Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern

Andreas Armsdorf (also Armsdorff, 1670–1699)

Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern
How Brightly Shines the Morning Star

The Gallery Schlicker at First Congregational Church of Los Angeles has already demonstrated remarkable versatility in music ranging from Clara Schumann to Jan Bender and Emma Lou Diemer and John Rutter. With Andreas Armsdorf, however, we return to an earlier world of German chorale-based organ music, one that would become an important source of inspiration for the twentieth-century Orgelbewegung.

And what an exhilarating return it is!

Armsdorf's setting of Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern sparkles with movement, ornamentation, and rhythmic vitality. The Schlicker's extraordinarily clear speech makes it possible to take a very lively tempo and still introduce considerable, additional ornamentation without obscuring the underlying musical structure.

That is the remarkable thing about this performance. The more animated the music becomes, the more the instrument seems to welcome it. The ornamental figures remain distinct, the contrapuntal writing retains its definition, and the whole piece acquires a brilliant and ultra-virtuosic character.

Rather than using clarity simply to reveal the music, I found myself using it to expand the interpretive possibilities of the music. It doesn't have to be played this way, but I'm reveling in it!

The accompanying video takes that energy into a rather modern universe: an illuminated Morning Star travels through space, trailing blue light like a comet, occasionally seeming to accelerate into warp drive. At the conclusion, the arrival of the 32-foot pedal foundation gives the music a final, thrilling sense of lift.

This is an organ whose precision sets the imagination free. And in this final formal installment of the Schlicker exploration, the relationship is:

Clarity → Mobility → Ornamentation.

Organ: Gallery Schlicker, First Congregational Church of Los Angeles
Virtual instrument: Evensong Music