Keith Thompson celebrates American music written for the organ or transcribed to the organ by American composers and arrangers. This concert was recorded live from the National Presbyterian Church, Washington, DC, on its 106 rank, 4-manual Aeolian Skinner organ. The program had a decided nod to the patriotic since it was part of the Independence Day celebrations in the nation's capitol on July 3, 1994. In the wake of September 11, 2001, we pray that this American music will stir in the hearts of all peoples a renewed vigor in seeking peace, unity and freedom.
THE PLAYLIST
Click on Composer Name for Program Notes
(Last revision 05/03/06)
- Fanfare for the Common Man 3:04 - Aaron Copland, trans. K. Thompson;
- The Star Spangled Banner 3:07 - Francis Scott Key/J. S. Smith, improv. K. Thompson;
- Sweet Sixteenths 4:25 - William Albright;
- Maple Leaf Rag 3:42 - Scott Joplin;
- When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again 2:18 - P.S. Gilmore, arr. Edwin H. Lemare;
- Pavane (from the Rhythmic Suite) 4:21;
- Rhumba 4:41 - Robert Elmore;
- Roulade - 5:00 Seth Bingham;
- Cantilena (Green boughs) 5:10;
- Les Cloches 2:12;
- Nocturne - (Night in Monterey) 4:55;
- Marche Grotesque 2:18 - Richard Purvis;
- Washington Post March 2:32;
- Stars and Stripes Forever March 4:39 - John Philip Sousa;
- Londonderry Air - Irish Folk Song arr. Edwin H. Lemare 4:23
ABOUT THE ORGAN: The organ at National Presbyterian Church,
Washington D.C., was built in 1965 by the Aeolian-Skinner organ company of
Boston, Massachusetts, one of the premiere American builders at that time.
The tonal design, conceived and executed by Joseph Whiteford, is of the American
Classic school of organ building. The organ as it was originally built was
four manuals, 105-ranks, and five divisions located behind gothic arched
reredos at the front of the church. The sixth division of the organ is a
completely exposed Gallery/Antiphonal organ which sits atop a single pedestal
located high in the west balcony of the church, and includes a Trompette-en-Chamade.
The latest addition to the organ is a high-pressure English Tuba in the main
organ bringing the instrument to a total of 106 ranks.
Program Notes
Fanfare for the Common Man – Aaron Copland
During the 1942-43 seasons, Eugene Goosens, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (“CSO”) Music Director, invited composers to submit fanfares to be performed as musical tributes to those then engaged in the Second World War. Eighteen Fanfares were played. Ten were scored for brass and percussion. The National Anthems of the Allied Countries were also played during that season. Goosens had intended for the Copland Fanfare to be the opening work of the season, but Copland did not complete it in time and Fanfare for the Common Man was premiered by the CSO on March 12, 1943. This Fanfare is the only fanfare still in the orchestra’s repertoire as of January 2005. Goosens was apparently surprised by Copland’s title honoring the common man, since his commission was for a “fanfare for Soldiers or for Airmen or Sailors”. Nonetheless, since income taxes were to be paid on March 15, three days after the premiere, both conductor and composer felt it was an opportune time to honor the common man. The government’s spending had increased because of the war and only one in seven taxpayers had managed to save enough to pay their taxes, the prior year. Congress had just required employers to withhold estimated wage earner’s taxes.Aaron Copland was born in New York City on November 14, 1900. He learned piano from an older sister. In 1921, he traveled to France to attend a music school for Americans. His symphony for organ and Orchestra premiered in 1925. His “El Salon Mexico” (1935) began his most productive period composing for symphonies, movies and ballet. Copland had changed his style, concentrating on American folk themes, such as Billy the Kid (1938), Rodeo (1942), and Appalachian Spring (1944). Among the many awards Copland received are, an Oscar for Best Dramatic Film Score for The Heiress in 1949, the Pulitzer Prize for Appalachian Spring in 1944, the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Johnson, and the National Medal of Arts in 1986. By the 1970’s he had stopped composing and began to spend more time conducting, teaching and writing. He traveled extensively through out the world promoting American music. He died in 1990 in Tarrytown, New York after a long illness. return to top
The Star Spangled Banner - Francis Scott Key / John Stafford Smith
Resentment at British treatment of American sailors and interference with American trade even after the British were defeated in the Revolutionary War lead Congress to declare war on Great Britain on June 18, 1812. At first, the British were concentrating on their French enemies and the United States won early battles. However, after the defeat of Emperor Napoleon’s armies, the British turned the full force of its military might on a weak United States. The British defeated a larger United States force 30 miles from Washington, DC, reached Washington and set fire to the Capitol. The government barely escaped. The British then moved towards Baltimore, but its general was killed in a skirmish and with stormy weather at hand, the British ground force stalled its advance to prepare for a night assault as of September 13.Elsewhere, a British naval force also following up on a successful naval engagement off Virginia began to bombard Fort McHenry on September 13 at 6 am in an attempt to take Baltimore through its harbor. Initially, the guns of the Fort’s defenders could not reach the British ships, but when those ships advanced within range, they were pounded and forced to retreat. At 7:30 am on September 14, 1814, the British naval force withdrew, marking the War’s turning point. The Treaty of Ghent, December 24, 1814, ended the war.
