Ten years and one year

Dates and facts hang around in my mind. On March 28, 2003, I was on the bench at the Asbury United Methodist Church in Little Rock, preparing for a recital, when I received the call that my father had died. That was exactly ten years ago today.

Today is also the 70^th anniversary of the death of my homey Sergei Rachmaninoff. Today is also exactly one year and eight days after my mother’s death. With the exception of my birthday, the month of March has become a gloomy one.

I wrote both my parents’ obituaries. Mother’s is in another post from a year ago. Now here’s Dad’s:

Mr. Donald Ray Bell of Statesville, NC, died suddenly Friday, March 28, 2003. He was born Nov. 25, 1936, to William Clyde and Oma Travis Bell. He was raised in Iredell County, graduated from Scotts High School in 1955, and as a youth attended Diamond Hill Baptist Church. After training at the Nashville Auto-Diesel College and completing training with the N.C. National Guard, Mr. Bell joined Bell Construction Co. of Statesville, founded by his father in 1946. He worked for Bell Construction for the rest of his life. Mr. Bell was married on June 25, 1960, to Judith Tilley Bell, who survives. Also surviving are two children, Talana Bell Wilkins and husband Mike of Dothan, Ala., and Dr. Joby Bell and wife Dr. Susan Murphey of Houston, Tex. Mr. Bell is also survived by his sister, Evelyn Bell Plummer of Winston-Salem; and twin sister, Dorothy Bell Davis of Lynchburg, Va. Several nieces and nephews also survive. Preceding Mr. Bell in death were his parents and three elder brothers Boyce, W.C. "Buddy" Jr., and Bruce Bell.

At the time of his death, Mr. Bell had been president of Bell Construction since 1987. He had retired from the National Guard in 1996 after serving for 38 years and attaining the rank of sergeant major. He sang in the choir and served as deacon for many years at Front Street Baptist Church in Statesville. He was heavily involved in set design and construction for the Statesville Easter Pageant and chaired the building and property committee for Front Street Baptist Church, where he was also a member of the Jabez Sunday School class. Mr. Bell was an active member of the Gideons International and a board member of the Monticello Volunteer Fire Department.

Funeral arrangements are with Bunch-Johnson Funeral Home of Statesville. The family will receive friends from 6:30 to 9 p.m. today, March 30, at the funeral home. The funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, March 31, at Front Street Baptist Church, with the Rev. Gerald Bontrager officiating. Burial will follow in Iredell Memorial Gardens. Pallbearers will be Dwayne Bell, Billy Ray Compton, Ted Evans, Danny Johnson, Adam Lasarsky, Keith Netterwald, Stanley Parker, Danny Stikeleather and Lonnie Wooten. Honorary pallbearers will include Jerry Johnson, the Jabez Sunday School class, all deacons of Front Street Baptist Church, all employees of Bell Construction Co., and all personnel of the Monticello Volunteer Fire Department. Memorials may be contributed to Front Street Baptist Church, 1403 W. Front St., Statesville, NC 28677, or to the Gideons International, P.O. Box 148, Statesville, NC 28687.

Speaking in tongues

I spent quite a few hours in airports this past week. And I love doing that, by the way. Especially when it's big, nice airports full of great restaurants. I highly recommend Terminal D at DFW.

My father always said that sitting in an airport can be the best show in town. You see all kinds of, um, characters walking by. Business men chatting away at each other, other business men chatting away at thin air through their Bluetooth, mothers yelling at children, children yelling with no discipline, people running to catch that flight, people almost wearing skimpy outfits, people pulling old suitcases covered in duct tape, and so forth.

One of the more fascinating elements of this best show in town is in the languages you hear. The foreign tongues are interesting enough, but the use and abuse of ENGLISH can get pretty interesting:

"Yeah, it was...like...awesome...and...like..."

"Yes, we can do a custom bi-foot Davidson valve with the retrofit Hooker gauge on a 30-degree parallel trunk. Yes, I'll have Nancy run a twist prognostic flow on that, and we'll get it right out to you, probably by Wednesday at the first algoscrew..."

