BURIED TREASURES THAT ARE BETTER OFF BURIED

Red Sox cap tip to our friend Lyn F. at the RPInet boards. Well, well, well... look what surfaced on Ebay...

Starting bid as I type this post is $15.55, plus $4.55 in shipping. Here's what the seller wrote for a "liner note":

WHAT WE HAVE FOR SALE IS THE 1974 WELL-PRESERVED USED SONG BOOK NEITHER SILVER NOR GOLD OF INCREDIBLE LITURGICAL MUSIC FROM THE ST. LOUIS JESUITS. (SECOND PRINTING, NOVEMBER, 1976) THESE 122 PAGES OF BELOVED SONGS INCLUDE PSALMS, HYMNS AND CANTICLES PERFORMED IN A FOLK MUSIC STYLE. BEFORE FINISHING THEIR STUDIES AND DISPERSING FROM ST. LOUIS, THE SEMINARIANS DECIDED TO CATALOGUE AND MAKE A RECORDING OF THEIR MUSIC SO IT WOULD BE AVAILABLE TO OTHERS. SOME OF THE MUSIC IN NEITHER SILVER NOR GOLD WAS PERFORMED IN THE BASEMENT OF FUSZ MEMORIAL CHAPEL, THE REST AT A LOCAL STUDIO. THIS FIRST COLLECTION OF 58 SONGS, SOME DATING BACK AS EARLY AS 1964, WAS CALLED, "NEITHER SILVER NOR GOLD ".

THE ORIGINAL MEMBERS KNOWN AS THE ST. LOUIS JESUITS WERE DAN SCHUTTE, BOB DUFFORD, ROC O'CONNOR, JOHN FOLEY AND TIM MANION. ALL OF THEM WERE JESUITS. TIM MANION LATER LEFT THE JESUITS BUT CONTINUED TO COLLABORATE UNTIL 1984. BETWEEN 1975 AND 1985 THEY RECORDED FIVE COLLECTIONS OF MUSIC THAT WERE PUBLISHED BY NORTH AMERICAN LITURGY RESOURCES. DURING THIS TIME, THEY WERE PLAYING, LECTURING, AND PRESENTING THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF LITURGICAL MUSIC AT CONFERENCES THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA.

THE SONGS BECAME STANDARD REPERTOIRE IN CATHOLIC HYMNALS SUCH AS GLORY AND PRAISE. BY THE 1980S, THE MUSIC OF THE ST. LOUIS JESUITS, ALONG WITH SIMILAR ARTISTS SUCH AS MARTY HAUGEN, WAS COMMONLY USED THROUGHOUT AMERICAN CATHOLIC CHURCHES. TODAY SOME OF THEIR MORE POPULAR HYMNS IN NEITHER SILVER NOR GOLD HAVE FOUND THEIR WAY INTO PROTESTANT HYMNALS AND INTO OTHER LANGUAGES.

IN 1980, ALL FIVE MEMBERS, ALONG WITH TIM MANION'S WIFE, MOVED TO SEATTLE, WHERE THEY CONTINUED TO STUDY AND COMPOSE NEW MUSIC. TIM MANION LEFT THE GROUP IN 1984, AND GAVE UP COMPOSING MUSIC ALTOGETHER. THE GROUP DISBANDED AFTER THEIR FIFTH ALBUM, THE STEADFAST LOVE, WAS RECORDED IN 1985. DAN SCHUTTE LEFT THE JESUIT ORDER IN 1986, BUT CONTINUES TO WORK AS A LITURGIST AND IS A PROLIFIC COMPOSER.

PLEASE NOTE: IN THE YEAR 2000, SCHUTTE, DUFFORD, O'CONNOR, AND FOLEY WERE ASKED TO MAKE A SURPRISE APPEARANCE AT THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PASTORAL MUSICIANS. THIS SPURRED THEM TO WRITE AND RECORD A COLLECTION OF NEW MUSIC TO CELEBRATE THE THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THEIR COLLABORATION. THIS RECORDING ENTITLED "MORNING LIGHT" WAS RELEASED IN 2005 ALONG WITH AN ANNIVERSARY COFFEE TABLE BOOK TITLED, "THE ST. LOUIS JESUITS: THIRTY YEARS" OREGON CATHOLIC PRESS (2006). LAST YEAR THEY MADE A FEW RARE PERFORMANCES IN THE UNITED STATES IN CONJUNCTION WITH RELEASING THEIR ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION. MANION SANG ON THE COLLECTION AND PERFORMED AT A FEW OF THE SPECIAL EVENTS. CURRENTLY, THEY HAVE NO PLANS TO RECORD TOGETHER AGAIN BUT SCHUTTE AND FOLEY CONTINUE TO RELEASE MUSIC INDIVIDUALLY THROUGH THEIR PUBLISHER..

