Spooky and Scary Hallowe’en Organ Music Saturday 29 October 2011 at St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church A 6th annual offering of the Royal Canadian College of Organists, Vancouver Centre.
Performers: Rachel Alflatt, Gordon Atkinson, Sam Balden, Michael Dirk,Tamar Genossar, Michael Molnar, David Poon
For organists, doing a recital near Halloween should be a fairly straightforward affair. But after a few years, the Vancouver Centre is now able to boast original poetry, compositions and arrangements, plus lots of bad jokes, outrageous costumes, some battle-ready weaponry, a seven-foot-tall inflatable ghost, history lessons, and a reception fit to feed a small village…all in a cavernous stone Gothic building, rumored by some to be haunted, possibly because of the liturgical hangings that decorate the church on special occasions. Of course, the main focus and predominant presence is great organ music from composers like Bach, Boëllmann, and Bédard, to those who don’t start with a “B”…even unlikelier names like Chopin, Gounod and Uematsu.
On Friday, October 29th at St. Andrew’s-Wesley in the heart of downtown Vancouver, the scene was set, with decorations all in place. Recorded sounds of untraceable fear, wolf howls, and quietly unsettling music echoed subtly through the dark building as evening transitioned into night. Hardened organ-playing veterans, RCCO executives, and young professionals then converged to offer a vast spectrum of different skills, tastes, and interpretive talents to Halloween listeners. From the baroque to the modern and from romantic splendour to video-game battle-music, the countless colours of the organ were solemnly and rapturously spread across a vast canvas of silence.
The famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor, a pedal solo and organ duet by Denis Bédard, scenes from Final Fantasy VI, the work of a twentieth century composer who’s homeland had recently been torn up by the atrocities of modern warfare (Szonyi), two funeral marches, the first and last movements of the Suite Gothique by Boëllmann…it might all appear quite daunting and overwhelming, but start to finish the concert was under an hour and a half. The abrupt disappointment experienced at the end was that the reception could not go on for more than about 30 minutes (out of respect to the caretakers who do need to go home and sleep at some point). Many performers and audience members earnestly wished to continue talking through sundry subjects while sipping warm apple cider. All things considered, it was a very successful event, and continues to be an enjoyable tradition at the very end of October, nestled well into the uniquely crisp season of Autumn.
Written by Michael Molnar.