During the bombardment and due to the stormy weather, Major George Armistad, commander of Fort McHenry, flew a “storm” flag, 15 stars and 15 stripes, measuring 17 ft. by 25 ft. When the British withdrew, Major Armistad ordered the storm flag replaced with the “garrison” flag, which was to be known as the Star Spangled Banner flag. This magnificent flag, measuring 30 by 42 feet, with stars two feet in diameter and strips 24 inches wide, flew from a flag pole 90 feet high and gave notice to Americans far and wide that Fort McHenry did not surrender.
One such American was the American lawyer Francis Scott Key, who as circumstances would have it, was actually in the harbor. He had a ring-side seat. Key had been to a British ship to negotiate the release of a friend of his, which he accomplished. The British were loath to release the two of them before the engagement and placed them on a “truce” ship until after the battle. After a long night of watching the bombardment, Key began to write the poem upon seeing the flag above Fort McHenry. Key was released on September 16 and finished writing the poem the following day. It was printed and widely distributed to the men at the fort and around Baltimore. Key titled his poem, “The defence of Fort McHenry” and noted that it should be sung to the 18th century British melody “Anacreon in Heaven.” A music store published words and music under the title “The Star Spangled Banner”. It gained further popularity during the American Civil War and became official anthems for ceremonial purposes by 1917. It became our official national anthem on March 3, 1931 by a bill passed by Congress.
The tune, “Anacreon in Heaven” was written in about 1775 by John Stafford Smith, and originally used by the Anacreontic Society, a London gentlemen’s music club. Anacreon was a Greek poet noted for his songs in praise of love and wine. The tune was popular in the United States accompanying other poems. Return to top.
Ragtime: Maple Leaf Rag – Scott Joplin
Ragtime is music which has a syncopated melody over a steady bass and chord line having two or multiples of two beats per measure. It is generally accepted that the genre is a combination of sophisticated African – American folk song rhythms and 19th century European melody and harmony.Ragtime initially became generally known as a result of the World Colombian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago, IL, when the ragtime performers congregated in the city for the opportunity to earn money in the clubs surrounding the fair itself. The fair had an attendance of greater than 20,000,000 people. It is ironic that the popularity of ragtime was one result of the Exposition, because the Exposition was held to promote “white supremacy” by using “ethnology” to classify cultures as primitive or advanced according to skin color.
It is also ironic that Ragtime’s first popularizer is generally conceded to be Ben R. Harvey, (1871 – 1938), a son of white Kentucky families. Harvey was well thought of as a pianist and composer. His “You’ve been a Good Old wagon” published in 1895 followed by “Mr. Johnson, Turn Me Loose” established him as the originator of composed ragtime song. Both songs were hits. In 1895, Harney performed his piano rags in New York City at Tony Pastor’s Theatre and became the breakthrough to the white world, which subsequently embraced ragtime as a national craze.
In 1897, Isidor Witmark published Harney's “Ragtime Instructor”. In the book, Ben promoted his thesis that rags were a style of playing. Any song might be “ragged by placing the accent on the off beat”. Harney describes the inspiration for this syncopation:
“Real ragtime on the piano, played in such a manner that it cannot be put into notes, is the contribution of the graduated Negro banjo player who cannot read music. On the banjo there is a short string that is not fretted and that consequently is played with the open thumb … When he takes up the piano, the desire for the same effect dominates him, … and he reaches for the open banjo-string note with the little finger. Meanwhile he is keeping mechanically perfect time with his left hand. The hurdle with the right hand little finger throws the tune off stride, resulting in syncopation. He is playing two different times at once.”
William H. Krell, a white band leader, first published a piano rag, Mississippi Rag, with a copyright dated January 27, 1897.
Nonetheless, it was Scott Joplin (1868 – 1917), who provided the compositional spark which lit the ragtime phenomenon at the turn of the nineteenth century and which was revived at the mid-twentieth century.
Scott Joplin was born circa 1868 in southeastern Texas or Louisiana to an ex-slave father and a free-born mother. Slavery in the United States was abolished legally just five years before Scott’s birth. The Joplin family was musical with the father playing the violin; the mother the banjo and two of Scott’s brothers sang and played instruments. While still young, Scott displayed a natural talent for playing while on a neighbor’s piano. His father purchased a piano for the home. Young Scott played incessantly and received lessons from a local piano teacher.
After his mother died, Scott left home to enter the world of the red light district where white and black itinerant musicians plied their trade to receive tips from the patrons. It was the ultimate school of hard knocks, but the opportunity to learn and meet other musicians with differing musical traditions was simply invaluable to the young Joplin. As a young teenager, Joplin traveled between Sedalia, MO, St. Louis and Chicago. After the 1893 Colombian Exhibition, Joplin returned to Sedalia, MO and entered the black music scene there.
