celebration of 100 years of music
organ concert
April 6 2023
tHE PROGRAM
All’ Offertorio
All’ Elevazione II
Domenico Zipoli (1688-1726)
Toccata 11
Georg Muffat (1635-1704)
Voluntary VIII
Allegro, Adagio, Allegro
John Stanley (1713-1786)
Prelude and Fugue for Four Hands
Johann G. Albrechtsbberger (1736-1809)
Two Chorale Preludes on ‘Nun danket alle Gott’
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Toccata and Fugue in d minor
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
INTERMISSION
Fugue in d minor
Fugue in D Major
Charles Zeuner (1795-1857)
Six Pieces, Op. 50
No. 2 Pater noster
Arthur Foote (1853-1937)
Six Pieces for the Organ, Op. 45
No. 6 Allegro
George F. Bristow (1825-1898)
Prelude I
John Knowles Paine (1839-1906)
Ten Pedal Studies
X. March
George W. Chadwick (1854-1931)
Chorale Prelude on ‘Down Ampney’
David F. Sears (b. 1945)
Adagio for Strings
Samuel Barber, arr. William Strickland (1910-1981)
Finale from Symphony No.1
Louis Vierne (1870-1937)
All’ Elevazione II
Domenico Zipoli (1688-1726)
Toccata 11
Georg Muffat (1635-1704)
Voluntary VIII
Allegro, Adagio, Allegro
John Stanley (1713-1786)
Prelude and Fugue for Four Hands
Johann G. Albrechtsbberger (1736-1809)
Two Chorale Preludes on ‘Nun danket alle Gott’
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Toccata and Fugue in d minor
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
INTERMISSION
Fugue in d minor
Fugue in D Major
Charles Zeuner (1795-1857)
Six Pieces, Op. 50
No. 2 Pater noster
Arthur Foote (1853-1937)
Six Pieces for the Organ, Op. 45
No. 6 Allegro
George F. Bristow (1825-1898)
Prelude I
John Knowles Paine (1839-1906)
Ten Pedal Studies
X. March
George W. Chadwick (1854-1931)
Chorale Prelude on ‘Down Ampney’
David F. Sears (b. 1945)
Adagio for Strings
Samuel Barber, arr. William Strickland (1910-1981)
Finale from Symphony No.1
Louis Vierne (1870-1937)
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David Sears holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the Peabody Conservatory and a Doctor of Musical Arts from Boston University. He is Professor Emeritus of Fine Arts at Merrimack College and is also a composer. With his wife, Permelia, he was Co-Chairman of the Extant Organs Committee of the Organ Historical Society. Dr. Sears has appeared in concert throughout the Northeast as a soloist, with his wife in piano four-hand recitals, and with his wife and daughter in family concerts.
Permelia Sears is a graduate of Smith College and the Yale University School of Music with a Master of Music in Pipe Organ Performance. She is a past Dean of the Merrimack Valley MA Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and has taught organ and piano through the Indian Hill Music Center in Littleton, MA. Mrs. Sears has performed solo organ recitals across the Northeast, played at several Organ Historical Society Conventions as well as in family concerts with her husband and daughter. The Sears recently retired as Ministers of Music at the First Congregational Church of Milford, NH and specialize in playing historic 19th century tracker organs. They are proud owners of a two-manual 1888 Hook & Hastings tracker organ.
Permelia Sears is a graduate of Smith College and the Yale University School of Music with a Master of Music in Pipe Organ Performance. She is a past Dean of the Merrimack Valley MA Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and has taught organ and piano through the Indian Hill Music Center in Littleton, MA. Mrs. Sears has performed solo organ recitals across the Northeast, played at several Organ Historical Society Conventions as well as in family concerts with her husband and daughter. The Sears recently retired as Ministers of Music at the First Congregational Church of Milford, NH and specialize in playing historic 19th century tracker organs. They are proud owners of a two-manual 1888 Hook & Hastings tracker organ.
history of the organ
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the installation of the G.S. Hutchings
tracker organ at the Community Church of New Boston. The organ was built in
1891 and was installed on October 31, 1923.
