CHURCH OF THE ASSUMPTION
TULLAMORE
SUMMER INTERNATIONAL ORGAN SERIES 2009
(1999 - 2009)
Tuesday, 23 June
The Tullamore Academy of Music Chamber Choir
(Director: Ciaran Brady)
John O’Keeffe, organ
Tuesday, 21 July
Liudmila Matsyura
(Russia)
Tuesday, 18 August
Stephen Hicks
(Norway)
Tuesday, 22 September
The RIAM Players
David Adams, organ and director
Admission €10 (€6 Concession)
This annual series is supported byAn Chomhairle Ealaion (The Arts Council), Offaly
County Council and Tullamore Court Hotel
CHURCH OF THE ASSUMPTION
TULLAMORE INTERNATIONAL SUMMER ORGAN CONCERTS
1999 - 2009
*************
Message from our Patron
This series of monthly summer concerts is now in its eleventh year and has become a
well established feature of the summer national cultural calendar. I extend a warm
welcome to our distinguished visiting organists from Russia and Norway, as well as
to Dr John O’Keeffe, director of music at the National Seminary in Maynooth, and
to Dr David Adams and his orchestral players from the RIAM in Dublin. It is a
particular pleasure to welcome a chamber choir of highest calibre from Tullamore
itself, an initiative of the new Academy of Music in Tullamore. I wish this enterprise
and its director, Ciarán Brady, every success for the future.
This music of this year’s series rightly celebrates significant anniversaries of two
iconic composers, George Frederic Handel and Felix Mendelssohn. Once again it is
fitting to acknowledge the generosity of the Lutheran Church of Copenhagen in
giving this magnificent organ to our beautiful Church in Tullamore some fifteen
years ago. Two years ago the organ had its first major ‘make over’ since its
installation in 1995. We are reminded that we have here a world-class instrument of
which we are truly proud, and this series of summer concerts gives the wider public
an opportunity to experience its grandeur in the hands of some of Europe’s finest
organists. It is my wish that this eleventh annual series of concerts will bring as
much enjoyment and refreshment as in previous years to all who participate and
listen.
+ Michael Smith
Bishop of Meath
THE FROBENIUS ORGAN
The organ was built by one of the world’s leading organbuilding firms, Th. Frobenius of
Lyngby (Copenhagen), in 1965 for the great cathedral church of Denmark’s capital city.
It is a sizeable mechanical-action instrument, consisting of 53 speaking stops, three
manuals and pedals, and 3,916 pipes. By 1993 the cathedral felt it needed a much bigger
organ to fill its great space with adequate sound, and so it was decided to dispose of the
existing organ in favour of an entirely new instrument. Instead of selling the existing
organ for the considerable sum it would undoubtedly have fetched, the cathedral board
generously decided to donate it to an appropriate church. Tullamore’s requirements for an
organ at that time and their request to me to assist them in securing an instrument,
together with my recital visit to Copenhagen to play one of the last recitals on the ‘old’
cathedral organ and my subsequent discussions with the cathedral’s organist, Niels
Henrik Nielsen, constituted a remarkable series of coincidences which resulted in the
organ’s transference to Tullamore in the latter months of 1994.
The organ obviously needed a new case to fit the gallery dimensions of Tullamore’s fine
new parish church. This was designed and built by the Frobenius firm. In the transfer the
action, pipework, keyboards, interior leather-work and wind supply were renewed; the
original 32’ pedal flute stop was retained by the cathedral in Copenhagen for
incorporation into their new instrument, and so a new replica 32’ stop was made for
Tullamore. These elements apart, the organ represents a uniquely intact transplant of an
unusually large all-mechanical action organ. The condition of both pipework and action
can only be described as well nigh perfect, and the voicing and regulation necessary to
adjust to the new acoustic conditions of the Church of the Assumption in Tullamore,
were carried out by a team of three superb craftsmen from the Frobenius firm. The net
result is that Tullamore can now boast of having the largest mechanical action church
organ in Ireland, and the sole example in the country of the Frobenius firm’s renowned
skill and craftsmanship. The organ was inaugurated in a gala concert on 10 May, 1995.
This, the eleventh year of the international series of concerts here on the splendid
Frobenius organ of the Church of the Assumption in Tullamore, sees the series well and
truly established as part of the national summer cultural calendar.
