March 2020

B. Rule & Company, New Market, Tennessee;

First Presbyterian Church, Knoxville, Tennessee

The organ at First Presbyterian Church, Knoxville, Tennessee, represented in 1963 the ideals of the modernist side of the Organ Reform movement then in vogue. Like Modernism itself, asserting a dynamic of utter clarity of structure and form, Casavant Opus 2756 spoke boldly and brightly into the nave with nothing to hinder its clear tonal egress.

Since its founding in 1975 Radio France has remained the sole public radio broadcaster in France. The sprawling premises in the 16th arrondissement, occupied by the station from its inception, have been enhanced by a new 1,461-seat concert hall. However, in the design by the Parisian architectural bureau AS Architecture-Studio with acoustic consulting by the renowned firm of Nagata Acoustics from Japan, no organ was foreseen at the outset.

Varied music can mean variable acoustics

Editor’s note: Acoustics in the Worship Space, Parts I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, and XI have appeared in The Diapason, May 1983, May 1984, January 1986, May 1987, April 1988, April 1990, July 1991, May 1992, April 2009, December 2012, and June 2015 respectively.

Organs and boats (There he goes again.)

Mystic, Connecticut, is a fun destination for people like me with a love for saltwater sailing. The area was originally home to the Native American Pequot people, was settled by British colonists around 1640, and was one of the first ports in New England. It is now home to the Mystic Seaport Museum, which has a vast range of exhibits about the history of sailing in the region. The museum includes a large and comprehensive working wooden boat shop where many important historic vessels have been restored.

Marches for March

March: the third month of the year in the Gregorian calendar—the only month with a name that has a musical connection. March: a ceremonial procession in 4/4 time. March: a title for a musical composition (unfortunately not found very often in works for harpsichord). While I was searching for a subject to explore this month these definitions popped into my mind. What follows are the titles and some comments about pieces that include the word “march” in scores that I found in my library of harpsichord music.

Interruption

Andrew Forrest is appointed vice president of Létourneau Pipe Organs, Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec, Canada, in addition to his responsibilities as artistic director. Forrest has worked his way through the Létourneau company over the past twenty years, and this work extends to the firm’s design, construction, and sound of instruments. He is equally involved with the company’s customer care and service.

Richard S. Hedgebeth, 75, died November 3, 2019. He was born in Avon, Florida, and grew up in Bismarck, North Dakota, and Medfield, Massachusetts. He attended Elon College in North Carolina as a physics major before transferring to the New England Conservatory of Music, Boston, as an organ performance major.