Program Notes
Phoenix Processional
The Peace May Be Exchanged from Rubrics
Dan Locklair (1949-)
Dan Locklair is the Composer-in-Residence and Professor of Music at Wake Forest
University. He has written many compositions for a broad range of instruments, but he is
most famous for his scared works.
Phoenix Processional is the solo organ version of Locklair’s Phoenix Fanfare and
Processional, which was written for organ, brass quartet, and percussion. This stately piece
begins and ends with the full resources of the organ with a softer, yet just as regal, section
in the middle that uses the chimes.
“The Peace May Be Exchanged” is a movement from the liturgical suite Rubrics, which was
written for the 1989 Organ Artists Series in Pittsburgh. This suite is based on The Book of
Common Prayer, and this movement was most famously played for the funeral of President
Ronald Reagan. It features a solo diapason on the Great manual and is accompanied by the
strings of the Swell manual and double pedal.
Voluntary in C Major, Op. 5 No. 1
John Stanley (1712-1786)
John Stanley was a baroque English composer and organist, and worked in London area
churches from age 11 until his death. He was at the time the youngest person to obtain a
Bachelor’s of Music degree from Oxford University at age 17. Due to an accident in
childhood, he was virtually blind, and yet composed nearly 40 voluntaries for organ as well
as music for organ and flute and several oratorios.
Voluntary in C Major, Op. 5, No.1 is a four-movement suite that shows a broad range of
baroque sounds of the organ. The first movement features the diapasons of the organ,
while the second is a duet between the trumpet and the larger flutes. The third movement
is a slower movement with a solo voice in the right hand, and the final movement is a lively
piece that uses the bright flutes of the organ.
Two Settings of Popular Gospel Hymns
I Will Sing the Wondrous Story
A New Name Written Down in Glory
arr. Wilbur Held (1914-2015)
arr. Diane Bish (1937-)
Wilbur Held was an American composer and Organist who trained at the American
Conservatory of Music in Chicago. He was the Professor of Organ and Church Music at Ohio
State University for over 30 years and was very active in the Columbus chapter of the
American Guild of Organists. He retired from OSU in 1978 to California where he remained
active as a clinician, composer, and recitalist.
Held’s arrangement of I Will Sing the Wondrous Story displays a variety of organ colors that
he has matched with each of the verses of the hymn, from the bright flutes and reeds of “I
was lost, but Jesus found me…” to the dark reeds and minor key of “I was bruised, but Jesus
healed me…”. There are five verses, with the refrain before and after each verse.
Diane Bish is one of the most visible and flamboyant organists of the 20th and 21st
centuries. A native of Kansas, she was the Organist and Artist-in-Residence at Coral Ridge
Presbyterian Church in Ft Lauderdale, Florida, during Dr. D. James Kennedy’s tenure there.
She has since retired and maintains a vigorous concert schedule while continuing to tape
shows for “The Joy of Music”, a program where she travels playing famous organs of the
world.
Bish’s setting of A New Name Written Down in Glory is a bright and cheery piece that grows
as the song moves along. It has a bounce to it that perfectly illustrates the text of the
refrain of the hymn, which says “There’s a new name written down in glory, and it’s mine,
oh yes it’s mine! With my sins forgiven I am bound for heaven, nevermore to roam.”
Toccata and Fugue in d minor, BWV 565
J. S. Bach (1685-1750)
Johann Sebastian Bach, born in Eisenach, Germany, to a large family of musicians, was one
of the most influential composers of the Baroque period. He composed works not only for
organ, but also for a broad variety of instrumentation and voices. Bach studied at St.
Matthew’s Church, and held such posts as Court Musician for the Duke of Weimar, Director
of Music for Prince Leopold, and Organist and Cantor at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig.
Toccata and Fugue in d minor, BWV 565 is arguably the most famous organ work ever
written. Noted for its recognizable opening phrase, it is frequently heard in relation to
scary movies and music, which has made it almost a cliché among the organ community.
However, it is highly popular with audiences and it’s possible many people have not heard
beyond the opening lines. There is new evidence that perhaps Bach himself did not write
the piece, or that it was originally written by Bach for violin and transcribed for organ, but
this has not been proven at this point.
Chant du Soir
Marco Enrico Bossi (1861-1925)
Marco Enrico Bossi was an Italian composer and organist who wrote many pieces for organ
as well as orchestral pieces and operas. He was the Director of the Academy of St. Cecilia in
Rome but also made many international recital tours, including one to play the Wanamaker
Organ in Philadelphia, the largest operational organ in the world.
