John La Montaine – Even Song

John La Montaine (1920-2013) was a Pulitzer prize winner and a composer of many genres, most notably voice and piano. Unfortunately there are only three organ works, this one having been written in 1952. Paul Vitelli, from the New York Times in 2013, wrote in La Montaine’s obituary, “Mr. LaMontaine’s music was lyrical and for the most part traditional, with a neo-Romantic streak reflected in his embrace of poetry, American themes and the natural landscape. His compositions included a symphony inspired by the writings of Henry David Thoreau, an opera set in Colonial America and a piano concerto incorporating bird calls.” La Montaine studied composition with Howard Hansen and counted himself fortunate to be among the many well known American composers who studied in France with Nadia Boulanger. He was a very accomplished pianist and accompanied many opera singers of the time. His songs were performed by Leontyne Price, Jessye Norman, Adele Addison and others. He was the NBC Symphony Orchestra pianist from 1950-54 working under Arturo Toscanini. La Montaine recounts that when Toscanini discovered that he was also a composer, “he put his hand on his heart like he was conducting and said, ‘Some say inside, no just notes.’ (sic) I never forgot that. ‘Something inside maybe, inside.’ ” (Toscanini quote from La Montaine’s 2013 obituary in the New York Times by Paul Vitelli). Randall Mullin performed on the Milan Digital Audio Hauptwerk sample set of the 1928 E. M. Skinner organ in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Chicago, Illinois.