Issue 19 - Sarah Garner... In Concert!

Before weekly issues of [Bookends] start up again on September 9th, I have another preview of what's coming to the St. John's organ bench this fall. On Sunday, October 14th at 4 p.m., Thrivent Financial and Friends of the Arts at St. John's are presenting my debut recital as your St. John's organist!

The opportunity to play organ repertoire that just doesn't fit into the "prelude", "postlude" or "communion music" mold is very exciting. There's an incredible body of concert organ music that deserves to be performed in Central Iowa. This concert is the first opportunity I'll have to contribute to that scene - and I can hardly wait! Adding to this excitement is the fact that nearly all the recital music is newly learned. Many of these pieces, I fell in love with when I heard friends at Eastman play them. It isn't until now that I've had the opportunity and time to learn them. It's a program that I love playing - and I hope to which you will love listening!

The program opens with the impassioned Étude Symphonique by Enrico Bossi, a tour de force for the pedal that marries the Italian Romantic style with virtuoso passagework, creating a spectacular rhapsody for The King of Instruments!

After that opener, I'll probably need a little break! So I'm following it with two shorter pieces for organ by Mozart and Schumann. While neither of these composers wrote much for the organ, these pieces are true gems in the organ repertory. Following these treasures will be the Concerto in D Minor that Bach arranged for organ after the same work by Antonio Vivaldi. It's a lovely and spirited concerto that combines the accessibility of Vivaldi's writing with Bach's unparalleled arranging for the organ.

I love to perform modern works for the organ - especially those of American composers. So, I'm thrilled that the centerpiece of the recital will be three of Calvin Hampton's Five Dances for Organ. This is NOT modern music that you have to "think" about. The titles to each dance are clever and descriptive... you can really let your imagination run wild while listening. I look forward to the audience's response to them!

The penultimate piece will be Louis Vierne's gorgeous Claire de Lune. This is a piece that I've played for nearly fifteen years and I never tire of it. It's gorgeous... and even though it's French Romantic piece, it works beautifully on our German-style organ. The conclusion of the recital is the Allegro Deciso from Marcel Dupré's Évocation. I can't imagine a better way to close the recital than with a fiery, French organ piece. It's what makes listening to and playing the organ so fun!

I hope you'll come and share this great music with me on October 14th. The recital is just an hour long and nursery care will be provided for your little ones. So bring the whole family to hear the St. John's organ in great splendor!

Issue 18 - Antonio Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons"

I've taken a little break from [Bookends] this summer... but weekly issues will be back starting Rally Sunday, September 9th. However, here's a preview of what's coming to the St. John's organ bench in 2007-2008!

The Four Seasons is a set of four concertos for solo violin and string orchestra by Antonio Vivaldi. Written in 1723, each concerto is named for a season of the year. Vivaldi also wrote sonnets to be read with the seasons which are an oral depiction of the music. This spring, a bride requested that I play some of "Spring" at her wedding. I declined, informing her that I didn't know of any transcriptions of the piece for organ.

Out of curiosity, I would occasionally look for arrangements and eventually it became an obsession to find a transcription for organ of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. No luck though --- all that exists are easy organ arrangements of "themes" from the concertos. This meant that the real "meat" of the concertos, which lay in the virtuoso violin solo part, wasn't in any of arrangements. Certainly, I couldn't be the only organist that would like to play a transcription of these beloved concertos!

So, after not much consideration at all, I decided that I would transcribe the complete work for organ. Larry Christensen honored my request to have it included as part of the St. John's Fine Arts Series for 2007-2008 and the works will be premiered this year! Here is when you'll hear the concertos: "Autumn" - September 22 & 23; "Winter" - January 12 & 13; "Spring" - April 12 & 13; "Summer" - June 21 & 22. They will be played as prelude, communion and postlude music on the weekends listed.

I have to give a huge thank-you to my husband, Mark Garner. He inputted the transcription into an actual engraved score (so that I don't have to decipher my scribbling on staff paper). Seeing the music printed on paper has helped me make revision, after revision, after revision... something that would have been nearly impossible if I'd had to rewrite the score every time I wanted to make a change. (Thank you, Mark!) Also, I've enlisted the eyes and ears of Susan Jane Matthews, a colleague and dear friend from school, concert organist and all-around scholarly woman. She'll be playing the transcription throughout the year at her church in San Francisco. I've asked for her feedback with the hope that organists will appreciate the arrangement and that once I've transcribed them all, a publishing house might be interested in it.

I hope you'll enjoying hearing The Four Seasons from the St. John's organ bench. I've been having great fun working on them and making it possible to play on the organ. I'd love to hear your feedback after hearing "Autumn" on September 23rd. Get out your recordings and prepare to hear The Four Seasons as you never have before!

(Image: Antonio Vivaldi)