Music and Cats / Book of Abstracts - Catalog - Page 29
Abstracts
Panel 8: Composers and Their Mewses
Bärenreiter
18:25 – 18:40
The Organ Stop Cats
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Twentieth-Century Composer Connections in the Work
of Jean Langlais
Emma Wimberg / University of North Texas
Writing back to his wife about his time on his
American tour, renowned French composer Jean
Langlais relayed the following sentiment in
recording his conversations with Texas-based
organist and musicologist Helen Hewitt, saying to
Hewitt, “…you are so charming, … relating your
cats’ thoughts under various circumstances.” In
the mid-20th century, French organists commonly
toured America to showcase their talent, which
allowed Hewitt to forge a strong friendship with
the famed organist and composer Langlais during
his visit to Texas in 1956. During one visit to
Hewitt’s Denton residence, Langlais spent many
hours playing with Hewitt’s cat, Lady Quintadena,
named after an organ stop, and her kittens. He
became infatuated with them and not only
remembered to call on the cat’s birthday,
Valentine’s Day, but also wrote a piece inspired by
the Lady and dedicated it to Hewitt. The fifth
movement in his 1959 American Suite for organ
was thus titled “Scherzo: Cats.”
Significantly, the other 7 movements of this
Suite all reference a specific place—Chicago,
Texas, New York, California, Florida, and
Boystown (a city in Nebraska)—“Scherzo:
Cats” is the only title to not point to a
geographic location in its title. As I argue, this
titling demonstrates the importance of
Hewitt’s cats as intermediaries between the
two composers, as well as their lasting impact
as a main part of Langlais’ time in Texas. This
is further demonstrated by the concert
Langlais gave when receiving his honorary
Doctor of Music Degree from Texas Christian
University in 1975, opting to perform
“Scherzo: Cats” rather than a movement such
as “Big Texas” to pay homage to his time in
the state. Ultimately, this work demonstrates
not only the sound and playful nature of
Hewitt’s cats, but more importantly the bond
they facilitated between musicians.
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