Fraternité organ recital: French-inspired music by women composers

About the programme

The programme opens with Jeanne Demessieux’sTe Deum. Demessieux was a formidable organist and composer, an acolyte of Marcel Dupré in her early years. Demessieux’s concert repertoire included the complete organ works of Bach from memory, and her mind-numbing technique is evident in her recordings, including the world-premiere recording of Franck’s complete organ works, and in her fiendish études, op. 5. Her Te Deum draws on a Gregorian chant setting of the familiar text: “We praise thee, O God, we acknowledge thee to be the Lord.”

The main element of the programme is Florence Price’s First Sonata for Organ. Price, the first African-American woman to have a piece performed by a major symphony orchestra, was an extremely accomplished keyboardist, earning an artist’s diploma in organ and a teaching certificate in piano from the New England Conservatory in Boston by age 19. She established a successful performing, composing, and teaching career in Chicago, where she was part of the Chicago Black Renaissance. While a pupil at the New England Conservatory, she played to Alexandre Guilmant, who was deeply impressed with her work. She later wrote her first sonata for organ, drawing inspiration from Guilmant’s first organ sonata.

About Carolyn Craig

Award-winning American organist Carolyn Craig is currently the Organ Scholar at Westminster Abbey, and will be the Assistant Director of Music at Wells Cathedral from April 2024.

Originally from Knoxville, Tennessee, Carolyn Craig FRCO earned her organ performance degrees in the United States (BM Indiana University, MM Yale University, MMA Yale University), and first worked in the United Kingdom as Organ Scholar of Truro Cathedral between her undergraduate and graduate degrees. In January, she became a Junior Fellow of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

Carolyn co-founded Amplify Female Composers, an organisation that promotes the performance of organ and choral music by women composers (Facebook, YouTube: Amplify Female Composers), and is a contributor to the inclusive church music planning resource A Great Host of Composers (greathostcomposers.org)

Fraternité

These activities are part of Fraternité, a spring season at the Abbey celebrating the links between the UK and France with music, talks and events.