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Ciampa’s four popular folk song arrangements, now available in one handsome volume.

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The Victor Searle Lent & Easter Organ Folio

When I was first asked to assemble a book of music suitable for Lent and Easter, I was very hesitant. Unlike with Christmas, I couldn’t think of many pieces which would serve Lent and Easter. But in leafing through boxes of music, I discovered a number of works which I had performed many times during my sixty years on the bench. A number of them are practically unknown today, so I thought to re-introduce them to modern-day organist.

• The ”Triumphal Entry” is quite long, but you can begin at Part Three.
• “Paques Fleuries” used to be a popular Palm Sunday prelude, and I am sure that some of your elderly parishoners will be happy to hear it again.

The next four works are standard Lenten fare. They are still more or less popular.

• “A Lenten Meditation” was written in 1909 by my first organ teacher, Harvey B. Gaul, a name unknown to most organists today.
• “Easter Morning” is a description of the newly risen Christ and the joy of the women who discovered the empty tomb.

The next two pieces are practically unknown but express the joy of Easter.

• “Sing unto God” is from Handel’s “Judas Maccabeus“.
• “Mighty Lord” is absolutely unknown today, as it is from the Oratorio “Saint Ludmila” by Dvorak. But it is a great chorus, and a fitting close to any Easter service.

I hope you will enjoy playing these works and that your congregations will be inspired by them.

Victor C. Searle Feb. 8, 2011

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Wayfaring Stranger (arr. L. Ciampa)

As with Ciampa’s arrangement of “Shenandoah“, “Wayfaring Stranger” has the benefit of being playable on most any organ, large or small.  Like “Shenandoah“, which was premièred on a small Noack organ in Virginia, “Wayfaring Stranger” was first performed on an even smaller Neobaroque instrument, the twelve-stop Holtkamp at the MIT Chapel.  That is not to say that these arrangements, or the similarly Romantic “Barbara Allen“, should be played in a Baroque fashion.  Quite the opposite: these Romantic pieces can, and should, be played lyrically and beautifully on most any instrument.

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The Victor Searle Christmas Folio

“Most of these works are not too well-known; and at this writing (fall, 2009), almost all are unavailable anywhere else. Holst’s CHRISTMAS DAY and Berlioz’s SHEPHERD’S FAREWELL are beloved by choirs, but not available as organ solos. Although the only thing Christmasy about GRANDE OFFERTOIRE-NOEL is the title, this unabashedly Romantic work has always been well received by congregations. In addition, I have shamelessly included two of my carol fantasias which, I warn you, will require quite a bit of pedal practice! I hope you will enjoy playing these works, as I have for the past 65 years, and will add them to your repertoire. And a very Merry Christmas to you all. ” Victor C. Searle (a.k.a. Yoshihisa Fujise, my naturalized Japanese name)

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L.Ciampa: Postlude on Foundation

Foundation is an anonymous melody from the American colonies. It was first published by Joseph Funk in A Compilation of Genuine Church Music (Winchester, VA, 1832). It appeared again three years later in William Walkerʼs famous Southern Harmony. In those days, the tune was known as Protection. However, it became so closely associated with the 1787 text (also anonymous), “How Firm a Foundation”, that unsurprisingly the name Foundation took hold. Foundation was once one of the most popular church hymns in America.

Postlude on ‘Foundationʼ was composed for a church service in January, 2007, and not heard (or even thought about) again until three-and-a-half years later, when on 6 June 2010 it was performed at the glorious Methuen Memorial Music Hall. Also premièred that memorable afternoon in Methuen was Lenten Amethyst (Op. 207, No. 2) and Meditation on ʽBarbara Allenʼ (Op. 215).

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Meditation on Barbara Allen

Ciampa follows his popular arrangement of “Shenandoah” with another folk song arrangement, this time of “Barbara Allen“. The tune was one of the most popular songs in 18th-century England.
“Barbara Allen” is also in several moderan American hymnals, with the sacred text, “Accept, O Lord, the gifts we bring“. Ciampa’s lush arrangement was a hit at its 6 June 2010 premiere at the Methuen Memorial Music Hall. Its warmth and wide dynamic range are sure to make it a favorite chestnut among organists in concert and church.

L. Ciampa, Meditation on Barbara Allen (Op. 215) – Recorded live, 6 June 2010 (private recording by Paul Raila) – HYMN FESTIVAL, Methuen Memorial Music Hall – Leonardo Ciampa, organist

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25 Pieces for Advent and Christmas

This collection is the result of twenty yearsʾ worth of Advent and Christmas services, Masses, concerts, and recordings. Most of the twenty-five organ works were directly inspired by whatever organ I was playing at the time. The most distinguished of these was the renowned 1859 E. & G. G. Hook Organ at First Baptist Church in Jamaica Plain, which I had the honor of playing between 1989 and 2001. Advent and Christmas offered the best opportunities to exploit this instrumentʾs full palette of tone colors. On 18 January 2005 the organ perished in a fire, a tragedy that I have never gotten over. For me, a December without organ pipes would be like a framed canvas without paint on it. It is my sincerest hope that the music in this collection add a few drops of color to your Yuletide celebrations. (Leonardo Ciampa, 2009)

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Audio demos

The work will consist of five short movements, each of 2-2.5 minutes in length. Each movement will be Mr. Briggs’s fantasy of how one of the organists of St. Clotilde’s Basilica in Paris would have improvised on the Gregorian Ave Maria. The movements will be: 1. Franck, 2. Pierné, 3. Tournemire, 4. Bonnal, and 5. Langlais. (Briggs studied with Langlais.)

Mr. Briggs is one of the most gifted organ improvisers in the world. His “Pentaptych” is sure to enter the repertoire of organists throughout the world.