Organist Paul Jacobs: Grammy Winner & Judge
by Sean Martinfield
In 2011, the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without orchestra) went to organist Paul Jacobs. A two-disc set, music by Olivier Messiaen, Livre du Saint-Sacrament. It marked the first time this award had been given to an organ soloist. The work is very, very dense. Each track is a meditation — a harmonic structure in which to contemplate an image of faith or doctrine, such as “The Transubstantiation” and “The Multiplied Presence”.
The organ and model of choice was the much treasured Aeolian-Skinner Opus 891 at the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin — located in Manhattan’s theatre district, Midtown West. Also very dense. St. Mary the Virgin, a theologically complex Anglo-Catholic wing of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, is known for its lush acoustics and the excellence of its musical liturgies. Paul had performed the same work there in 2007. He knew what to expect when he returned in September 2010 for the recording. Messiaen’s “Book of the Holy Sacrament” is hardcore organ composition. In the hands of Paul Jacobs, the music is a means to the Eternal.
Paul recently participated on a judging panel for a competition held at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Once the private estate of Pierre S. du Pont, Longwood Gardens has long been recognized as one of the foremost botanical sites in the world. Within its colossal four-acre conservatory is a large ballroom which contains a massive and recently restored Aeolian organ with 10,010 pipes. The occasion was the first Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition.
To listen to Jacobs play, click here.