Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 27, 1990 TAG: 9003272044
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JEFF DeBELL STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
the distant city siren launched its harsh midday cry an instant before the downbeat - the choir of Roanoke's Christ Lutheran Church began to sing "Awake, Now, Wintry Earth" and the Bach-a-thon of 1990 was under way.
The cantata was a perfect choice. Spring and winter were struggling for dominion outside the stone church at Grandin Road and Brandon Avenue. The air was wet and cold, but spring's floral harbingers were asserting themselves everywhere as though in answer to the composer's call.
It was still rainy and cold 12 hours later when organist Tom Baugh of Christ Episcopal Church brought the event to a close with the Toccata and Fugue in D minor, a piece that surely would make the J.S. Bach Top 40 if there were one.
To the applause of perhaps 40 sleepy Bachaphiles, Baugh took his midnight bow and cheerfully mimed a yawn as he gathered his music to leave the chancel.
The Bach-a-thon was a project of the Roanoke chapter of the American Guild of Organists.
Katherine Reier, dean of the chapter, said the music of the master of Leipzeig was played and sung by more than 100 choir members and another 80 musicians and vocal soloists during the day. She counted 23 instruments including harpsichord, pipe organ, piano, assorted horns, flutes, violins, cello, recorders and the various vocal ranges (soprano, baritone, etc.).
Perhaps the most unusual combination was harpsichord and synthesizer, which joined on two movements of Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 at 11:30 p.m.
Entreating the audience to "consider a new way of doing an old thing - namely, make music," Mike Miles manned the electronics while James Leland did what Miles called "his normally astonishing thing" on the harpsichord.
Judging by the applause, the audience liked what it heard.
Of course, this audience probably wouldn't care if the music were played on kazoo and washtub bass, so long as it was written by Johann Sebastian Bach.
"Bach's name just has a magic for people," Reier said. "I think there are people out there who never listen to any other classical music, but they love Bach."
Certainly, she is among the faithful. Taking her own place at the organ intermittently during the day, she played with animation and undisguised pleasure.
Bach speaks to her both musically and as a fellow Lutheran. "I know what he's saying," she said.
Reier is organist and choir director at Christ Lutheran Church and organized the Bach-a-thon, acting both in her church capacity and as dean of the guild chapter.
An estimated 700 Bach lovers came in and out during the day. Most dressed casually, in deference to the weekend and the weather. Some listened and watched intently. Others could be seen reading, working at their briefcases, knitting. Some listened, trancelike, with their eyes closed.
Even among the few children came to hear the music with their parents, talk was conducted at a whisper in the sanctuary and was politely limited to the intervals between performances. Elsewhere in the church - places where outright hollering would have been inaudible to the performers - conversation rarely rose above a reverent murmur.
Few spectators, if any, remained on hand for the entire half-day. Most came to hear a favorite performer or, like Ben Temple of Roanoke, "just ducked in to see what was happening."
He caught the Roanoke Valley Choral Society, which did portions of Bach's Mass in B minor. It will do the entire piece in an April concert.
Despite the absence of numerous members, including half of the second soprano section, the society overflowed Christ Lutheran's chancel. Conductor Jeff Sandborg stood before it on the sanctuary floor. A tall man, he still had to reach straight for the arched wooden ceiling in order for his baton to be seen by organ accompanist Sally Goff and the singers at the rear.
On a wall board in the church fellowship hall, where comments were invited, someone wrote: "The Roanoke Valley Choral Society Was Unbelievable - Bring Them Bach!"
(The fellowship hall advertised - and delivered - "Good Lutheran Coffee and Cookies." Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegoners would have been right at home.)
Sandborg, a baritone, also sang with his wife, Marianne, an exceptional soprano. Their work on Bach's "Alleluia" (Cantata No. 51) was judged "Terrific!" by a wallboard critic and the audience plainly concurred.
Another favorite was Brass 5, an ensemble consisting of trumpeters Gerald Pope and Dennis Fisher, horn player Lori Wingo, trombonist Harry Kessler, and Ed Griffin on a large and glossy tuba. Their rousing half-hour gig included the ever-popular "Sheep May Safely Graze."
Amazingly, the Bach-a-thon stayed more or less on schedule through all 34 acts.
"It's mostly people being conscientious and basically on the ball," Reier said. It helped, too, that one performer canceled and a couple of others voluntarily trimmed their programs.
Then there was Carolyn Victorine. Without appearing to sacrifice a scintilla of clarity, the well-known pianist set a blazing tempo for the French Suite No. 5 in G major. She may not have gained time for the Bach-a-thon, but she certainly didn't lose any.
After her dazzling performance, people in the foyer moved their fingers in blurred imitation and asked one another: "Did you see it? She was amazing!"
Reier began organizing the Bach-a-thon in September, soon after the guild chapter approved the project and Christ Lutheran Church agreed to offer its premises. A general call for performers was issued, then followed up with more specific letters and telephone calls.
"The 12 hours filled up pretty quickly," Reier said. A slightly tougher problem was to accommodate the program to the performers' schedules and to find people who'd take the late-night slots.
Organizers aimed for a maximum of program and instrumental variety, which isn't hard given Bach's prodigious output and the adaptability of his music to transcription.
That goal was achieved, though "Sheep May Safely Graze" (Cantata No. 208) did turn up on the program three times. Surprisingly, there was no sign of "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring."
All performers donated their services. Even at that, the Bach-a-thon was expected to cost between $1,200 and $1,300. Reier said she expected to break even, thanks to a $500 grant from the Arts Council of Roanoke Valley, some $500 from patrons, and voluntary donations from the audience.
Saturday's Bach-a-thon was the Roanoke Valley's second. The first was in 1985. It was the 300th anniversary of the composer's birth, and the organists guild felt the best way to pay homage was to play the music. The musicians were pleasantly surprised when about 1,000 people came to listen.
Knowing a good idea when they see one, the organists guild planned Bach-a-thon No. 2 without benefit of an anniversary to justify it.
"It was so much fun we didn't want to wait another 100 years to do it again," Reier said.
by CNB