HROUGH THE GRACE of God, I was blessed to work for 15 years with the Prefetto della Casa of the PONTIFICAL INSTITUTE OF SACRED MUSIC in Rome. There was one question he asked again and again and again: “What does his choir sound like?” Now … what exactly did this question mean? Well, it means a whole lot. For instance, it’s a reminder that those who spend hours on the internet criticizing other music directors almost without exception have never stood in front of a choir in real life. On the internet we find innumerable “purists” who seem to have unlimited energy to nitpick, castigate, and criticize others. Those same purists have run a parish music program “in their head” but never in real life. When you demand to hear a sample of their choirs singing last Sunday, they become enraged or make all kinds of excuses.
PDF Download • In a moment, I’ll explain why I bring this up. First, here’s a wonderful PIPE ORGAN RECESSIONAL for manuals only. Based on “Water Music” by George Frederick Handel, it was simplified by Henri Durieux:
* PDF Download • HORNPIPE RECESSIONAL (For Manuals Only)
—Simplified arrangement for Pipe Organ courtesy of Henri Durieux.
Purity Tests • If I had 5¢ for every argument I’ve had with a “purist” organist, I could retire! Such arguments usually begin with the purist exclaiming: “Why does your organist use a simplified version of such-and-such?” I reply: “Because I can’t stand hearing wrong notes.” The purist then proceeds to tell me I’m ruining music, I’m a musical philistine, and I’m irreparably lowering standards. I reply: “Can you do better?” The purist says: “Of course I can! Let me show you.” But when he sits at the organ console to demonstrate, he fails miserably. First, he reduces the TEMPO so he can play the pedal notes. Stopping him, I insist that he plays at the correct TEMPO—but he’s unable to do that! He starts hitting wrong notes, playing “in between the cracks” on the pedals, leaving out notes, and messing up the registration. He was hoping I wouldn’t notice his sloppiness, but I have pretty good ears. Unwittingly, the “purist” has just proven my point.
Conclusion • A true organist first makes an assessment of the acoustic and the particular instrument. A true organist plays at the correct TEMPO without wrong notes. I would much rather hear a simplified version played correctly than the full version played shoddily. But online purists (who have run a parish music program “in their heads” but not in real life) will never understand this. Or am I wrong? Let me know your thoughts.
Addendum • When I studied at the CONSERVATORY, nobody “simplified” anything. To do so would be to invite ridicule (and possible expulsion). I played many Chopin etudes, suites & fugues by Bach, concerti by Beethoven, and pieces by Nikolai Medtner, Sergei Rachmaninov, Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt, and so forth. We were forced to memorize everything: hours of music! Indeed, I had to memorize (and perform from memory) a Prokofiev Sonata wherein the Left Hand played in one key while the Right Hand played in another key. I didn’t care for that piece—but that didn’t make any difference. We learned what the professors told us to learn; period. Each semester, we had to memorize a full program of music and perform it in front of a jury. One of the pieces I had to memorize (Chopin’s Andante Spianato Et Grande Polonaise Brillante) was 40 pages long! The point is, nobody simplified anything at the CONSERVATORY. But learning concert music at a CONSERVATORY and playing before a jury is not the same as running a parish music program. There is overlap, certainly. But they aren’t the same thing.
