July 31 Recital Program
On Saturday, July 31, 4:00 P.M. Eastern Time, John Gouwens, Carillonneur of The Culver Academies, will present the sixth recital in the summer series on the 51-bell Gillett & Johnston carillon at the Memorial Chapel, The Culver Academies (Culver, Indiana) at 4:00 P.M.
The program will open with J.S. Bach's Partita No. 3 for solo violin. The lean texture of the violin music translates admirably to the resonant carillon without the need for adjustment to the music. The rapid repeated notes in the opening "Preludio" take particular advantage of the instrument's capacity to repeat notes rapidly - which has been dramatically enhanced by the recent renovation to the carillon.
Gouwens will play an unusual pair of Dutch pieces also. One is a delightful set of variations by Jacob van Eyck, carillonneur of Utrecht in the 17th century, and the other is the prize-winning "Reflections," by Jacques Maassen, the present carillonneur of Breda. (Maassen is also the third generation in his family to serve as City Carillonneur in Breda.)
The recent, untimely death of carillonneur and composer John Courter, from Berea College, Berea, Kentucky, has led Gouwens to include Courter's compositions throughout the summer. This week, he'll be playing the extended fantasy, "O Light Most Blessed," which was commissioned for the rededication of the renovated carillon at the Kirk in the Hills Presbyterian Church in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. (The carillon at the Kirk is the largest by number of bells - 77 - in the world.) This beautiful piece features dramatic quotations from the plainsong "O Lux Beatissima," a quotation from an organ composition by Frederick Marriott (longtime organist and carillonneur at the Kirk), and a set of variations on the Sarum plainsong "O Lux Beata Trinitas."
The concluding piece on the program is the powerful "Chaconne" by University of Chicago composer Easley Blackwood. This piece occupies an important place in the carillon repertoire, being the first atonal carillon composition by a major composer. Blackwood understood the character of the instrument thoroughly, and wrote a piece with pushed the limits of what the instrument and the player could do.
Mr. Gouwens will include several hymn improvisations in the program also, as usual.
In the event of bad weather, the tower will be open to the public during the recital (which would be indicated on signs near the South doors), and printed programs will be available near the doors as well. Admission is free, and a tour and demonstration of the instrument will be offered following the performance. Additional recitals are scheduled for September 4, and October 2, all Saturdays, at 4:00.
Of related interest, Peter Stolzfus Berton, a brilliant organist from Worcester, Massachusetts, will play an organ recital at Culver on Sunday, September 19, at 4:00 P.M. This program also is open to the public, free admission.
Follow
this link for the full schedule.
