Greg Stepanich

Organ recitals return for 3rd year

The organ recitals at Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach will be returning for a third season this year, bringing back a modest but fulfilling series that introduces local audiences to the wealth of organist talent locally and a deep, too-rarely played literature (that's French composer and organist Louis Vierne at the top of this entry).

Listening to organ music in a beautiful church is an almost mystical experience for me because I can surrender to the theater of my surroundings as well as commune with the pleasure of sheer sound, which in the case of organ music can almost be overwhelming.

Having played the instrument a few times myself (though I’m mostly a pianist) I can testify to the feeling of great power and majesty you get while sitting at the console. The lines you play have a presence in the air around you that I can’t quite describe except to say it’s something like bringing something monumental to life.

There appears to be quite a bit of activity in the world of the organ these days, with younger people taking up the instrument and pursuing careers, many of them in the church, which is still one of the most important supporters of music and musical activity in the country.

And I couldn't write about this without mentioning Pipedreams, Michael Barone's weekly national radio program, which is now in its 25th year. It can be heard early Sunday mornings (6 a.m.) on WQCS-88.9 FM in Fort Pierce.

Several well-known local organists are on the bill this year for the Bethesda concerts, which start next Sunday afternoon. They include Allen Rosenberg, whom I met years ago in Stuart when he was starting the St. Lucie Chorale. He’s a fine musician and composer, and it will be good to see him on a Palm Beach County stage.

I don’t have a lot of information about what’s on the programs, but here is a list of the concerts, which begin next weekend. I’ll be there: Bethesda’s Hal Pysher has made a point of keeping the concerts short and informal, and in that we way this little series has kept the flame alive and reached new listeners.