WDCH'14

For our ABC this year, my friend and I were able to go to the Walt Disney Concert Hall.   It was a beautiful evening.   We spent some time looking at the interesting musical-themed items in the gift shop, visited the garden with the rose sculpture, had dinner at the Concert Hall Cafe, listened to the pre-concert lecture by Thomas Neenan with appearance by the organist Paul Jacobs, and then experienced the wonderfully inspirational organ recital of Bach's Clavier Ubung III.

During dinner, we had a chance to meet the Norbertine Canons of St Michael's Abbey, who sang portions of the choral mass and cathechism pieces during the performance.   These men were priests, monks, and seminarians.   The person we talked to seemed to be the director of the group.  Their abbey is located in south Orange County.  Also, the food from the cafe was actually really good - it is also run by the Patina Group which owns the upscale restaurant at the WDCH.   I especially enjoyed the Tropical Fruit parfait.

My favorite piece in the whole concert was the Hymn "O God Our Help in Ages Past".   I was so inspired that when I got home, I just had to pull out my hymn book and play & sing that hymn.   During the recital, I was reminded of how much I loved the organ; and I was also motivated to pull out my Bach once again to practice.

What a blessing to hear this recital, for Bach has always been my favorite composer.  One of the interesting things I learned in the pre-concert talk was that Bach pointed to the Trinity through these pieces.   God the Father is represented very majestically; God the Son with two "personalities" pointing to his deity and his humanity; the Holy Spirit with a very flowing travelling movement.  Also, the key signature E-flat with 3 flats is another allusion to the Trinity.   So interesting.

I was a little surprised that the organ was in the center of the stage, rather than near the pipes.   But, it was nice, since it provides better visibility.  I loved when the organist "pulled out all the stops", often towards the end - so majestic!