KEN COWAN AT FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, FEBRUARY 18, 2005.

This Friday night was remarkable in many ways. The First Baptist Church,
Jackson, MS was the place, the Quimby pipe organ was the instrument, and
Ken Cowan was the artist who brought it all together. Everyone knows that
organ concerts are not likely to attract a large audience, but in this
case the very large church was well filled. Mr. Cowan played a two hour
program entirely from memory and held the attention of everyone,  who,
demanding an encore, wanted more. Mr. Cowan used the Quimby organ with
great imagination and skill. Throughout the program he created
artistically accurate registrations for a wide variety of music. The
program began with the immense Prelude and Fugue in E minor, BWV 548,
by J.S. Bach, commonly called The Wedge due to the shape of the fugue
subject. The piece was played with ease and brilliance and the
registration was very appropriate for this Baroque masterwork. The
Valse Mignonne Op. 142, No. 2, by Sigfried Karg-Elert, followed and
was a perfect musical contrast to the Bach. The Sonata No. 1 in F
Minor, by Felix Mendelssohn, was next and, once again, showed Mr.
Cowan’s masterful ability to play successfully a wide variety of music.
This was especially demonstrated in the next three selections which
were drawn from orchestral and operatic sources. The first of these
was the Prelude to Die Meistersinger, by Richard Wagner, arranged by
E.H. Lemare, followed by My Heart At Thy Sweet Voice, from Samson and
Delilah, and Danse Macabre, by Camille Saint-Saens. Mr. Cowan played
these with breathtaking brilliance and excitement. Transcriptions are
not my favorite organ music but Mr. Cowan has shown me that it is
possible to play them in a manner that is musically satisfying and
interesting on the organ. The final piece for the evening was the
huge Fantasy & Fugue on Ad Nos, Ad Salutarem Undam, by Franz Liszt.
This piece is long and can be wearisome, but not with Ken Cowan
playing. His prodigious technique enabled him to keep the tempo at
an electrifying speed with no sense of haste, and the music had
continuity and unity. It was exciting and gratifying to hear the
organ played in a manner that created such a positive response in a
general audience. The hope for the growth of appreciation of organ
music lies in this type of exciting organ programs given by young,
talented artists.
                                                    - Billy Trotter