Charles Callahan passed away on Christmas Day, 2023. Mark Lawson, President of ECS Publishing Group, offers some thoughts on Dr. Callahan’s compositional legacy.

Charlie Callahan has left us much too early. The last time I spoke to Charlie, he was still dreaming about pieces he would like to write. He was always thinking and would often bounce ideas off me to see what I thought. Working with such talented composers is certainly one of the highlights of my job, and Charlie was truly a delight in many ways.

Charlie has left an amazing catalog of publications that I believe reveals much about who he was and what he cared about. Based on my conversations with him over the years, and considering the scope of his compositional output, I offer these reflections.

  • Charlie had a great desire to help provide music for the average church organist. Although he could write at a very high level and did so regularly, his largest output was music that could be learned quickly and didn’t require exceptional skill. Charlie had an ability for writing that brought out the beauty of a tune without making it complicated to play.
  • Congregational worship was important. Charlie spent a great deal of time compiling his two large volumes of hymn introductions, and accompaniments that became The Art of Hymn Playing. These volumes are consistently referenced by many church organists as one of their most-used resources.
  • Instrumentalists should be involved in worship. Charlie loved to arrange classical music, as well as hymns, for use with instrumentalists. He knew how to write for many different instruments and put in the extra effort to make sure his arrangements would work with several different instruments.
  • Charlie loved collaboration. He wrote a number of duets for the Chenault duo and he also loved to write piano and organ duets. Because of this, Charlie received many requests for commissions and he was very careful to craft his compositions to match the desire of the commissioner.
  • Charlie loved lyric melodies and wrote several of his own. His Aria for organ spins out a beautiful theme, and the opening melody to The Rejoicing is jaunty and full of joy. Some his most lyrical writing shows up in his choral music. One of my favorites is his Alleluia for SSAA choirs, which is joyful and bright.
  • Charlie was proud of his heritage. He composed several volumes of organ music based on chant from his Roman Catholic background, and several pieces—such as Celtic Suite and his duet called The Emerald Isle—that celebrate his Irish heritage.

 

Here is a snapshot of his 210 works in the MorningStar catalog. I should also mention that there are over 200 entries on the Concordia Publishing House website, and a number in the Randall Egan catalog.

 

105 Organ publications (many of which are collections)

  • Over 20 collections of works for manuals
  • 27 suites or partitas, many are seasonal in nature
  • 12 original works
  • 2 large volumes to enhance hymn singing: The Art of Hymn Playing
  • 1 large collection for communion: In Communion
  • Several organ duets and piano and organ duets

69 Instrumental pieces

  • A combination of original works, classical arrangements, and hymn arrangements
  • Many with multiple instrumental options

23 Choral publications, primarily original works

 

2 Orchestral works

 

Assorted works for piano, voice and handbells

Needless to say, Charlie’s publications have been extremely important in the MorningStar Music catalog over the years. We will miss Charlie a great deal.

I will forever remember those times when my phone would ring and I would hear “Mark, this is Charlie and I have an idea!”

-Mark Lawson, President ECS Publishing Group