It's just one piece

Scenario: Prospective church music students are repeatedly asking me the same question, which goes something like, “Will I be able to make a living being a worship leader?” Notwithstanding the discussion that needs to be had over the difference between a ‘worship leader,’ a ‘worship pastor,’ a ‘pastor,’ a ‘director of music,’ and an ‘organist/choirmaster,’ my answer is No. Churches have caught on to two things: 1) benefits are expensive; 2) there’s always someone else (in the case of worship leaders) waiting in the wings to work for peanuts or less, because they have a “heart for God.” Take those two things together, shake them up and do the math, and you have a musician working more than 40 hours per week for part-time pay and no benefits. Musicians' GivingItAway Syndrome has been discussed all over the world, but something still needs to be done about it. And it needs to start with churches taking a more honest look at how they define positions and then paying accordingly.

Scenario: A friend of mine thinks that to catch a flight from an airport two hours away, a person can leave the house two hours ahead of flight departure time. Never mind finding parking, walking to the terminal, checking bags, going through security “at least 30 minutes prior to boarding,” arriving at the gate “at least 10 minutes prior to departure,” and allowing for delays to any or all of the above. Call me a pessimist, but I have better things to do than miss a flight due to poor planning.

Scenario: A student stops by my office and asks, “Can you play one piece on my recital? It’s just one piece.” Then I have to sit down and gently do the math with the student: “Well, that one piece will require at least two rehearsals between you and me. Then your teacher will want to see us at least twice. Then you and I might play that piece in your studio class and/or for the school of music’s weekly student performance hour. Then there’s dress rehearsal and then the show. How many hours are we up to now, for this one piece?”

Scenario: A church musician is working a position defined by the church as “20-25 hours per week.” Then someone asks, “Can you also direct the Christmas spectacular?” Or, “Can you also play for youth choir rehearsals on Sunday evenings?”

Scenario: A church musician asks me, “Can you play the prelude on Sunday when you’re in town? It would help sell your recital that afternoon.” No, it won’t. It will only require me to get out of bed and sit through however many services and sermons, just to play that one piece and try not to derail “recital mode.” And it will whet a lot of people’s appetites enough that they won’t feel compelled to return that afternoon.

I have plenty more scenarios where those came from, but it all boils down to some sage advice I have received more than once: “Everything takes longer than it does.” In my old age, I’m much more protective of my time and energy. That “one piece” can kill, if you’re not careful.

Shop talk

This week, it’s travel time again. This time, it’s ten of us on a 6-day trip to visit organ builders’ shops. We thank the anonymous angel who is footing the bill for the hotel rooms, and we thank Appalachian State University for renting a van big enough to hold us and our luggage. Here is a list of the shops we’ll be visiting, plus a bit about my own history with these builders.

Schantz Organ Company / Orrville, Ohio: Schantz is ubiquitous, and that’s not a bad thing. They have been a part of my life everywhere I have lived. And I do appreciate the miracles they worked in several places I encountered. Perhaps their most endearing organ to me is their 17-rank instrument from 1983, built for the Boone (N.C.) United Methodist Church, where I served as organist my senior year in college. That instrument and the room it was in made me feel important. I could leave my lowly classes in one building and enter the church where I wasn’t so lowly. At that time, it was the largest church pipe organ in the county. I was da man. I wasn’t able to pick up girls with it, though.

Kegg Pipe Organ Builders / Hartville, Ohio: I have never played a Kegg, but judging from their tonal philosophies on their website, I’d say it’s about time: “The primary duty of a pipe organ used in worship is to support congregational singing … A Kegg Pipe Organ is designed to play American worship services. It is not copied from a notable builder of the past … [T]he past must be drawn upon for inspiration, and balanced with the requirements of contemporary worship needs and American acoustical environments … [O]ne must strive to duplicate the effect of such instruments, rather than the instruments themselves … Above all, a Kegg Pipe Organ blends. All stops come together to weave the musical fabric …”

The Holtkamp Organ Company / Cleveland, Ohio: These guys (and their ancestors) have been around the block, and they have paid attention along the way. It has been most instructive for me to read of Holtkamp’s positive effect on both the Orgelbewegung AND American Classic Organ building in the U.S. And the visual effect of a Holtkamp is one of the more stunning experiences for a whippersnapper such as I was. I particularly remember the large-ish instrument at Salem College and its characteristically spare console. Form followed function, for sure.

