Dr. Hancock in concert

I met Dr. Hancock about eight hours before the concert. He was practicing the Fantasy on B-A-C-H by Maxx Reger. When I talked to him he had so much to say about how much he liked the two and a-half-year-old 90 rank Casavant he was playing, he said something along the lines of "What a fabulous organ this is. Such a magnificent addition to the organ community, this is truly one of the great organs of the country and among the best recent contributions to organ building on the entire planet."
At 7:30 I found myself in the Sanctuary again, free of the $10 charge thanks to the generosity of the Music Director of Saint Paul's, Frank Boles. The program began with the Fantasy and Fugue on B-A-C-H by Maxx Reger, a dynamic, impressive, and dazzling piece. Upon the first big chord in the first measure of the Fantasy, a lady in front of me shook so violently, I swear I have never seen anybody so startled by the power of a pipe organ. He played through the Fantasy and Fugue without a single flaw or mistake using incredibly effective registrations made possible by the immense variety of the 90 ranks of pipes
Next on the program was the Piece d'Orgue (BWV 572) by Johann Sebastian Bach, Gerre played the piece with consistency and joyous registrations, the Lentement section of the piece was enjoyed by everyone for sure!
The third piece Gerre performed was the famous Chorale in A minor by Cesar Franck. Gerre played through piece again with perfect registration choices and perfect consistency.
The Prelude and Fugue in E minor by Nikolaus Bruhns was to follow, Gerre played this piece very well and it was enjoyed by all. There was a point in the Prelude where it sounded to me that he used the Tuba Mirabilis, I don't know about that but it was interesting to note.
Last on the program before the 'fun part' was the Canon, Chacony and Fugue by Leo Sowerby, dedicated to E. Power Biggs. Hancock played this charming piece with magnificent joy and understanding of the piece.
After a ten minute intermission, the Improvisation themes were submitted to Dr. Hancock, the four movement improvised symphony began!
The first movement was a Sonata-form piece in which he used many of the organs resources from beautiful english reeds to the to-die-for flutes. This was followed by a Song-form movement in which he used various solo reeds contrasting against various strings and soft flute stops.
Next was an incredibly fun Scherzo on the theme of "Zippidy do da!" exploring many of the organ's bright, light, and joyful stop opportunities. Last was a Fugue and Finale, Gerre developed a fugue that move seamlessly into a flourishing finale, slowly beginning to utilize other themes from the symphony, the crescendo was smooth and gradual. He closed the the Finale with a flourishing finish, utilizing every stop on the organ including the 19 rank Nave organ and the 8' Hooded Festival trompette. Returning to the theme of "Zippidy do da", he weaved the familiar tune into genius clashing chords forming it perfectly into a magnificent conclusion. Just as soon as the decay had ceased, I was the first person in the audience to stand and clap. Everyone I came across could not say enough how much they enjoyed the concert. Dr. Hancock's performance was enjoyed by all in attendance and I speak for myself when I say it is all I could think about until I fell to sleep that night.

Photo by Bernadette Wagner of Dr. Hancock during the concert, standing in front of the gorgeous four manual terraced console of the Casavant organ at Saint Paul's.