Let All That Hath Breath
An organ album for the 50th anniversary of the Association of Anglican Musicians

Review
"Designed by the Association of Anglican Musicians to mark the group's 50th year, this volume includes 12 diverse compositions that range in character from sublime and prayerful to driving and energetic. Free composition, Southern Harmony, and time-honored hymns of both German and Anglican traditions are represented. Works by 12 influential composers from the last 50 years are included. Among them are Janette Fishell, Gerre Hancock, Marilyn Keiser, Dan Locklair, and Alec Wyton. Alternate harmonies, energetic rhythms, and varied organ registrations help achieve the goal of the volume and its parent organization, which is the "elevation, stimulation, and support of music and allied arts in all their aspects" and the inspiration of "deeper worship of Almighty God" (Introduction). This moderately difficult collection is tailor-made for a well-voiced pipe organ of two or three manuals. Pieces are suitable for worship, recital, or other occasions where a solo-styled presentation is appropriate." --Cross Accent, Fall/Winter 2017

from the Introduction:
In 2012, the Association of Anglican Musicians received a generous and unrestricted bequest from the estate of Bishop Chilton Powell and his wife Elizabeth.

In accepting the Powells’ gift, the Board of Directors decided to allocate it toward a future observance of the Association’s fiftieth anniversary. As that milestone drew nearer, the Board decided to dedicate the gift to the publication of a collection of organ music, composed by AAM members across the past half-century. AAM members David Schaap, of Selah Publishing, and Marilyn Keiser joined me in its assembly, and I am deeply grateful for their wisdom and labors. No such volume could ever be comprehensive, of course, and, indeed, practicality dictated that the scope of the collection be relatively modest. But we are pleased to have compiled a cross-section of works by musicians whose names are widely familiar through their engagement with AAM across its first five decades. They range from pieces that had passed out of print (including an entry by one of our three founders, Gerre Hancock, and others by esteemed colleagues no longer among us) to pieces freshly composed for this collection, or published here for the first time.

This Association takes as its purpose “the elevation, stimulation, and support of music and the allied arts in all their aspects in the Anglican church, and especially in their relationship to liturgy.” We believe that this collection worthily expresses that aim, and hope that it will inspire those who play from it, and those who hear its contents, to the deeper worship of Almighty God.

Alan Lewis
Past President
Association of Anglican Musicians
June 2016

About the Powells:

Both Powells were natives of small North Dakota towns. He studied at Carleton College and at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, she at Denison University. They met early in their professional lives, when he became Curate of Gethsemane Church in Minneapolis, where she was the Organist. Married in 1941, they soon moved to Trinity Cathedral, Omaha, where he was called as Dean. He was elected Bishop Coadjutor of Oklahoma in 1951, and they lived out their days in Oklahoma City. Bishop Powell died in 1997, at age 83, and Mrs. Powell in 2011, at 96.

As a clerical spouse, Betty Powell did not abandon her musical vocation, but, as the expectations of the time required, she channeled it discreetly, teaching hymnody for decades, and working with the Evergreen Conference School of Music. One can only guess at her influence upon the shape, character, and musical rubrics of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, which was developed during her husband’s thirteen years as Chairman of the Standing Liturgical Commission. Bishop Powell was also long associated with the Evergreen Conference, and served as its Chaplain for a number of years.