Goulding & Wood Pipe Organ Builders / Indianapolis, Ind.: I have enjoyed getting to know this company a bit better recently, having played on their instruments at Holy Comforter Lutheran in Belmont, N.C., St. Martin’s Episcopal in Charlotte, and First Presbyterian in Goldsboro, N.C.

John-Paul Buzard Pipe Organ Builders / Champaign, Ill.: John-Paul Buzard is a friend of mine. He is one of those folks whose support and many kindnesses I will never forget. The first instrument of his I played on was during the Semifinal Round of the AGO competition in 2000. He spoke very highly of my performance, and when someone does that, I try to remain loyal.

B. Rule & Company / New Market, Tenn.: Brad is one of those folks who is keeping American organ building alive in somewhat earlier styles. He knows the historic organs and their builders and their idiosyncrasies, and it will be a pleasure for me and the group to visit and hear about a style of organ building we don’t get around to very often “in these parts.”

So, as soon as I click "post," it will be bon voyage.

Out of ideas?

Let's say that Buxtehude, Bach, Mendelssohn, Franck, Widor, Vierne, and Messiaen are some of the most important composers ever for the organ. Who is missing from the list is not important. It is sufficient to agree that all those guys are dead and that some of them have been dead for quite a while.

Concerning how to play those composers’ music they way they played it or wanted us to, we have studied, argued, edited, re-edited, published, discovered, accepted, rejected, performed, lectured, muttered, proclaimed, loved, hated, worshipped, and scoffed for YEARS. We are much smarter about Bach than ever before, and yet we still don’t agree on how he did things. Same for Buxtehude. We were given more firsthand information from Franck, Widor, Vierne, and Messiaen, and yet I still encounter organists who hate this or that interpretation, based on this or that scholarly study. Widor was constantly revising, and Messiaen had more than one change of heart, especially after he got the Trinité organ rebuilt.

Consider Bach. We have lived with him for a very long time now. And yet we still hear fresh interpretations of his music. On that score, names such as Fox, Cochereau, Alain, Koopman, Carpenter, Guillou, and Jacobs come to mind. Never mind their individual scholarly levels; we’re looking here at novelty of interpretation and presentation. Will they/we ever run out of ideas? Will we ever run out of people who breathe new life into Bach at every turn? Or is it just that Bach’s music is perfect no matter how it is played?

The more frightening question is, “Have we gotten bored?” Is Bach now so old that we need people to play it through constantly newer lenses to keep it interesting? Or lo these many years later, have we finally decided that the sky will not fall if we do things our own way? Have we been looking for chances to reinvent Bach and can now get away with them? Where did the above-named performers get their ideas? Did they parrot the interpretations of their teachers? Or did their teachers grant them the freedom to go for it? Or did they just branch out and damn the torpedoes?

Widor set his instructions and registrations in stone, little oversights on his part notwithstanding. He also had definite, well-documented ideas on attack, release, staccato, phrasing, and on not ‘lifting’ at phrases if there is no rest written. And so his music is also set in stone. That leaves not a lot of freedom except in tempo and rubato. Then performers started chipping away at the stone of the registrations and the attacks and the releases and the phrasing and the lifting. The Allegros got slushy and seasick. The Adagios got careless. Widor’s calls for certain symphonic registrations are being replaced with more orchestral registrations, especially in the U.S. And Widor isn't the only victim, of course. Name your composer and piece.

I believe that performers have self-assumed a more prominent position in the pecking order. Guilmant and Dupré were world-class performers, but between the two of them, there was firsthand connection to Widor, Franck, and Cavaillé-Coll. But fast-forward to now, where many of Dupré’s students have hit retirement age. Who will carry Dupré’s performing torch now? Many people are choosing not to. They are performing in their own way, not in Dupré’s. Composers’ written intentions are categorically ignored more and more these days, but no one punishes the transgressors. Why should we? The gauntlet has been thrown down that if the music now speaks to a wider audience, then the new interpretation is not only forgivable but also would have been allowed – maybe even championed – by the composer himself.

We’ll never know. Myself, I shall continue to play the best I can in a traditional manner and leave the daring stuff to the daredevils. But there is virtue in knowing the ‘rules.’ There is virtue in alerting an audience that you’re going to ignore the rules. There is plenty of room for forgiveness in articulation in Bach. But I find no virtue in mushing up French Symphonic literature with flabby attacks and releases. I draw the line there. Now you know.

Little-known facts, Part 3: Big toys

I grew up operating heavy construction equipment. Front-end loaders (of both wheel and track varieties), low-boys, dump trucks, motor graders, bulldozers, etc., even a few minutes on an old trencher. Now I play musical heavy equipment for a living. [How did I miss the blogging fodder in all this until now?]

