Remembering Ira Albert "Al" Russell

As we prepare for Free at Last, we would like to take a moment to honor Albert Russell, a wonderful Washingtonian musician who passed away earlier this year. Not only was Albert deeply connected to classical music in Washington DC throughout his life, but also to Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem in particular.

Dubbed the "Prince of the American Organ," Mr. Russell was a revered organist, best known for his tenure as Organist-Choirmaster of St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square DC from 1966 to 1984. He was also responsible for the first-known recording of Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem in the United States in 1962. Prior to his tenure in DC, Mr. Russell was the music director at Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hartford, Connecticut and developed a friendship with Joe Whiteford, president of Aeolian-Skinner Organ Co. of Boston, and a former Washington lawyer himself. To christen the brand new organ installed in Asylum Hill in 1961, they launched a series of concerts and recordings, one of which was the Requiem. Albert directed the choir from the organ, and it featured soloists Benjamin Thomas (Baritone), Jacquelyn Jarrett (Mezzo) and Margaret Schelin (Soprano).

When speaking of the experience, Mr. Russell said, “When we made the recordings in Hartford, John Kellner from Aeolian-Skinner did the recording. He was awfully good. We did the Duruflé in a separate session, and as far as I know, it was the first commercial recording of it made in the United States. We sent it to Duruflé, and there were things he liked and things he did not like. Ultimately, I did get to coach this with Duruflé when the Asylum Hill choir sang the Requiem at St Paul’s Chapel in New York in about 1964. Duruflé conducted and Madame Duruflé played.”

Despite his time in Connecticut, DC was very much the center of his musical experience. In a 2006 interview with The Diapason Organ Magazine, he described how he came here in 1953 and how he vowed to make his way back here when he was given the opportunity:

The summer of 1953, I came to Washington, D.C. I had heard William Watkins play a recital at Baylor and vowed then that I’d like to study with him. And sure enough, I did in the summer of 1953. He was so wonderful to me, and got me jobs playing the organ all over town. When I got to Washington, I had $50 in my pocket, so had to get a job in a hurry. I had gone to a fortune-teller in San Antonio, and she had said I would find a job not related to music in Washington within three days of my arrival. Sure enough, the third day I was hired as a flunky in the office of Senator Prescott Bush. And again, thanks to William Watkins, I was busy playing in churches all over town. He opened up a whole new world for me and presented me in recitals at his own church, New York Avenue Presbyterian. I got to know many of the Washington musicians through him and vowed then that, if I were ever offered a job, I would move here. And, sure enough, here I am.

If you’d like to listen to Mr. Russell’s performance of the Duruflé Requiem, the first in the US, you can listen to clips (and purchase the album) here. And if you’d like to read his full obituary, you can do so at The Washington Post.

A funeral for Mr. Russell will be held at the Church of the Ascension and St. Agnes in DC on Saturday, March 11, at 10 a.m., with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations in Al's memory may be made to the Church of the Ascension and St. Agnes.