"Locally Renowned" and Back by Popular Demand
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NEW YORK, July 26. Jonathan Hall gave a short but extremely well-received organ
recital at Saint James Roman Catholic Church on James Street last night.
The organ was the marvelous Roosevelt opus 421, installed in the church in 1889 and
almost totally unchanged since then.
Working with musical partner Bill Powers, a classical saxophonist, Hall presented a
program to celebrate the feast of Saint James the Great, apostle of the Lord, also
known as Santiago de Compostela. The Apostle's grave is believed to be in the north
of Spain in Compostela. Accordingly, Hall crafted a program of Spanish composers:
Cabanilles, Victoria, Emilio, and Soler. He included the popular Catholic hymn
"Pescador de Hombres," which the audience sang enthusiastically.
Particularly well-received was an arrangement of Victoria's "O Magnum
Mysterium"--the great Latin motet for Christmas--for organ and classical saxophone.
Bill Powers is such a sensitive and intelligent artist with his chosen instrument that
audiences are often wondering what sort of period instrument is being played!
In his bilingual spoken program notes, Hall explained the music, its context, and its
purpose in a concise and understandable way. There are probably not many organists
who can perform a tiento de ligaduras authentically, but in so doing elicit loud
applause and even vocal enthusiasms from the audience. An intelligent and empathetic
musician, Hall has a way of finding the passion at the heart of the "driest" organ
literature.
Warm thanks go to Fr. Walter, the pastor of the conjoined parishes of St. James and
St. Joseph; to Tali Mahanor, organist; Stephanie Pinto, indefatigable community
organizer; and to a large, multi-cultural, and extremely friendly audience. Also, thanks
are due to the New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, which
publicized this event on its website; as well as to the Downtown Express, the
newspaper of Lower Manhattan. A concert is only incidentally about the artist! It is
much more about a community.
This year's July 25 celebration of the
Feast of St. James won't be limited to a
feast for the appetite; locally renowned
organist Jonathan B. Hall will perform in
Lower Manhattan for the day's
ceremonies.
Hall, who was a former dean of the
American Guild of Organists and is one
of the premier organists in the
metropolitan area, will play a special
concert at 8 p.m. that day in honor of the
holiday. He will also play the 11 a.m.
Mass the next day. He will be joined by
saxophonist William Powers.
The performances will take place at St.
James Church, located at 32 James St.
Sunday's festivities will also include other
musical performances, a flea market and
food, available on James St., which will
be closed to traffic.
If you missed the Downtown Express, vo. 22, no. 11, week of July
24-30, 2009, here is their wonderful article.
Key St. James Performance