I have played many organs that I love, but I don't have a favorite that I can think of this minute. But there is one piece of heavy equipment that is my favorite big toy on earth: a Caterpillar 930 front-end loader, born the same year as I. Oh, the earth, gravel, and snow I moved with that one. Responsive steering, intuitive bucket controls, and room for an admirer next to the driver's seat. I might not have picked up any women in it, but I kept them for longer when they sat in it with me.

All this occurred at Bell Construction Company, Statesville, NC, founded in 1946 by my grandfather W.C. Bell and subsequently presided over by Uncle Boyce and then my father Donald. I was never paid, probably because I was young and a terrible operator, and Dad never wanted me to go into that business as a career, anyway. So I was always a tagalong, but I watched in awe as half the land in Rowan and Iredell Counties, NC, was graded in site preparation. My dad was da man. And I still drive in those places with a sense of pride and fond memories. I am also happy to report that the company is doing as well as ever, now under the leadership of cousin Dwayne Bell.

And that Cat 930 is still going strong.

Which is more than I can say for some organs from that year. :)

The Feast of Memorial Day, Rite x

Since I am no longer employed in a church and if I’m not subbing somewhere on a given Sunday, then liturgical feasts other than Christmas and Easter often pass by unnoticed by me. During a trip last year, I was reminded that it was Ascension Day, when I discovered that most of southern Germany was shut down on a Thursday! This year, I noticed that Trinity Sunday passed me by, when the organ listservs lit up with people complaining about disfiguring their liturgy with the insertion of patriotic music – this year, Trinity Sunday (church) coincided with Memorial Day (state).

Well, first, liturgy gets defaced every Sunday as a matter of course in some places, so I don’t have an opinion on what patriotic music might do to it further! However, I have written before of some interesting church & state (& otherwise) juxtapositions. But it can happen every year. Memorial Day usually “threatens” Ascension Sunday, Pentecost, or Trinity Sunday. And Boy Scout Sunday (first Sunday in February) usually falls during Lent.

For the record, yes, I am offended that some clergy and parishioners insist that God intended the USA to be free, and that we should therefore liturgicize it. Yes, I am offended that Memorial Day went from being a post-Civil War “Decoration Day” to being commanded by God (in some minds). Yes, I am offended that major US holidays honoring our soldiers are celebrated by giving civilians the day off (what’s up with that?). I am offended that many people insist that soldiers fight for our freedom and not for their own. And I am offended that people can sing the National Anthem at the top of their lungs in the middle of an otherwise solemn liturgy but still mumble a sturdy hymn they have known since childhood. Nevertheless, I also know that the sky will not fall if we toss the National Anthem into a service. I know that the national church will not excommunicate a congregation for moving the flag front & center every now and then. I know that churches near military bases are in a better position to make this work than others are. And I know that the writers of liturgy were human and not divine.

May I humbly suggest holding separate, ecumenical services on the high holy state days (and there are many: MLK, Presidents' Day, Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, September 11, Veterans Day, Pearl Harbor Day)? Liturgy is not sacred. But it is beautiful. And it is beautiful in its own way. If it is added to in certain ways, its impact is threatened. And that can be true for a lot more than just liturgy. Sometimes doing something just because people like-it-by-golly, is not enough.

Help Yourself VII: First & last

My proclivity to creating hymn harmonizations goes back to college days, when I was newly inspired by a church job I had just gotten. Inspiration is kind of like a "commission" from myself. I don't write the reharmonizations out of boredom; I have always composed them sporadically and in response to some visual delight, emotional charge, or earworm that needed to be committed to paper. Because they are my creations, I have always thought they are beautiful (publishers have not, apparently). And I admit that they are not the easiest accompaniment for the less-than-absolutely-confident congregation. But they do exist for better or for worse, and if you find them useful, help yourself.

Now below are my very first and very last (so far) attempts. Click, print, and use freely. NATIONAL HYMN (1989) is available in two different keys, depending on your propensity toward congregational abuse. The version of LASST UNS ERFREUEN (2010) is a slight expansion of a commission by Houston Baptist University for the inauguration of its new organ. It is set for four unspecified stanzas, plus introduction. I love it, if I say so myself.

NATIONAL HYMN (E-flat)

NATIONAL HYMN (F)

LASST UNS ERFREUEN (4 stanzas)

It's complicated

I have been vindicated by a recent article that tracked down certain graduates from a certain conservatory-type institution. The article explained that the music profession is a horribly competitive one, and that many people make it, while many don’t. I’ll proceed now in a direction that the article does not and ask, “Why is this?”