Sedalia was founded by General George Smith who had purchased almost 500 acres in the area because of business opportunities associated with the building of the railroad. He moved his family there and platted a town, which was called initially Sedville after daughter Sarah, whose nickname was "Sed." Soon thereafter, they replaced "-ville" with "-alia" and the young town became "Sedalia."
Sarah Smith and her sister had given land for the George Smith College for Negroes in Sedalia. The college operated from 1894 until it burned in 1925. In 1895, Joplin enrolled in the college to study composition and also to teach piano.
John Stark had settled in Sedalia in 1888. He and his son Will began a music store and participated in the musical life of the bustling railroad town. Joplin submitted rags for publication, but the first one, Original Rags, submitted in 1897 was not published until 1899 and then by a Kansas City music publisher. Late in 1899, Stark published Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag which initiated one of the great musical crazes in the western world. 75,000 copies of the sheet music were sold in six months and eventually over a million were sold. It is, of course, still in print today. Stark had purchased Maple Leaf Rag for $50 and royalties to Joplin.
John Stark moved his operations to St. Louis and then New York City. He did very well but eventually lost out to the Tin Pan Alley competition and in 1910 moved back to St. Louis.
Joplin suffered from the effects of tertiary syphilis and died in Manhattan State Hospital on Ward’s Island in the East River on April 1, 1917. Simultaneously, the ragtime era was overtaken by its offspring, Jazz.
Although Maple Leaf Rag continued to be played, the remainder of Joplin’s work appeared to be simply forgotten. By mid-century, interest remained in the genre as jazz, and a revival began in the ‘40s in San Francisco, which while recordings became hits, the music was generally restricted to jazz clubs and the like.
As I re-visit the beginning of the mid-twentieth century revival of ragtime, it is clear that the seminal event for ragtime, public TV and Max Morath was public TV’s agreement to produce and televise Morath’s 12 part TV series, “The Ragtime Era”. The 33 year old Morath performed and narrated his own script about turn of the century music including, of course, ragtime. At the time, public stations had not yet formed a network and the Ford Foundation had just provided grants so the each of the 50 plus stations could have the new item, a video machine. Morath and his producer made a pilot and received a contract for 12 half hour shows. Public Television in the form of NET (National Educational Television) needed to find an audience beyond the converted. It turned out that “The Ragtime Era” was everything educational television was not supposed to be, upbeat, fund and entertaining. The shows became the most requested of public television programs up to that time from both educational as well as commercial TV stations.
Subsequently, in addition to more TV specials, Morath went on to create one-man shows and toured thousands of communities and campuses. I recall that my wife and I attended his first shows at Stanford University in the late 60’s after being introduced to the music through his television programs.
In addition, during this period, Rudi Blesh and Harriet Janis’ influential book “They all played ragtime” re-created the era and the people of that era around the turn of the century. It was first published in 1950 and went through 3 additional revisions. Edward A. Berlin's "King of Ragtime, Scott Joplin and His Era" Oxford University Press 1994 is now considered the definitive account of the era.
The growing interest was reflected in the expansion of venues in which the music could be heard. On the West Coast, a pizza chain installed theatre organs in their restaurants and the organists would regularly field requests for ragtime, primarily, “Maple Leaf Rag.” Sometimes the requests were from me when my family and I went out for pizza and music. In a curious turn of events, we, the Stanford heart transplant group, of which I was the research program’s principal investigator, successfully operated on one of the organists, Ralph Trout, who returned to his organ playing until he passed away from complications of treatment. He was number 130 in the world at that time.
In the 1960’s William Bolcom, pianist and composer, who received the first doctorate of musical arts from Stanford University, became interested in Joplin’s music while sharing an office with Rudi Blesh at Queens College, New York City. Bolcom composed some piano rags and got others, notably, William Albright, of the University of Michigan, interested in composing contemporary rags. Bolcom also influenced Joshua Rifkin to expand his prior interest in Joplin’s rags and Rifkin published a revelatory collection of Joplin piano rags on Nonesuch Records in 1970. I still have the first and second volumes of the LP versions in my collection. The recordings were hits, released, ironically, by a classical music label.
In 1971, the New York Public Library published the collected works of Joplin edited by Vera Brodsky Lawrence. In 1973, Gunther Schuller conducted The New England Conservatory Ragtime Ensemble using Scott Joplin’s “The Red Back Book”, a collection of orchestral versions of Joplin rags, published by John Stark. The recording was also a best seller and received a Grammy for chamber music.
Joplin reached his widest audience when movie director George Roy Hill adopted his music for the film “The Sting” released in 1973. I remember my glee and surprise upon unexpectedly hearing Joplin’s music when I first viewed the film in the theater. Hill writes in the liner notes to the sound track LP that he was exposed to Joplin in 1972 when his oldest son insisted he listen to the then new recordings of Joplin’s piano rags. Hill further writes that he himself played Joplin’s music on the piano for the first rough cut of the movie, but the music department of Universal Studios advised him to stick to directing. Hill then chose Marvin Hamlisch to collaborate to produce the final sound track for the movie. As a consequence, Hamlisch won Grammies for best adaptation and best performance.