SOME OF THE SONGS FARED BETTER IN TRANSCRIPTION THAN OTHERS. ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR OF THE ST. LOUIS JESUIT SONGS, "BE NOT AFRAID," FARED PARTICULARLY POORLY IN ITS RHYTHMIC TRANSCRIPTION. THE MELODY OF THIS PIECE FEATURES DOUBLE-DOTTED QUARTER NOTES AND SIXTEENTH NOTES, REQUIRING EXTRAORDINARY MUSICIANSHIP ON THE PART OF THE SINGER. BECAUSE OF THE DIFFICULTY OF THE RHYTHM, THIS SONG IS SELDOM PERFORMED AS WRITTEN.

IN ORDER TO MAKE THE PIECES PLAYABLE ON ORGAN AND OTHER KEYBOARD INSTRUMENTS, KEYBOARD ACCOMPANIMENTS WERE WRITTEN, SOME BY THE JESUITS, SOME BY PROFESSIONALLY-TRAINED MUSICIANS. (SR. THEOPHANE HYTREK, OSF, FOR EXAMPLE, WROTE THE ACCOMPANIMENT FOR THE POPULAR "BE NOT AFRAID.") THESE ACCOMPANIMENT PARTS VARY CONSIDERABLY IN QUALITY AND RARELY ARE COMPOSED IDIOMATICALLY FOR THE ORGAN. ALMOST ALL OF THE ACCOMPANIMENT PARTS ARE WRITTEN ON TWO STAVES; THE BOTTOM LINE IS OFTEN MARKED PED., INDICATING OPTIONAL PEDAL FOR TRAINED ORGANISTS.

If I remember correctly, back in the '80's, I don't think the "basic music book" (that's what they called their books back then) and double-record album put together went for $15.55.

Some buried treasures are better off buried.
Peace,
BMP

AVAILABLE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD

The 100th anniversary edition of Catholic Church Music, written by Richard Runyan Terry in 1907, is available for a free download at Musica Sacra. (Link is to more detail, as well as the download links.)
Red Sox cap tip to our good friend Joe from the RPInet boards.

Peace,
BMP

SOME OLD ORGAN ADS

A while back I had posted a whole bunch of books and music I had found at my doorstep (come to find out, it came from my upstairs neighbor, but how he got it is still beyond me).

How about this one - THE OFFICIAL CATHOLIC DIRECTORY, 1925. Yes, 1925!!! Now, the pages are a lot smaller than the editions you see now, though the book is not much thinner at all. And, just like the current big books, you have a good chunk of advertising on either end of the book. In this edition, about 200 pages! Everything from books to vestments to furnishings (some really nice high altars back then) to schools to organs!

Page 141 - E.C. Malarkey, Girardville, PA (imagine that - in 1925 someone actually used a two-letter state abbreviation - COOL!). The console pictured is a funky looking three-manual - stops controlled via the "sore tooth" method (stop tabs that toggle up/down).

Austin has a full-page ad on page 152.

Kilgen has a full-page ad on page 153, and this ad includes a picture of Professor Remigio Renzi, who was Vatican Organist at the time, at the three-manual Kilgen console at St. John Cantius in Chicago. (BTW, Ma Beck, does that Kilgen still exist there?) This letter from Prof. Renzi to George Kilgen himself also appears in the ad (originally in Italian, but translated in English in the ad):

Chicago, Illinois
September 2nd, 1924

Esteemed Friend Mr. Kilgen:
I wish to congratulate you on the magnificent organ of the St. John Cantius Church, Chicago, Ill. The tone qualities are marvelous, the mechanical action answers to every emergency of the modern technique.
No doubt you are doing the church a great service on furnishing them organs of such quality and durability.
Will always be a great pleasure for me as for every other organist to play on organs of your construction.
With the greatest esteem and with the best of wishes of always better success, believe me

(Signed) Remigio Renzi
First Organist of Vaticum Basilic
Teacher in St. Cecilia's in Rome.

Blogger's note: by "First Organist", I think the good professor meant "Principal Organist".

The Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis was listed as one of its latest builds (printed simply as New Cathedral, St. Louis, Mo.)

Now, when you cruise on to this page, you'll discover that this was the original 1915 organ. The new organ, also a Kilgen, was built in the late 1940's, and rebuilt by M.P. Moller in 1984. More ranks were added in 1997 and in 2002, bringing the new rank count to 118. Nice!

And talk about longevity - Dr. Mario Salvador saw the re-dedication concerts of 1949 AND 1984! His tenure at the Cathedral-Basilica was 52 years (1940-1992)!!!

Other ads include Hall Organs of West Haven, CT, Schantz, Tellers-Kent, Hinners, Henry Pilcher's Sons, and Odell. Odell has a gorgeous case (and gorgeous church) pictured on page 157, but no indication of which church this is.

