On the one hand, the announcement is about restoring "a long tradition of performing a major sacred work on Good Friday," on the other — in the same sentence — the work announced for April 18 is the organ transcription of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6.
Looking beyond that puzzle, the news from organist Cyril Deaconoff, director of music at Oakland's First Presbyterian Church, is that his church, the first in the East Bay, founded in 1853, just a year after the city itself was chartered, will mark an important anniversary.
It is the current building's centennial: The neo-Gothic building at Broadway and 27th Street, built by William C. Hays, has been a prominent part of Oakland's skyline since 1914. The organ, a 1993 Rosales, Op. 16, has 63 stops, 75 ranks, and 4,062 pipes (the largest is 32 feet tall). It has the handcrafted wooden facade and some of the original pipes from the Kimball Organ which had been used since the church was constructed a century ago.
On Easter Sunday, April 20 the 10 a.m. service will include Copland's Fanfare, Widor's Toccata, and the world premiere of Deaconoff's own Kontakion for Pascha (Easter).
Starting on April 25, every Friday from 4 to 6 p.m., the sanctuary doors will be open to show visitors the stained glass windows, get a tour of the sanctuary, and hear the organ which will be played as an open rehearsal.