A spring day in Ohio. I took this photo outside the church this afternoon (Thursday, April 9th, 2020).
I recently posted two new YouTube videos of my performing works by Ernest Bloch (1880 - 1959) and Carson Cooman (b. 1982), and I would like to tell you a little about these videos.
This recording of the first three preludes from Ernest Bloch's 1948 publication Six Preludes comes from my November 2019 graduate organ recital at CSU. This is a good but not perfect performance. However, I was happy enough with it to decide to post it.
Of the pieces on my graduate recital program these preludes were my favorites. Incidentally, they were also the favorites of one of my composition professors who was in attendance. He had never before attended an organ recital or heard an organ performed live, so I felt quite honored that the first organ recital he attended was one I presented!
I was not surprised to discover that composers in the audience liked the Bloch preludes most. These preludes are "absolute," modern-sounding concert organ works that have no tie to the Church. These things could not be said of most of the other works on the recital program. My favorite of the Bloch preludes is the third prelude, which is the last excerpt from Six Preludes heard in this video.
It was/is unusual (at CSU, at least) for students to present their recitals in the fall semester. Given this and some other factors, I was unable to have the recital recorded on video. However, it was fortunate that I decided to present my recital in the fall semester because, if I had elected to present it in the spring as is customary I wouldn't graduate in May due to COVID-19 and the university closing, etc. My reasoning for presenting my recital in the fall semester was that I wanted to complete it ASAP so I could focus, without distraction, on the Advent and Christmas services, and not have to worry about the recital over the holidays.
I made this recording of Carson Cooman's Preludio Maestoso this afternoon (Thursday, April 9th, 2020). This haunting yet majestic piece is my favorite Carson Cooman composition. It is the first prelude from Cooman's 2016 publication Five Preludes (for Organ). Initially I intended to record a video of this piece for the Secrets of Organ Playing (Week 67) contest, but the camera tripod was not at the church, so I decided to make an audio recording instead - "practice," as it were, for the recording of the actual video. I intend to play this piece for the prelude for tomorrow's Good Friday service. For practical reasons I played/will play this piece a bit faster than is indicated in the score. However, a slightly faster tempo does not detract from the prelude's beauty and majesty.
I hope you enjoy these recordings!