Swans at Eventide ("Nocturnals", No. 2)

John Franklin Carré was born on October 20, 1894 in Racine Wisconsin and died there in November of 1966. He was an organist in Racine, and was a pupil of the great Clarence Eddy (1851-1937) and of Felix Borowski (1872-1956).

He wrote an astounding three-movement "Sonata Eroica" in 1951, and you can hear a complete performance of it here: https://www.contrebombarde.com/concerthall/music/23883

"Nocturnals" was published by J. Fischer & Bro. in 1954. It won First Prize in the 1953 Wisconsin Contemporary Composers' Contest sponsored by the Federation of Music Clubs.

"Swans at Eventide" is the second of the two pieces.

It is dedicated: "To my friend Dr. Edgar Nelson, The Chicago Conservatory."

Edgar Nelson (1882-1959) was organist of the First Presbyterian Church, Oak Park (Chicago).

This is a sweet and soaring work that may just melt your heart. In this performance, the Oboe d'Amour of the Swell is the featured solo stop. It is this sort of sound that E. M. Skinner was famous for.

The first E. M. Skinner organ I ever played was (is) at St. Michael's RC Church in Jersey City. It has an Oboe d'Amour that sounded exactly like this one. Of course that was before Peragallo "rebuilt" it...

I hope my listeners will enjoy the work, and overlook some of the issues, such as the occasional "booming" pedal note.

More extensive notes about the composer are given in the First Comment.

A photo of the First Presbyterian Church in Racine where Carré was organist is attached below, as well as a photo of Edgar Nelson, the dedicatee.. Also attached are some photos of swans at eventide.

If anyone is interested in the score, please send me a Direct Message, and I will be glad to send you a scan.

Tomorrow, another more "luxurious version" of "Swans at Eventide" on Salisbury.

After that, one more larger three-movement tone poem by Carré.