Issue 15 - Compositions from blind organists

This Sunday's prelude and postlude happen to be by blind organists/composers. Neither of the compositions are based upon or related to the scriptures for this Sunday. However, I thought that occasionally during the long "general" time of summer I would try and work in some compositions that may not necessarily be closely tied to the lectionary.

"Voluntary Op. 5, No. 6" is the prelude this Sunday. John Stanley (1712-1786), the composer, did not have an extensive output of music. However, he did write several of these voluntaries... thirty of them to be exact! These voluntaries are meant to played with a louder and softer (or echo) trumpet stop on the organ, giving them the nickname of Trumpet Voluntaries. This Sunday, you'll hear the solo voice on mixtures instead (with the magnitude of temperature fluctuation this spring, I don't think you'd want to hear the smaller trumpets on the organ right now!)

Stanley was born in London, and though he was about 25 years younger than Handel, they were indeed friends. Stanley's wicked memory gave him ability to direct Handel's oratorios and memorize the accompaniment by hearing it just once (as played by his sister-in-law). Blinded in an accident at age two, Stanley began studying piano at age seven and organ at age nine with Maurice Greene (organist at St. Paul's Cathedral). By age eleven, he was appointed organist at All Hallows. By age seventeen, Stanley became the youngest person ever to obtain the Bachelor of Music degree from Oxford University! The last seven years of Stanley's life may have been his career's crowning achievement as the Master of the King's Musick.

2007 happens to be the centennial birthday of Jean Langlais (1907-1991). I will be playing "Pasticcio" from his Organ Book (1957) as the postlude. Also blinded at age two, Langlais was later sent to the National Institute for the Young Blind in Paris where he began studying organ. 1922, André Marchal noticed the talented Langlais and prepared him to enter Paris Conservatoire. Once admitted, Langlais studied organ with the great organist/composer Marcel Dupré. Continuing to follow in the footsteps of the great French organists, he became organist at St. Clothilde in Paris in 1945 (a post that both César Franck and Charles Tournemire once held).

"Pasticcio" starts out sounding like a medieval fanfare. Just wait though... in a few more measures, you'll begin to hear the modern French writing. The daughter of André Marchal (who discovered and taught improvisation to Langlais) wrote this of "Pasticcio":

"As for the Organ Book, it was written as a wedding gift for me and my husband Giuseppe, and in the last piece, Pasticcio, Langlais managed to use both our names, Jacqueline and Giuseppe, with the Braille system of notation. The fact that the Langlais family lived two doors away from us brought us closer together..."

I hope you'll enjoy these compositions from just a few of the many famous blind composers from whom we've received such great gifts!

(Image: Jean Langlais at the organ console, St. Clothilde)