We invite you to read through Michael Allsen’s program notes for the April 3rd Organ Concert Series No. 4.
Program Notes
This program features alumni from one of the world’s foremost brass chamber ensembles, the Empire Brass. (The ensemble appeared previously on this series in May 2015.) They open with a set of Renaissance and Baroque pieces, in combination with Greg Zelek, works by Susato, Gabrieli, and Bach, including a flashy pedal piece by Bach. Next is a pair of orchestral works by Prokoviev and Holst, arranged by Empire Brass founding member Rolf Smedvig. Then comes a moment of audience choice—you get to choose which work Greg will play as a solo feature: Widor or Vierne? There is a high-spirited work by Empire Brass alumnus Kenneth Amis. Mark Hetzler, who has been a familiar face at these programs, presents a new work in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Overture Concert Organ and Series. To end, we have an all-American set, with songs by Gershwin and Fats Waller, and a brisk suite from Bernstein’s West Side Story. Percussionist Dr. Matthew Endres will appear with the ensemble in several numbers.
Tielman Susato (ca. 1510 – after 1570)
Basse danse bergerette
We open with a set dedicated to Renaissance and Baroque music. Tielman Susato was a composer, multi-instrumentalist, and music publisher who worked in 16th century Antwerp. In 1543, he found the first music printing firm in the low countries. The vast majority of Susato’s publication were vocal—sacred works and French chansons— but in 1551 he published a collection of instrumental pieces titled Danserye (Dances). [Personal note: In 1982, when my wife and I moved to Madison, I had just completed an undergraduate thesis on 16th century dance music. That year we acquired our first cat, a big, sweet-tempered ginger tomcat, who I named Danserye. – MA] Susato’s exuberant Basse danse bergerette is one of a few pieces in the collection titled bergerette (shepherd’s song), after a lighthearted French poetic and musical genre with roots in the 15th century. Basse danse (low dance) indicates that this lively piece was to be danced with feet and legs only. The arrangement heard here is by one of the Empire Brass’s founding members, Rolf Smedvig (d. 2015). Expanded to include organ and percussion, this adaptation features brilliant ornamentation by all players, particularly the two trumpets.
Giovanni Gabrieli (1557-1612)
Canzona duodecimi toni
The “most serene republic” of Venice was among the political and economic superpowers of the Renaissance. Music and ceremony were very much a part of Venice’s civic pride, particularly the stellar musical establishment at the city’s principal church, the basilica of San Marco. After witnessing a festival at the basilica in 1611, the English tourist Thomas Coryat wrote that the music at San Marco was “…so good, so delectable, so rare, so admirable, so superexcellent, that it did ravish and stupefy all those strangers who had never heard the like. But how the others were affected by it I know not; for mine own part I can say this, that I was for the time even rapt up with Saint Paul into the third heaven.” Among the music that ravished Coryat was the work of Giovanni Gabrieli, perhaps the finest of the many composers who occupied the organ bench at San Marco in this period. Gabrieli wrote masses and motets for use in the lavish liturgy at San Marco but also composed instrumental music for the basilica’s large group of instrumentalists, playing violins, viols, cornetts, and sackbuts. His Canzona duodecimi toni (Canzona in the twelfth mode) was published in 1597, as part of a large collection of instrumental pieces by Gabrieli. Like many of his works written for San Marco, it is laid out in multiple choirs, in this case two choirs of five instruments each, (Here, one choir is played by the organ.) This a rather solemn, but magnificent piece which exploits the contrast between the two choirs, and brilliant echo effects.
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
My Spirit Be Joyful
Pedal-Excercitium
Johann Sebastian Bach did not invent the Lutheran church cantata, a multi-movement setting of sacred texts, but his cantatas are the finest examples of the form. Though he composed cantatas throughout his career, the great bulk of them were written during his first few years in Leipzig, where he arrived in 1723 to take the position of Kantor at the Thomaskirche—the head church musician in the city. Among many other duties, Bach was expected to produce a cantata every week. The cantata was viewed as an important addition to both the selected Bible verse and the hymn of the day, and Bach’s texts are often drawn from these sources, as well as sacred librettos assembled by Lutheran pastors and Bach himself. In his first years at the Thomaskirche, Bach composed no less than five annual cycles of cantatas, mostly newly composed: each cycle including some 60 works, one appropriate to each Sunday of the Church Year, and special cantatas for Christmas, and the main feasts of Advent and Lent. Of these 300 works, nearly 200 survive. This vast body of music is represented here by Empire Brass’s arrangement of My Spirit Be Joyful, for brass quintet and organ. This is an adaptation of the climactic tenor/bass duet Wie will ich mich freuen from the cantata Wir müssen durch viel Trübsal (We must pass through great sadness), BWV 146. Bach composed this work in either 1726 or 1728, for the third Sunday after Easter. In this brass quintet version, the joyous vocal lines and lively orchestral accompaniment are distributed among all six players.
