Arts, Etc.Music

Dedication showcases organ, harpsichord

Last Sunday night the ULV Chapel hosted the dedication of a chamber organ that had been sent over from England. Along with the dedication of the organ there was a rededication of a harpsichord that holds special meaning for many here at La Verne, having been built by alumnus Paul Lovelace. Shown here demonstrating the harpsichord is Anita Hanawalt accompanied by Karen Cahill on the flute and Audrey Lamprey behind the horn. / photo by Brian Murphy
Last Sunday night the ULV Chapel hosted the dedication of a chamber organ that had been sent over from England. Along with the dedication of the organ there was a rededication of a harpsichord that holds special meaning for many here at La Verne, having been built by alumnus Paul Lovelace. Shown here demonstrating the harpsichord is Anita Hanawalt accompanied by Karen Cahill on the flute and Audrey Lamprey behind the horn. / photo by Brian Murphy

by Martha I. Fernandez
Features Editor

With the chapel overflowing with faculty, staff, students and community members, Anita Hanawalt, along with four other women, rededicated the rebuilt and improved harpsichord and dedicated the newly-arrived chamber organ on March 26.

The group of musicians who graced the audience with their talents that night included Karen Cahill, a freelance musician and elementary school teacher, who played the flute; Karen Clark, a part-time professor in the Music Department of the University of La Verne and other neighboring institutions, who played the organ; Hanawalt, a part-time faculty member at ULV, who played the harpsichord and organ; Audrey Lamprey, a faculty member of Cal Poly Pomona and UC Riverside, who performed on the horn; and Lilia López, operations manager for the ULV Music Department, who filled the Chapel with her soprano voice.

Cahill, Hanawalt and Lamprey worked together as a trio playing 16th and 18th century music with the harpsichord and 19th and 20th century music using the piano or organ.

The evening began with musical selections which demonstrated the soothing, harmonious sounds of the harpsichord. A few of the pieces played were “Rondeau” by Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre, “Sonata for Flute and Continuo” by Anna Amalia von Prussia, short pieces from “The Harpsichord Master,” a collection edited by Christopher Hogwood, and “Three Duets for Organ and Harpsichord” by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach.

ULV’s harpsichord was built in 1975 by Paul Lovelace, 1975 graduate, who was challenged with the project by Jim Fahringer, music professor, and spent about 240 hours at student wages to finish it.

“I fell in love with the project as I worked many a late night in Founders Hall, room 22,” said Lovelace. “It is one of the most challenging and fulfilling things, in many ways, that I have ever worked on.”

The harpsichord has a maple casing and a birch sound board. The all-wood instrument was first played in the 1975 Spring Concert and was built from an Eric Hertz kit.

Besides building the instrument, Lovelace said the harpsichord has a special significance to him, as it was the instrument played at his wedding.

It has since been used in Pomona Fellowship Church of the Brethren’s performance of Vivaldi’s “Gloria” and in Boston’s Early Music Festival. In 1994, Hertz overhauled the harpsichord. The improved instrument came back to ULV in July 1994.

The ceremony to dedicate the 17th century-style chamber organ was initiated after intermission. The instrument was purchased by Anita and Jay Hanawalt for about $30,000 last summer from Goetze and Gwynn, organ builders in England. The price was the 1984 asking price.

“It was something we just couldn’t pass up,” said Hanawalt. “We would never had another chance.”

The chamber organ arrived to ULV in July. The Hanawalts chose the chapel as the most desirable location to house the instrument.

“In our home very few people will get to hear it,” said Hanawalt. “Another main reason is for students to use it and study organ.”

The chamber organ was played at the fall student recital and Ash Wednesday service.

The organ’s design makes it ideal for playing music of the 17th century because it was built for that style of music, but is versatile enough to adequately accommodate 16th and 18th century music.

“It’s a way of doing the more early literature,” said Hanawalt.

A collage of pictures and captions adorned the hallway of the Chapel, telling the story of the process to get the chamber organ to ULV and the Hanawalts’ trip to England.

“The only problem we ran into was the United States firm did not have the paperwork saying that they should bring the organ through customs and deliver it directly to the Chapel.

“We called England in the middle of the night several times and they faxed the paperwork,” said Hanawalt. “But, it was pretty hectic for a couple of weeks until that got settled.”

One of the pipes also got skewered by a fork lift. However, it was shipped back, fixed and returned.

No traces of this damage was heard when pieces from a variety of composers were played to demonstrate the organ. The crowd stood and joined in the song as Hanawalt played the hymn, “All People that on Earth Do Dwell.” The evening concluded with “Laudate Dominum,” a piece by Chiara Margerita Cozzolani.

Martha I. Fernandez, Features Editor
Martha I. Fernandez
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