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Music

Classical music's knight in shining armor

By JOHN FLEMING
Published March 16, 2006

Paul Jacobs is a passionate champion of the king of instruments, especially in its capacity as an advocate for classical music. "My feeling is that the organ is perhaps the best instrument to give someone an introduction to classical music because it is so visual,'' he said. "All the colors, the palate of sounds one can conjure up is exciting.''

Jacobs, who has become well-known for his marathon performances of the music of Bach and Messiaen, is being presented by the American Guild of Organists in recitals Saturday afternoon in St. Petersburg at Christ United Methodist Church, which has a four-manual Aeolian-Skinner organ, and Sunday afternoon in Sarasota at St. Boniface Episcopal Church, which has a three-manual Moeller instrument.

At 29, Jacobs has headed the organ department at the elite Juilliard School in New York since 2004. "He's part of the new generation of American organists, one of the leaders of that pack,'' said Greg Chestnut, an officer in the AGO chapter in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

Jacobs will play the same program in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It includes two selections of Bach (the Sinfonia from Cantata No. 29 and the Trio Sonata in C major) plus works of Reger, Widor and Durufle. The music of the German composer Max Reger (1873-1916) is something of a cause for the organist.

"I think Reger is terribly underestimated,'' Jacobs said. "I'm playing the Wachet Auf! fantasy and fugue, and that is a divine work. He was incredibly prolific. Some of the music is hard to understand, granted, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be explored.''

J.S. Bach is the touchstone of the organ repertoire, and three times Jacobs has played all his works in a marathon running 18 hours. He has done the same with all the organ music of French composer Olivier Messiaen, a mere nine hours of playing, most recently at the spectacular new Roman Catholic cathedral of Los Angeles.

"These are days of devotion to these composers,'' Jacobs said. "They are not supposed to be a cheap gimmick. They should be very serious and meaningful encounters with two musical giants. They take so much out of me that I have to space them. I am thinking of possibly offering another Messiaen cycle in Boston in another year or two.''

As for Bach's enormous body of organ music, he added, "I don't know if I could do that again.''

Most organists are employed by churches as music and choir directors. Even the virtuoso organ majors that Jacobs teaches at Juilliard will spend a good portion of their time in church work. Many churches, faced with declining attendance, have shifted away from classical music into pop anthems and cantatas in an effort to attract younger people.

"Fortunately there are still very strong music programs in churches and synagogues that support and nurture good music, and expect it; they need it, actually,'' Jacobs said. "But this is a very real challenge. I think it reflects larger cultural problems. We're facing an extreme musical illiteracy in the United States. This can only be fixed through education, through relentless exposure to fine music.''

Jacobs makes a point of avoiding pop music. "It's not to become an elitist," he said. "Anybody who knows me knows it's not that at all. But I see how harmful it is, how cheap so much of it is. I'm not saying it shouldn't exist. I would never say that. But the entertainment industry has a monopoly, a stronghold on taste. It sort of dictates and instructs people as to what their tastes are, and they're unaware of it.''

Growing up in rural Pennsylvania, Jacobs began studying piano at 6, the organ at 13. "I have a very modest background, don't come from a musical family. But I was mysteriously attracted to beautiful music at an early age. I have an intense desire to share music with people and move the soul,'' he said.

"You know, when I listen to a Bach cantata, it makes all of these other worldly concerns so obscure and remote and almost unimportant. It carries me into another dimension. It's addictive.''

At 15, Jacobs was named head organist of a parish of 3,500 families in his hometown of Washington, Penn. He went on to study at the Curtis Institute of Music and Yale University.

Jacobs plays concerts around the country most weekends, almost always performing on acoustic organs, like those for his recitals this weekend. But from time to time, he does play on digital organs, which many churches have installed. A purist would think that is awful, but he rationalizes that the music comes first.

"Naturally a musician wants to have an acoustic instrument,'' he said. "On the other hand, there are those instances when it just is not practical. Pipe organs are extremely expensive. Ultimately the music comes from the player, not the instrument. I'd sooner hear the music, play the music, than not have anything.''

Jacobs is amazed at the adaptability of the organ. "When you think that this instrument was up until the 19th century perhaps the most complicated invention of humanity, it is fascinating to trace and follow how it has evolved.''

Organist Paul Jacobs gives two recitals this weekend. 3 p.m. Saturday, Christ United Methodist Church, 467 First Ave. N, St. Petersburg. $10. (727) 822-3343. 4 p.m. Sunday, St. Boniface Episcopal Church, 5615 Midnight Pass Road, Sarasota. $5, $12. (941) 349-5616.

[Last modified March 15, 2006, 13:30:05]