The Brian Gerrish Organ Performance Fund at the University of Chicago exists “to promote the joy of listening to world-class organ performance.” Gerrish, a Divinity School professor for more than 30 years beginning in 1965, held degrees from Queens’ College, Cambridge, and Columbia University and was an ordained Presbyterian minister.
The fund sponsored an organ concert this past Sunday in partnership with Rockefeller Memorial Chapel. It was also presented by UChicago Presents, which staffed the event. The concert brought Lynne Davis to campus to perform on the Reneker-Wilhelm Organ, now housed in Bond Chapel. The instrument was originally built for the Chicago Theological Seminary on University Avenue but was relocated to Bond in 2012.
Davis, who spent more than 30 years as an organist and teacher in France, offered a French-inspired program to a packed afternoon audience at the charming chapel.
J.S. Bach (1685–1750) was the primary composer on the program, with his works appearing at the very beginning, middle and end of the recital. In her sadly brief program notes, she pointed out that the French had a notable influence on Bach. She opened with his Fantasy in G Major, BWV 572, “Pièce d’Orgue.” She also noted that the composer marked the three movements in French (Très vitement, Gravement and Lentement).
As folks settled in, there was beauty even before Davis sounded her first note, with the bright afternoon sun, a promise of spring, pouring gorgeous light into the chapel via the beautiful stained glass windows. The opening melodic line from Bach was bright and energetic, and as the music progressed and became more complex, the sound had grandeur, and the music moved higher and higher as if reaching to Heaven, before the emphatic finish.
Pierre Du Mage (1674–1751) was a French organist and composer who left a career in music at the age of 45 to become a civil servant. “Livre d’Orgue” is his only surviving work, a collection of eight pieces in French forms. Davis selected three of these. According to Davis, “Tierce en Taille” is inspired by the Biblical verse from Luke: “And his mercy is on them that fear him throughout all generations.” The music opened with cries of fear that later were answered in solemn fashion.
“Récit” is also inspired by mercy, and Davis gave it a warm and gentle treatment. “Basse de Trompette” featured beautiful counterpoint and exploited many of the most interesting stops on the organ before ending with triumph.
Bach’s 18 Leipzig Chorales on “Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr,” BWV 662, found Davis making the organ sing. Her playing was equally lyrical and noble, while her ornaments were impressive.
Nikolaus Bruhns (1665–1697) was a Danish-German violinist, organist and composer whose most famous teacher was Dieterich Buxtehude. Davis infused his Praeludium in G Major with celebration. She played with vigor and drew out the gaiety and joy of the music while her confident performance found all the brilliance in the score.
The Variations on “Est-ce Mars?” by Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562–1621) were the lightest pieces on the program, with Davis bringing charm and airiness to a popular melody that compares Cupid to Mars. The inventiveness of the variations was pleasing and it concluded with the fun of a big happy ending to a fairy story.
The only modern piece on the program was “Variations sur un thème de Clément Jannequin” by Jehan Alain (1911–1940). Alain was a French organist and composer and is sometimes also described as a soldier because he died young during World War II. He was an accomplished motorcyclist and served as a dispatch rider in the French Army. Coming upon German infantry soldiers, he got off several shots before being killed.
“Variations sur un thème de Clément Jannequin” is a modernist work, offering six variations on a 16th-century chanson. Interestingly, the song which forms the basis of the composition was not actually by Clément Jannequin. That attribution was incorrectly made by a 19th-century composer who created a piano version of the piece.
In Alain’s work, the song is introduced to 20th-century harmonies, modes, rhythms and dissonances. It is a marvelous example of melding the old and new and bringing forth something which has elements of both. Davis leaned into the music, making it a fascinating fantasy, a snapshot of an otherworldly place.
Perhaps it is no surprise that she was such a splendid advocate of this music as she has recently translated a book about the composer which was written by his niece. “Jehan Alain: biography, Correspondence Drawings, Manuscripts” by Aurélie Decourt-Alain will be available in translation by Davis this summer. (The book is being published by Leupold Editions under the name Lynn Davis Firmin-Didot, the hyphenated addition to her name being that of her late husband, Pierre Firmin-Didot.)
Davis concluded her recital with Bach’s Fantasy and Fugue in G Minor, BWV 542. She opened with fire and never let up on the heat. This work, often dark and swirling, had the power of a tempest. Davis expertly underlined the urgency and intensity of this monumental music. The fugue had authority and enormous energy. When it was over the audience, which was almost entirely bereft of applause for the entire concert, erupted into a wild clamor of claps, showing their esteem for Davis.
In her introductory remarks, she offered a neat little anecdote of walking on campus and being pleased to hear the carillon and even more so when she realized it was an opera excerpt being performed. After the performance, I heard various audience members asking what aria it was, as Davis’s voice did not carry well down from the organ loft, and I couldn’t hear what it was either. I then learned that she heard “O mio babbino caro” from Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi.”
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