The maker, George S. Hutchings, was born in 1835 in Salem, MA. He learned the
Organ manufacturing business with the Boston firm of E. and G.G. Hook.
Hutchings became prominent among American organ builders and built organs for
The old Boston Music Hall, Old South Church, Trinity Church, Church of the Advent,
Symphony Hall, and St. Bartholomew’s in New York. His organs were installed at
Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, Wellesley, Williams, and Wesleyan colleges, and the New
England Conservatory of Music.
The organ was obtained from the First M.E. Church of Winchester, MA on October
21, 1923, due to the efforts of Arthur Bateman Corthell, who arranged for the
purchase, successful transportation and installation. Mr. Corthell was a well
known civil engineer in the New England area. The Corthell family spent
their summers in New Boston. They owned the Leach Farm, which is known today
as the Half & Half Farm. The Corthells were a musical family and often gave
concerts at the church. Lena Foster Corthell, Arthur’s wife, was an accomplished
pianist/organist and Contralto. She played the organ for its dedication on
November 4, 1923
The organ has 2 manuals (keyboards) and 454 pipes arranged in 8 ranks. The
largest pipe is 8 feet high and about 8” square. The smallest pipe is about 1 ½
inches long and approximately the diameter of a pencil. The pipes are made of
Michigan pine. The organ has tracker action, meaning there is a mechanical
linkage between keys/pedals pressed by the organist and the valve that allows air
to flow into the pipe of the corresponding note. The original bellows were
pumped by hand, but an electric blower was added when the organ was purchased
by the church. The church paid $750 for the organ in 1923 with about the same
amount going toward the electric blower. The total cost of $1500 was raised in
one week. Rev. Swanson, pastor of the church at the time, noted “The raising of
the pipe organ fund was a phenomenal achievement for a town of this size.” He
also stated, “Credit is due to all our friends in town and out, who joined hands and
hearts in making this splendid achievement possible.”
tracker organ at the Community Church of New Boston. The organ was built in
1891 and was installed on October 31, 1923.
The maker, George S. Hutchings, was born in 1835 in Salem, MA. He learned the
Organ manufacturing business with the Boston firm of E. and G.G. Hook.
Hutchings became prominent among American organ builders and built organs for
The old Boston Music Hall, Old South Church, Trinity Church, Church of the Advent,
Symphony Hall, and St. Bartholomew’s in New York. His organs were installed at
Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, Wellesley, Williams, and Wesleyan colleges, and the New
England Conservatory of Music.
The organ was obtained from the First M.E. Church of Winchester, MA on October
21, 1923, due to the efforts of Arthur Bateman Corthell, who arranged for the
purchase, successful transportation and installation. Mr. Corthell was a well
known civil engineer in the New England area. The Corthell family spent
their summers in New Boston. They owned the Leach Farm, which is known today
as the Half & Half Farm. The Corthells were a musical family and often gave
concerts at the church. Lena Foster Corthell, Arthur’s wife, was an accomplished
pianist/organist and Contralto. She played the organ for its dedication on
November 4, 1923
The organ has 2 manuals (keyboards) and 454 pipes arranged in 8 ranks. The
largest pipe is 8 feet high and about 8” square. The smallest pipe is about 1 ½
inches long and approximately the diameter of a pencil. The pipes are made of
Michigan pine. The organ has tracker action, meaning there is a mechanical
linkage between keys/pedals pressed by the organist and the valve that allows air
to flow into the pipe of the corresponding note. The original bellows were
pumped by hand, but an electric blower was added when the organ was purchased
by the church. The church paid $750 for the organ in 1923 with about the same
amount going toward the electric blower. The total cost of $1500 was raised in
one week. Rev. Swanson, pastor of the church at the time, noted “The raising of
the pipe organ fund was a phenomenal achievement for a town of this size.” He
also stated, “Credit is due to all our friends in town and out, who joined hands and
hearts in making this splendid achievement possible.”