This has been a banner winter for me and Monsieur Poulenc; I’ve had the opportunity to play all or part of his organ concerto sixteen times in performance. Once, last November, with the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony (B.A.R.S.), twice in January with the Santa Cruz County Symphony, and thirteen times with the San Francisco Symphony … Read more
This week, two titans of church music passed from this world to the next; each had an enormous influence on me. The first of these, Gustav Leonhardt, was actually only an acquaintance of mine, having met him while still a Conservatory student. But his career was one that I emulated. Here was a brilliant keyboard … Read more
It’s only been within the past 200 years or so that the role of Organist/Choirmaster has been considered professional or artistic. Prior to that, the musician (all musicians) were little more than an indentured servant, performing at the discretion of his masters (whether Lords or Bishops). Music was not on the same academic level as … Read more