What does Winter mean to you? What quality about the season that both begins and ends the calendar year comes to your mind when you hear the word? Probably you think of snow and frost and a nose-reddening nip in the air. And, if you extend the thought, you probably think of ear-muffs, mufflers, galoshes, and crackling fires on the hearth. Extend it just a bit further and you're sure to think of Christmas, tinsel-bedecked ever-green trees, kids laughing over new toys. And, what could be a more logical further extension of your thought than one which conjures up the bubbling, buoyant feelings one feels when the old year dies and the new year is rung in. The final extension, should you have carried the thought of Winter as Winter this far, will undoubtedly find you thinking of foreign climes where the sun beats down warm and Jack Frost is an impossible visitor. Your thoughts might not follow this pattern—but those of most people do. And, that is the pattern which composer Michael Carr has followed in creating his wonderful "WINTERTIME SUITE". All the changing moods of the season as have just been outlined are reflected in gay, melodic mood sketches in this delight-ful body of music. Winter is nothing if not an impres-sive and imposing season and Mr. Carr has made at least a beginning at summing up just those two quali-ties in his stirring and brilliant tone poem KING WINTER. The legendary figure of Santa Claus appears on the scene as Mr. Carr sketches musically a HAPPY FAT MAN (WITH A SLEIGH FULL OF TOYS). Itching to get away from snow and ice?—You'll find sun and sultry nights in WINTER IN MEXICO. But, perhaps the warmest spot to be found in all of the Winter season is with loved ones around a Christmas tree. Mr. Carr has conjured the mood magic-ally in his nostalgic HOME FOR CHRISTMAS. WINTER SETTING, another evocative tone-poem, recreates a very familiar Winter feeling—that of fields and forests lying asleep under a blue-white blanket as snow sifts down softly, that of an easy chair before an ember-decked fire-place in a room where shadows flicker lazily on the walls. Much the same mood is expressed in the 'haunting composition DECEMBER HAS A WARM HEART. Don't ask how it appeared on the scene, but Mr. Carr has suddenly thought of snowmen! Unusual? No! But Mr. Carr's own unique fancy has created a very original snow figure. He's a RED INDIAN SNOWMAN—and the music which describes him is a delicious spoof of all the rhythms and melodies ever created to make listeners think of Injuns. Fancy once loosed, there's no suppressing the irrepresible Mr. Carr. Next, he paints a whimsical musical picture of EIGHT VERY BUSY LITTLE REINDEER, who in the course of their visits and flights across the sky, get more and more busy all the time. A graver note is sounded next as another aspect of Christmas is called to mind in the haunting tone-poem STAR IN THE EAST. Then, Mr. Carr tells us musically about three familiar symbols of both the Yuletide and Winter in general in HOLLY AND IVY AND MISTLETOE. But, Winter definitely isn't just Christmas—and a very different quality of the nippy season is called forth in an amusing tone-sketch of JACK FROST, INCORPO-RATED. Although Winter still has a good two months to go from the date—and more—it's not inappropriate that our album ends with a wild and abandoned selec-tion called RING IN THE NEW YEAR. Quite aside from picturing the festivities of that joyous occasion, it provides a brilliant finale to our "WINTERTIME SUITE".Â
ABOUT MICHAEL CARR
For many years, Mr. Carr has occupied a secure place in the popular music world of both his native England and that of the United States and the English-speaking world in general. He has composed and/or penned the lyrics for literally dozens of "hit" songs—among them such well-remembered numbers as "South Of The Border", "Dinner For One, Please, James", and "Did Your Mother Come From Ireland?". But, his career has not been limited strictly to what might be called the popular field. In the field of semi-"pop" and semi-classical music, he has fashioned many a delightful musical novelty and mood-picture—including the mem-orable "Black Mask Waltz". The present "WINTER-TIME SUITE" was written by Mr. Carr directly for recording and subsequent public performances by Richard Ellsasser. It is one of four seasonal suites de-signed for the popular organist by the composer. The rhythms, accents, and melodic patterns of popular songs often form the basic frame-work for these selec-tions, but the techniques with which those frames have been clothed carry them far beyond that point. Rather than being "pop", they are choice "pop" concert fare.
ABOUT RICHARD ELLSASSER
The popular young organist featured in this record-ing has had a career of notable achievement for his twenty-nine years. He is the youngest person in history to have memorized and performed all 250 organ works of Bach and he was the first in America to do a per-formance from memory of Bach's "Liturgy". He has already given over 3,500 concerts in transcontinental tour and he is heard annually by millions more through frequent appearances in radio, television, motion pic-tures, and records. As a composer, he has won several coveted awards. Several of his compositions for organ have become popular standards of the modern reper-toire. Mr. Ellsasser has appeared in several movies during "rest" periods at his home in California and, in the field of television, he has filmed two series of pro-grams in which he appears as both host and performer. But, versatility seems the key-note of his personality and, in addition to all of this, he served until just recently as Minister of Music of Los Angeles' Wilshire Methodist Church. The upcoming concert season will find him concertizing in Europe and Latin-America as well as in the United States and Canada. In this specific recording, featuring music far from the beaten track of normal organ repertoire, Mr. Ellsasser has taken full advantage of the near-"orchestral" possibilities of the huge, magnificent pipe organ of the John Hays Ham-mond Museum of Gloucester, Massachusetts. The in-strument has over 10,000 pipes, four manuals, and 144 active stops. With this enormous potential at his finger tips, Mr. Ellsasser has "orchestrated" each of Mr. Carr's pieces so that the variety of voices and instru-mental choirs of the various sections of the organ are massed as would be the instruments of a symphony orchestra. The. result is a full exposition of the capaci-ties of a grandiose pipe organ so as to obtain the maxi-mum in color and instrumental flavor. The approach is completely orchestral rather than that to a solo instrument and the result is brilliant from both the stand-point of musical quality and that of virtuosic display.Â
A FURTHER NOTE ABOUT THIS RECORDING As has been noted, this album was recorded on the famous pipe organ of the John Hays Hammond Jr. Museum, Gloucester, Massachusetts. Much of the music made use of the Dynamic Accentor, a device which has been developed in recent years by the Hammond Re-search Laboratories of Gloucester. The Dynamic Ac-centor is an electronic device which, when added to a pipe organ, can more than double its volume, enrich its tone, and greatly enhance its powers of expression. The device maintains and at the same time enhancs the true pipe organ quality. It has been applied with equal success to instruments of threp stops on up to a four manual instrument of 144 stops. In the larger instru-ment, as in this recording, it has effected a far greater flexibility of control, allowing increased clarity in the use of various choirs. The Accentor comprises three electrical units, a volume control, an amplifier and speakers. With this aid, the organist can voice his instrument from the console to suit the acoustics of the auditorium. He is also capable of accenting any stop or ground of stops to obtain brilliant contrapuntal clarity.
WINTERTIME SUITE—Richard Ellsasser, organist
