When I got back to LA after six months in Oregon, one of the things I looked forward to was music at church. I usually attend the Contemporary service at Hollywood Presbyterian Church, which means I do not get to hear the pipe organ every Sunday. I had vaguely hoped there would be an organ concert. And as it turned out, not long after I got back in March, our brilliant organist, Dr. Kimo Smith, was indeed going to be giving a concert on the organ. Which made me realize it had been nearly five years since the last time he’d given a full-on concert on the instrument. Time flies.
The concert was given on April 19 – so I’m a bit lagging in actually posting about it.
He opened with “Sonata No.1, P. 42” by Alexandre Guilmant. And then followed it with the piece that everyone associates with pipe organs (thanks to the movies!), Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor”. I have to admit that when you hear that piece in person on a pipe organ, it really is impressive. The big pipes vibrate with intensity, and you can feel the music build and build. It’s always worth it to hear it in person on a big organ.
He took the time to explain the pieces he was giving us. After the Bach, he played Joseph Jongen’s “Choral, Op. 37, No.4.” He followed that with “Three Jazz Preludes” from Johannes Matthias Michel, which were very interesting. The three preludes were each based on a traditional church tune (hymns, basically), but each given a specific jazz flavor. “Lord, Keep Us Steadfast” became “Swing Five: Erhalt uns, Herr.” “Bosa Nova: Wunderbarer Konig” was from “Wonderful King.” And the last prelude, from “In Thee Is Gladness” was “Afro-Cuban: In dir ist Freude.” There was something very lively and smile-inducing about those three pieces. A joyful addition to the program.
The first part of the concert was rounded out by “Toccata in D Major” by Marcel Lanquetuit.
After a short intermission break, Kimo relaunched the music with “Toccata para Organo” by Ariel Quintana – who just happens to be the Music Director at Hollywood Pres. Kimo teasingly called it “Opus No. 1” even though Ariel has not (yet) written another for Kimo to play.
This was followed by “Three Hymn Preludes” arranged by Fred Bock, who had been the Music Director at Hollywood Pres until his untimely death in 1998. It was Fred who brought Kimo to Hollywood Pres, for which we are very thankful. The three hymns used were “Be Thou My Vision”, “In My Life, Lord, Be Glorified,” and “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow.”
The program was closed out with Denis Bedard’s “Suite for Organ”.
All in all, it was a lovely program. I’ve always enjoyed listening to pipe organs, for it always takes me back to listening to my mother rehearse on the piano, during those years when she also worked as an organist.
I admit that I had hoped that Kimo would end the program with the rousing “Rondo in G” by John Bull. It’s a virtuoso piece, with a lot of hand work and foot work. It was one in particular that I remembered from my mother’s rehearsing. But as it turned out, there was a reason why it was not included in the concert. When the church had it’s annual Celebration Sunday, were all the choirs sang, and the bell choirs played, where we wind up our “year” with music from all levels, the “Rondo” was the piece that Kimo chose as the postlude to that service. So, all my music wishes were fulfilled.
Oh! I should add that one of the things I’d always hoped for was done this time around. A camera was positioned, with the image projected to the sides of the choir loft, so that the audience could see much of Kimo’s hand work on the multiple keyboards. It wasn’t an ideal positioning, over his left shoulder, but it gave people the beginning of an idea of how much work being an organist is. If I were in charge, though…. I’d tried to position one camera directly above the keyboards, so we could get an even better view of the jumping around that has to be done there. And then I would also light the pedal-board below, and put a camera down there (if possible), so that people could see how much an organists feet get worked as well. Maybe some day.
