double recital, with the first part taking place in the museum that houses the beautiful Alain family organ that Marie-Claire’s father, Albert, and her brother Jehan built between 1910 and 1971, accommodating the architec- ture of the family’s living room. It was from this instrument that Marie-Claire first learned about the organ by listening to Jehan play the repertoire as well as his original compositions. The second part of Madame Alain’s recital
in Romainmôtier was to take place in the nearby Abbatiale. The applause at the end of the first part had barely subsided when this very energetic lady of almost 75 years jumped up from the bench and dashed down the multiple flights of stairs in the museum at breakneck speed. Catching up, I said to her, “Madame, I’m sure the audience will wait for whenever we get there,” but she would have none of it and told me we had to get there as soon as possible. Once we arrived at the console in the Ab-
batiale, she barely caught her breath and started the second half of the recital as audi- ence members were still filing into the church. Since the organ, like many European instruments, didn’t have any combination action, I had my hands full running back and forth between the left and right side of the console, pulling stops—a wonderful, but nerve-racking experience, since I didn’t want to make any mistakes in assisting this legendary performer. After the recital was over, the audience naturally demanded an encore. Since we hadn’t practiced it, she just told me which stops to pull “on the fly,” so to speak. Before she started playing the medi- tative short piece (the title of which I don’t recall), she smiled at me and said: “If you play a slow, soft piece they’re not going to de- mand any more encores.” During the whole experience, she was very determined and clear about what she wanted, but also most gracious and wonderful to deal with. Marie-Claire Alain will be sorely missed,
its pleasure; if it wasn’t willing to concede that, I wasn’t willing to take the position. So far, I haven’t been offered the job. A job offered on bad terms is not a job
worth having.
JOHN
R.MAUS Louisa, Va.
A LONG OVERDUE LETTER I always enjoy Haig Mardirosian’s writing,
but the June column was exceptional: witty, touching, inspirational. Grace Myers will take her place among other teacherswhogive me ideas and encouragement for my own teaching.
KARIN ROPP Stillman Valley, Ill. NEO-BAROQUE ORGANS IN
THE BOSTON AREA In a recent article (May 2013, p. 45) about
an organ recital in MIT’s Kresge Auditorium, you say that the organ, installed in 1955, was the most widely regarded neo-Baroque organ in the Boston area prior to the installation of the Flentrop at Harvard. Actually, the Flen- trop was preceded by an Aeolian-Skinner of neo-Baroque design, dating from 1937. Ad- mittedly, the Flentrop is more authentic, but the Aeolian-Skinner was truly revolutionary in its day and should not be overlooked. RICHARD V. CARTWRIGHT, AAGO Sykesville, Md.
14
MARIE-CLAIRE ALAIN At the occasion of the recent passing of the
wonderful Marie-Claire Alain, I’d like to share the memory of an encounter I had with this great artist and person over a decade ago. I first learned about Marie-Claire Alain through her recordings and through the teaching of my professor at USC, Cherry Rhodes, who had studied with Madame Alain. In 2001, I decided to attend a two-week
master course that Guy Bovet presents every year in Romainmôtier, Switzerland. Marie- Claire Alain was scheduled to join the pro- ceedings, giving masterclasses and a recital in the second week. It was my good fortune that when she arrived on foot at the center of the little picturesque town, the first person she ran into was me. She asked me if I was participating in the course, and when I said yes, she asked me if I would be willing to pull stops for her at her recital at the end of the week. Of course, I was only too happy to do so. For several days, I enjoyed very informa-
tive and edifying instructions on the works of François Couperin and Marie-Claire’s brother Jehan Alain. Professor Alain moved these lessons along by exhorting students to play—especially if they had gotten a little too dreamy—with an energetic “Allez!” (occasion- ally, I’m using this myself on my students!). Then, the day of the recital came. It was a
buther legacylivesonthroughher recordings, her publications, and hermany students. CHRISTOPH BULL
Los Angeles, Calif.
Mme Alain and Christoph Bull THE AMERICAN ORGANIST
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