"Naw, man, she jus messin wid you. You shudin put up wid dat..."

"Is this the plane to Scranton?..."

Or the dude behind me on an otherwise quiet 6 am flight, chatting away at a Catholic priest, connecting all kinds of imaginary dots between Christianity, Creationism, and the military. And coughing as if he had stopped smoking just the day before. I longed for a screaming baby instead.

The point of all this? Imagine how a conversation among organists would sound to an innocent bystander:

"We're going to get our flutes re-felted..."

"That 16-foot Open was just too big for the room..."

"The tongues are loose. We need to get Robert to re-do the wedges..."

"Yeah, those chests need re-leathering..."

"Should you draw the pitches up through the Tierce or just use the Cornet in the Dialogue?"

And so forth. Well, that's all for me today. I need to go "find more occurences of Haec dies in the Romane..."

Turn the tables

Here's an idea:

Churches ought to apply for the privilege of hiring some (SOME!) church musicians. Here’s the ad I would place:

WANTED: one church to provide musical inspiration, a smart congregation, and even-handed employment for an organist. Qualifications of this church include but may not necessarily be limited to the following:

-- Lead by example to encourage the congregation to remain quiet for preludes and postludes.

-- Stay out of the way regarding hymn tempos.

-- Provide an acoustical environment that enhances worship.

-- Allow only musicians and professional sound technicians to run sound, if any.

-- Adhere to all published wedding rules. If none exist, allow the organist to write some.

-- Establish and maintain a chain of command that actually works. The lay governing body should demonstrate a track record of refusing to hand its power over to the pastor.

-- Keep staff turnover at a minimum by providing proper pay and a professional work environment.

-- Stop paying dues to the Willow Creek Association.

-- Provide time off for both vacation and continuing education. One should not be used to “satisfy” the other.

-- Overhaul the music program with the music staff’s knowledge, guidance, and participation.

-- Provide the organist exclusive access to the organ chamber. Take the chamber keys away from the cleaning crew and maintenance crew.

-- Cooperate with the organist in allowing the console to be left unlocked and available to all.

-- Allow the organist to teach on the church organ.

-- Allow the organist to get actively involved with organ maintenance. This will save the church money on little things that go wrong in the future.

-- Upload photos and specs of the organ on the church website, as directed by the organist.

-- Allow the organist 24-hour access and alarm codes to the building. He’s got to practice, you know.

Interested churches should send an electronic package containing 1) a letter of intent, 2) references from at least three previous musicians on your staff, and 3) any evidence at all of an effective lay governing body to joby(at)jobybell(dot)org. Serious applications only, please. Files containing misspelled words, poor grammar, or the words "blessed" or "awesome" will not be considered. The successful church meeting these qualifications will be considered carefully and fairly. In the unlikely event that a church like this really does exist, then the organist will probably have had a coronary from the shock and will not be able to hire it. But a guy can dream.

GLO-ria! GLO-ria!

It's Vivaldi's birthday.

It's also mine.

Neither he nor I will be taking the day off.

Help Yourself V: "Saved Alone"

Nothing I have done is as celebrated as a little arrangement I created for Melissa Givens and her inaugural recording project, let the rain kiss you. It's the hymn by Horatio G. Spafford, "It is well with my soul," tune Ville du Havre by Philip P. Bliss.

This hymn has endured, and the story behind the text is probably well known by now. Spafford's wife and four daughters were on a trans-Atlantic crossing when their ship collided with another, and the four daughters drowned. Mrs. Spafford's message in her telegram is now echoed in sermons, blogs, Sunday School lessons, and moving stories everywhere: "Saved alone."

This arrangement seeks to illustrate the calm of the ocean and life's troubled waters, while giving soloist and organist more to negotiate than quarter notes. Links are below to four versions for high and low voices with organ or piano accompaniment. Click, print, use, and please enjoy.