Chant du Soir (or, Evening Song) is a gently flowing piece that uses the strings and soft
flutes of the organ. Lyrical in nature, it grows towards the middle of the piece and ends
softly with the chimes and quietest stops of the organ.
Selected Movements from The Planets
Gustav Holst (1874-1934)
Transcribed for organ by Peter Sykes (1958-)
I.
Mars, The Bringer of War
II.
Venus, The Bringer of Peace
III.
Jupiter, The Bringer of Jollity
Gustav Holst was an English musician and composer who studied at the Royal School of
Music in London. He was a good friend of Ralph Vaughan Williams, another brilliant
English composer. While he was an organist, he also played the trombone in theatre
productions. While he had many musical influences, he was also influenced by the great
poets of the time, even setting music to works of Walt Whitman.
Peter Sykes is an American concert organist who is the Associate Professor of Music and
Chair of the Historical Performance Department at Boston University and the principal
instructor of harpsichord at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City. Since 1985 he
has served as Director of Music at First Congregational Church in Cambridge,
Massachusetts.
The Planets remain Holst’s most famous work, and it took almost three years to write. The
seven movements are astrologically based and their emotional effect on the human psyche
rather than on the Roman deities the planets for which the planets were named. “Mars,
The Bringer of War” is very percussive and uses harsh reed tones and very dissonant
chords to create an unsettling feeling of impending doom and destruction. “Venus, The
Bringer of Peace” is a sharp contrast to the first movement as it uses the very softest stops
of the organ with tranquil solo voices throughout. “Jupiter, The Bringer of Jollity” is a fastpaced movement that jumps between the two manuals throughout the piece. The
beginning and the end are similar and surround the middle, which is more stately and
hymn-like in nature. The middle theme was later turned into an actual hymn tune, Thaxted,
which is best known as the British I Vow to Thee, My Country.
Carillon-Sortie
Henri Mulet (1878-1967)
Henri Mulet was a French organist and composer who studied under Charles-Marie Widor,
Louis Vierne, and Alexandre Guilmant, all very respected Parisian organists. He was the
organist at several churches in France, and retired from the last church he served and lived
the rest of his life in seclusion. He was largely forgotten when he died and many of his
surviving music is unknown.
Carillon-Sortie is a joyful toccata-like piece that is reminiscent of the large bells in many of
the French churches and cathedrals, and is one of Mulet’s most famous compositions. It is
written in the early 20th century French style similar to his contemporaries, such as
Charles- Marie Widor, Louis Vierne, and Marcel Dupré. It grows throughout the piece into
full organ.
Dr. James Humlong is the Organist and Primary Accompanist at Southern Hills United
Methodist Church. He studied piano with Shirley and Daniel Tilford, formerly of
Georgetown, KY, since the 2nd grade. He began taking organ lessons from Dr. Tilford in 9th
grade and continued through high school. He was previously the organist at Gardenside
Baptist Church in Lexington, KY, and has been a substitute and guest organist at many
other local churches. He is currently a Member-At-Large on the Lexington Chapter of the
American Guild of Organists Executive Committee.
Born and raised in Lexington, he graduated from Lexington Christian Academy in 2009 and
from the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy in 2015. He is currently a pharmacist
with Baptist Health Lexington (formerly Central Baptist Hospital). In his free time, he
enjoys playing golf with his friends, kayaking, reading, and painting.
Organ Specifications
Southern Hills United Methodist Church, Lexington, KY
Reuter Organ; Lawrence, Kansas: 1976, Opus 1902
2 manuals, 25 ranks
Great
Octave 8’
Singend Gedeckt 8’
Erzähler 8'
Octave 4’
Nachthorn 4’
Spitz Flöte 2’
Mixture III
Krummhorn 8’
Chimes
Swell
Rohrflöte 8’
Viole de Gambe 8’
Viole Celeste 8’
Koppel Flöte 4’
Spitz Principal 4’
Principal 2’
Nasard 2 2/3'
Tierce 1 3/5'
Quinte 1 1/3'
Trompette 8'
Tremulant
Pedal
Resultant 32’
Bourdon 16’
Rohrflöte 16’ (Sw.)
Octave 8’
Bourdon 8’
Rohrflöte 8’ (Sw.)
Choral Bass 4’
Bourdon 4’
Quinte 5 1/3’
Rausch Quint II
Trompette 16’ (Sw.)
Trompette 8’ (Sw.)
Trompette 4’ (Sw.)
Couplers:
Great to Great 16’, 4’
Swell to Swell 16’, 4’
Great to Pedal 8’, 4’
Swell to Pedal 8’, 4’
Swell to Great 16’, 8’, 4’