly in its turn. The spell cast by this elegant music was only broken temporarily at the end of the first movement as Lo attempted to shoo a large ant that had emerged from the spaces between the keys to get a close-up view of Lo's impecable technique. The ant would emerge several more times throughout the first piece before strolling onto the outside of the piano case. It was a testament to Lo's powers of concentration that he missed not a beat in the face of such a distraction.

The next piece on the program was the well-known Fantasy in C Major, Op. 15, the so called Wanderer-Fantasie. The second movement of this work; the Adagio, quotes frequently from the Schubert song Der Wanderer as it depicts a stroll in the country complete with lush hillsides, babling brooks and a gentle thunderstorm. We could almost feel the raindrops. The Fantasy concluded in virtuosic style with a Presto and Allegro that truly demonstrated Lo's grasp of the technical and musical requirements of this Sonata.

After intermission Dr. Lo presented the Sonata in B-flat Major. This work, written just one year before Schubert's untimely death at the tender age of 31, has elements that seem to speak prophetically of an end. Could Schubert have been sensing his own mortality in the dark bass note trill that follows the opening statement of the first movement? This lengthy piece was interpreted beautifully with an absolutely exquisite rendering of the emotionally moving Andante sostenuto. After the blazing brilliance of the closing Allegro the audience wanted more, demanding a true encore. Lo announced briefly that, while he hadn't prepared an encore by Schubert, perhaps a piece by Schumann would suffice. After more than an hour and a half of playing he still managed to find the necessary emotion to play a splendidly breathtaking rendition of that old warhorse Traumerei. This piece is often played by beginning amateur pianists. Hearing it under Lo's fingers was a revelation. The textures and voicing remained beautifully clear and the gentle piece, a perfect counterpart to the stormy Allegro of the B-flat Sonata, made for a moving benediction to an excellent recital.

In the summer of 2006 Dr. Karl Lo recorded a two CD set of sonatas by Beethoven here at the Spencerville church. This recording has been finished and released by the Brioso label. It features six late-period piano sonatas, Nos. 27 through 32. You can obtain a copy by contacting Dr. Lo directly at karl.lo@case.edu.

April 14, 2007: Requiem by James Bingham

On Saturday, April 14 at 8 p.m., the Evensong Concert Series and the Columbia Union College Alumni Association presented a special concert. The concert featured the Requiem, written by James Bingham, Spencerville's own choral director and chair of the music department at the Columbia Union College in Takoma Park. This work was written for the choir of the Spencerville Church and first performed here eight years ago. It is scored for choir, soprano and baritone soloists and orchestra. Below are portions of three of the movements from this work, the Pie Jesu, Sanctus and Lux Aeterna from a recording made during the live performance of the work in April of 2000. The second half of the concert included several beloved works for choir and orchestra including the Coronation Anthem No. 1 by G.F. Handel, Ave Verum by W.A. Mozart, I Was Glad by C.H.H. Parry and a festival arrangement of the hymn This Is My Father's World arranged by Diane Bish. The Spencerville Sanctuary Choir combined for this concert with the choir of Columbia Union College, soloists Karla Rivera and Robert Mills, and the accompaniment of full orchestra.

Because of the large expense of presenting a concert with full orchestra tickets were required for this performance. Many thanks to all those who supported this concert by purchasing a ticket and attending. It is not our usual practice to sell tickets for our concerts and it needn't be seen as trend-setting in this case. Future concerts will continue to be free for admission.

AUDIO SAMPLES:

Pie Jesu, Movement 3 from Requiem by James Bingham (recorded April 8, 2000)

Sanctus, Movement 4 from Requiem by James Bingham (recorded April 8, 2000)

Lux Aeterna, Movement 4 from Requiem by James Bingham (recorded April 8, 2000)

March 17, 2007: Mendelssohn Piano Trio

This was the third appearance by the Mendelssohn Piano Trio on our Evensong Concert Series in as many years and their playing continues to dazzle and inspire. This year, they presented a program of works by Antonin Dvorák. Audio samples of this concert will be available soon. This summer the Mendelssohn Trio are undertaking a recording project to record works by(appropriately enough) Mendelssohn. We look forward to that recording and to the next live appearance by this excellent chamber ensemble.

February 24, 2007: Festival of Great Hymns

On February 24 at 4 p.m. our concert series continued with a Festival of Great Hymns. The program featured a special selection of hymns for choir with brass, organ and piano in an enlightening and educational program designed and presented by Dr. James Bingham, a noted expert on liturgy and hymnody. Photographer Mark Noble was on hand to take some pictures and a collection of the best of those is available in the "photo albums" section to the left. This program was well received, as well as being exciting for us to plan and present. We are already planning the second installment, perhaps for next year's series.

