"Marimbista" Jenny Klukken performs at UMD's Weber Hall. Photos by Jill Fisher.

Nov. 19 was another gorgeous sunny Sunday so of course it found me attending a concert at Sacred Heart Music Center. The Friends of the Felgemaker (organ) presented John Rutter’s Requiem – A Concert of Remembrance & Hope. (About this time last year the group presented  Faure's Requiem, which I attended but did not review.)

A good-sized audience was in attendance, occupying seating that had been turned 180 degrees to provide views of the organ pipes in the balcony at the rear of the nave. We all were anticipating the sublime sounds of the Felgemaker and accompanying choral music.

This was a special concert in that it was the 125th anniversary of the Felgemaker’s installation in the former Sacred Heart Cathedral. Its importance should be noted and appreciated, as it has by the likes of radio host Michael Barone (Pipedreams/American Public Radio).

A Survey of Old Pipe Organs by Charles Hendrickson, a well-known Minnesota organ builder, described Sacred Heart’s Felgemaker organ as: “…certainly the largest old organ indigenous to the state…The value of this instrument is in its tonality. It is an ear-opening instrument of a sound that is not expected in this era of organ building. The sound is large and reverberant in this marvelous building. Few organs in Minnesota, old or new, can produce such a sound…”

Given this occasion, the first portion of the concert was devoted to three organ compositions. “Master Tallis’s Testament” by the English sacred music composer, Herbert Howells (1892-1983) was performed by Karen Hanson Sande. It was a somewhat sedate piece that didn’t exactly showcase the power of this instrument.

However, the second number, “Choral” from Quatre Pièces pour Orgue, Op 37 by the Belgian organist, composer and music educator Joseph Jongen (1873-1953) made up for it. That piece conveyed the profound auditory experience I was expecting. Played by Velda Graham Bell, it culminated in crescendos and discordant notes that made for complex and awesome musical moments. Organist and composer David Tryggestad, who played a key role in saving the Sacred Heart building and its Felgemaker organ back in the 1990s, performed his composition “Thaxted: Variations and Toccata” to round out the first half of the concert. I especially appreciated his use of the reedy organ stops that demonstrate the range of sounds this instrument is capable of. The performances of the three pieces in this first half of the concert reaffirmed the significance of this musical treasure (independent of the building’s listing on the National Register of Historic Places). After a short break, the promised Rutter Requiem was performed with Charles Sundquist conducting. Rachael Kresha played the organ.

Connor Filipi plays the glockenspiel during Rutter’s “Requiem” at Sacred Heart Music Center.

A 16-member choir, which was essentially an invited pick-up group of talented singers who had but a single rehearsal the day before (for all that, it sounded just fine) were accompanied by an ensemble of flute, oboe, cello and glockenspiel players. Now how many times do we get the chance to hear a glockenspiel? I loved it, and also the deep vibrant cello played by Betsy Husby. All in all, the concert was definitely worth being inside on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Two days later, on Tuesday, Nov. 21, I was in for another auditory treat: The UMD Percussion Ensemble, under the direction of Ryan Loken, performed in Weber Music Hall on the University of Minnesota Duluth campus.

Although I was attracted to this concert because of the promise of plenty of percussion, it was Weber Hall that initially amazed me. First because, how could this possibly be the first time I was there? Second, the acoustics were perfect. And then there was the wonderful music produced on rarely-heard instruments. The instruments included marimbas, xylophone, vibraphone, Vietnamese hanging “nipple gongs,” snare drums and floor toms in addition to a grand piano and electronic keyboard. (Did you know that pianos and electric keyboards are classified as percussion instruments?)

The first number performed, “Madeira River” by Philip Glass and arranged by Chicago-based Third Coast Percussion, produced sounds at once subtle and mesmerizing (quite a contrast from the thundering Felgemaker organ!). A second tune, Peter Garland’s “Apple Blossom,” began with just one player on one marimba with additional players joining him one at a time from the wings until eight were playing on two facing marimbas. Then at the apex of the composition, the players left one at a time, leaving just the original musician. It was an apt representation of how apple trees blossom and over time lose their blooms. “Three’s Company” used three floor toms in a triangle around which three percussionists played and circled. Very upbeat and a virtual dance to watch, while “Postlude No. 8” by Elliot Cole was more ethereal and somewhat stultifying with its droning bell-like tones.

Friends of the Felgemaker at Sacred Heart.

That state of mind didn’t last for long when the guest artist, Jenny Klukken from the Twin Cities, took the stage to play her original composition, “Matildah,” which was commissioned by the Breck School in Golden Valley, Minnesota.

Klukken is a classically-trained marimbist who has performed internationally, is an instructor and who composes for the instrument. Her works combine her classical percussion training with a passion for folk, jazz and world music. Her compositions embrace complex rhythms and improvisation for which she was engaged to share and teach her improvisational skills with the UMD students. This was demonstrated by two original numbers, “Small Steps” and “Chapters,” a piece from her album Colors in Motion. Ryan Frane on piano and Gordon Lewis on standup bass joined her on this latter piece.

Klukken followed these above selections with solos of with three numbers; the first two being her own arrangements of Edith Piaf and Louiguy’s “La vie en rose” and a fun one of Charlie Parker’s “Billie’s Bounce.” The final number of the evening, “Marimbista” was titled after she performed for and was given that moniker by a group of Costa Rican marimbists she had impressed.  I have to say that this was one of the best music events I’ve heard in quite a while. As it happens, the Curmudgeon and I have enjoyed such percussion concerts before.

A friend of ours from back in our Woodstock days (Garry Kvistad) is a member of the Toronto-based percussionist group “Nexus” which played at the nearby Maverick theater on several occasions. (Loken and Klokken both were familiar with that group.) That was when I was first turned onto marimba music and other compositions employing various exotic instruments such as a water gong.

So it was exciting to hear this kind of music again and know more will be on offer in the future – be on the lookout for another concert by the UMD Percussion Ensemble next spring sometime. What is even more amazing than the wonderful music itself is that four out of the seven students who performed on this evening (along with Professor Loken) are not even music majors!

A freshman, sophomores, a junior and three seniors made up the ensemble, with Geographic Information Systems, Chemical Engineering, Computer Science and Political Science majors represented in addition to the expected Music B.A. and Music Education programs. At the end of the concert, Loken summed up the evening with by saying “live music is pretty cool.” I couldn’t agree more!

One last note to share: I was happy to see that the Sacred Heart Music Center had a full house on Saturday, Nov. 25, for the album release concert by Twin Cities musician Mason Jennings (with Molly Dean opening). It was clear he has quite a following by the enthusiastic applause he received after every number, as well as a standing ovation at concert end. Even better was that it was a younger audience with lots of 30- and 40-year-olds; hardly a gray-haired head in the crowd.

Upcoming: Janie & the Spokes will perform at Sir Benedict’s Tavern on the Lake at 5 pm this Friday, Dec. 1. Wussow’s has a couple of interesting gigs scheduled for the week of Dec. 4, including Sam Miletich with the Hot Club of Duluth on Saturday, Dec. 9. My bet is it’ll be a fun one, which I will unfortunately miss since I will be traveling that week. More about that excursion in my next column. In the meantime, Happy Hanukkah!