Description: | Everett Titcomb (1884-1968). I've already given his info several times... ;-)
This really WILL be the LAST Titcomb piece for awhile. I figured that I should upload this one, as it is, in many ways, one of the "best" of the lot.
It was published by H.W.Gray in 1949, and appears in the Modern Anthology, Book Two, which was published in the early 70's. I think this was originally part of their "St. Cecilia Organ Series."
It is an expansive work, which uses themes from the Introit and Sequence of the traditional Gregorian chant Requiem Mass. You'll hear the well-known "Introit" and "Dies Irae" chants, treated in a high-romatic, almost Wagnerian idiom. The piece hits a trememndous climax before dying away to absolutely nothing at the end.
The work is dedicated to David McK. Williams, who was organist of St. Bartholomew's Church in NYC, and this would have been "typical" of the "style" of music he (Williams) was known for.
You may need to adjust your volume UP for the beginning and the end and DOWN for the climax.
I hate to be annoying, but my ear was just horrific when I did this, and the tuber part sounded like absolutely SH_T to me... I couldn't bear to do it over, so, this is a first take, done with the "graded piston" system.
On a funny note, years ago I played this at St. Michael's RC in Jersey City. BIG church, superb acoustics, famous E.M. Skinner that was in decent shape. (Recently "rebuilt" by Peragallo... :-( ) It had a "learned Irishman" for a pastor when I had the occasion to sub there. As I was playing this for the prelude for the funeral Mass, he came out, in the middle of the aisle, with a good number of people present, YELLED up to me - "Hoy! Boyo! Don't be playin' that sort of t'ing here!"
To paraphrase pointyflute: I guess he WASN'T well-chuffled by the piece or my playing... |