When "evening shades prevail"

In the afternoon we went to Evensong at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine. This was Bruce Neswick's last service as Organist and Director of Music before leaving to join the music faculty at Indiana University. The choir is on holiday so they have guest choirs in to sing Evensong. This large choir was from a parish church in London, and the program listed some great music: more Charles Wood and Purcell, a double chorus Mag and Nunc by Thomas Weelkes. Oh, dear! Nothing good to report, but they were very excited to be there! Bruce is, by international acclaim, one of the world's great improvisers, and he vamped before and after the service and played the hymns. The cathedral's organ is, possibly, my favorite of all organs, and Bruce's final musical gesture as cathedral organist had to have been one of the finest moments in that organ's long and distinguished history. Truly heaven and earth were joined in a soulful and ecstatic utterance. Douglass Hunt, another one of our own, is the Curator of Organs at the Cathedral and at Saint Bartholomew's Church.

He was unhappy about the "summer tuning" in an enormous unairconditioned building. I thought the organ sounded absolutely magnificent. More on the organ later. Parishioner Terry Eason was there, and it was great to see him in a different - and appropriately grand - space. We went to a surprise reception for Bruce, and had a great time visiting with a fun assortment of people that I didn't realize sang in the cathedral choir. Then back Downtown.

With angels and archangels........

Sunday, August 31 found us in church (me at both 9:00 and 11:15). During the summer months the Trinity Choir is usually reduced to a double quartet - but 8 of those people are up to almost any choral challenge. At the 9:00 they sang the Gloria and Sanctus/Benedictus from a double-chorus mass by John Taverner (the 16th century one) which was absolutely harrowing from the standpoint both of musical complexity and vocal difficulty. The eight singers did a masterful job (at 9:00 in the morning!). At the offertory they sang "O Thou the Central Orb" by Charles Wood, a pleasant piece with an unhandy organ accompaniment. During communion they sang one of my very favorite motets, "Hear my prayer, O Lord" by Henry Purcell, again in eight parts. A stunning job in a luminous acoustic! We always reserve the use of that piece to Lent, but I shall have to re-think that! At the 11:15 (at which Peggy joined me) they sang all of the above (except the Taverner) and the Purcell was even better! There was a baptism of the granddaughter of another one of UNC's and C of C's own - Bishop Clifton Daniels from the Diocese of East Carolina. We had a nice visit with him and his family. More kudos about Molly and intense farewell with the Rev. Lonell Wright from All Souls, New Orleans.

Baroque Elegance at CitiCorp

Friday, July 29, found us at St. Peter's Lutheran Church at CitiCorp for the first concert in the popular "4x4 Baroque Music Festival." St. Peter's is an old Manhattan congregation that sold its property to make way for the CityCorps Center. The design of the new church mirrors that of the iconic office tower, and they dramatically redefine their corner of midtown and the skyline itself. The church, although dwarfed by the skyscaper, soars and insimuates itself into the open space of the pavillion from one side, and onto Lexington Avenue from another. As you round the corner from Lexington Avenue to 54th Street even the wooden pipes behind the organ case command your attention and direct your gaze upward. The architect described the sanctuary as two praying hands, with light entering through the space between them. This building might seem an unlikely venue for renaissance and baroque music, but the extraordinary shapes, textures, and colors work with instruments and voices to weave a complex and evocative texture. Surprisingly, the room is not particularly resonant, but these masterful musicians imparted to every note clarity, colorful sound, and warmth.