For now, the mania phase for ragtime has once again abated, but Joplin and the music of his era remain. I agree with Hill’s assessment that rags are not a kind of honky-tonk improvisations. “They are harmonically sophisticated, beautifully developed thematically, and they have a highly classical form.” return to top
Ragtime: Sweet Sixteenths - William Hugh Albright (1944 - 1998)
Born in Gary, Indiana in 1944, William Albright began learning the piano at the early age of five. Albright studied composition at the Juilliard Preparatory Department, University of Michigan, and Paris Conservatoire. By 1970 he had been appointed to teach at the University of Michigan and was the associate director of the electronic music studio. By the time of his death, he had become full professor music and the chair of the Department of Composition.Although probably best known for his keyboard works, he wrote for almost every medium, and some of his compositions have electronic, visual, and theatrical elements. Albright's works have been performed by widely diversified orchestras around the world. The International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) selected his music for festival performances in 1970, 1979, and 1990.
During his lifetime Albright received numerous awards and in 1993 he received the Composer of the Year award from the American Guild of Organists.
As a performer, Albright concertized throughout Europe, Canada, and the United States. He specialized in performances of new music for organ, premiering over thirty new works written by composers in the US and Europe, many of which were commissioned by him.
His recital programs and compositions reflected his interest in classic and modern ragtime and other jazz styles. Albright has appeared as both composer and performer on the Albany, Cambria, CRI, Gothic, and Nonesuch labels.
He was a principal figure with William Bolcom in the revival of interest in Scott Joplin, Joseph Lamb and other ragtime composers from the turn of the century. Bolcom is quoted on the Albany Records website promoting Bolcom’s complete rags (TROY325-26) as follows:
“… a whole group of young American composers, Peter Winkler, William Albright … joined me in writing traditional style rags. … Few of us would continue to write rags after 1975, but the Ragtime Revival was certainly the beginning of American composers' serious absorption of our own popular sources into our own music in an unself-conscious way.”
Albright’s continuing influence is reflected in the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Ann Arbor still holding a Ragtime Bash some 30 years after Albright began a fundraiser for the Church for an organ. Albright, who was the church's Music Director at the time, invited a few friends in to perform that night, at a time when ragtime and boogie was enjoying a nationwide revival. The organ came, the congregation went (to a larger building), and the Ragtime Bash continues every December.
Douglas Reed, professor of Music at the University of Evansville, published the list of Albright’s compositions in “William Albright (1944-1998) A Birthday Tribute” The American Organist, V. 38, No. 12, p 50 (2004). In all, there were about 127 works of which 16 works consisted of one or more rags.
“Sweet Sixteenths” (1976) is apparently the only one scored for organ by Albright. Interestingly, he wrote a companion “Sweet Sixteenths” for piano in 1976 and one for clarinet, trombone, violoncello, and piano in 1980.
Keith Thompson comments: "Although this piece exists in two different forms (one for organ and one for piano), organ was the original medium and then it was transcribed for the piano (sort of the reverse of the way it usually works). As an organist, I note that the piano lack colors which are inherent in Albright’s indicated registration on the organ. It is also interesting to note that there is a part where Albright has a third hand playing a sustained obligato voice in the organ version which would not be possible to do on the piano because of the sound decay properties inherent in a piano. There are also issues of shading inherent in the organ which can’t be done on the piano. The organ has the capabilities of filling out more of the inner voices which can’t be done as well on the piano." return to top
When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again – Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore, arr. Edwin H. Lemare
John Philip Sousa is rightfully regarded as "the March King". However, Sousa himself regarded another as the "Father of The American Band:" Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore. Gilmore, a star trumpeter, in his own right, came from Ireland in 1848, with new ideas and as it turned great showmanship. Gilmore is also called America's first “Superstar".Gilmore was born on December 25, 1829 in County Galway, Ireland. Gilmore became enamored with band music after hearing a British Brass Band with his father. He became a member of the local bands and learned from a great bandleader, Patrick Keating, who taught him classical music and trumpets.
Gilmore reached Boston in 1848. He soon headed the band instrument department at a local music store. By 1852, Gilmore had led several Town Bands including the Salem Brigade Band, which played for the inauguration of President James Buchanan. Gilmore played the First Promenade Concert in America (1855) which was a forerunner of today's Boston Pops. In 1858, Gilmore married Ellen O'Neill, and the next year they returned to Boston.
In 1858, Gilmore founded Patrick Gilmore’s Band, which featured 2 woodwinds to each brass instrument which became the model for the modern concert band.
For the Civil War, Gilmore's Band enlisted on September 16, 1861 and attached itself to the 24th Massachusetts Infantry. Gilmore and his musicians provided music for the Regiment and also served as stretcher bearers. In August 1862, Congress discharged most military bands. In 1863, however, Gilmore undertook reorganizing the State of Massachusetts’ military bands.
