Musica Organi
Westminster Presbyterian Church, Knoxville, Tennessee
Friday, May 11, 2001, 8:00 p.m.
| Praeludium in D Minor, BuxWV 140 | Dieterich Buxtehude (ca. 1637-1707) | |
| Daphne (3 variations) | Anonymous Dutch (16th century) | |
| Three Almandes | Manuscript of Suzanne van Soldt (1599) | |
| Almande Brun Smeedlyn | ||
| Almande de La nonettee | ||
| Almande | ||
| Ricercar del nono tono | Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621) | |
| Intermission | ||
| Partite diverse sopra il Corale | Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) | |
| "Sei gegrüsset, Jesu gütig," BWV 768 | ||
| (Chorale and 11 variations) | ||
| Ciacona in B-flat Major | Johann Bernhard Bach (1676-1749) | |
| Concerto in D Major, RV 93 | Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) | |
| (Transcription for organ: J.D. Christie) | ||
| [Allegro] | ||
| Largo | ||
| Allegro | ||
Phillip Truckenbrod Concert Artists
Recital cosponsored by the Knoxville Chapter of the American Guild of Organists
James David Christie internationally acclaimed as one of the finest organists of his generation, is Distinguished Artist-in-Residence at the College of the Holy Cross and since 1978 has been organist of the Boston Symphony. He also serves on the faculties of Wellesley College, the Boston Conservatory, and Boston University.
In 1979, Mr. Christie became the first American to win First Prize in the International Organ Competition in Bruges, and he was also the first person in the eighteen-year history of the competition to win both the First Prize and the Audience Prize. Since then, his students also have been prizewinners in many major international competitions.
Mr. Christie has performed throughout the world, both in solo concerts and with major orchestras. A notable exponent of early music, he is the founder and music director of Ensemble Abendmusik, a period orchestra and chorus specializing in music of the seventeenth century. He is also a champion of contemporary music: he has premiered major works by Anton Heiller, Daniel Pinkham, Ned Rorem, Thea Musgrave, George Crumb, Ellen Taafe Zwilich, Jean Langlais, and P. D. Q. Bach (for the 100th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Pops, with John Williams conducting), and he serves as Vice President and Chair of the Projects Committee of the New England Composers Recording Project.
James David Christie received his degrees from the Oberlin Conservatory and the New England Conservatory with highest honors. At New England he was granted the prestigious Artist's Diploma and he was twice a winner of the Concerto Competition. He has traveled extensively throughout Europe studying historic instruments and doing research in musicology. His teachers include David Boe, Yuko Hayashi, Bernard Lagacé, Marie-Claire Alain, and Harald Vogel.
Mr. Christie's solo performances have been broadcast throughout Europe and North America, and he has received high praise and numerous prizes for his recordings (on the Philips, Nonesuch, Denon, GM, Koch International, RCA, Bridge, Northeastern, Decca, JAV, and Naxos labels). Among his recent recordings are Hindemith's Concerto for Organ and Chamber Orchestra, op. 46, no. 2, with members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra under conductor Robert Spano, and Pinkham's Sonata No. 3 for Organ and Strings with the London Symphony. As music director of Ensemble Abendmusik, he has also recorded two Jesuit operas, The Apotheosis of St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Francis Xavier (1622) by Johann Kapsberger and St. Ignatius (ca. 1720) by Domenico Zipoli, for future release.
During the Bach Year 2000, Mr. Christie gave twenty performances of J. S. Bach's Art of Fugue in the United States and Europe. Last summer he appeared as organ soloist with the Seattle Symphony under Gerard Schwartz for the two gala concerts inaugurating the new Fisk organ in Benaroya Hall. That same week he gave three solo recitals and two lectures for the National Convention of the American Guild of Organists in Seattle. Immediately thereafter, he toured Europe with Joshua Rifkin and the Bach Ensemble, appearing at major festivals in Germany and Poland. In addition, he gave a solo recital at St. Jacobi in Lübeck and a week of master classes as part of the Schleswig-Holstein Festival. Last year he was also a Visiting Professor at both the Paris Conservatory and the Krakow Academy of Music.