My friend from the Three Choirs Festival, Rich Arenschieldt, after reading my last post about being grateful to have an organ at home to play, observed that musicians are posting videos of themselves playing at home and sharing them on the Internet:

“I love how much music is taking place and how supportive musicians are being to each other … EVEN organists 😂.”

He then asked that I consider playing Marcel Dupré’s, “In dulci jubilo,” (In quiet joy), “… as the most calming ‘peace’ ever written!

Oh! I immediately began to play it over in my head, even though it has been YEARS since I played it. But you know what? It was the very first organ piece I ever played! Yup, when I was taught organ by Norman Söreng Wright when I was 13 years old in the spring of 1964, he did not assign me any kind of method book. 

Instead I was told to buy Marcel Dupré’s “Seventy-Nine Chorales,” and that became my sole organ method book. Did I mention that Dr. Wright had studied with Dupré for six years in the 1920s and that was how I got to study with Dupré himself?  I was eventually assigned every single piece in the book (but not in any sort of order, at least in my mind).

Surprisingly, the first piece I was assigned was “In dulci jubilo.” I know this for a fact because my teacher always wrote the date that he assigned me a piece—in this case it was February 29, 1964! And that is the earliest date in the book that I could find.

I even have the score to prove it!

Now, I didn’t tell you how I got this piece of music—it was located at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu, where I have stored my entire library of organ music. In ordinary times it would be no problem to jump in my car and go get it—the church is only about 7-8 minutes away.

But in this time of self-isolation would I be breaking the CDC guidelines? Was this considered an “essential” trip like going to the grocery or drugstore or to the doctor? Is getting a piece of music “essential”?

It just so happened that this morning my attorney called about updating my will, and I asked him if getting the music would be OK. In his opinion, he said, ‘yes’ but told me to call Pastor Jeff Lilley about it, which I did. I even took disinfecting wipes along with me to wipe down the door handles as I opened and closed them.

And here’s the finished product!