Program for October 15, 2017 First Baptist Church
Videorecording of this concert
Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565 (unknown)............................................................................... Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
arr. (2012) Ryan Nowlin
As a youth, J. S. Bach studied organ under the tutelage of his older brother; and as an adult he became a church musician, director, and administrator. Throughout his life he composed works for organ to be used as preludes and postludes for the services at the German Lutheran churches he served. In the 1800s a champion of Bach’s music, composer Felix Mendelssohn, performed the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, and he promoted its publication. Leopold Stokowski’s transcription for orchestra, used in Disney’s animated feature Fantasia, brought the composition into prominence in the 20th century. In recent decades questions have arisen as to whether Bach is actually the composer of the work, but it remains one of the best-known compositions for organ.
Funeral March of a Marionette (1872)................................................................................................................... Charles Gounod (1818–1893)
arr. (2000) Stephen Squires
Originally conceived to parody a despised music critic, Funeral March of the Marionette was retitled because the critic died before its publication. Director and producer Alfred Hitchcock, likely the most revered purveyor of suspense in films, adopted the march as the theme for his TV series, Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955–1965). The march is in compound duple meter, which gives it a jatyun feel, and the principal motive contains a snappy grace note that adds a comical quality.
Danse Macabre, Op. 40 (1874)........................................................................................................................ Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921)
trans. Mark Hindsley
Saint-Saëns was a church organist, later to become a freelance composer and pianist; and he briefly taught composition, counting Gabriel Fauré and Maurice Ravel among his pupils. Danse Macabre (dance of death) is a tone poem, in that it is inspired by something non-musical. In this case the dance is a waltz, and the story is roughly this: The clock strikes midnight on Halloween, “Death” makes his annual appearance, he tunes and plays his fiddle, his skeletal friends appear and dance until dawn, the cock crows, and finally they all reluctantly return to their graves to wait another year.
The Honored Dead March (1876)................................................................................................................ John Philip Sousa (1854–1932)
ed. (2015) Jason Fettig and Donald Patterson
Sousa, “the march king,” served as the director of the United States Marine Corps Band from 1880–1892. His funeral march The Honored Dead seems to have originally been a piano composition, but Sousa arranged it to played by the U. S. Marine Band for the funeral processions of President U. S. Grant in 1885. The Marine Band also employed it for Sousa’s funeral procession in 1932.
Music for a Darkened Theatre (The Film Scores of Danny Elfman)................................................................................ Danny Elfman (1953)
arr. (2006) Michael Brown
Danny Elfman is an actor, singer, songwriter, and film composer. His collaboration with filmmaker Tim Burton has lead to his writing many spooky scores. The medley Music for a Darkened Theatre includes “Tales from the Crypt Theme” (1989), “This is Halloween” from The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), “Introduction (Titles)” from Edward Scissorhands (1990), “Main Theme—Beetlejuice” from Beetlejuice) (1988), and “Main Titles” from Spiderman, (2002).
Selections from The Phantom of the Opera (1986).............................................................................................. Andrew Lloyd Webber (1948)
arr. (1988) Warren Barker
Andrew Lloyd Webber is the composer for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; Jesus Christ, Superstar; Evita; Cats; and numerous other shows, but Phantom of the Opera is his most financially successful production. In fact, it was the highest grossing entertainment event in the world until 2014 when it was surpassed by Elton John’s The Lion King. Selections from the show included in Warren Barker’s medley are “Think of Me,” “Angel of Music,” “The Phantom of the Opera,” “All I Ask of You,” “The Point of No Return,” and “The Music of the Night.”
arr. (2012) Ryan Nowlin
As a youth, J. S. Bach studied organ under the tutelage of his older brother; and as an adult he became a church musician, director, and administrator. Throughout his life he composed works for organ to be used as preludes and postludes for the services at the German Lutheran churches he served. In the 1800s a champion of Bach’s music, composer Felix Mendelssohn, performed the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, and he promoted its publication. Leopold Stokowski’s transcription for orchestra, used in Disney’s animated feature Fantasia, brought the composition into prominence in the 20th century. In recent decades questions have arisen as to whether Bach is actually the composer of the work, but it remains one of the best-known compositions for organ.
Funeral March of a Marionette (1872)................................................................................................................... Charles Gounod (1818–1893)
arr. (2000) Stephen Squires
Originally conceived to parody a despised music critic, Funeral March of the Marionette was retitled because the critic died before its publication. Director and producer Alfred Hitchcock, likely the most revered purveyor of suspense in films, adopted the march as the theme for his TV series, Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955–1965). The march is in compound duple meter, which gives it a jatyun feel, and the principal motive contains a snappy grace note that adds a comical quality.
Danse Macabre, Op. 40 (1874)........................................................................................................................ Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921)
trans. Mark Hindsley
Saint-Saëns was a church organist, later to become a freelance composer and pianist; and he briefly taught composition, counting Gabriel Fauré and Maurice Ravel among his pupils. Danse Macabre (dance of death) is a tone poem, in that it is inspired by something non-musical. In this case the dance is a waltz, and the story is roughly this: The clock strikes midnight on Halloween, “Death” makes his annual appearance, he tunes and plays his fiddle, his skeletal friends appear and dance until dawn, the cock crows, and finally they all reluctantly return to their graves to wait another year.
The Honored Dead March (1876)................................................................................................................ John Philip Sousa (1854–1932)
ed. (2015) Jason Fettig and Donald Patterson
Sousa, “the march king,” served as the director of the United States Marine Corps Band from 1880–1892. His funeral march The Honored Dead seems to have originally been a piano composition, but Sousa arranged it to played by the U. S. Marine Band for the funeral processions of President U. S. Grant in 1885. The Marine Band also employed it for Sousa’s funeral procession in 1932.
Music for a Darkened Theatre (The Film Scores of Danny Elfman)................................................................................ Danny Elfman (1953)
arr. (2006) Michael Brown
Danny Elfman is an actor, singer, songwriter, and film composer. His collaboration with filmmaker Tim Burton has lead to his writing many spooky scores. The medley Music for a Darkened Theatre includes “Tales from the Crypt Theme” (1989), “This is Halloween” from The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), “Introduction (Titles)” from Edward Scissorhands (1990), “Main Theme—Beetlejuice” from Beetlejuice) (1988), and “Main Titles” from Spiderman, (2002).
Selections from The Phantom of the Opera (1986).............................................................................................. Andrew Lloyd Webber (1948)
arr. (1988) Warren Barker
Andrew Lloyd Webber is the composer for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; Jesus Christ, Superstar; Evita; Cats; and numerous other shows, but Phantom of the Opera is his most financially successful production. In fact, it was the highest grossing entertainment event in the world until 2014 when it was surpassed by Elton John’s The Lion King. Selections from the show included in Warren Barker’s medley are “Think of Me,” “Angel of Music,” “The Phantom of the Opera,” “All I Ask of You,” “The Point of No Return,” and “The Music of the Night.”