N.P. Mander Organ Recital: Renée Anne Louprette

N.P. Mander Organ Recital
Renée Anne Louprette, organ
with special guest
Ivan Goff, uilleann pipes

Renée Anne Louprette celebrates the 25^th anniversary season of the N.P. Mander Organ with a retrospective performance. The recital coincides with the release of her latest recording, Une voix française (A French voice), a collection of 20^th-century French organ masterworks recorded on the N. P. Mander Organ; a reception celebrating the album release will be held immediately following the recital. The performance is a homecoming for Louprette, who served as Associate Director of Music and curator of the Mander organ recital series at St. Ignatius Loyola from 2005 to 2011.

Louprette’s recital is part of a season-long celebration of the N.P. Mander Organ’s silver anniversary. The mighty instrument has been a defining feature of St. Ignatius Loyola; at 30 tons and 45 feet high, its 5,000 pipes, 55,000 parts, four keyboards, and 68 different stops fill the sanctuary with lush, crisp, nuanced, and powerful music that has become a hallmark of the church’s Sacred Music in a Sacred Space concerts.

The recital opens with two Bach works from the monumental collection Clavier-Übung, Part III, written at the end of the composer’s life. Louprette recently recorded the complete pedal works from Clavier-Übung III on the Craighead-Saunders organ of Christ Church in Rochester, NY, to be released on the Acis productions label later in 2018.

She then moves to French baroque composer Nicolas de Grigny, whose music had a profound influence on Bach. This can be heard in the two chorale settings from Bach's Clavier-Übung that open the program. Then, a swing to the modern featuring contemporary Dutch composer Ad Wammes, a frequent collaborator with Louprette. Wammes’ large-scale piece Mytò is a rarely-performed tour-de-force demonstrating influences from Stravinsky to minimalism to symphonic rock.

In this spirit, Louprette debuts her new collaboration with renowned traditional Irish musician Ivan Goff in an exploration of ancient airs and dances from Ireland and Scandinavia. Having studied traditional Irish music herself, she marries two musical influences dear to her heart by pairing one of the world's greatest uilleann pipers with the sound of the N.P. Mander Organ.

Pieces by Nadia Boulanger and Maurice Duruflé conclude the recital and most closely represent the repertoire featured on her new solo recording Une voix française (A French voice) on the Acis Productions label. This is the repertoire Louprette has been most closely associated with during and beyond her tenure at St. Ignatius Loyola.

Acclaimed concert organist Renée Anne Louprette has forged an international career as performing artist, collaborative musician, conductor, and teacher. Critics have hailed her as “splendid,” “one of New York’s finest organists” (The New York Times), “a promising talent to follow” (Diapason, France), and “a communicative player with no shortage of imaginative ideas, with fingers fully capable of backing them up” (The Irish Times). A renowned liturgical organist and improviser, Louprette has been associated with distinguished New York sacred music programs at Trinity Wall Street, All Souls Unitarian Church, and the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola.

Louprette’s debut album on the Acis Productions label, the Great Eighteen Chorales of J. S. Bach, was named a classical music Critics' Choice 2014 by The New York Times.

Renée Anne Louprette is University Organist and Coordinator of the Organ Department at the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University, and a former member of the organ faculty at the Manhattan School of Music, The Hartt School of the University of Hartford, and the John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University. She holds degrees in piano and organ from The Hartt School of the University of Hartford, a Premier Prix - mention très bien from the Conservatoire National de Région de Toulouse, France, and a Diplôme Supérieur in organ performance from the Centre d’Études Supérieures de Musique et de Danse de Toulouse. Her teachers have included Michel Bouvard, Jan Willem Jansen, Philippe Lefebvre, Dame Gillian Weir, James David Christie, Guy Bovet, and Larry Allen. She is presently a candidate for the Master of Music degree in conducting from Bard College Conservatory.

A native of Dublin, Ivan Goff plays uilleann pipes and Irish concert flute and is currently a member of Irish traditional band Danú. Over the years he has performed worldwide in duets and ensembles with many household names of Irish music including Iarla Ó Lionáird, Mícheál Ó Raghallaigh, Martin Hayes, Cormac Breatnach, Eileen Ivers Band, Dervish, and Lúnasa. With credits that range from film and theater to appearances with the New York Philharmonic, and with collaborations that cross genres with new music, electroacoustic, and jazz, Ivan's music has also featured in several well-known productions such as Riverdance and Sting's The Last Ship on Broadway.

Ivan Goff has collaborated with producers, composers, and choreographers in various genres: in dance (Jean Butler's Hurry); theater (Richard Maxwell's Samara); film soundtrack (Matthew Barney's Cremaster); new music (with The League of Composers/ISCM); and experimental improv (with Evan Parker). He holds a PhD in music from New York University and Masters degrees from Queens University, Belfast and University College Dublin.

All performance dates, artists and programs subject to change. Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable.

GENERAL CONCERT AND TICKET INFORMATION

• DOORS OPEN at 2:30 PM for a 3 PM concert start time.


• LATE SEATING is at the discretion of the House Management. Latecomers may be asked to remain in the back of the church until there is a break in the program, so as not to disturb the performance or other audience members.


• WILL CALL is available when the doors open at 2:30 PM inside the main doors of the church.


• CHILDREN seated on an adult's lap do not need a ticket. Children seated in a chair or pew need a ticket. 


• We no longer offer tickets for sale or any ticket pickup at the Parish House Reception desk.


• Audio and/or video recording and flash photography are not permitted during performances.

ACCESSIBILITY

• The Church of St. Ignatius Loyola is wheelchair/walker accessible via the ramp entrance on 84th Street (between Park and Madison Avenues).


• The restrooms are NOT easily accessible by wheelchair. The most easily accessible restrooms are in the Parish House (980 Park Avenue). There are two steps down from the street level into the Parish House and there is a restroom on that ground floor.


• For reserved seating concerts, there is available seating for wheelchairs and companions. Please look for the Wheelchair and Wheelchair Companion tickets when purchasing. For general seating concerts, follow the directions of the ushers. Please call ahead (212-288-2520) to discuss any special seating requirements.

PARKING

• Street parking can be difficult to find, but there are a number of parking garages nearby. There are garages on 83rd Street (between Park and Lexington Avenues) and 84th Street (between Park and Lexington Avenues), as well as near the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

RESTAURANTS

• There are a number of fine and casual eating establishments located nearby on Madison Avenue (one block west of the church), Lexington Avenue (one block east of the church), Third Avenue (two blocks east of the church) and Second Avenue (three blocks east of the church).

 DIRECTIONS

• The Church of St. Ignatius Loyola is easily reached via the 4, 5, and 6 subway lines (86th Street station), or buses on Madison, Lexington and Fifth Avenues, and on 86th Street.