As many of you know, I am the music director of Trinity Episcopal Church in Cliffside Park, NJ. This is a gig that I initially took because my friend was the cantor there and we wanted to have fun and make music together. It has turned into one of the most fascinating journeys of my life.
I was raised in Dunlop United Church in Sarnia, Ontario - a small, family-oriented parish where my father was actively involved in the Vestry. We were a very low key church - no incense, no pomp or circumstance, etc.
Contrast this to Trinity - where we do "high church" and a full Eucharist every Sunday. In all my years of church attendance (although it was quite rare in my adult life), I had never participated in a Catholic mass. There was a huge learning curve and I frequently forgot to play the Alleluia before the reading of the gospel and other such "mass"-ive faux pas. (pun intended)
For the last three years, as a substitute organist and now as the Music Director, I have played the piano and electric keyboard that has organ sounds. The church has a beautiful Muller organ that had fallen into extreme disrepair after years of neglect. I nicknamed the organ the "Death Star", as it was not yet fully operational. Dave Schumach, our brilliant organ repairman managed to get it to playable condition in March. Great news!! Except...I DON'T PLAY ORGAN.
I went to Thomas Schmidt, the music director at St. Peter's Lutheran (also known as the "Jazz Church") In ignorance/arrogance, I figured he'd be able to get me playing the organ in one 1 hour lesson. Once he took me on a tour of St. Peter's organ, I realized that I was in deep trouble. Organ is WAY harder than I thought it was going to be.
After that lesson, I spent a few hours a week practicing at Trinity with my "Organist's Manual" open to the easiest sections. It took FOREVER just to get my feet moving at all. I pressed on.
Fast forward to Easter Sunday, where I got to the church at 7am so I could cram for the service. I played "Jesus Christ Is Risen Today" about 100 times, with my clumsy feet tripping over the pedals like a drunken white guy at his cousin's wedding. The congregation was very kind after the service.
Since then, I have been playing every Sunday morning. I practice for an hour before the service, doing a quick warmup and them jumping right into the hymns. For the last two months I have been playing only with my right hand and my feet. I just couldn't get my left hand in on the action. Until yesterday.
Yesterday morning I was finally able to get the left hand in on the action. It was miraculous. Hymns are arranged in four parts closed score, which means that the right hand plays the soprano and alto parts, the left hand plays the tenor and the feet play the bass. My organ renditions have been completely tenor-less until yesterday, when I finally felt ready to give it a go. Once the service was over, I got more compliments than ever before from the congregation, Willie the priest and Nathan the cantor. it was a Christmas miracle, taking place in the middle of Pentecost.
Why would a jazz pianist/singer want to learn the pipe organ? What would be the point?
I have long given up hope of ever climbing Mount Everest, or swimming the English Channel. It is unlikely that I will ever win an Olympic gold or place in the top five at Wimbledom. Sports and such are not my thing. Music is.
The organ is the instrument that Bach played. Church music is the source of nearly all Western music, including all theory as we know it. The organ is my Everest. When I'm up in the loft, trying to sort out my limbs and I make this joyful noise (it's really friggin loud), I feel somehow closer to God. It's hard not to have a spiritual moment when I'm blasting away on Holy! Holy! Holy! I also feel like anything is possible when I am up there. I am serving my congregation, I am serving the Spirit and I am learning once again that I can do anything I set my mind to. I am also learning to be patient, as it has taken me months of work to be able to get through a few simple hymns.
So, I continue. My congregation is thrilled, and I overlook the odd comment made about the clunky boots that I have to wear when I play. I bet you I'm the only church organist around who wears sundresses and pencil skirts to hammer out the hymns on Sunday morning. Who said the organ wasn't sexy?
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