It is not known exactly when or why Bach composed his Pedal-Excercitium (Pedal Exercise), BWV 598. Like much of his music, it survives in a copy by someone else, in this case, by his son, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788). Indeed, some authorities, credit this brilliant little piece to C.P.E. Bach, rather than his father, though most seem to agree that Bach intended this work, which was probably initially an improvisation, as a practice piece for his son. What is clear is that Bach had some serious pedal chops. In 1732, for example, he visited Kassel, to test out and inaugurate a new organ at Saint Martin’s Church. (As Germany’s leading organist, he was frequently called on as an expert to check out newly-installed or refurbished organs.) A local musician, Contstantin Bellermann, wrote that Bach “ran over the pedals so quickly that his feet appeared winged, with a thundering fullness of sound, and penetrated the ears of the listeners like a bolt of lightning.” A “bolt of lightning” in fact describes this brief piece perfectly: it starts with a repeated figure and expands through multiple modulations to different keys in the course of about a minute and a half. Interestingly, the piece is in G minor, but ends on the “wrong” note, D—possibly as an invitation to the organist to improvise more!
Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)
Wedding and Troika from Lieutenant Kijé
The next set includes a pair of arrangements by the late Rolf Smedvig, a founding member of Empire Brass in 1971. Though Sergei Prokofiev would later have great success as a film composer, with his monumental scores for Alexander Nevsky (1938) and Ivan the Terrible (1944), his first film score, written in 1933, for Alexander Feinzimmer’s film Lieutenant Kijé was much less epic. This is a deeply satirical story set during the reign of Czar Paul I at the turn of the 19th century. For a complicated set of reasons—tied to not embarrassing the Czar—several Russian officers invent a fictitious “Lieutenant Kijé” and create an entire life story for him. The Czar takes an interest in this “Kijé,” and his officers find it safer to play along than to correct the Czar. In the end, the officers safely kill off Kijé before the Czar suspects that he has been hoodwinked. Though Prokofiev was not entirely satisfied with his first effort at film scoring, he extracted a popular concert suite from Lieutenant Kijé. The Wedding scene opens with a kind of drunken wedding-toast fanfare that keeps interrupting the proceedings, followed a sardonic polka-style wedding dance from the trumpet, and a mock-serious theme from the horn. After a forceful drinking-song, the Troika depicts a rather frenzied ride in a traditional Russian three-horse sleigh.
Gustav Holst (1874-1934)
Jupiter from The Planets
Next is Smedvig’s arrangement of Jupiter from The Planets, by Gustav Holst, here adapted for brass, organ, and percussion. Gustav Holst had been an eclectic sampler of philosophies and mysticism since he was a young man, and his largest orchestral work, The Planets, written between 1914 and 1917, came out of a brief flirtation with astrology. It is doubtful, however, that Holst was actually a believer. In 1913, he wrote to a friend that “…I only study things that suggest music to me. Recently the character of each planet has suggested lots to me, and I have been studying astrology fairly closely.” As Holst suggested, the movements of The Planets are based upon the personalities attributed to the seven astrological planets: Mars being “headstrong and forceful,” Neptune “subtle and mysterious,” and so forth. [Note: Earth plays no direct role in astrological calculations. Pluto—now reclassified as a “dwarf planet”—is part of astrology, but it was not discovered until 1930.] The Planets was a tremendous success and remains Holst’s most popular work. He described Jupiter as “…one of those jolly fat people who enjoy life.” Smedvig’s arrangement concentrates on one of Jupiter’s themes, a broad hymnlike melody marked Andante maestoso. (A few years later, Holst did, in fact, use this melody to set a patriotic British hymn, I Vow to Thee, My Country.)
Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937)
Toccata from Symphony No. 5 in F minor, Op. 42, No.1
…or, Louis Vierne (1870-1937)
Finale from Symphony No. 1, Op. 14
Greg Zelek will explain, but he plans to let you choose which of a pair of bravura organ showpieces you would like to hear! The choices are familiar to organists and organ fans—a pair of blazing, showy French works: the brilliant Toccata from Symphony No.5 (1879) by Charles-Marie Widor or the equally brilliant Finale from Symphony No. 1 (1898) by Louis Vierne.
Kenneth Amis (b. 1970)
Bell Tone’s Ring
Next, we hear a pair of works composed by current alumni of the Empire Brass. Tubist Kenneth Amis wrote his Bell-Tone’s Ring as a work for brass quintet and organ in 1999, for a wedding celebration. This is a festive work, opening with a tintinnabular opening fanfare (marked “like bells”). The body of the piece is a series of variations on a broad and joyful hymn-style melody. The opening texture returns briefly at the end.
Mark Hetzler (b. 1968)
Balaenoptera musculus Blues (Blue Whale Blues)
[World premiere in celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Overture Concert Organ and Series]
Trombonist Mark Hetzler is of course, not only an alumnus of the Empire Brass, but is also a professor of music at the University of Wisconsin—Madison. Mark is also a familiar face at these concerts, having performed on three past Organ Series concerts. Most recently, in February 2023, he and Greg Zelek collaborated on a memorable program that they assembled on about a week’s notice, when a planned guest artist was unable to come; a program that included several original works by Hetzler. In the wake of that concert, Zelek asked Hetzler if he would write a piece to mark the 20th anniversary of the Overture Concert Organ and Series. Hetzler provides the following note on the work:
“I titled the piece Balaenoptera musculus Blues, which is a playful way of saying Blue Whale Blues. The work is scored for brass, organ and drum set. A few years ago, Greg asked if I’d be interested in composing a piece that we could play on a possible Empire Brass alumni concert, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Madison Symphony Orchestra Concert Organ and Series. I started searching for a theme that would give me direction in the writing process, and I kept thinking about the fact that the pipe organ is considered the “King of Instruments,” due to its size, complexity and power. One day I remembered that the Blue Whale is the largest animal in the Animal Kingdom, and then the similarities between the pipe organ and Blue Whale started to build in my imagination. I knew Greg was looking for a piece that would showcase his footwork on the pedals, and as I thought more about how whales dive to great depths and rise out of the water with astonishing strength and beauty, the piece started to take shape. You will hear many descending and ascending arpeggios and melodic figures throughout the piece, emulating the athletic and graceful movement of the Blue Whale. A number of these passages are played on the organ’s pedals, so the audience will get a real treat watching Greg’s nimble footwork! When I started composing the piece, I leaned into what I felt was the “blueness” of the Blue Whale. I thought about man’s violent relationship with whales, and feelings of melancholy and reflection started to influence my harmonic choices. The composition is not a blues, in form or harmonic design, but the work has many meditative moments. I wanted these quieter sections of the piece to reflect the stately and noble qualities of the Blue Whale’s movement and behavior, and the awe and inspiration the animal brings to so many people, similar to what the incredible Overture pipe organ does. And since the piece is celebrating a joyous event, I knew I had to include glorious “fanfare” moments, rhythmic energy and virtuosic excitement. I’m so pleased Greg invited me to write the piece, and thrilled that we get to premiere the work during the celebration of the Overture Organ Concert Series’ 20th Anniversary. I dedicated the piece to Greg and can’t wait to perform it with him and our colleagues!”
George Gershwin (1898-1937)
I Got Rhythm
Summertime
We end with an all-American set. George Gershwin originally wrote the song I Got Rhythm in 1928 for a now-forgotten musical, Treasure Girl. The lyrics are by his brother Ira. As they frequently did with songs that they considered to be good, the Gershwins reused it in another show; in this case, it was the 1930 hit musical Girl Crazy. I Got Rhythm became a hit, popularized by Broadway belter Ethel Merman. It is heard here in an adaptation by Greg Zelek.
