Henry Performs at AGO Recital
Henry performs at Trinity Episcopal Church.
March 30, 2025: Henry performed on organ, along with nine other organists, a soprano soloist, and the San Luis Rey Chorale, during a concert at Trinity Episcopal Church in Escondido, California, hosted by the American Guild of Organists Palomar Chapter. Henry performed two pieces: his own Improvisation on Noël Nouvelet, and his own arrangement of Paul McCartney's When I'm Sixty-Four. Henry explained:
I am always thrilled to get a chance to play Trinity Episcopal Church’s 22-rank three-manual and pedal Reuter organ (1974) supplemented with Rodgers’ digital stops (2005). I also got to hear a lot of superb music!
The first tune I played, Noël Nouvelet, is often heard during the hymns "Now the Green Blade Riseth" and "Now We Sing of Christmas." My improvisation is in three parts: ABA. In the A section the ostinato figure and theme (the hymn tune) is introduced, in the B section the piece goes on a tangent and explores a few motifs tinged with a hint of jazz and rock, and the return to the A section is a recapitulation of the original, with a somewhat frantic coda.
Regarding Paul McCartney's When I'm Sixty-Four, the song was released on the Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. A mixture of ragtime and pop music, the song borrows heavily from the English music hall style of George Formby, while invoking images of the illustrator Donald McGill’s seaside postcards.
During my high school years I played keyboards in a rock band. At first I played accordion (my first instrument), but the accordion was difficult to mike and the sound was not exactly stylistically correct, so I purchased a Farfisa electronic organ with Leslie speaker cabinet, which worked much better. My high school buddies and I played quite a few Beatles tunes, including Paul McCartney's When I'm Sixty-Four.
Fifty years later, I played this piece for a Sunday prelude at House of Prayer Lutheran Church on my 64th birthday in 2020. The clergy, staff and congregation at House of Prayer are cool people. They are not uptight about the music I play. As long as I "make a joyful noise unto the Lord," they don't care whether my prelude is sacred or secular. I had a lot of fun playing this piece. I recorded both pieces, which you can hear on YouTube. The printed music is also available for purchase.
The concert program featured:
Howard McCullough performed the opening medley: California Here I Come, El Cumbanchero, Somewhere Over The Rainbow, and God Bless America.
Aleethia Sun: Mendelssohn's Adagio from Sonata No. 1.
Michael Munson: J. S. Bach's Prelude and Fugue in D Major.
Ronél Wishnuff: Angela Kraft Cross' Fantasie on “Arirang.”
Alex Laubach: J. S. Bach's Prelude and Fugue in C Major from Eight Little Preludes and Fugues.
Soprano Anna Grable and organist Carol Graham: Michael Burkhardt's O Sons and Daughters of the King.
Henry Doktorski: Improvisation on Noël Nouvelet, and Paul McCartney's When I'm Sixty-Four.
David Lewis: John Stewart Archer's arrangement of Londonderry Air, and Andromeda by Carol Williams.
Choral Works performed by the San Luis Rey Chorale, David Lewis director:
Felix Mendelssohn's There shall a star come out of Jacob.
Maurice Duruflé's Sanctus.
David McKinley Williams' In the year that King Uzziah died.
The Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah.
To hear Henry perform these two pieces on YouTube, go to: Improvisation on Noël Nouvelet and When I'm Sixty-Four.
For more about the American Guild of Organists Palomar Chapter, visit the chapter website at: https://agopalomar.org/. For more about Trinity Episcopal Church in Escondido, visit their website at: https://www.trinityescondido.org/.
the console of Trinity Episcopal Church’s 22-rank three-manual and pedal Reuter organ (1974) supplemented with Rodgers’ digital stops (2005).
Plaque on the Trinity Episcopal Church organ console.