Praise My Soul, the King of Heaven (verse 1) arr. by John Rutter

December 9, 2006: Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols

Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols - December 9, 4 p.m.
Traditions are an important part of life. We use them to mark important occasions, to punctuate moments that we want to preserve in our memories. Almost anything can be conscripted into a tradition; a favorite food, a meaningful place, a special song. Taken together any or all of these things can add up to an experience to which we look forward with great anticipation. Christmas is an occasion full of traditions, both personal and public. Here at the Spencerville Church the tradition of a Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols has been a part of the season for over 15 years. The format of this service, known around the world, has come to us from a tradition started over eighty-five years ago at King’s College, Cambridge, England. At 4:00 p.m. on the afternoon of December 9 continued the tradition with our own version of that service.

The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols was first held at King’s College on Christmas Eve 1918. It was planned by Eric Milner-White, who at the age of thirty-four had just been appointed Dean of King’s after experience as an army chaplain which had convinced him that the Church of England needed more imaginative worship. He devised the Advent Carol Service in 1934, and was a liturgical pioneer and authority during his twenty-two years as Dean of York. The music was directed by Arthur Henry Mann, organist from 1876 to 1929 and the choir of men and boys sang the music. Each year new carols are added but the backbone of the service, the lessons and prayers, has remained virtually unchanged from the service performed that Christmas Eve almost 90 years ago.

This year added a dimension to the service to extend its impact beyond our own ears and hearts. In collaboration with Hope for Humanity, the afternoon’s service benefitted the Maluti Mission in South Africa, a refuge for persons suffering with AIDS. The offering collected following the Festival of Lessons and Carols went directly to that mission so that we could, in a small way, through our monetary and musical gifts, reach around the world to touch people in need.

November 18, 2006: Organist Justin Bischoff

On November 18, the Spencerville Evensong Concert Series presented organist Justin Bischoff (pictured at left) and consisted entirely of improvisations. The first half featured improvisations in the style of other composers and the second featured an organ symphony in five movements.

October 14, 2006: Masterpieces for Choir and Orchestra

On Saturday afternoon, October 14, the second concert of the series was held. We called this concert Great Masterpieces for Choir and Orchestra and it lived up to the name. I've posted a copy of the program here for you to download as an Adobe PDF file. I can't write as an objective observer, since I was playing the organ for about half of the pieces, but I can say that from my biased perspective, both the audience and the musicians appeared to enjoy the concert very much.

As a bit of insider news, this concert was recorded, both in digital audio and with four high quality digital video cameras. I am in the midst of editing that audio and video into DVD program to be used in future promotional efforts at the college. It will also be available to the general public. Here are a couple of audio excerpts from the concert to give you a taste the great music:

Let Their Celestial Concerts All Unite (from Samson) by G.F. Handel

Allegro from Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra by F.J. Haydn with Jose Olivieda, trumpet

An arrangement of the hymn "Lead On, Oh King Eternal"

September 30, 2006: Tenor Javier Gonzalez

The music program at the Spencerville Church is blessed to have a deep pool of talent from which to draw. Our strong emphasis and support for great music has brought many like-minded people to us, either as members or frequent contributors to the worship and concert music life. Javier Gonzalez is one of our more recent official members but he has actually been a good friend for many years. Javier came to the area in 1997 as a Freshman at Columbia Union College. It was apparent immediately that he had an extraordinary talent as a singer. That talent has enabled him to sample success as a classical singer from the stage of Carnegie Hall, where he sang the tenor solo in Mozart’s Requiem under the direction of John Rutter, to the Washington Opera stage, where sang numerous roles, included a part opposite the great baritone Placido Domingo. Recently Mr. Gonzalez has decided to make sacred music his particular focus and the program presented on September 30 gave ample evidence that those efforts will bear fruit. His program, entitled Beyond Bach, was intended as a carefully crafted sampling from the best of the sacred repertoire for solo voice. But the program didn’t stop there. Remember the many musical friends mentioned earlier? Several of them were there too, joining their voices or instruments in some of the selections.

Before the program began, Mr. Gonzalez asked for an organ piece by Bach to set the tone. I was happy to oblige with the Prelude in C Major, BWV 545 and then Javier took the stage. I won’t list every piece, as you can download the program here, but I will say that the entire program was very strong and well sung. It is a rare singer with the endurance to carry an entire solo voice recital and finish as strong as he begins. Javier did this and more, imparting every bit of the emotion and meaning into the last song as he did the first. For a small taste of this excellent program, download the two excerpts included below.

The Woodcutter’s Song by Ralph Vaughn Williams

My Shepherd Will Supply My Need by James T. Bingham

Javier Gonzalez is managed by BUZZ Productions, James D. Walker, Director of Management. (407) 484-3390