Pipes Alive! Organ recital series continues February 2 in WeHa

On Sunday, February 2, 2020, at 12:30 p.m., Music at the Red Door presents a performance by organist Cheryl Wadsworth. The concert is the second of the 2020 Pipes Alive! series of organ recitals by regional artists performing on the celebrated Austin pipe organ at St John’s Episcopal Church, 679 Farmington Avenue (near Prospect), in West Hartford. Admission is free for this half-hour event.

Inaugurated in 2015, the Pipes Alive! concerts take place on the first Sunday of each month from January through June, and draw enthusiastic audiences to hear the region’s finest organists play on one of the most versatile pipe organs in the area.

“The marvelous pipe organ at St John’s was built by Hartford-based Austin Organs, and serves not only the church and its congregation, but the whole community,” said Scott Lamlein, Artistic Director of Music at the Red Door and Director of Music and Organist for St. John’s. “Through this series of free recitals, we welcome everyone to experience the amazing sonic experience of a pipe organ in live performance.”

The program for Cheryl Wadsworth’s recital on February 2 includes two works by Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707), a highly-regarded German-Danish composer and organist of the mid-Baroque whose music remains central to the pipe organ repertoire. Such was Buxtehude’s fame during his lifetime that in 1705 the young Johann Sebastian Bach, aged twenty, walked more than 250 miles from Arnstadt to Lübeck to meet Buxtehude, hear his music, and learn from the elder musician.

Like Buxtehude, Bach continues to inspire and serve as a model for later generations of musicians, such as French organist and composer Jeanne Demessieux (1921-1968). Wadsworth will play two selections from Demessieux’s Twelve Choral Preludes on Gregorian Chant Themes for Organ.

“The Demessieux works are such gems,” said Wadsworth. “I agree with the critic Christain Goubalt, who said that Demessieux’s Twelve Choral Preludes on Gregorian Chant Themes for Organ are ‘the Orgelbuchlein for the 20th century.’ Of course, Goubalt is referring to J. S. Bach’s Orgelbuchlein, a collection of chorale preludes composed to span the church year, based on familiar hymn tunes appropriate for the time and season. In the same fashion, Demessieux’s choral preludes expand and embellish timeless Gregorian chants.”

The program closes with music by John Ernest Cook (1918-1984) an Anglo-American organist, composer and church musician. Wadsworth will play the Prelude, Ostinato and Finale from Cook’s Five Studies in the Form of a Sonata, music that the composer considered his best work.

“The Demessieux and Cook are related as well,” explained Wadsworth, “as they both make frequent use of parallel major and minor harmonies that give a modern bluesy feeling to these works.”

The pipe organ at St. John’s Episcopal Church, known as Austin’s Opus 2761, resounds with 51 stops, 64 ranks, and 3,721 pipes. Since its installation in 1995, this remarkable instrument has been featured often in concert, providing opportunities to share with the greater community the beauty and triumph of organ music.

“It is such fun to play the Austin Organ at St. John’s,” Wadsworth added. “The antiphonal division (remote section) of the instrument which sits above the front door of the sanctuary is a special friend of mine; one can get quite a stereophonic effect going with it and the main divisions up front. For members of the audience, this creates a lush, transporting, all-around sonic experience.”

Each year, Music at the Red Door presents dozens of musical and cultural events, including the Pipes Alive! organ series; choral and chamber music concerts; guest choirs and ensembles; and special events such as the annual Lessons and Carols service and an annual choral concert, Choral Music for the Soul. Visit reddoormusic.org for event details and more information.

The 2020 Pipes Alive! series presents a free half-hour organ recital on the first Sunday of each month from January through June. The remaining programs are as follows:

February 2, 2020, 12:30 p.m. – Cheryl Wadsworth

March 1, 2020, 12:30 p.m. – Grant Wareham

April 5, 2020, 12:30 p.m. – Zachary Schurman

May 3, 2020, 12:30 p.m. – Michelle Horsley

June 7, 2020, 12:30 p.m. – Benjamin Straley

Admission is free to all events presented by Music at the Red Door; free-will donations in any amount are accepted at the door.

IF YOU GO:

What: Free pipe organ recital by Cheryl Wadsworth, the second in the 2020 Pipes Alive! series of organ recitals

When: Sunday, February 2, 2020, 12:30 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Where: St John’s Episcopal Church, 679 Farmington Avenue (near Prospect), West Hartford

Accessible: Yes

Admission: Free-will donation. Arrive early to get a good seat!

More Info: https://www.reddoormusic.org/event/pipes-alive-cheryl-wadsworth/ or concerts@reddoormusic.org