I will say that within the purpose of this blog there are two more specific purposes that I hope to address:
1) Organ music and the organ are sometimes considered boring and/or unapproachable. It is my hope that through this blog I can help to change this stereotype. The organ is a magnificent instrument with a vast palate of colors and possibilities. It very often reminds me of people, for no two instruments are exactly alike. Variables such as the number of pipes, their construction, and the performance space contribute towards a unique experience for the performer as well as the listener. In the words of Monsignor Andrew Wadsworth, "There is something about the sound of the organ -- its ability to produce every dynamic level from inaudible to deafening, and every frequency from too low to hear to too high to hear, which gives it a cosmic character."
2) Israeli violinist Ivry Gitlis once said, "I do not separate music from life." A dear friend and fellow-musician recently shared a quote with me from illustrious American composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein of a similar nature, "Life without music is unthinkable. Life without music is academic. That is why my contact with music is a total embrace." But what does this mean exactly? Music is something that is intensely personal. It is a language that communicates when words aren't enough. When my friends and I would debate about music and its purpose and its place in prayer, sometimes the debate might turn into a bitter argument. Why is this so? Isn't music just something to listen to? Is a mere form of entertainment so personal that people get up in arms about it?
I have a theory that if something like music is so fiercely attacked and/or defended by a variety of camps, it has far more value than entertainment. It is something far more important, personal, and necessary. Aristotle once said that the most important actions for the human person are those which appear to be the least useful -- for example, spending time cultivating a friendship is more important than vacuuming your living room. I would say that this also applies to music -- that going to a concert of Brahms' Symphony no. 4 is more important than getting your car repaired (Yes, you may have to get your car repaired to go to the symphony, perhaps, but getting the car repaired is a means to an end, whereas Brahms' Symphony is something attended for its own sake). Just like food and water and sleep are necessary for physical well-being, I believe that music and art -- both its creation and appreciation -- are necessary for spiritual well-being. Why is it that Messiaen wrote his Quartet for the End of Time while imprisoned in a concentration camp in France ? Why did prisoners in Auschwitz draw images of the cross and the Sacred Heart on the walls of their cells? These people realized that art is essential for survival. Art -- music -- is an expression of the human spirit -- it brings meaning and purpose to life!
I hope that you will enjoy your time here, that you learn a little about the organ, about music, and about life!
This instrument is located in Arnstadt, Thuringia, Germany, where J.S. Bach (1685-1750) held one of his very first positions as a church organist. J.S. Bach was a virtuoso organist and keyboard player, a skilled violinist, and a prolific composer. Organ virtuoso Johann Reinken once remarked regarding Bach's skills as an organist, "I thought this art was dead, but I see that in you it still lives."
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