Gail Archer begins her latest free recital tour January 28 at St. Paul’s Chapel at Columbia University
Multiple venues
Monthly January – May, free
www.gailarcher.com
Concert organist and lecturer Gail Archer sets out tonight on her annual recital tour, making the first of five free monthly appearances in religious institutions as part of her new series “The Muses Voice: A Celebration of International Women Composers.” Archer, the chair of the music department at Barnard, director of artist and young organ artist recitals at Central Synagogue, and concert organist at Vassar, has released such albums as J. S. Bach — The Transcendent Genius, Mendelssohn in the Romantic Century, A Mystic in the Making — Olivier Messiaen, and Franz Liszt — A Hungarian Rhapsody. On January 28 she will be at St. Paul’s Chapel at Columbia University performing Johanna Senfter’s Fantasie und Fugue G-Dur Op. 30 “Wie schon leuchtet der Morgenstern,” Ethel Smyth’s Praeludium und Fuge “O Traurigkeit, o Herzeleid,” Sofia Gubaidulina’s Hell und Dunkel, Nadia Boulanger’s Prelude, Petit Canon, Improvisation, and Judith Bingham’s The Everlasting Crown. On February 11, Archer heads to Central Synagogue for a program that includes Diana Burell’s Arched Forms with Bells, Jocelyn Morlock’s Premonition, Gwyneth Walker’s Sanctuary, Alla Borzowa’s Reverence, All Nature Sings, A Refuge, Peace, and Rolande Falcinelli’s Le Sermon sur la Montagne. March 10 finds Archer at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church to play Eve Duncan’s Exusiai, Mireille Tissot’s Choral et Fugue, Meditation, Margaret Vardell Sandresky’s Wondrous Love and The Mystery of Faith, Anne Kilstofte’s Fractals, and Pamela Decker’s Retablos, Pange Lingua, Ubi Caritas, Victimae paschal. On April 7 she will take her seat at Park Avenue Christian Church to perform Wang An Ming’s Soundings, Rachel Lauren’s Petite Suite sur un Motet de Gerald Bales OP. 41, I. Fantasie “Let the Earth Celebrate the Lord,” II. Cantabile “Mountains and Hills, III. Toccatina “Praise Him,” Mary Howe’s Elegy, Barbara Rettagliati’s Fantasia su frammenti gregoriani, and Jeanne Demessieux’s Te Deum. The tour concludes May 22 at St. Paul the Apostle Church with Eleanor Daley’s Trinitas, I. “And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” Genesis 1:2, II. “To the thirsty I will give water without price from the fountain of life” Revelation 21:6, III. And I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh” Acts 2:17, Nancy Van de Vate’s Prelude for Organ, Karen P. Thomas’s Dar eltehab-e jazbe-ye’ yeganeggy . . . burning with ecstatic harmony . . .,” Ana Paola Santillan Alcocer’s Hope of Dawn, and Jennifer Higdon’s Ceremonies Suite, Meditation, Prayer Song, Celebration.
“A great virtuoso madman,” “scary,” “a motherfucker,” “a lovable rogue,” “a dope addict,” “the hammer of the gods,” “a force of nature,” “horrible,” “the world’s greatest drummer” — these are just some of the terms of affection heaped on legendary drummer Ginger Baker by his friends, relatives, and musical colleagues at the beginning of Jay Bulger’s propulsive documentary, Beware of Mr. Baker. In 2009, after spending three months with Baker and his family in South Africa, Bulger published the in-depth article “The Devil and Ginger Baker” in Rolling Stone. Two years later, Bulger went back to expand the story into a feature-length film, but Baker was not about to make it easy for him, continually insulting his questions, calling him names, and even cracking him in the nose with his cane. “He influenced me as a drummer but not as a person,” Bad Company and Free drummer Simon Kirke says of Baker, an opinion shared by many in this revealing film. Baker might be crotchety, but he also opens up to Bulger, particularly in describing when, as a child during WWII, he would hear the bombings outside, sounds that would have an impact on his playing. Bulger speaks with such other percussionists as the Rolling Stones’ Charlie Watts, Rush’s Neal Peart, the Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart, Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, the Police’s Stewart Copeland, Vanilla Fudge’s Carmine Appice, and Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason, as well as such former Baker bandmates as Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Steve Winwood, who all rave about Baker’s remarkable abilities behind the kit while also delving into his self-destructive behavior, which led him through a parade of groups, home countries, and spouses. “I don’t know if it’s his ability to move on or it’s his inability to stay,” points out Baker’s third wife, Karen Loucks Rinedollar, a statement that applies to both Baker’s personal and professional lives. 