And, of course, the answer is complicated. But the article does identify the fact that you have to create your niche today, not just seek to fill an existing one. The next question is, “How?” And the answer, of course, is complicated. But it has something to do with providing something that people want and need. And in some ways, it’s about telling people that they want or need this or that. Therefore, it’s complicated.

Many organ teaching posts have opened up in recent months, and the flurry of activity is fascinating to watch from my quiet perch. When I was growing up, the excellent schools of music had artist-teachers, not professors. The doctored professor was the exception, and the title “Dr.” generated a level of respect that not everyone knew quite how to muster. In only ten years or so, all that changed, and the Drs. started pouring out of schools, looking for jobs they now needed a doctorate to get. I was one such person. The tenure track, rather than excellence in the artistry, became the goal. And ASSESSMENT is now the buzzword of the century. Now, another twenty or so years later, I’m seeing the doctored/non-doctored trend reverse again. Non-doctored artists are picking up some positions again. When you consider that all this has happened in only about 30 years, it’s REALLY fast.

It’s time to come clean in job hunting. It’s time to stop parroting the platitudes that have made the world squeak around for years, talking about how wonderful you are and how committed you are to good teaching. Here’s what I’d say now, if I were job hunting:

I haven't studied in Europe. I haven't performed in all the huge venues. I haven't attended the big conservatories and famous schools. I haven't memorized the complete works of anyone. I haven't performed in all 50 states. I'm not under management. I am past the age and weight of winning beauty contests. I don't have full-page ads for my accomplishments and announcements. And I have never won an organ competition.

I HAVE worked my you-know-what off, received good training, and am passing that training along. I HAVE paid attention to real life and have that experience to offer. I DO play well. I DO dress properly. I DO know how to address audiences. I DO know how to behave when things go wrong. I DO know how to manage practice time. I DO NOT require two to three days on a recital instrument before I perform, then charge thousands of dollars for it. I DO respond to every question, every email, every person, every request. I DO NOT miss deadlines. I AM available and accessible. I AM collegial. I AM collaborative. I CAN perform minor organ repairs and save a lot of money. I WILL oversee organ maintenance, and I will not tolerate sloppiness or the blame game. I WILL improve students’ techniques. I WILL be a student's greatest ally and mentor. I WILL teach students far beyond the studio room, by example. And I WON'T accept your big job and then leave soon thereafter for greener pastures -- unless there's something you’re not telling me.

And I HAVE won the audience prize.

A most "moving" Easter

Here’s a little tell-all of one of those decisions made by a church administration that my musician friends and I STILL cringe over, more than two decades later. But it is also a bit of a success story, because I managed to have a little fun with it:

The new "gymnatorium" had just been completed at a church I was serving as organist. The pastor thought it would be a terrific idea to take that room for its first spin with the largest crowd possible.

Hmmm, EASTER SUNDAY would be a good time.

Yes, EASTER SUNDAY. Let’s move all Easter services into the gymnatorium.

All of them.

And that’s what happened.

So picture it:

1) A gorgeous, traditional Georgian room with a splendid acoustic and a 72-rank Aeolian-Skinner installed in 1949 was going to be standing silent and unoccupied on EASTER SUNDAY.

That’s EASTER SUNDAY.

2) A short-order digital organ was to be rented and PATCHED INTO THE HOUSE SOUND SYSTEM in the gymnatorium. Translation: the organ’s sound was to be produced by speakers that were not designed for the dynamic and frequency range of an organ. And the sound system was to be run by non-musicians. Draw your own conclusion regarding THAT particular sound mix.

3) The gymnatorium was (and still is) so poorly designed that there was not enough stage space for the choir to sit onstage. And there was (and still is) virtually NO wing space. Therefore, the 60-voice choir had to travel up and down some little steps, single-file, to and from the stage to sing their anthems. It was decided that the organist would cover up that traveling with pretty music…

…on the digital organ patched into the house sound system operated by non-musicians.

Well, so let’s try to find some fun in this: the organist put his head together with like-minded musicians and came up with a brilliant idea for what music to play during those onstage/offstage choir moments:

Tunes from South Park: The Movie, played slowly, ecclesiastically, beautifully...

…on the digital organ patched into the house sound system operated by non-musicians, in the ugly room deemed a suitable venue for Easter Sunday just because it was a big, new room.

It was “moving” music. And the choir moved to it, as planned.

Three people in the room knew what was coming, and only one other figured it out during. No one else noticed. (Then again, who would admit it?)