The first concert in the "4x4" series essayed "The Invention of the Baroque: Music from the time of Monteverdi." Ave Stein - brilliant harpsichordist ,organist, and musicologist- is the mastermind behind this series. He conceives the programs, assenbles the musical scores (sometimes editing them himself), and engages the performers. The program demonstrated the role of solo singing, rather than polyphonic vocal singing, in shaping the new aesthetic and compositional styles of the 17th century. Early operas of the period often took as their subject the myth of Orpheus and Euridice."Orpheus ability to free Euridice from the underworld lay in the power of his singing and as such represented the humanistic ideal of music and the musician to move the listener. "And this music certainly did move its listeners. Arranged essentially as a series of dramatic scenes, the music explored human passion and fulfillment, pain and pleasure,
love and betrayal, salvation. Most of the scenes were laid out in the composition itself (such as the famous scene from Monteverdi's The Return to Ulysses - sung to dazzling effect by mezzo Hai-Ting Chinn and tenor Philip Anderson). My favorite "scene" was created by Avi Stein out of three separate compositions by composers unfamiliar to me. In the first the men (2 tenors and a bass)sing of the sufferings of a "burning heart" that no longer wants to love because it always means suffering. The middle aria was a major piece in itself - long, difficult vocally, rich in affekt- was brilliantly sung by Molly Quinn with gorgeous tone, elaborate and graceful ornamentation, and excellent Italian baroque style. Convinced by Molly that "to die for love is madness," the gentlemen returned to forswear the sufferings of love. I especially liked one of the sacred pieces -Nisi Dominus: "Unless the Lord builds the house" - which was performed by three singers and tutti instrumentalists, concluding with a resounding Gloria Patri. The small ensemble of two violins, ,cello, lute and guitar was flawless, and Avi Stein presided over everything from both porative organ and harpsichord with ease and relish.

Sing, Choir of Angels

Trinity Church has a long and distinguished musical history, including the first performance of Handel's Messiah in the New World (not all that long after its first performance in the Old World). Today their 20 voice professional choir (including Soprano Goddess Molly) is one of the great vocal ensembles in the world. They can be heard Sundays and at all major holy days and concerts (along with the Trinity Baroque Orchestra) either live or from their archive at: http://www.trinitywallstreet.org/. The present church has always had a major organ in the large and handsome case in Upjohn's original rear gallery. With the advent of electric playing actions for pipe organs, further divisions of the organ were located in the chancel as well. From the first organ to occupy Upjohn's case - Henry Erben- to the last - Aeolian-Skinner - the organs represented the best in American organ building. The Aeolian-Skinner was slightly larger (measured in the number of ranks of pipes) than the organ in the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine, and roughly the same size as Notre Dame de Paris (using the same standard of comparative measurement. Located just steps away from the World Trade Center, the organ sustained damage from the incredible cloud of dust that swallowed up everything in its path. It was determined that the organ was essentially irreparable, and it was removed and put it storage. It turns out that the organ can be restored and has been given to another church. As an interim instrument the church commissioned a new American firm to build a large and very sophisticated digital instrument. This instrument is remarkable in many ways, and the average person - even organists- would be misled by it. It took me fifteen minutes to turn get it turned on (sophisticated access code) but I had fun playing this instrument. It looks, feels, and plays like an organ with its elegant Italien -built console (Fratelli Ruffatti - not to be confused with the Fratellis in "Goonies!). It serves Trinity Church well as an interim, "virtual" organ, but I look forward to the day when this great church has a "real"organ again in the Upjohn case. All of the musicians at Trinity are amazingly generous, kind, and helpful.

