John Courter Memorial Carillon Recital
June 14, 2011
11:10-11:30 am
Draper Tower
Berea College
Berea, KY
(map)
Suite No. 3, Opus 28 (2011)
John Gouwens (1957-)
Fanfare
Aria
Gigue
Elegy
This work was written upon commission from the Lexington (Kentucky) chapter of The American Guild of Organists, in memory of their longtime member and past dean, John Courter (1941-2010), former organ professor and College Carillonneur at Berea College, Berea, Kentucky.
John Courter enjoyed great popularity as a composer and arranger of music for carillon, with a steady stream of commissions coming from the US as well as from several European countries. I had the pleasure of working with him on many projects over the years, including my editing many of his compositions for publication, as well as his serving on two committees in The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America which I chaired.
In the spirit of so many of Courter's own compositions, the movements explore various techniques and styles of carillon writing, while also being comfortable and idiomatic for the carillonneur. There really isn't any musical relationship between the movements, but they are conceived as a set, with the various pieces complimenting one another when played in order.
Hymn Improvisation
Petit Lied (1910)
Henri Mulet (1878-1967)
Toccata Festevole, from Suite No. 1 (2001)
John Courter (1941-2010)
John Gouwens was appointed Organist and Carillonneur of The Culver Academies in the fall of 1980. In 1989-90 and again from 1996 to 2004, he also served as Choir Director of The Academies. A former student of Albert Gerken, he studied carillon at Indiana University, The University of Michigan, and The University of Kansas, and holds organ degrees from the latter two schools. He has played recitals on many important carillons throughout the United States and Canada, including performances at fourteen congresses of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America (GCNA) and at a congress of the World Carillon Federation. In 2005, he made his sixth European concert tour, playing recitals in Denmark, Belgium, and The Netherlands. His playing has been broadcast in several programs of Pipedreams, on Public Radio International. Gouwens's organ teachers included Richard Carlson, Clyde Holloway, Robert Clark, and Robert Glasgow.
Mr. Gouwens is a Carillonneur Member of the GCNA, where he has chaired the Johan Franco Composition Fund Committee (which sponsors competitions and commissions of new carillon music) for many years. He also chairs the subcommittee of the GCNA's Music Publications Committee charged with selecting original carillon compositions for publication. He also serves as a judge on the Student Examinations Committee. Some of his carillon compositions have been published by the GCNA, American Carillon Music Editions, Inc., and the Royal Carillon School "Jef Denÿn" in Mechelen, Belgium. In both 1985 and 2004, he hosted the annual congress of the GCNA at Culver. Gouwens has also won two composition competitions himself, notably the "Jef Denÿn" Prize in the 1992 competition sponsored by the Royal Carillon School of Mechelen.
Gouwens is also involved on an adjunct basis with the carillons of Indiana University and Ball State University.
He has produced four CD recordings of the organ and carillon of Culver, which are available for sale. He is also the author of the first American carillon teaching book, "Playing the Carillon: An Introductory Method," which is published by The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America, and in use worldwide.
To purchase recordings of John Gouwens, visit Amazon.com or the OHS Catalog (search for Gouwens).