This page : Laurice Kennel from the Marian Anderson Society Scholars performs at Tindley Temple . Opposite : Concert goers watch the US premiere of Garras de Oro at Rodeph Shalom . Daniel Kontz made the organ sparkle in an intimate program featuring his own arrangements of Rachmaninoff and Guilmant alongside lighter fare , such as a Hollywood-inspired arrangement of “ Somewhere Over the Rainbow .”
For many , the organ and the music of Bach are inseparable , and the festival also offered a program featuring a complete cantata of Bach at the Unitarian Society in Germantown . Supported by four vocalists and eight instrumentalists , John Walthausen presented cantata BWV 146 , much as it would have been done in Bach ’ s day : with musicians playing in the tight space of an organ loft amid all the colors of a large organ . The Unitarian Society ’ s building is an unusual architectural delight , decorated in the Beaux Arts Style , and its organ , built in Germany by Rieger Orgelbau , was inspired by the organ reform movement , which sought to recover some of the sonic ideals of the baroque period .
Contemporary music also had an important place in the festival . At the First Presbyterian Church in Germantown , Amanda Renée Mole offered a program celebrating minimalist music , including works of living composers Arvo
Pärt , Ad Wammes , and Nico Muhly . For the finale of her performance , she was joined by a team of percussionists playing marimbas , glockenspiel , and vibraphones , as well as three singers from The Crossing in a rare performance of Steve Reich ’ s Music for Mallet Instruments , Voices and Organ . Earlier that day , at St . Luke ’ s Germantown , Matthew Glandorf created an entirely improvised score to the early silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc . In this concert , Glandorf found resonances not only with the film but with the brilliant neo-Gothic interior of this historic building . At Temple Rodeph Shalom , the festival presented the American premiere of an experimental work , Garras de Oro ( Claws of Gold ), scored to the Colombian silent film of the same name by Juan Pablo Carreño for organ and amplified ensemble , showing the ability of the organ to integrate in a cutting-edge work of contemporary art .
Philadelphia is a true city of neighborhoods , each unique and offering room for unlimited discovery . This festival embraced the possibility of experiencing Philadelphia in a fresh way , seeing its sacred places differently , and hearing new artists , a new repertoire , and new ideas .
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