In March 1864, Gilmore was sent to New Orleans to organize and lead the music for the inauguration of the new governor of the newly readmitted state of Louisiana. Gilmore produced the first of the massive concerts which eventually made him famous. The Inauguration Ceremonies program reads as follow.
“This part of the exercise will be under the conductorship of P. S. Gilmore, and the following musical and other material will take part therein. All the Military Bands and available Musicians in the department and in the city to be united as one band [500 estimated], a Grand Chorus of over six thousand voices, selected from the public schools, fifty pieces of Gen. Arnold’s Artillery , two Regiments Infantry, … - a chime of all the bells of the city, the Artillery and bells to be controlled by electricity – and to be brought into play by one performer, whose position will be upon the musical stand.”
After the war, Gilmore organized and conducted two of the most gigantic popular festivals known in musical history -- the National and International Peace Jubilees, held at Boston in 1869 and 1872, in which thirty thousand singers, two thousand instrumentalists, the most famous composers, vocal and instrumental artists of the day, and the best military bands of Europe participated. Coliseums were erected for the occasions, holding respectively sixty thousand and one hundred and twenty thousand persons.
Gilmore and his band toured Europe and the United States in the years following. In 1876 Gilmore's Band became the first ensemble to travel across the country, giving concerts from New York to San Francisco. In 1878, they made an international tour and receive a medal from the French Government.
Gilmore joined the 22nd Regiment Band in New York in the early 1880’s. With this band, Gilmore started the tradition of gathering in Times Square at midnight on December 31 to celebrate the New Year. The tradition began in 1888. Gilmore and the Regiment Band would go to Times Square and at midnight, Gilmore would fire two pistols in the air to usher in the New Year.
Gilmore continued touring the nation with the 22nd until his death in 1892 from a heart attack. Gilmore is buried with his wife and daughter in Old Calvary Cemetery, Long Island, New York. On the night of his funeral, a young bandleader named John Philip Sousa dedicated his performed in memory of the late Patrick S. Gilmore—in Sousa’s reference, “The Father of the American Band”.
In 1969, The Patrick S. Gilmore Society was founded in Boston dedicated to commemorating the accomplishments of Gilmore and to encourage and promote community band music.
Gilmore was not widely known as a composer. "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" was published under the name Louis Lambert after the Battle of Gettysburg. It was and is his most popular song. Gilmore indicated that it was taken from a folk song, “Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye”. The song was dedicated "To the Army and Navy of the Union", but it was popular among the soldiers of the South as well as the North.
Morton Gould has used the theme in his Second Symphony and American Salute.
Edwin H Lemare [1865 – 1934]
Best known as an organ recitalist, Lemare was widely regarded as the greatest living organist in his day. Lemare was an Englishman transplanted to American soil in 1915 to play at the 1915 Panama – Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. It is reported that his first recital was heard only by 400 persons, a mere 10% of the capacity of the auditorium. That was not to last as word got around that Lemare was playing. His concerts consisted of improvisations on themes suggested by the audience. By the end of the run of the Exposition, Lemare had played 121 concerts to almost 150,000 people.The Exposition donated the organ and a building to house it to the City of San Francisco. In turn, the City contracted with Lemare to perform as the City’s first municipal organist and was the highest paid organist in the world. Unfortunately, a city politician took umbrage at the salary and campaigned to reduce the organist’s income. The voters approved the politician’s sponsored ordinance which reduced the salary to $3,600 from his initial $10,000. Part of the campaign was based upon the politician’s claim that Lemare played the same piece at every concert: “Improvisation”.
Lemare knew how to appeal to American audiences and was very well received. He arranged a number of encores based on famous songs and themes with which Americans were acquainted. "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" is one of these encores. This piece is very programmatic in that you can musically picture the soldiers at a distance as the organ begins quietly, and you hear the soldiers coming closer as the organ gets louder, ultimately calling on the carillon (bells), the tuba stop (announcing the soldiers), and finally full organ. Return to top
Pavane - Rhumba (from the Rhythmic Suite) Robert H. Elmore
Robert Elmore was born on January 2, 1913, in Ramapatnam, India, where his parents served as missionaries with the American Baptist Convention. In 1915 they returned to the United States and by 1918, settled in Nebraska where Robert began music lessons. The family moved to Wayne, Pennsylvania where the father, Dr. Wilber Elmore, taught at Eastern Baptist Seminary. With a donor’s financial aid, Robert began studies in organ, piano, and theory with PietroYon in New York City. While still in his teens, Elmore played the organ for local churches and theaters in Wayne. At the age of 16, he played his first large organ recital with 1500 people in attendance. He earned organ, piano and piano accompaniment licentiates from the Royal Academy of Music of London in the summer of 1933. That fall he enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania and graduated in 1937 with a Bachelor of Music degree. Elmore maintained his contact with the University of Pennsylvania from 1937 to 1950 as a member of its music faculty, a conductor of University choral groups and as organist.Throughout his career, Elmore was in demand as a virtuoso recitalist and toured throughout the United States. He was known locally through radio broadcasts and in personal appearances including at the John Wanamaker organ, and at Longwood Gardens.