The beginnings of Porgy and Bess date to 1926, when Gershwin read DuBose Heyward’s Porgy—a novel inspired by characters and situations Heyward observed in the African American community of his hometown, Charleston, SC. Gershwin collaborated with both Heyward and Ira and completed it in 1935. This represents the more “classical” Gershwin—though he himself was a little uncomfortable in labeling this an “opera,” Porgy and Bess is one of those great American works (like Bernstein’s West Side Story some two decades later) that effectively combines the conventions of opera and Broadway. Produced with an all-black cast, it was also remarkable in the sensitivity and depth of its portrayal of its characters. With a few exceptions (like Jerome Kern’s 1927 musical Show Boat, or in the rare all-black shows like Hot Chocolates), African American characters of the 1920s and 1930s—when they appeared on stage at all—appeared in broadly stereotyped roles or blackface caricatures. Porgy and Bess has fully-drawn characters who are treated sympathetically—and who get to sing some of Gershwin’s greatest music! Though Gershwin relied on Ira for many of the of the show’s lyrics, Heyward was responsible for the lyrics of Porgy and Bess’s most famous song, Summertime. In the show, this bluesy lullaby is sung a young mother named Clara to her baby boy. It is played here in an arrangement for brass quintet, organ, and drum set by Frank Denson that begins with the melody played soulfully by the horn. Subsequent verses by trumpet and trombone swing a little harder.
“Fats” Waller (1904-1943)
Ain’t Misbehavin’
Thomas Wright “Fats” Waller was a joyous presence on the jazz scene of the 1920s and 1930s. He was a powerful pianist, one of the masters of “stride” style (so named for the powerful left-hand figures that strode across the keyboard). Waller ruled the “cutting contests” often held between jazz pianists, reportedly yielding only to the phenomenal Art Tatum. As a songwriter, Waller copyrighted over 400 songs, though—when he was strapped for cash—he frequently gave songs away for a one-time fee to others who published them under their own name. Waller’s Ain’t Misbehavin’ was a collaboration with his favorite lyricist, Andy Razaf. It was written in 1929, for Hot Chocolates, a musical revue that originally played at Connie’s Inn, one of Harlem’s successful “black and tan” clubs, featuring all black performers, and an exclusively white audience. The show quickly travelled “downtown,” however: it was picked up as a Broadway production, which ran for some 219 performances. Hot Chocolates, in its Broadway incarnation, provided for the Broadway debuts of both Louis Armstrong and Cab Calloway. The swinging version of Ain’t Misbehavin’ heard here is by another founding member of the Empire Brass, tubist Samuel Pilafian (d. 2019). It’s no surprise, then, that the tuba takes the lead through much of this!
Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
West Side Story Suite (Something’s Comin’, Maria, America)
We close with the fast-paced West Side Story Suite, arranged by Jack Gale. Leonard Bernstein, like many of his predecessors, was attracted to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet as subject-matter for a stage work—the tragic story of lovers from two warring clans has universal appeal and relevance. Bernstein was particularly intrigued when playwright Arthur Laurents suggested that he write the music for an “updated” version of the tragedy, set not in 16th-century Verona, but in modern New York City. West Side Story, completed in 1957, was an amazingly successful synthesis of classical and Broadway elements. It was also a thoroughly successful collaboration between Bernstein, Laurents, lyricist Stephen Sondheim, and choreographer Jerome Robbins. The show opened on Broadway on September 26, 1957, and ran for 973 performances. The doomed lovers in West Side Story are a Puerto Rican girl, Maria, and a Polish American boy, Tony. In place of feuding Montagues and Capulets, we have two rival gangs fighting for territory. The Sharks are Puerto Ricans, and the Jets are Tony’s Polish American buddies. Introducing Puerto Rican culture in the characters of Maria, Anita, and the Sharks allowed Bernstein to incorporate Caribbean instruments into the score. He also makes subtle use of Caribbean rhythms in many numbers. Gale’s Suite for brass quintet (to which Mark Hetzler has added parts for organ and drum set) brings together three songs from West Side Story. Just about every musical has some version of the “I want” song—in which the main character expresses their desires—and in West Side Story, it is Something’s Comin’. This is an optimistic moment at the beginning of this tragic story, in which Tony, who plans to leave the gang, thinks optimistically about a brighter future. Maria, sung by a love-struck Tony after he meets Maria at a dance, is based upon the relaxed and seductive Caribbean beguine rhythm. The hilariously sarcastic America is based upon the lively huapongo, alternating duple and triple meter. The song is a duet between dreamy, sentimental Rosalia, who has just arrived from Puerto Rico, and the much more cynical Anita, backed up by their girlfriends (with much tossing of skirts…). My favorite line—perhaps as appropriate in 2025 as it was in 1957—is “Nobody knows in A-me-ri-ca, Puerto Rico’s in A-me-ri-ca!”
program notes ©2025 by J. Michael Allsen
To view current and past program notes, please visit Michael Allsen’s website.