Composer Clarence Mader (Jacob R. Benda, ed.)
Released 5/2025
Use General voluntary, recitals
Difficulty Moderately easy
Catalog no. 160-886
Price $9.75 (U.S.)

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Description
Bell Serenade, likely composed for the 1929 E.M. Skinner organ at Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles, is one of few works autographed with Mader’s nom de plume, Victor Easton. Victor, his middle name, and Easton, Pennsylvania, his birthplace. Undated, this miniature sounds as though it was inspired by a fond memory from the composer's childhood in rural Pennsylvania, such as the bells of St. Peter’s Church where his father was pastor echoing in tandem with the song of a wood thrush.

The original manuscript indicates, "this piece is arranged for two manuals and pedal. It can also be played when bells are controlled from the little two-octave clavier. On larger organs, mm. 37-46 may be thumbed." This approach can be successfully navigated by playing the right-hand passage in mm. 39-42 one octave lower at 4' pitch. Registering this piece, or any of his solo organ works, is largely dependent upon the interpreter's imagination and the resources at hand. I have found that an enclosed chime or harp is ideal for the 'bell' registration notated by the composer in measure one; if no bell-like sounds are available, this piece can be performed rather convincingly with organ and handbells played by a small ensemble.

The earliest documented performance was given by Marian Reiff Craighead on the 9th of February 1948 at First Baptist Church in Bakersfield, California.
-Jacob R. Benda