Category: Uncategorized

Canon in D   J. Pachelbel (1653-1706) Susan Addington, Flute [Anthem] Air on the G String   J.S. Bach (1685-1750) Susan Addington, Flute [Offertory] Jesus, the very Thought of Thee Improvisation Neither the date nor the circumstances of Pachebel’s Canon in D are known (suggested dates range from 1680 to 1706), and the oldest surviving…

Toccata in Gm D. Buxtehude (1637/39-1707) “Spirit of the Living God” Improvisation In the autumn of 1705, a 20 year-old Bach requested four weeks’ leave from his church in Arnstadt to travel to Lübeck and learn from the famous Dietrich Buxtehude (then 67 years old), organist of the Marienkirche. He made the 250-mile journey on…

Einstein once said that you can’t solve a problem with the same consciousness that created the problem in the first place. So as I ponder the profound problems that plague our society today, and our seeming inability to gain real traction on them, I find myself wondering what ill-articulated and perhaps ill-chosen assumptions are preventing…

Chaconne in Dm D. Buxtehude (c.1638-1707) “There’s A Wideness To God’s Mercy” “Oh Sacred Head, Now Wounded” Zeitler Frederick William Faber (1814-1863), author of “There’s a Wideness To God’s Mercy”, was an English cleric, author and poet. Faber excelled in school, was awarded scholarships for his general scholarship as well as prizes for his poetry.…

Prelude (BWV 550) J.S.Bach (1685-1750) [PRELUDE] “What Child is This” and Fugue in G (BWV 550) J.S.Bach (1685-1750) [POSTLUDE] One of the unique features of the organ is a keyboard played by the feet to supply the bass. The pipe organ goes back to Roman days (in a primitive form) but a keyboard for the…

Sonata Op.110, Moderato Beethoven (1770-1827) “Lord Speak to Me That I May Speak” “All Beautiful the March of Days” W. Zeitler Generally speaking I try to present new music each Sunday. But there are two Sundays for which I have a piece I traditionally play every year. One is Widor’s Toccata from his 5th Organ…

Seven Antiphons on Veni Emmanuel (“O Come O Come Emmanuel”), W. Zeitler “O Come O Come Emmanuel” is a modernized version of the so called “O Antiphons”, a set of pieces traditionally sung at Vespers (evening service) for the seven days leading up to Christmas Eve. Each highlights a different aspect of the Christ, and…

Gymnopedie No. 1 Erik Satie (1866-1925) Erik Satie was a French pianist and composer during the Impressionist period (early 20th century). After his mother’s death when Satie was 6, he and his younger brother were sent to live with his grandparents. There he received his first music lessons from a local organist. When he was…

Prelude in Bm     F. Chopin (1810-1849) “How Firm a Foundation” Fuga   J.H. Buttstett (1611-1727) One evening, when they were all assembled in the salon, Liszt played one of Chopin’s nocturnes, to which he took the liberty of adding some embellishments. Chopin’s delicate intellectual face, which still bore the traces of recent illness,…

Flute Sonata in Eb (BWV 1031)      J.S.Bach (1685-1750) Susan Addington, Flute The history of Bach’s flute sonatas is unclear. He probably wrote most of them while in the service of Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cothen. Prince Leopold was a young man who loved music and who gradually expanded his court orchestra to eighteen players.…