Hi folks – today of course is the 25th Anniversary of 9/11/01 – such a devastating day for so many. I was on a train into New York from Norwalk – headed to St. Bartholomew’s on Park Avenue where I worked at the time. Like many of you – it is imprinted on my brain where I was when hearing the news.
The featured image on this post is a still from a video made in 2020 – just after another devastating blow – the COVID 19 pandemic. My associate David Heinze was very inventive about ways to keep our congregation connected to their beloved Grace, and we did a series of videos all about the interior of the church – the architecture, the windows, the sacred vessels, vestments, and of course, the organ. In those days, we were appealing to folks to help us out – sharing the plight of our crumbling, albeit enormous, pipe organ. I have to say that while I’m a very hopeful person, I didn’t have much hope that we would ever be able to tackle this monumental project. Standing there amidst the collapsing swell reeds, I was not feeling too optimistic.
9/11 was a sad and devastating event in our past; COVID 19 was another perilous time for our country – and the world – in the not-too-distant past. But it is always out of ashes that new and hopeful and wonderful things arise.
Please know that I would never liken the rebuilding of a pipe organ to an antidote for the sadness of such great tragedies. But hope is hope and joy is joy, and we must revel in those emotions when we can.
So today – with all of that in mind – I share two very happy and hopeful bits of progress in our project. The first – a photo of the new Orchestral Flute in the Gallery Solo division – these pipes sit at the very top of the Gallery case, near the ceiling peak – almost 65 feet from the nave floor. Just behind them – and hard to see here – is the mounted Cornet V – a powerful and colorful compound stop which will be commanding from its perch. Soon, these pipes will be fronted by the polished copper Westminster Trumpet framing the black walnut cross finial from 1886.
And at the other end of the building, Tim from E.F. O’Donnell and Sons is adding gold highlights to the carved words of the Gloria in Excelsis Deo which fronts the twin Chancel cases from 1912. These beautiful and joyful words are often sung at the beginning of our services: Glory be to God on high, and on earth, peace, good will to all. Those powerful words will now be visible from the floor of the nave and chancel, and will hopefully serve as an inspiration to all who read them.
Shortly, I am climbing to the bell tower to toll our lowest bell for four minutes in memory of the 9/11 events. This bell was installed in 1861 just weeks before another tragic period in our history began. Again – joy and tragedy side by side.
The second truck arrives from Casavant on Monday morning, bringing almost all the remainder of the pipes and chests. Photos will be taken, and blog posts will be made. Stay tuned!
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