It is well (high voice with organ)

It is well (low voice with organ)

It is well (high voice with piano)

It is well (low voice with piano)

“There’s a place for us…”

My childhood church introduced PowerPoint to their services many years ago, after I had left for grad school. I can still hear my mother now, yelling at the minister of music: “I learned to read music singing hymns in church and singing in children’s choirs! How are young people supposed to learn it now? They won’t know anything about music if all we do is show some words on a screen. And our children’s choirs will die. There will be no one coming up the ranks any more. What will we do then?”

She was right, and she wasn't alone. It has been happening for years now. Children's and youth choirs everywhere are wastelands. I have seen them die at the hands of soccer, gymnastics, cheerleading, the PowerPoint screens, the cultish appeal of the youth minister, and a general refusal to reappear on the church grounds on Sunday afternoon/evening. In one church I know of, the youth choir was reduced to ashes in a moment because the youth minister wanted that Sunday time from the youth choir director for other purposes AND got the pastor’s blessing for it.

There's more. In general, you can hear contemporary Christian music at any Chick Fil-A. But has anyone noticed that for months now, Chick Fil-A has been playing the accompaniment tracks with the vocals removed? What’s that about? And has anyone noticed how utterly trite, boring, vapid, and profoundly silent that music is without some words attached? Hour after hour, it’s the same four chords over and over again, the same strumming of guitars, the same beat. Same, same, same, same.

There there’s American Idol. And America’s Got Talent. And halftime shows. And Grammy performances. It’s not encouraging.

But there is always hope. People do grow weary of the same diet week after week. People do seek deeper meaning in their church music. I’m seeing it happen in all churches and across all ages. My church music students are a prime example. Nine years ago, my class of twelve had never heard of a hymnal. Today, a class of eight have all heard of hymnals and actually know some hymns. One student who played in a praise band said that although he gets an emotional and spiritual charge out of playing there, the music itself is repetitive and completely unsatisfying. By the time he graduated, he was mixed up over what he wanted to do. But he learned about all the options while he was here. And that’s the goal – learn and start down a path!

I believe we’ll eventually settle in the knowledge that there is room for all, even if many bands and organists wish each other would just go away. There will always be a need for organists, orchestra directors, and classically trained church musicians. You know, people like me. There will always be a need for musicians who are also ministers, not just ministers who are also amateur musicians. We’re human, you know – we all seek deeper meaning, eventually.

Intimidating!

Recently I posted on Facebook, “I am NOT intimidating.” Then a day or two later, I posted, “Do I have to respond to emails from students addressed to ‘Hi’ or ‘Hello’?” At that point one person posted back, “Is there, perchance, a subtle and unnoticed connection between this rhetorical question and the earlier assertion that Thou art not intimidating?”

Busted.

So now I’ll amend my first statement to say, “I may BE intimidating, but I never FEEL intimidating.” Then upon further reflection, one has to determine if the intimidation is coming from the person or from the musician. But then again, I don’t feel intimidating playing either role. So what is it? I do have a rather exacting work ethic in my performing. Is that it? I have exacting procedures I want students to follow in their practicing at first. That? I keep the office clean. That? I don’t live out of my car. That? I dress to impress. That? I remember dates, names, facts, jokes. That?

And I do NOT enjoy being addressed as “Hi” in an email. That much respect I do demand, but it’s related more to good grammar and writing skills than to personal/professional respect. After all, I’ll still respond to the email and not even mention the faux pas of calling me “Hello.”

I remember one choir member saying upon my departure from a certain church that she respected me so very much as a musician. I remember how moved I was to hear that from her, and I appreciated it so much. In a lot of ways, I’m just doing as I was taught. But in others, I suppose there is some innate prowess that can’t be explained. And I certainly don’t want to assume the shucks-folks-I’m-speechless persona nonsense I bewailed in an earlier post.

Well. All this won’t be solved here today. But it has put into motion a closer look at this accusation of “intimidating” I have received over the years. Meanwhile, don’t worry. I’ll never bite your head off, unless your name is <names withheld>.