After about the mid-1950’s, Elmore turned down invitations for concert tours in favor of teaching, performing, and composing. He recorded "Boardwalk Pipes" and "Bach on the Biggest" under the Mercury label in Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey. From 1970 on, he continued teaching privately, giving organ recitals, and composing. He died suddenly on September 22, 1985.
The information above was excerpted from the Biographical Note by Pauline Fox in The Guide to Robert H. Elmore Papers located in the Archives of the University of Pennsylvania.
“Pavane” and “Rhumba” are considered part of Elmore’s Rhythmic Suite. “Rhumba” is seldom played, despite the fact that audiences love this piece. “Rhumba” had a checkered, and now amusing, history in getting published. After drafting it in 1942, Elmore had the work refused for publication beginning in 1946 by H. W. Gray, Gordon V. Thompson and Galaxy Music Corporation.
A. Walter Kramer [See Note 1] wrote acerbically to Elmore,
“There is no question about its excellence. Our committee was quite unanimous in finding it a most fascinating piece. But with the best will in the world, we cannot accept it because, although we are living in a pretty unsafe world, many organists would think twice before they put on their program in a church a dance so completely associated with secular surroundings. I realize that the minuet and other old dance forms were equally secular, but I cannot think of even the most vicious minuet – if there is such a thing – being as lewd as rhumba. I did not say THIS rhumba, I said, A rhumba. “I hope you won’t think Galaxy is too prudish.”
Ironically, “Rhumba” was published by Sacred Songs / St. Mary’s Press in 1954.
Note 1:
A. Walter Kramer (1890 – 1969), music critic and vice-president of Galaxy, trained as a violinist and was a largely self taught composer. At one time in his career, he was music supervisor for the CBS network. He was famously off base on another musical work, The Emperor Jones, by Louis Gruenberg which turned out to be one of the most popular American works of its time. This American opera, produced by the Metropolitan Opera in 1933, incorporated jazz and other modern themes as the composer was challenged to do by his teacher, Ferruccio Busoni. Kramer wondered "why all the time and trouble was expended on preparing so difficult, so unsatisfactory and so unsympathetic a score." Gruenberg’s later film scores were nominated for the Academy Awards on three instances. Return to topRoulade - Seth Daniels Bingham
Seth Bingham was born in Bloomfield, New Jersey on April 16, 1882. He received his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Music degrees in 1904 and 1908, respectively, from Yale University. He was a lecturer on Yale’s music faculty until 1919. While studying in Paris in 1906 - 1907, he met and married Blanch Guy. Bingham was appointed the organist-choirmaster for the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church, New York City in 1920 and remained in that post until his retirement in 1954. During this period of time, he taught at Columbia University and the Union Theological Seminary, both in New York City. He died in New York City, June 21, 1972.Bingham’s secular and religious compositions have been widely played. His larger works for orchestra have been performed primarily in the United States. His first orchestral piece, “Wall Street Fantasy” was presented by the New York Philharmonic in 1916. His best known secular work is probably the Concerto for Brass, Snare Drum and Organ, written in 1954.
Many of his organ compositions were widely played as well in their time. His Roulade and Rhythmic Trumpet from the Baroques suite have provided lighthearted and cheerful music for many organ programs. Indeed, a simple internet search for “Roulade + Seth Bingham” currently reveals many hits. Bingham and Garth Edmundson were only two Americans who adopted the French toccata type somewhat resembling those of Vierne and Widor for some of their pieces. This little French Roulade may have been influenced by his compositional study with d’Indy in Paris.
Seth Bingham introduced such musical devices as a prominent use of fourths, delayed parallel intervals, unprepared and unresolved discords, cross-relations and false-relations, bi-tonalisms, augmented and diminished intervallic leaps, and consecutive and hidden fifths. Bingham’s use of these devices, unexpected harmonies, and surprising rhythmic arrangements in his hymn-tune settings anticipated similar methods of writing by other composers.
The correspondence of Robert Elmore collected by the University of Pennsylvania reveals that Bingham, a composer of the generation preceding Elmore, grew to be a very close friend of Elmore. Return to top
Cantilena, Les Cloches, Nocturne, Marche Grotesque – Richard Purvis
Richard Purvis was born in San Francisco, CA on August 25, 1913. He began playing the organ publicly at the age of 14 in churches and in the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. At the time, the Auditorium housed the Austin Organ which had been built for the 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition and which had been donated to the City of San Francisco. Purvis’ teacher, Wallace Sabin, played the dedicatory concert in 1915. In addition to recitals and church services, Purvis played nightly recitals broadcast over a local radio station. His stage name was Don Irving.Purvis left San Francisco in 1936 to study and play the organ elsewhere. He did not return to San Francisco for an extended period of time until the late 1940’s. In between, he studied at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, and York Minster in England, gave recitals on the Wanamaker Organ, played with the Philadelphia Orchestra and services at churches. But certainly the most unusual “credentials” he, a church organist, obtained were “army band leader” and “prisoner of war”.
