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The FELC Parish Choir and members of the community will perform the choral masterwork, “Missa Solennelle (Solemn Mass) in C-sharp minor, Op. 16, for choir and TWO ORGANS by Louis Vierne, on Sunday, Nov. 10 at 3 p.m. at the Downtown Site. The concert is a program of The Arthur Krempin School of Music & Art.It is difficult for any group to perform this work, because it requires two organs, one in the rear of the church (for all the big, flashy, loud parts), and one in the front of the church (to accompany the choir, who will be in the front Chancel). Most churches that have a pipe organ only have one. The Arthur Krempin School of Music & Art will be renting a large digital (electronic) organ to have in the front of the church (it is the organ that is rented by/ featured with The Minnesota Orchestra when they are in need of a concert instrument); The Magnificent Wahl Pipe Organ will be the solo/showcase instrument in the rear balcony.
Louis Vierne (1870-1937) was organist at Notre-Dame de Paris. He wrote this work to be performed at Saint-Sulpice in Paris, which houses a huge organ in the rear gallery of the cathedral, and another pipe organ in the front chancel which was and is used to accompany the choir. He wrote this monument of choral literature to dramatically have the sound bounce back and forth from the back to the front of the cathedral for a theatrical and grandiose setting of the text of the Mass.
For the first performance in December of 1901, Vierne played the organ in the front Chancel to accompany the choir, and his friend, Charles-Marie Widor, who was the organist at Saint-Sulpice in Paris, played the main organ in the rear gallery. Both Vierne and Widor were church organists; Vierne was also a concert organist, and Widor was an organ instructor (Widor was Vierne’s organ teacher). It is only apropos that the two professional organists who accompany this concert have similar positions: Jeffrey Verkuilen of Green Bay, is a church organist and is also an organ professor at Norbert College, and he will play the large electronic organ to accompany the choir; Frank Perko III of Denver, who is both a church organist and a well-known concert organist, will play our Magnificent Wahl Pipe Organ for all the large solo sections. Erich Knapp will be conducting the choir and organists.
Also in the concert is the Easter motet “Christ Rose from the Dead” which Widor wrote for choir and two organs to be performed at Saint-Sulpice in Paris in 1876. Both works are quite grand, and both are very beautiful. This is quite possibly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hear both of these works, as they were intended to be performed, in the same concert. Save the date, and bring a friend!
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Downtown Site (326 E. North St., Appleton), 326 E North St, Appleton, WI 54911-5460, United States
