Last weekend was Candlemas, and there was a special High Mass that I played at St. Mark’s which included offerings by the choir, a candlelight procession throughout the neighborhood, and a delicious potluck dinner afterwards. I made another batch of the fresh cranberry shortbread to bring to the potluck! But what instantly transported me to… Read More Transported …
Ever since I visited the Gerhard Grenzing organ factory in Papiol, just outside of Barcelona, I have been on a quest to play and hear Grenzing organs, which I consider outstanding instruments. I was able to play the organ destined for Prague Cathedral, as well as many other smaller instruments in the factory. And remember… Read More Great Grenzing organs!
Today was Bill Potter’s birthday and our tour director, Sonia, called for everyone on the bus to sing “Happy Birthday,” which turned out to be more of a monotone rather than the typical multiple-tonal version performed by non-musicians. Our day started with a tour of City Hall, where the annual Nobel Prize banquet is held… Read More City Hall, Vikings and Uppsala
While researching possibilities for our free time in Sweden, naturally I Googled “pipe organs in Stockholm” and one instrument whose photo intrigued me from the beginning is located in Uppenbarelsekyrkan, Hägersten. When I found out the organ was built in 2022 by Gerhard Grenzing, I was delighted, having visited the Gerhard Grenzing pipe organ factory… Read More A stunning instrument in a stunning building
organist superhero noun organist su·per·he·ro ˈsü-pər-ˌhir-(ˌ)ō -ˌhē-(ˌ)rō : someone able to play the organ for church services: a fictional hero having extraordinary or superhuman powers, namely playing organ voluntaries such as preludes and postlude; accompanying congregational hymns and chant by cantors; improvising as necessary to connect various parts of the services; providing music during distribution of Holy Communion; also : an exceptionally… Read More Organist superhero!
Most tourists visiting Barcelona wouldn’t think to visit a pipe organ factory but that’s what we did today! What a treat Bill Potter and I experienced this morning when we visited the factory of Gerhard Grenzing Orgelbau, who has been building pipe organs since 1963. This morning we were picked up by Natalie, his daughter,… Read More Organ factory in El Papiol
The Sunday after Easter is sometimes referred to as Low Sunday. One website described it this way: The word “low” may serve to contrast it with the “high” festival of Easter on the preceding Sunday. Or, the word “low” may be a corruption of the Latin word laudes, the first word of a sequence used in… Read More The week after Easter