“Jesus Christ is Risen Today” EASTER HYMN, 1708/Robert A. Hobby (born 1962)
“Balletto detto ‘Il Conte Orlando’” from Ancient Airs and Dances Suite No. 1
Simone Molinaro (1599)/Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936) transcribed and edited for organ by Kevin Uppercue
“Prelude and Fugue in E flat” (ST. ANNE), BWV 552 Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
African American Spirituals/ Marianne Kim (born 1972)
“My Lord, What a Morning”
“Every Time I Feel the Spirit”
“Elegy” G.T. Thalben-Ball (1896-1987)
“Toccata on ‘How Firm a Foundation’” American Folk Melody (1832) setting by Craig Phillips (born 1961)
Program Notes
Jesus Christ is Risen Today (1708)
This contemporary organ masterpiece arrangement draws its melodic roots and theme from a fourteenth-century sacred song, Surrexit Christus hodie. After a virtuoso prelude fanfare opening, the venerable melody resonates as a solo exposed line, in sharp contrast to the jubilant musical multi-voice material that precedes and follows it.
Balletto detto ‘Il Conte Orlando’ (1599)
Uppercue's arrangement for virtuoso organ performance captures the essence of Respighi's 19th-century orchestral transcription from tablature to modern notation, and the high Renaissance professional dance features of the 16th-century Balletto, composed by Simone Molinaro for lute. The Balletto used alternating strong and light beats with rhythmic motifs and melodies repeated across registers with clearly defined phrases and chordal constructions to accentuate the buoyant rhythmic cadences, tailoring the music for professional dance performances and sophisticated elite audiences. The composition's three contrasting sections shift between major and minor keys to convey varying moods, highlighting the complexity and beauty of its rhythmic cadences. Uppercue maintained authenticity by carefully matching organ stops and orchestral instrumentation.
Prelude and Fugue in E flat" (ST. ANNE), BWV 552 (1739)
Bach expressed his profound understanding of the emerging science of spectral acoustics to create a human auditory experience, illustrating his profound theological message. Bach also used symbolism, symmetry, numbers, and proportions to express Christian faith. The key signature with three flats, the three primary themes in the Prelude, and the three-fold division of the Fugue provide symbols of Trinitarian theology. The Prelude opens and closes with a majestic and forceful Ritornello, a symbol of the first person of the Trinity, followed by two episodes and two Ritornellos, representing the second and third person of the Trinity. The Fugue opens with the melody of Saint Anne's hymn, expressing the Trinitarian theme in its tripartite division. Perhaps most significant are the numerous written notes and structures that are present but invisible and inaudible.
African American Spirituals (1972 arrangement)
Two spirituals rooted in the African and Creole cultures created by the 18th-century transatlantic slave trade from West and Central Africa during the resultant agricultural revolutions in rice and cotton along the South Carolina and Georgia coasts express the hardships of slavery. "My Lord, What a Morning" reflects the Gullah culture and the slave trade with Sierra Leone. The Gullah retained more of their African heritage because of their isolation and numerical strength.
Gullah expertise in profitable rice farming propelled a constant need for new slaves from rice-growing areas on the West Coast of Africa with cultivation and tidal irrigation skills. The isolation was an adaptive response to the semi-tropical climate of the coastal region, which offered a perfect habitat for rice cultivation but also a breeding ground for yellow fever and malaria, to which the Gullah slaves had an inherited resistance; the masters did not.
The music originated in Sierra Leone with dance rhythms played on the shegureh. Later, in the coastal slave camps, it was converted into a hymn sung by the Gullah and then into an instrumental piece with recaptured melodies and rhythms that evoke memories of the original text and its symbols of slavery and death: the trumpet sounding, the sinner crying, and Christ shouting. The text of the final Ritornello recollects the nation's underground, perhaps a reference to the Underground Railroad or a symbol of death.
Elegy (1940s)
Elegy originated with an impromptu performance by Thalben-Ball during WWII at the end of a BBC broadcast of Evensong and gained fame when performed at Princess Diana's funeral in 1997.
Toccata on 'How Firm a Foundation'
The French virtuoso toccata style, syncopation, and frequent assignment of the melody to the feet with switches in meter and harmonies bring new life to this classic pentatonic tune.
Notes by Barbara Walters Doehrman
Biography of Pamela Kane
Dr. Pamela Kane received her DMA in Organ from The University of North Carolina-Greensboro, where she studied with André Lash and Andrew Willis (harpsichord). While at UNCG, she served as a graduate assistant in the keyboard department with responsibilities that included teaching secondary organ and piano, coaching UNCG Opera singers, and accompanying the choirs with whom she recorded new works for Hinshaw Music Publishing.
A Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance and Masters of Liturgical Music were earned from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, where she studied with Robert Grogan, Conrad Bernier, and Elaine Rendler (Harmony) and played in master classes with Jean Langlais, Marie-Claire Alain, Pierre Cochereau, and Marilyn Mason. While at CUA, Pamela served as assistant organist at The National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, where she regularly played the Latin Mass in the Crypt Church.
She is currently Music Director/Organist at Holy Family (Hilton Head, SC). Prior experiences include the same at St. Gregory the Great (Bluffton, SC), St. Virgil (Morris Plains, NJ), Buffalo Presbyterian Church (Greensboro, NC), Notre Dame of Mount Carmel (Cedar Knolls, NJ), and Organist at Church of the Little Flower (Bethesda, MD). Memorable moments in her musical career include performing in two L’Organo recitals (Charleston, SC), touring Swiss, German, and French organs with Marilyn Mason, being a semi-finalist in The U. of Michigan International Organ Competition, and being selected for the Master Teacher Collaborative with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.
She can be heard on YouTube