Secrets of Organ Playing Week 57 – Pater noster qui es in caelis – Denis Bédard

Denis Bédard is a contemporary French-Canadian composer of organ music. His compositions are functional for the liturgy and also for concerts and are written in a very approachable style. The Pater Noster suite was written in 2004. There are eight movements, each corresponding to the eight sections/petitions in the Lord’s Prayer. Peter noster qui es in caelis (Our Father who art in heaven) is the opening movement. Bédard uses the traditional Gregorian chant as the theme for each movement. The theme is first treated in a gentle manner. The contrasting central section, with registers added, features an increased pace with a triplet figure. This section leads to a diminuendo and whereupon to the mood of the opening concludes the work.

The organ I am playing upon was built by the Australian organ builder, Charles Richardson in 1912. Its somewhat limited specification with an abundance of unison registers works well in this movement. I avoided the use of the reed which was not in the best of tune because of the extreme temperatures being experienced in Sydney. The swell pedal is an old-fashioned level swell which is hitched down at the right, not unlike what was found on 19th century French organs.