Instrumental Music
- Triptyque – Denis Bédard (b. 1950)
- No. 1 Ouverture
- No. 2 Invocation
- No. 3 Toccatina
- Variations on a Southern Hymn - Jackson Hearn (b. 1958)
Congregational Music (all hymns from the Hymnal 1982 with the exception of those marked “R” which are from Renew.)
- Hymn 388 - O worship the King (HANOVER)
- Hymn 536 - God has spoken to his people (TORAH SONG)
- Hymn 636 - How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord (FOUNDATION)
- Hymn R266 - Give thanks with a grateful heart (GIVE THANKS)
- Hymn R305 - Lord, you give the great commission (ABBOTT’S LEIGH)
- Psalm 123 - Ad te levavi oculos meos (Tone VIII)
Most of today's organ music is by the Canadian composer Denis Bédard. He studied first at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec in his hometown of Québec, before going to Europe to pursue studies in Paris with André Isoir (organ) and Laurence Boulay (harpsichord) and in the Netherlands to study piano, harpsichord, and organ with Gustav Leonhardt.
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| Denis Bédard |
This suite, Triptyque, was the result of a commission by Karl Wilhelm for the inaugural recital by the composer of the organ at the First Congregational Church in Hudson, Ohio in 991. The Ouverture, in ABA form, uses a characteristic five beat rhythm. The contemplative Invocation consists of three harmonic sections interspersed with melodic passages inspired by Gregorian chant. The last movement, Toccatina, is a brilliant fantasia made up of alternating chords. In the final section a combined accelerando and crescendo leads to a dazzling conclusion.
The prelude to the offertory hymn (How firm a foundation) is a set of three variations on the tune FOUNDATION that I arranged for organ in 1980, when I was a senior at Lambuth College and my excitement and creativity had yet to be dulled by working in the real world. I later arranged it for concert band as an arranging assignment, when it was played by the Lambuth College band. After the opening theme (as harmonized by Carlton Young, editor of the 1966 Methodist Hymnal), you hear three variations. The first one is is a slow, meditative setting played on the string celestes on the swell. That movement seamlessly flows into the second variation after slipping into three-four time. The melody will be heard in the tenor range, played on the clarinet. The third and final movement, which will also serve as the introduction to the singing of the hymn, is in the style of a French Overture marked by stately dotted rhythms and suspensions.
The prelude to the offertory hymn (How firm a foundation) is a set of three variations on the tune FOUNDATION that I arranged for organ in 1980, when I was a senior at Lambuth College and my excitement and creativity had yet to be dulled by working in the real world. I later arranged it for concert band as an arranging assignment, when it was played by the Lambuth College band. After the opening theme (as harmonized by Carlton Young, editor of the 1966 Methodist Hymnal), you hear three variations. The first one is is a slow, meditative setting played on the string celestes on the swell. That movement seamlessly flows into the second variation after slipping into three-four time. The melody will be heard in the tenor range, played on the clarinet. The third and final movement, which will also serve as the introduction to the singing of the hymn, is in the style of a French Overture marked by stately dotted rhythms and suspensions.
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