Paul Manz

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Paul Manz born 1919, is an American composer for choir and organ. His most famous choral work is the Advent motet E'en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come, which has been performed at Nine Lessons and Carols at King's College, Cambridge. His most famous organ work is Aria. Paul Manz has long served the church as recitalist, composer, teacher and leader in worship. He is Cantor Emeritus at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saint Luke, Chicago, Illinois; as well as Cantor Emeritus of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is the director of the newly established Paul Manz Institute of Church Music, and is Professor Emeritus of Church Music at Christ Seminary Seminex at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago.

[edit] Biography

A Fulbright grant enabled him to study with Flor Peeters in Belgium and Helmut Walcha in Germany. The Belgian government invited him to be the official United States representative in ceremonies honoring Flor Peeters on his 80 th birthday and his 60 th year as titular organist of the Cathedral of Saint Rombout in Mechelen, Belgium. At that tme, Flor Peeters referred to his former student as ‘my spiritual son.’

Paul Manz has concertized extensively in North America. He has appeared at the Lincoln Center in New York City, with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Orchestra Hall and with the Minnesota Orchestra under the direction of Charles Dutoit, Leonard Slatkin, and Henry Charles Smith. In addition, he has played recitals in churches and cathedrals here and abroad. He is in great demand for his hymn festivals, which are his legacy as a church musician. He has conducted many organ clinics, participated in liturgical seminars and appeared as lecturer and recitalist at the regional and national conventions of the American Guild of Organists.

The esteem and respect with which Paul Manz is regarded can be seen in the many honors he has received. He has twice been named one of the “Ten Most Influential Lutherans.” He has served as National Councilor of the American Guild of Organists and is listed as one of the “101 Most Notable Organists of the 20 th Century.” He is the recipient of many honorary doctorates and awards. Northwestern University, his alma mater, presented him with the prestigious “Alumni Merit Award;.” The Lutheran School of Theology Chicago presented him with the distinguished “confessor of Christ Award;” The Chicago Bible Society presented him with the “Gutenberg Award; and the Lutheran Institute of Washington, DC honored him with the first “Wittenberg Arts Award.” At a convention of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, his colleagues honored him for his work in the church. A large gathering in Minneapolis, Minnesota held a “Paul Manz Celebration: Honoring the Life of a Church Musician” where substantial gifts were given to the Ruth and Paul Manz Scholarship for Church Musicians.

Trinity Seminary of Columbus, Ohio bestowed the “Joseph Sittler Award for Theological Leadership” and among his many honorary doctorates is the Doctor of Sacred Music degree from Valparaiso University, and most recently, the Doctor of Music degree from St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota.

As a performer, Manz is most famous for his celebrated hymn festivals. Instead of playing traditional organ recitals, Manz generally leads a "festival" of hymns from the organ, in which he introduces each hymn with one of his famously creative organ improvisations based on the hymn tune in question. The congregation then sings the hymn with his accompaniment. Sometimes he plays an improvisation between each sung stanza, as with his well-known variations on the tune, St. Anne, sung to the Isaac Watts text "Oh God, Our Help in Ages Past" with which he traditionally ends each festival. Many volumes of these improvisations have been written out and published and are played by church organists throughout the world.

[edit] Selected works

His musical compositions are internationally known. His organ works are extensively used in worship services, recitals and in teaching. His choral music is widely used by church and college choirs here and abroad. His motet, “E’en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come” is regarded as a classic and has been frequently recorded here and abroad. His life and works is the subject of a doctoral dissertation which details his career spanning more than fifty years and analyzes his organ works.