Nosferatu

A Symphony of Horror

Perhaps this event will dispel the notion of the average modern American that the organ is most closely associated with funerals.  However, this evening will not dispel the notion that the pipe organ is associated with scary chords played at dramatic moments!

Nosferatu was the first of many attempts to capture the essential story of Bram Stoker’s Dracula in celluloid.   Filmed in 1922 in Germany and directed by F.W. Murnau, the film was immediately popular and mired in controversy.  Bram Stoker’s widow was displeased by the close alignment of Murnau’s telling of the story with her husband’s novel and successfully brought suit to have the negatives and all copies destroyed.  Fortunately, various prints survived and this unique adaptation of Dracula lives on.

Synopsis

In Wisborg, Germany, Hutter works for an estate agent, Knock, who sends him to Count Orlock’s castle in Transylvania, to help purchase the house across from Hutter’s.  Hutter’s wife, Ellen, stays with friends while he experiences an unusual journey on his way to stay with the more unusual Orlock.  Orlock fills Hutter with dread.  Hutter reads a local book and after finding Orlock asleep in a crypt during the day deduces that the Count is a vampire or Nosferatu.   Orlock makes his way to Wisborg hiding in coffins while Hutter manages to escape the castle and make his way home after recuperating in hospital.  Deaths caused by Orlock are attributed to plague and Wisborg descends into fear, terror and chaos.  Ellen reads “The Book of the Vampires” and decides to be involved in the end of the story.

The Organ – C. B. Fisk, Op. 98

This particular organ was conceived not just for the worship life at First Presbyterian, but as an investment in the culture of our region for generations to come.

The Fisk company designed the instrument to have a variety of sounds to provide artistic and flexible support of congregational and choral singing.  As it was noted at the time of its dedication twenty years ago this month, First Presbyterian would be able through this instrument not only to revitalize its worship life through music, but also assume a position of leadership in the community and the region.  By providing the best possible organ to support worship activities, the church created a resource for other musical and educational activities that have been part of church work for centuries.  The organ has been visited by numerous internationally acclaimed musicians, High School music appreciation classes, and used for educational events of national significance.

The organ is a large box of pipes each of which is controlled by a keyboard to select the pitch, and ‘stop’ levers to select which group of pipes will sound.  The largest pipes are 16’ long, and the smallest about the size of a fingernail.   All selections are made by hand while playing.

The Choir School of First Presbyterian Church is affiliated with the Royal School of Church Music which supports a world-wide network of 8,500 churches, schools and individuals.  The RSCM is committed to achieving the best use of music in worship, whatever the resources, whatever the styles.  Through education, training, publications, advice and encouragement, the RSCM supports church music today and invests in church music for the future.

Summer Courses are held throughout the US and provide choral training for choristers of all ages to support the highest level of music making.  The cost of courses is substantial (around $500 per participant) and your donation will be gratefully received.

Robert Nicholls: Director of Music

Robert Nicholls is Director of Music at First Presbyterian Church in Evansville, Indiana.  He started his musical education as a Chorister at Westminster Abbey under Simon Preston, graduated from Oundle School and Cambridge University, and sang in the choirs of Gonville and Caius and St. John’s Colleges.

Robert has served as Housemaster and Organist for RSCM Summer Training Courses for twenty-five years and been on staff and planning teams for the Presbyterian Association of Musicians Worship and Music Conferences at Montreat, North Carolina. 2024-25 Robert is the Director of the RSCM America National Choir.

Robert enjoys accompanying worship from the organ and also silent films.  He won first place at the American Guild of Organists National Competition in Organ Improvisation in 2012. Robert was an adjunct lecturer in Music at the IU Jacobs School of Music from 2015-2017 teaching keyboard skills, graduate improvising courses and supervising the Sacred Music Practicum. He is currently Adjunct Professor of organ and harpsichord at the University of Evansville and serves on the RSCM America National Board of Directors.

Robert is married to Emma Nicholls, PhD, a pediatric Clinical Psychologist whom he met next door in Evansville.  They are proud parents of Elena (19) and William (16).

“Sitting at the console of this instrument gives one the feeling of being the conductor of a symphony orchestra, perhaps not the largest around, but certainly one made up of the best players trained to listen and blend with each other.  As organist, I have at my disposal solo orchestral voices of violins, trumpets, oboe and clarinet, as well as beautiful flutes and warm foundations.  The full organ sound having ‘pulled out all the stops’ is a thrilling and awesome sonic experience as the multiple voices come together and blend in the grand space of the lofty-ceilinged church.  It is hard to imagine a more suitable instrument for expressive music making by an individual.  This evening’s performance will be entirely improvised (composed) as the movie plays.  It has never been heard before and it will never be heard exactly like this again.”

– Program notes by Robert Nicholls

Suggested donation $5 (or more!) to The Choir School of First Presbyterian Church