Aeolian-Skinners I have known

I believe in Aeolian-Skinner. I love its history. I love reading about it. I love sitting at those vintage consoles. And I love the sound. Even the ones that don’t sound all that great. They are still history.

I have been bestowed the honor of being invited to perform for the third annual East Texas Pipe Organ Festival in November. ETPOF is a celebration of the work of Roy Perry as manifested in the Aeolian-Skinner organs of East Texas and northern Louisiana. I’ll be performing on the “masterpiece in miniature” (Scott Davis’s term) at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Kilgore, Tex. To perform for colleagues is one thing, but to perform for colleagues who share my love of these instruments is something else! I can’t wait, and I’m already practicing feverishly.

I thought I would share a little who’s who of the Aeolian-Skinners I have known, in no particular order. This is as much for my own amazement as for yours. Until now, I had not thought of how long and life-changing this list is. This list is only those organs I have played, not just heard in person:

Op. 883, the National Cathedral. The organ continues to inspire controversy, but that space inspires nothing but the best in mankind. It was on this organ that I played a recital that I got just for the asking. That, too, is a career-enhancing move – ask, and ye shall receive.

Op. 1308, St. Mark’s Cathedral, Shreveport. A treasure, thanks to Roy Perry and Bill Teague.

Op. 150, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York, N.Y. A magnificent rebuild after the fire of 2001.

Op. 1196, Covenant Presbyterian, Charlotte. My very first. And my first 5-manual console. And my first full-length 32-foot Bombarde. Whoa!

Op. 1159, Duke Chapel. Strictly speaking, an Aeolian. And what a sound! And it is in excellent condition, thanks to Foley-Baker. Go thou and treat thine ears.

Op. 1463, First Presbyterian, Kinston, NC. Buried treasure way out in eastern NC. It’s got some kick, and the space puts one in mind of National Presbyterian.

Op. 1101, First Presbyterian, Lenoir, NC. I ‘presided’ there for two years after moving back to NC. Same vintage as the lovely things I left behind at First Presbyterian, Houston. Basking in history everywhere you go ain’t a bad thing.

Op. 1339, First Presbyterian, Morganton, NC. This one was fun for me and a friend during college years, until the secretary caught us and kicked us out. I guess she didn’t like hymns.

Op. 713, First Presbyterian, Wilmington, NC. Strictly speaking, an E.M. Skinner. And what a sound. Go thou and treat thine ears.

Op. 712, St. Paul’s Episcopal, Winston-Salem. Another E.M. Skinner not to be missed. Go and enjoy the hospitality of John Cummins as he leads you through every breathtaking stop.

Op. 1257, Winthrop University. A stunning G. Donald Harrison signature in an enormous space. And in splendid condition, thanks to Orgues Létourneau. This organ is in danger of not being used much, if at all, these days.

Op. 1029, First Methodist, Beaumont, Tex. A respectable instrument in a perfectly sublime space. Go and at least treat your eyes, if not your ears.

Op. 1149, First Methodist, Houston. A huge, thrilling instrument in the most dreadful space ever rendered by the hand of man.

Opp. 912 and 912A, First Presbyterian, Houston. My favorite organs in Houston in many ways. I ‘presided’ at these organs every Sunday for seven years. Loved them with all my heart. They are in splendid condition, thanks to Schoenstein and the curatorial efforts of my successor, Rhonda Furr.

Opp. 976 and 3013, Christ Church Cathedral, Houston. The big organ has been refurbished to an unknown degree (to me). It is a bit of a sister organ to Op. 912A at First Presbyterian and is equally lovely in different ways.

Op. 1173, First Presbyterian, Kilgore, Tex. Roy Perry’s masterpiece. GO. GO. GO.

Op. 1174, First Baptist, Longview, Tex. A huge G. Donald Harrison signature. A classic, and one of only three organs in the world to bring tears to my eyes on first hearing. My students are believers, too.

Op. 1500, St. George’s Episcopal, Port Arthur, Tex. A respectable late effort of the company. It may no longer be there.

If I omitted one here, it’s a tragedy. None deserves omission. Long live those who keep these organs alive.

Help Yourself VI

It's time for another exciting episode of Free PDFs from Joby Bell. Today's episode is about love, music, and baptism.

Click, print, and use these arrangements freely, with my compliments:

WONDROUS LOVE octavo

WONDROUS LOVE reharmonization

ENGELBERG ("When in our music" text) in G, with descant

ENGELBERG (Baptism text) in F, with descant