Purvis joined the Army after the start of World War II. He was assigned to the 109th Infantry Band, 28th Infantry Division, the oldest division in the US armed forces and one of the most famous. Elements of the Division can trace their histories back to 1747, when Benjamin Franklin organized his battalion of "Associators" in Philadelphia. They participated in the War of 1812, the Civil War and were mustered into federal service in 1898 for the Spanish- American War. In 1918, soldiers of the Division participated in six major campaigns and suffered over 14,000 battle casualties. The division earned itself the title "Iron Division" from General of the Armies John J. Pershing.
On Feb. 17, 1941, the 28th Division was ordered into federal service for one year of active duty. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, led soldiers of the 28th to remain on active for the duration of the war. The Division entered combat on July 22, 1944, landing on the beaches of Normandy. From Normandy, the 28th advanced across western France, finding itself in the thick of hedgerow fighting. In late August, the Division succeeded in trapping the remnant of the German 7th Army.
The famous photograph of American troops before the Arc de Triomphe, marching in battle parade down the Champs Elysees, shows the men of 1st Battalion, 110th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division. Then Corporal Purvis was the leader of one of the regimental bands. The Division moved on to some of the bloodiest battles of the War the day immediately following the parade. The Division fanned out into Luxembourg in early September. On September 11, 1944, the 28th claimed the distinction of being the first American unit to enter Germany.
Attacks in the Huertgen Forest began November 2, 1944. By November 10, the 28th held a 25-mile sector of the front line along the Our River. It was against this thinly fortified division line that the Germans unleashed the full force of their winter Ardennes "blitzkrieg" offensive. Nine German divisions stormed across the Our River over a few days. The division maintained its defense of this sector long enough to throw the German assault off schedule.
During this famous battle, members of the band were called to lay their instruments aside and fight. Many of the band members lost their lives in that battle. Purvis was captured and spent the rest of war as a German prisoner of war.
When allied forces could counterattack, the "Battle of the Bulge" ensued, inflicting heavy losses on the enemy forces. The division continued its devastating advance through Germany until VE day.
Over the duration of the war, the division suffered 1,901 killed, 9,157 wounded, 2,599 missing and 2,247 captured. The Division returned to US and was deactivated on December 13, 1945. Five campaign streamers - Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes-Alsace, Rhineland, and Central Europe - were earned during World War II, in addition to the Croix de Guerre.
After hospitalization and recuperation, Purvis returned to San Francisco and was employed by a local church. From 1947 through 1971, Purvis held the position of Organist and Master of Choristers at Grace Cathedral. He was also organist at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor. After leaving Grace Cathedral, he composed, taught and gave recitals into his 70’s. He died in December 1994 at the age of 81. He left a legacy of over 200 works and an uncounted number of students and satisfied listeners.
With respect to the Four Dubious Conceits, Purvis wrote:
“These little ‘encores’ were conceived originally as improvisations while I was on a trans-continental tour, and were later written down from tape recordings and altered to their present versions. They are called ‘dubious’ because it is doubtful if they are organ music in its truest sense, and ‘conceits’ because they are whimsical imaginings of their composer. It is hoped that they will find a place in the organist’s repertoire where organ music of a not-too-serious nature is needed. Perhaps it is well that the “King of Instruments’ can bring forth a chuckle as well as a mood of exaltation.”
Keith Thompson recalls, as an aspiring young organist, hearing Mr. Purvis on more than one occasion play these works on the great 4-manual Skinner organ at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor. Return to top
Washington Post March - The Stars and Stripes Forever - John Philip Sousa
John Philip Sousa was the "March King", a title he earned while the Director of the United States Marine Band. Current commentators classify him as American's first superstar, but Sousa, himself recognized Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore as the "Father of the American Band" and was the first actual American superstar.
John Philip Sousa was born on November 6th, 1854 in Washington, D.C. His parents were immigrants, his father (Antonio) Portuguese and his mother (Elizabeth Trinkhouse) German. His father played trombone with the Marine band. Sousa had about a year of grammar schooling, but spent most of his childhood, beginning at age six, in a conservatory in Washington. He studied piano and orchestral instruments, preferring the violin. At the age of 13, he secretly planned to join a circus band. However, his father learned of the scheme and enlisted him as an apprentice musician in the Marine Band. In addition to his musical training in the Marine Band, he studied music theory and composition with John Esputa and George Felix Benkert. By 15 he was teaching harmony in the Marine Band.
Sousa was discharged from the Marine Corps at the age of 20. For the next six years, he conducted and played the violin in Washington, worked as an arranger, composer and proofreader in Philadelphia and toured with productions of musicals. Sousa met Jane van Middlesworth Bellis while he was the conductor for a Philadelphia companys production of Gilbert and Sullivan's HMS Pinafore. They married on December 30, 1879.