Gerard Gillen
Artistic Director
Tuesday, 23 June
THE TULLAMORE ACADEMY OF MUSIC CHAMBER CHOIR
(DIRECTOR: CIARAN BRADY)
JOHN O’KEEFFE, organ
PROGRAMME
Organ:
Prelude and Fugue in C, BWV 545
Johann Sebastian Bach
(1685-1750)
Chamber Choir:
Evening song (1938)
Gaudete Christus est Natus
The Lamb (1982)
Zoltan Kodaly
(1882-1967)
Anon. (16th Century)
John Tavener
(b. 1944)
Organ:
From Symphony No. 5, op.20
(a) Cantabile
(b) Scherzo
Louis Vierne
(1870-1937)
Chamber Choir:
If ye Love me
Riu Riu Chiu
The Bluebird
Thomas Tallis
(1505 – 1585)
Anon. (16th Century)
Charles Villiers Stanford
(1852 – 1924)
Organ:
Vexilla Regis prodeunt
Naji Hakim
(b. 1955)
Chamber Choir:
Jesus Christ the Apple Tree
Il est bel et bon
The Lord Bless you and Keep you (1945)
Elizabeth Poston
(1905-1987)
Pierre Passereau
(1509 – 1547)
John Rutter
Organ:
Carillon de Westminster
Louis Vierne
John O’Keeffe is Director of Sacred Music at the National Seminary of St Patrick’s
College Maynooth, and director of choral groups at the National University of Ireland,
Maynooth. Previous musical appointments saw him occupy the positions of organist and
choirmaster at St Mel’s Cathedral, Longford, and of organ scholar at Westminster
Cathedral and Dublin’s Pro-Cathedral, and his organ teachers have included Rev Frank
McNamara, David Sanger, Ben Van Oosten and Gerard Gillen. He has appeared as a
guest soloist with the National Chamber Choir and the NSO and he contributes regularly
to recital series throughout the country. He holds Master’s degrees in Organ (NUIM) and
Chant Performance (UL) and was recently awarded a doctorate by the NUI for his thesis
on the liturgical output of Seán and Peadar Ó Riada. In 2004 he was invited to direct the
Belgian Académie de Chant Grégorien Summer Course at Warnach, and in 2005 he was
Guest Director at the Irish Church Music Summer School, held at Maynooth. He is
involved in the administration of postgraduate and diploma courses in liturgical music
and chant at both St Patrick’s College and NUI Maynooth, where, in collaboration with
Professor Gerard Gillen, he helped establish the Maynooth Chamber Choir (1987) and,
more recently, the Maynooth Schola Gregoriana (2001).
The Academy Chamber Choir was founded in September 2008 as part of a performing
groups’ initiative undertaken by The Academy of Music in Tullamore. Each choral
scholar is an advanced student of voice with The Academy and has a different and wideranging background in solo, operatic and competitive performance, which enhances this
young choir’s ability to undertake some of the more challenging choral works, and
contributes to their fresh and unique sound. Although barely nine months in existence,
the choir won second place in the Chamber Choirs Competition in the ‘Navan Choral
Festival’ and were awarded a certificate of Distinction for Choral Excellence in the ‘Bord
Na Mona National Choir of the Year 2009’ competition. “This young choir is a
wonderful and exciting new addition to the midland regions”.
Ciarán Brady is founder and director of the choir, and is an Honours graduate in Music
from NUI Maynooth, where he also completed his Masters degree in Vocal Performance,
and undertook further advanced vocal studies in Freiburg in Germany. Ciaran’s vast
choral experience started at the age of 10 as a boy treble and Head Chorister of the
Palestrina Choir in Dublin. While studying Ciaran was director of the Maynooth
University Chamber Choir in many acclaimed concerts, winning the International
Competition at Limerick Choral festival in 1991. Ciaran is now full time vocal instructor
with The Academy of Music, Tullamore where he is channelling all his energies into high
calibre performing ensembles, of which The Academy Chamber Choir is proving to be a
flagship and an emerging force in choral excellence in the midland regions.
Tuesday, 21 July
LIUDMILA MATSYURA
(Russia)
PROGRAMME
March on a theme of Handel, op.65
Sonata in D Major, op.65 no.5
Andante
Andante con moto
Allegro maestoso
Alexandre Guilmant
(1837-1911)
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
(1809-1847)
Prelude on ‘Rhosymedre’
Ralph Vaughan Williams
(1872-1958)
Concerto in A Minor (after Vivaldi), BWV 593
Allegro
Adagio
Allegro
Johann Sebastian Bach
(1685-1750)
Hymn
Andante in F Major, op.22
Percy Whitlock
(1903-1946)
Louis Lefébure-Wély
(1817-1869)
Fanfare
John Ernest Cook
(1918-1984)
Sophie’s Cathedral
Elena Butosova
(b.1959)
Liudmila Matysura was born in Russia and graduated from the M.I.Glinka
Conservatory in Nizhniy Novgorograd, graduating with concert diplomas in both organ
and piano. From 1986 to 2003 she was organ soloist and pianist with the Irkutsk
Philharmonic Society, before undertaking further organ studies in Innsbruck, Zurich,
Haarlem, Florence and Salamanca. Since moving to Spain as organist titular of the
Cathedral-Magistral in Alcala de Henare she has become artistic director of the
International Organ Festival ‘Cathedral of Alcala’as well as being closely involved in
the International Organ Week in Madrid (2004), IV International Organ Festival of Palma
de Mallorca (2004), XXX International Week of historical organs in Mallorca (2006),
International Festival in Ibiza, International Organ Festival in Toledo etc. In recent years
Liudmila has become recognised as a major concert organist in Western Europe and
Russia and is a regular participant in the major international organ festivals.
