Exploring trends in all the arts
IN THIS ISSUE…
MEDIA: Makers and Mystics with Stephen Roach
MUSIC: Jake Runstad
Organ Cases: where are all the pipes?
Reader resources and subscriber premiums
MEDIA
Makers and Mystics: Podcast Stephen Roach
Stephen Roach and a few colleagues are impacting the arts community in the early 21st century. Although new, the basic concept is to provide resources that encourage artists of faith to freely and fruitfully practice their vocation/discipline in the contemporary world. I find Roach’s exploration of all the arts for their transcendence in a secularized culture both refreshing and profoundly needed. If you are interested, Makers and Mystics is sponsored and produced by The Breath and The Clay.
Described from the website:
Visionary Stephen Roach, founder, is the driving force behind The Breath and The Clay. Makers and Mystics is the podcast for ‘many art-driven, spiritually adventurous seekers of truth and lovers of life’.
Explore more:
MUSIC
Composer Jake Runestad
Runestad is a young composer who is impacting the choral world—and the music world—
with his post-Romantic and heartrending works. The Rockford, IL native will be 37 in May. After receiving a Bachelor of Music from Winona State College, he earned a Master of Music in Composition from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. Since 2013 he has been quite busy composing choral works on commission, instrumental works, and recently (2022) Earth Symphony. The Chicago Tribune reviewed a performance of Runestad’s Dreams of the Fallen, a 25-minute tribute to Brian Turner, veteran and poet of the Iraq War. Their enthusiasm is shared by many as observed in this excerpt from the review written by John von Rhein,
Runestad writes beautifully for massed voices, in an accessible but never New Age-y tonal idiom that sometimes recalls that of Eric Whitacre and Morten Lauridsen but remains idiosyncratically his own. No wonder he’s considered one of the best of the younger American choral composers.
Referenced:
Rhein, J.von (2019) Review: Chicago Composers Orchestra explores new music about war, the human spirit and hope, Chicago Tribune. Available at: https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-ent-composers-orchestra-review-0507-story.html (Accessed: February 14, 2023).
Organ Cases: Where are all the pipes?
Virtually every pipe organ enthusiast has a short list of the great case designs. The problem is, there are too many cases to do justice to the almost endless list, from the Medieval through the Renaissance, the Baroque, the Classic/Romantic, and continuing into the modern day. Each time I come across a new organ, I never cease to be impressed by its builder’s sense of presence and majesty in rooms that we have perhaps visited. Among them are famous names –Westminster Abbey, King’s College Cambridge, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Disney Concert Hall, Tokyo’s multiple organ halls and churches, Dresden’s veritable gallery of organ cases from several eras, and many more. Of course, the photos in this short article are a sample. It’s up to you, if you care about tonal design resulting in exceptional beauty, to explore further.
Resources for Further Exploration
Jake Runestad Podcast Interview:
OHS: Organ Historical Society gallery of instruments in the USA
A Word from Terry Yount
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