Sousa was offered the leadership of the Marine Band while on tour, and obtained his release from his contract to accept. At the age of 26, on October 1, 1880, Sousa began his career as the leader of the Marine Band without prior experience conducting a military band. He approached musical matters unlike his predecessors, by using symphonic transcriptions and changing the instrumentation to meet his needs. Rehearsals became strict. As for himself, he believed that somebody who is as in the public eye as he was should be a model of comportment. Sousa transformed the Marine Band, named "The President's Own" by Thomas Jefferson, into the country's premier military band.
The immense popularity of the Marine Band argued for a national tour and in 1891 President Harrison gave official sanction for the first Marine Band tour, a tradition which has continued annually since that time, except in times of war.
Sousa gained initial recognition with his 1886 march "The Gladiator." In 1888, he wrote "Semper Fidelis" which is traditionally known as the "official" march of the Marine Corps.
In 1889, Sousa wrote what was to become the most popular song in America and Europe, "The Washington Post" march.
There is a minor dispute regarding the music's name. Is it "The Washington Post" or "The Washington Post March?" Some have called attention to the original title page which has "The Washington Post" on one line and "march" on the second line. In addition, the 6/8 rhythm was appropriate for new dance, the two-step, which was eclipsing the waltz. The music became popular worldwide. When calling for music for the two-step, dancers requested "Washington Posts" as a generic term.
On the other hand, I have a recording on which Sousa himself introduces the work as "The Washington Post March."
The story behind the composition begins in January 1889, when the Washington Post newspaper was purchased by Beriah Wilkins and Frank Hatton. In April, the paper began an essay contest open to DC school children. Thousands of children applied giving the Post access to their households for circulation purposes.
Hatton was an acquaintance of Sousa through the Gridiron Club. Hatton asked Sousa to compose a march for the newspaper's essay contest awards ceremony. Sousa agreed and the Washington Post March was first performed on June 15, 1889 at the ceremony. This instant hit brought the newspaper instant fame, at least because of its name if not for any journalistic endeavor. It also led to dubbing Sousa "The March King" to match "The Waltz King" title for Johann Strauss, Jr.
After the second Marine Band tour in 1892, Sousa, upon discussion with his manager, David Blakely, decided to organize his own civilian concert band. John Philip Sousa retired as Director of the Marine Band in July 1892. Commentators have suggested that among the reasons for his resignation were low pay and status as an enlisted man. With his own band, Sousa's fame and reputation would grow to even greater heights. In his 12 years with the Marine Band, he served under five Presidents, and the experience he gained served him well with his own band.
While Sousa was vacationing in Europe with his wife in 1896, his manager David Blakely died suddenly. Sousa tells the story of the genesis of "The Stars and Stripes Forever" while returning to the US in his autobiography "Marching Along".
"Here came one of the most vivid incidents of my career. As the vessel (the Teutonic) steamed out of the harbor I was pacing on the deck, absorbed in thoughts of my manager's death and the many duties and decisions which awaited me in New York. Suddenly, I began to sense a rhythmic beat of a band playing within my brain. Throughout the whole tense voyage, that imaginary band continued to unfold the same themes, echoing and re-echoing the most distinct melody. I did not transfer a note of that music to paper while I was on the steamer, but when we reached shore, I set down the measures that my brain-band had been playing for me, and not a note of it has ever changed."
The march was an immediate success, and Sousa's Band played it at almost every concert until his death over 25 years later.
During World War I, Sousa enlisted in the Naval Reserve to train young bandsmen and to organize a Navy band. He held the rank of Lieutenant. As a result of his fame, the Navy was inundated with recruits, so that Sousa could create several bands for various ships and naval stations. While on inactive status after the end of World War I, Sousa was promoted to Lieutenant Commander, the uniform of which he wore frequently while conducting his band in the 1920's
Sousa, as a distinguished guest, led the Marine Band in "The Stars and Stripes Forever" for the last time on the occasion of a Washington military ceremony in 1932.
John Philip Sousa died the following day on March 6, 1932, at Reading, PA, where he had been scheduled to conduct a local band. His body lay in state in the Band Hall at Marine Barracks and was buried in the Congressional Cemetery. Consistent with his pride of being a Naval officer, he was buried dressed in his Lieutenant Commander's uniform.
There are numerous tributes to John Philip Sousa. In Washington on December 9, 1939, the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge across the Anacostia River was dedicated to the memory of Sousa.
In 1974 the Marine Band rededicated its historic band hall at Marine Barracks as "John Philip Sousa Band Hall." The bell from the S.S. John Philip Sousa, a World War II Liberty ship, is there.
Sousa was enshrined in the Hall of Fame for Great Americans in a ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 1976.
"The Stars and Stripes Forever" was designated as the national march of the United States on December 10, 1987. 36 U.S.C. § 304.
But in the end, it is his music which forms the true tribute. The name of John Philip Sousa is forever linked to patriotism. For over a century, virtually non-stop, Fourth of July, Veterans and Memorial Day concerts, high school parades, athletic contests and more continue to be elevated with the melody, harmony and pulsing musical legacy of the "March King", John Philip Sousa.
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