It's been some time since my last post. Thanksgiving Day, the feasts of the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Sundays of Advent, the Rite of Acceptance of our inquirers in the Order of Catechumens, a number of funerals and weddings and of course Christmas (11 Masses in less than 24 hours) have been celebrated with our new organ! The instrument is truly a joy to play. In particular, the diapasons and strings especially are so vivid and full of energy. The reeds (all nine of them) are just grand and the flutes are truly 'magical'. I would like to think that Henry 'Father' Willis would be very pleased with what we have done: a huge palate of color, especially genuine 8 and 4 foot color designed to support every moment of liturgical worship.
Of particular interest over the past month has been the weddings and funerals. The average Sunday Mass is attended by over 600, and while the organ fully serves a packed church, the challenge of playing hymns effectively for a funeral attended by 50 is just as easily met by this organ. Even at the reduced volume level necessitated by a small congregation, there is a fantastic variety of registration possible.
Here are some photos I took on December 26 in the mid-afternoon with most of the lights outs. The main light was from the drearily clouded skies that day (we had an on-again - off-again snow "event" (as they say nowadays)).