Votteler-Holtkamp and M.P. Moller also have ads, as does Mudler-Hunter, Shaefer, and even Reuter.

What surprises me is that there are no ads listed for Aeolian-Skinner or Casavant Freres.

Peace,
BMP

SOME MORE GOODIES FROM THE PAST

I ran into a few more old books that were in a box in my driveway. The guy who lives upstairs from me has been coming up with this stuff. So, here is the addendum of keepers:

Digest of Regulations and Rubrics of Catholic Church Music, Rev. Robert F. Hayburn (pub. by McLaughlin and Reilly in 1961 - Fr. Hayburn was Director of Music for the Archdiocese of San Francisco)
The New Instruction for American Pastors on Sacred Music and the Liturgy, William J. Leonard, SJ (also McLaughlin and Reilly - 1959; Fr. Leonard, a Jesuit, was then Secretary for the National Liturgical Conference)
A Practical Guide for Catholic Church Organists and Choir Directors, Joseph A. Murphy (Gregorian Institute of America, 1962)
Laus et Jubilatio, Carlo Rossini (1942 - a collection of chant hymns and Mass chants, melody-only edition)
Secunda Antholigia Vocalis, Orestes Ravanello (McLaughlin and Reilly, no date - a small book of three part motets)
Holy Week, Leo P. Manzetti (1923, a Breviary and Missal for Holy Week)

Then, a few more issues of CAECILIA:
August 1957
Summer 1958
Fall 1958
Winter 1959
(none of these have music supplements within the issues, though a separate piece was issued in the August 1957 issue - Magnum Nomen Domini Emmanuel, in SATB arrangement from the Andernach Gesangbuch, 1608.)

Peace,
BMP

SOME BLASTS FROM THE PAST DISCOVERED

Somewhere along the line, the guy upstairs from me found some old music and left it in front of my door in a decent sized box just the other day. I've yet to see him to thank him (and find out just where he got all this stuff, as he isn't a musician, but knows I am), but I did go through the box and sort out my keepers:

Standard Gregorian Chants, McLaughlin and Reilly
Improving Music Reading in the Choral Rehearsal, by Lara G. Hoggard (1947)
Wedding Music (Vol. 1), Carlo Rossini/J. Fischer and Bro. (what's nice is nothing is titled, just the key signature is noted - so much of this could probably pass for any old prelude or postlude)
Fantasie on Dies Irae, for organ - by Francis W. Snow/Boston Music Co.
Eight Short Preludes for Organ, Albert J. Dooner/GIA (1956, back when they were known as the Gregorian Institute of America)
Ave Maria, A.H. RoSewig/J. Fischer and Bro. (this is the lower key version)
Graduel Paroissial, the accompaniment of the Mass chants (Advent through Holy Week) (1933, all titles and instruction are in French)
Seven Last Words of Christ, Theodore Dubois (replaces the one I lost in the infamous Pawtucket Mill Fire 11/14/03)
The Liturgical Organist, Carlo Rossini (Volume 1)
Suite d'Orgue, F. de La Tombelle (1911 copyright date - all instruction and titles are in French, the copyright notice is the only thing in English)
Fifth Symphony, Charles Marie Widor
Pieces d'Orgue, Dom Paul Benoit
Fifty Elevations for Organ on Modal Themes, also by Benoit
Anthologia pro Organo I, Schott Freres
The Technic of the Baton, Albert Stoessel (1928)

I am not parting with any of the above!
Now, here's something else I'm not parting with from that box - I have some old issues of a periodical called CAECILIA. These are dated in the 1950's. I have here:
July/August 1952 (with music supplement)
September/October 1954 (with music supplement)
January/February 1955 (with music supplement)
March/April 1955 (with music supplement - cool early article on Alexander Peloquin in this one)
September/October 1955 (with music supplement)
September/October 1956 (music supplement only)
Spring 1959
Summer 1959
(the 1959 issues didn't include any music)
The music in these were published (on the most part) by McLaughlin and Reilly, including some early work by Alex Peloquin, John Lee, and Joseph J. McGrath. Much of the Peloquin work in these issues got a Nihil Obstat by Fr. Norman LeBoeuf, who headed the then-Gregorian School of Providence, and an Imprimatur by the late Most Rev. Russell J. McVinney, then-Bishop of Providence. Peloquin was a teacher and lecturer at the Gregorian School, via invite by Father LeBoeuf. The school was open for organists and choir directors of the Diocese of Providence.

Gregorian School! Those were the good old days. The Gregorian School's been gone for quite some time (Fr. LeBoeuf passed in 1984, Dr. Peloquin in 1997). Now it's guitar schools and ensemble schools. (YUK!)

Peace,
BMP