Tuesday, 18 August
STEPHEN HICKS
(Norway)
PROGRAMME
A Fancy
William Byrd
(c 1540-1623)
Salve Regina
John Bull
(c 1562-1628)
Sonata in D, op. 65 no.4
Allegro con brio
Andante religioso
Allegretto
Allegro maestoso e vivace
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
(1809-1847)
Four Chorale Preludes from Das Orgelbüchlein
Johann Sebastian Bach
(a) Gottes Sohn ist kommen, BWV 600
(1685-1750)
(b) Vom Himmel kam der Engel Schar, BWV 607
(c) Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, BWV 604
(d) In dulci jubilo, BWV 608
Fantasia and Fugue in G Minor, BWV 542
Johann Sebastian Bach
Prière, op.20 (1860)
César Franck
(1822-1890)
Deux Esquisses, op.41 (1946)
(a) In E Minor
(b) In B Flat Minor
Marcel Dupré
(1886-1971)
Variations sur un vieux Noël, op.20 (1922)
Marcel Dupré
Stephen Hicks was born in Surrey and educated at Trinity College of Music, London,
and the Royal College of Music where he was a student of Harry Gabb and Ralph
Downes. Further study followed in Paris with Nadia Boulanger, Marcel Dupré, André
Marchal and Robert Casadesus. At the age of 15 he performed the Schumann Piano
Concerto with the English Chamber Orchestra, and at the age of 21 he became the
youngest organ soloist at the BBC Promenade concerts at the Royal Albert Hall. He was
subsequently invited by Pierre Cochereau to perform in Notre Dame, Paris. He also
performed as soloist with the Orchestre Philharmonique de l’O.R.T.F. and over the past
35 years he has played throughout Europe and America and has made recordings for
RCA, Riverside, EMI and Eurodice. He is particularly well known for his interpretation
of early French and English music and for his performance of the works of Marcel Dupré.
Since 1983 he has lived in Norway where is organist in Røros.
Tuesday, 22 September
DAVID ADAMS
and
THE RIAM PLAYERS
PROGRAMME
Fantasia in G, BWV 572
Johann Sebastian Bach
(1685-1750)
Organ Concerto in B Flat, op.7 no.1
Andante
Largo e piano
Fuga (Allegro)
Bourrée (Allegro)
George Frederic Handel
(1685 – 1759)
Sonata in A Major, op.65 no.3
Con moto maestoso
Andante tranquillo
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
(1809-1847)
Organ Concerto in B Flat, op.4 no.2
A tempo ordinario e staccato
Allegro
Adagio e staccato
Allegro ma non presto
Offertoire
George Frederic Handel
Louis Lefébure-Wély
(1817-1869)
The RIAM Players are degree course students of the Royal Irish
Academy of Music in Dublin. They are all soloists in their own right,
have wide experience in chamber music and play regularly in
orchestras within the Academy and outside. Most of all, they have an
enthusiasm and love of music that bonds them together in
performance. Enjoyment of the project in hand is the top priority! This
year the Players have performed Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater in St.
Bartholomew’s Church, Dublin in Holy Week; and Handel Concertos
in St. Michael’s Church, Dún Laoghaire.
David Adams, a former organ scholar of St. Patrick’s Cathedral
and Trinity College Dublin, studied in Freiburg (Ludwig Doerr)
and Amsterdam (Piet Kee and Ewald Kooiman) winning prizes
at international competitions in Speyer, Lüneburg, Dublin and
Bruges. Since his début recital at St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, at
the age of 16, he has performed throughout Ireland, the UK and
Europe, and is a regular guest at major international festivals. He
appears with all the Irish orchestras and is much in demand as an
ensemble player in the fields of Early and contemporary music.
As a conductor he has worked with the Ulster Orchestra, Opera
Theatre Company, The Orchestra of St. Cecilia and the Irish
Baroque Orchestra. He has premiered many new works,
including numerous compositions written specially for him. In
addition to a solo CD recorded on the organs of Trinity College,
he has recorded for Naxos, Black Box and Wergo. David has
taught at conservatories in Freiburg, Berlin and The Hague, and
at DIT and TCD, and now lectures at the Royal Irish Academy of
Music.In 2007 he was awarded a PhD from the Vrije Universiteit
in Amsterdam for his work on Max Reger and Karl Straube.
David is organist of Christ Church Taney and St. Nahi’s in
Dublin.
Previous Artists in this series:
1999 – 2007 as in the 2008 programme book
2008
Academic Choir of the Silesian University of Technology
Gerard Gillen
Hana Bartošová (Czech Republic)
Kevin Bowyer (UK)
Silvano Rodi (Monaco)