Organ players from around Kansas City to gather for 3-hour festival of French music

The hazy, crazy days of summer have seemed even hazier and crazier this year. We could all use a chance to chill out and forget our cares for a while, and there’s no better way to do that than the French Organ Festival at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. The ninth-annual, three-hour celebration of Gallic organ music will take place from 2 to 5 p.m. on Aug. 22.

Mario Pearson, principal organist and director of music for the cathedral, got the idea for the festival while attending Bachathon at the Episcopal Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral.

“I was inspired by the beautiful organ music, and I thought what could our cathedral do to be a sister event to Bachathon,” Pearson said. “We have excellent acoustics, we have a versatile organ, so the French Organ Festival was a natural.”

Immaculate Conception’s Ruffatti organ is well-suited for the tremendous variety that is found in French organ music, From the spare, nasal sound of the French baroque to the rich orchestral colors of 19th century romanticism to the psychedelic synesthesia of Olivier Messiaen, the Ruffatti can handle it all.

“The organ is a hybrid instrument,” Pearson said. “So in addition to 48 ranks of pipes, it also has a huge bank of organ stops that my friend and colleague Hector Olivera digitally sampled from French organs like Notre Dame Cathedral and St. Sulpice. With a creative organist blending the pipe sounds with the digital sounds, you really can create a tonal landscape that is only limited by the imagination.”

Pearson has invited five of the finest local organists to play with his euphonious toy. Starting off the festival is Audrey Pickering, organist at First Lutheran Church in Manhattan, Kansas, and daughter of David Pickering, professor of organ at Kansas State University. Pickering will play Carillon de Westminster by the romantic composer Louis Vierne.

“You can hear the chimes of Big Ben,” Pearson said. “It’s just a great piece to start with. It will really energize the audience.”

Other organists scheduled to perform include Thomas Vozzella, principal organist and director of music at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, and Kansas City’s grande dame of organ, Jan Kraybill, who, as usual, will conclude the festival.

“I just love having her, and this year she’s doing the Duruflé Suite for Organ,” Pearson said. “That toccata is mesmerizing. It will close the festival with a bang, let’s put it that way.”

Making the festival extra special are Pearson’s high tech touches. Large video screens will provide close-ups of the organists’ hands and feet and Pearson’s program notes give insights into the composers and their music.

“When you hear Messiaen’s music, you might think, oh my goodness, what’s that?” Pearson said. “It sounds like the hands just dropped on the keys, and this is what came out of it. So having those program notes explains a lot. It complements what you’re hearing and adds context to the performance.”

The cathedral will be complying with Kansas City’s mask mandate, and social distancing will be observed. But the French Café will be open to provide croque-monsieurs and croissants to fortify the peckish.

2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 22. Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, 416 W. 12th St. Suggested donation $10. kcgolddome.org.

The Summer Singers of Kansas City

The Solemn Vespers of a Confessor, KV. 339 was the first work Mozart wrote for the Salzburg Cathedral after he was hired as court organist for the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg. This grand and glorious work will be performed by the Summer Singers of Kansas City and Chamber Orchestra conducted by William Baker on Aug. 22 at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral.

Soprano Christine Freeman, alto Erica Seago, tenor David Adams and bass Ed Frazier Davis will be the soloists. Those who love Mozart’s Requiem should make the acquaintance of this sacred masterpiece written in a more joyful mood.

The program will veer from the sacred to the profane with a selection of sea shanties, including “What Do You Do With a Drunken Sailor.” Rounding out the concert are some African-American gospel spirituals, a William Baker specialty.

2 p.m. Aug. 22. Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, 415 W. 13th St., $5-$20. festivalsingers.org.

You can reach Patrick Neas at patrickneas@kcartsbeat.com and follow his Facebook page, KC Arts Beat, at www.facebook.com/kcartsbeat.