Mahler's First: A powerful bond between the Ninth Ward and Wall Street

Saturday afternoon (July 30) we attended an exhilarating performance of Gustav Mahler's First Symphony at Trinity Church. A large and excellent orchestra under the direction of Trinity Choir member James Blachly donated their time (two full days of rehearsal in addition to the performance) and their lovingly cultivated musical talents to raise money (and awareness) for a unique ministry of Trinity Church in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans. Four years ago Molly went with the grant committee from Trinity to evaluate proposals for funding. Then she and another soprano from the choir, Nacole Palmer, went down on a work trip and hatched up the idea of a music camp run by the professional musicians from the Trinity Choir. They found several people to donate a week to the task, and got approval for funding from the church. Some of you may have seen the video record of that first camp on the Trinity website, or followed the blog from this year's camp. The first year they had 15 kids; this year, over 60. The first year the new mission church where the choir meets - All Souls - still looked very much the abandoned, flood-ravaged Walgreen's that it was. No electricity the first day, and no air conditioning until the final day. Three years later the building is vastly improved and it is now very serviceable for most church purposes. Many of the Trinity volunteers are the same and many of the children are also returnees. Deep bonds have been formed, and increasingly there is community recognition and support. James Blachly has been a part of the camp since the beginning, and has made instrumental music increasingly a part of the picture. Now there is a year-round instrumental program and the hope of a youth orchestra. James is a charismatic and technically brilliant young conductor who was clearly in control of the extraordinary complications of this romantic/modern masterpiece. As a singer, I think he brings a particularly warm musicality to his conducting and elicited that from the orchestra. Mahler's work is not "sacred music," but in that beautiful sacred place and warm, resonant acoustic it seemed to take on angel wings. The afternoon, including the reception for all those who had been involved in the Trinity/All Souls partnership, was a magnificent experience in the spiritual depth of humanity and the redemptive power of Christianity. We were also very touched by the things many people said about Molly and her role in bringing this all to pass. Matt Heyd (one of our own at UNC and C of C) is the Trinity priest in charge of this kind of outreach. "There's nothing about this whole thing that doesn't have her fingerprints all over it - from the original idea, to recruiting for and running the camp, to the latest plan for financing." The Rev. Lonnel Wright, priest-in-charge at All Souls, called her a "force of nature" and a "game changer" whenever she comes on the scene!

Yeah, Molly!

Grace and Beauty in the Shadow of Ground Zero

Since the late 17th century Trinity Church Wall Street has been a constant witness in Lower Manhattan to the faith, hope, and love which are the essense of the Christian life. The church building (the 3rd. since 1698) was built in the 1840s according to the design and close supervision of American architect Richard Upjohn (grandfather of Hobart Upjohn who was the architect of the Chapel of the Cross). It is paradigmatic of the Gothic revival style both in terms of architeecture and of decorative arts. Everywhere there is something to delight the eye and deepen the sense of the presence of God (except, maybe, the television moniters). My personal favorites are All Saints Chapel, the 15th century tryptique in the baptistry, the great East window, and the hagiographical reredos - especially the sublime angels with raised wings playing musical instruments which grace the top of the reredos. It is hard to realize that for many years Upjohn's spire (as in that iconic view up Wall Street) was the tallest building in New York! More tomorrow from the musical angle.

and right around the corner...

Arrival in Gotham

Monday, July 25. Peggy and I arrived this afternoon in a temperate 73% - which we found very agreeable and a little surprising. We are staying, for the moment, at the apartment of the Music Director at Trinity Church, roughly one block from Ground Zero, and a quick walk to Trinity Church and St. Paul's Chapel. City Hall is two blocks from the apartment, along with at least three metro stations. This is very familiar territory and we can maneuver about comfortably.We went swimming and chilled for a while before venturing out in the rain. I'm afraid the closest we came to the seriously Gothic on this first day was Hogwarts Academy. We met up with Nathaniel and Molly around Lincoln Center for dinner and the last Harry Potter movie. I thought it more than did that last wonderful book justice. I can't believe it's all over.

Dr Quinn enters the blogosphere

Laus Organi!

Welcome to my blog about organs, churches, and religious art in New York City. I'm taking a short sabbatical from my job at the Chapel of the Cross, an Episcopal church in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. I plan to spend some numinous time in some of the world's great sacred spaces, exult in their vibe, indwell their iconography, and play their organs. I am already familiar with many of these instruments but have not played them in some time. For the most part, they are different in style and feel from the large German-built mechanical action organ and the exquisite smaller American organ that I play daily in Chapel Hill. Moments of genuine transcendence are possible in such places as the great churches of New York: their scale, the interplay of light and shadow, the kaleidoscopic shifting of colors and forms throughout the hours of the day, the living and breathing feel of the acoustic in a great space where "sound travels ever upward as if loath to die." In such spaces the sound of a great organ joins earth to heaven and time to eternity in modalities both transcendent and immanent. "The stained-glass windows magnify the light, one of God's first creations, but the organ brings to the church something similar to light that yet surpasses it: the music of the Invisible. It is the wondrous overture to the Beyond." (Olivier Messiaen). I will write about this from time to time, perhaps with some pictures and sounds. Please join me in my little musical-aesthetic-spiritual adventure.