Help Yourself IV

Here is an arrangement of mine. Click, print, and use freely. And good luck with it! :)

Elijah Overture

How did you get this job?

I have heard some hair-raising playing in my life, the kind of playing that brings an audience to its feet, the kind of playing that inspires me to press on toward excellence. Beautiful phrasing, caring attention to all matters of music and console technique.

Then I get to meet the organist.

Then I wonder if it is the same person who played so well a few minutes ago.

I have been dissed, ignored, glared at, yelled at, and insulted by organists following their recitals. And all I usually say is my name and GoodToSeeYouThankYouForBeingWithUs. If you see something there that punches people’s buttons, please email me privately and tell me what to adjust.

Then there are those organists who play well but don’t pay attention to the rest of the package. They dress sloppily, ramble, throw music around, and end up saying out loud what they already wrote in the program notes. They have a limp handshake and no social graces. And I am not impressed by the "shucks-folks-I'm-just-happy-to-be-here" persona. If you’re going to be famous (or already are), then act the part and be the complete artist in the performance. You can shuck folks later at the reception.

Then there are those who shouldn’t open their mouths at all. I once attended a recital by a fast-rising star. About five minutes before the recital was to have begun, he ambled out, looked up into the ceiling and said, “Well, I seem to have walked out a little early. It looks like the lights haven’t gone down yet. Well, while I’m here, I might as well thank [fumbles in pocket, retrieves piece of paper] the, uh, X Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, as well as, uh, Dr. X here at the University of, uh, X.”

I have seen more than one major artist behave like an ass outside the recital, play like a pig in the recital, and receive unbridled bravos and riotous applause at the end. How does this happen, Dear Reader?

As I said last week, the complete organist needs to be able to do much more than just play well. An organist’s behavior outside the recital is becoming more of a deal breaker than before. There are scores more organists roaming the advertising streets than ever before, and choices are becoming more plentiful. You may no longer have to say, “She plays well, but you have to deal with XYZ if you get her.”

I have lost count of the number of times I have been told by a presenter how much easier I am to work with than Person X was last week. And I know it’s true. There is no excuse for some of the behavior I have seen in this business. Clean it up, folks.

Olympic form?

The more organ recitals I attend, the more sensitive I become to a perceived apathy from performers. Picture, say, any Bach trio Sonata or the Duruflé Toccata. Wild rides. Fingers and feet flying everywhere. And yet an organist finds the time in the heat of battle to hang his/her feet on the bar across the bottom of the bench. Several thoughts fly through my head at that point: 1) Do those feet really have nowhere else to go? Do they not have some notes over which they might hover, instead? 2) Is this organist bored? With a trio Sonata????!! 3) Is this organist prepared? 4) You know, in some cultures, it would be considered rude to show the soles of your feet in public...

Regardless the questions that go through my head or the answers to them, when that happens I have become distracted from the music, and that's not good. No Olympian is allowed to stop and rest during the race. Singers are not allowed to break character during an aria to drink water or rest their backs. Why, then, should it be permissible for an organist to allow hands or feet to "check out" of the proceedings and go to a neutral corner during a very non-neutral musical activity? To this writer, that sends a subtle message of apathy or maybe even "OMG" to the listener.

I am one of the fussiest organists I know. After you have something sounding good, go one more step and make sure it LOOKS good, too. Sit up tall. Sit more or less still. Punch pistons in character. Keep hands out of lap. Keep feet off the bench bar. Don't lunge for notes and pistons and the box -- be there; plan ahead.

Fun activity: compare the most popular performing organists. Which ones physically stay in the game during a piece, and which ones check out here and there? It might be instructive to notice that at the next recital you attend or even play. Constantly assess why the popular organists are so popular.

Overly fussy? Not at today's tuition rates! Offer students the sort of attention to detail they might not get everywhere. A great organist needs to be able to do much more than just play pretty.