Lexington Presbyterian Church will present an organ concert today, Wednesday, May 14, at 7 p.m., featuring organist William McCorkle and baritone Michael McLaughlin, a 2023 Washington and Lee University graduate.
The program features a treasured work of organ literature, François Couperin’s “Messe pour les Paroisses” (“Mass for the Parishes”). The celebrated Parisian organist, harpsichordist and composer, Couperin (1668-1733) is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential musicians of his time. The “Mass for the Parishes” is one of two organ masses composed and published by Couperin in 1690. This is a non-liturgical work, but it follows the text of the “ordinary” (the portions used in every service and not specific to a particular day of the church year) of the mass. Half of the sentences of text are replaced by organ pieces, with the alternating verses sung to a chant melody. The rich assortment of short organ pieces showcases the distinctive organ sounds of the French instruments of Couperin’s time, a period usually described as the “first golden age of French pipe organs.”
“I am delighted and fortunate to offer this concert,” said McCorkle. “I learned Couperin’s organ masses many decades ago and have included them in concerts throughout my life as an organist. But it was only in 2023 that I finally performed one of them (the “Messe pour les Couvents”/ “Mass for the Convents”) as Couperin intended, with a singer [Michael McLaughlin, a liturgical scholar] presenting the alternating lines of the mass text. I am excited to have the opportunity to present the ‘Mass for the Parishes’ with Michael. It’s another dream realized, another ‘bucket list’ item checked off.’
The concert will be live streamed on the Lexington Presbyterian website: lexpres. org.
