Paul Jacobs

The Great French Organ Tradition: Three Concerts on Three Organs
Paul Jacobs, Organ

“The French have always been rightly proud of their organ music. The culture has produced scores of excellent composers and virtuoso performers, not to mention masterpieces like Messiaen’s Messe de la Pentecôte, Duruflé’s Suite, and Vierne’s Sixth Organ Symphony, to name but a few. In constructing these particular programs, I wanted to offer, here in New York, a glimpse of this tradition over the past 200 years, including the familiar with the exotic, the profane with the sacred, and the intimate with the sublime.”—Paul Jacobs

Organist Paul Jacobs, chair of Juilliard’s organ department, will perform a three-recital series in September 2019 featuring a program of works drawn from throughout the great French organ tradition. Mr. Jacobs stands out as among the organists of today for his interpretative intellect, virtuosity, and musicological learning. He opens the series performing on the Holtkamp organ in Juilliard’s Paul Hall on Tuesday, September 10, 2019, at 7:30pm. The series continues on the 1933 Aeolian-Skinner “Opus 891” at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin on Tuesday, September 17, 2019, at 7:30pm, and concludes on St. Ignatius Loyola’s 1993 Mander Organ on Tuesday, September 24, 2019, at 7:30pm. 

The Great French Organ Tradition I
Paul Jacobs, Organ
Tuesday, September 10, 2019, 7:30pm, Juilliard’s Paul Hall, 155 West 65th Street
Marcel DUPRÉ (1886-1971) Variations sur un Noël, Op. 20
Nadia BOULANGER (1887-1979) Trois pièces pour orgue
César FRANCK (1822-1890) Pièce héroïque
Jehan ALAIN (1911-1940) Le jardin suspendu
Naji HAKIM (b. 1955) Tanets
Camille SAINT-SAËNS (1835-1921) Le Cygne
Alexandre GUILMANT (1837-1911) Sonata No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 42

Tickets for the Juilliard recital on September 10 are $20 ($10 for students with a valid ID) and will be available beginning August 20 at juilliard.edu/calendar.

The Great French Organ Tradition II
Paul Jacobs, Organ
Tuesday, September 17, 2019, 7:30pm, The Church of St. Mary the Virgin, 145 West 46th Street
Jean LANGLAIS (1907-1991) “Acclamations Carolingiennes” from Suite Médiévale, Op. 56
Olivier MESSIAEN (1908-1991) Messe de la Pentecôte
Henri MULET (1878-1967) “Rosace” from Esquisses Byzantine
Jean GUILLOU (1930-2019) Saga No. 4, Op. 20
Maurice DURUFLÉ (1902-1986) Suite, Op. 5

For information on tickets at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, call (212) 772-1132 or go to Eventbrite.

The Great French Organ Tradition III
Paul Jacobs, Organ
Tuesday, September 24, 2019, 7:30pm, St. Ignatius Loyola Church, 980 Park Avenue
Léon BOËLLMANN (1862-1897) Suite Gothique, Op. 25
Thierry ESCAICH (b. 1965) “Eaux natales” from Poèmes pour orgue
Jeanne DEMESSIEUX (1921-1968) Twelve Preludes on Gregorian Themes (selections)
Charles-Marie WIDOR (1844-1937) “Andante Sostenuto” from Symphonie Gothique, Op. 70
Louis VIERNE (1870-1937) Symphonie in B Minor, Op. 59
For information on tickets for St. Ignatius Loyola Church, go to smssconcerts.org.

To recap:
Tickets for the September 10 recital are $20 ($10 for students with a valid ID) and will be available beginning August 20, 2019, at juilliard.edu/calendar. For information on tickets at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, call (212) 772-1132 or go to Eventbrite and for St. Ignatius Loyola Church, go to smssconcerts.org.