Recital planned on repaired First Congregational organ; Dedication, recital slated for Jan. 31, with Ness as organist.

Byline: Sandy Meindersma

HOLDEN -- The repairs to the Casavant Freres organ in the First Congregational Church have been completed, and the church has planned a dedication and recital to celebrate.

The celebration will take place in the church sanctuary at 3 p.m. Jan. 31, with William Joseph Ness as the guest organist.

Susan Crockett, a member of the organ repair committee, said the repairs to the organ were completed in November, and that the organ was first used in the church for Sunday service on Nov. 23.

Repairs to the organ included a new console, the repair and replacement of stops, and repairs to holes in the wind chest. Those repairs cost $180,000, which was paid with the money earned through a special fundraising campaign at the church.

Mr. Ness, who is the minister of music and arts at the First Baptist Church in Worcester, said that his performance will emphasize some of the enhancements to the organ.

"I want to showcase the new features,'' he said. "They have added five new stops, including a trumpet stop, as well as a reed stop for the great manual (keyboard).

Mr. Ness' recital will feature seven pieces, including "Trumpet Voluntary'' by John Travers and Bach's "Prelude and Fugue in G major.'' Mr. Ness said he will also play John Knowles Paine's "Prelude in B minor,'' noting that Mr. Paine was the first tenured music professor at Harvard University, and that the piece has a full range of organ sounds.

Paying homage to the organ's French connection, as Casavant Freres was French Canadian, Mr. Ness has selected three movements from Louis-Nicolas Clerambault's Second Suite.

"What the French did when they were writing organ music was to match the color of the organ with the piece,'' Mr. Ness said. "I am also playing Julian Bret's 'Images of Paris', which is a really fun piece to play -- you can even hear the train whistle in the Gare St-Lazare movement.''

Noting that most rural residents had no access to Broadway and that many learned show tunes through organ transcriptions of Broadway hits, Mr. Ness said he will be playing a Fantasy on themes from Bizet's "Carmen,'' which he also characterized as a very fun piece.

"Carmen is a piece that most everyone knows, and I didn't want to do a historical essay on the organ,'' he said. "I wanted something that would engage the audience.''

Mrs. Crockett said the recital is open to the public, but noted that seating is limited. A reception will follow.