While a hidden and sadly often forgotten piece of a church building, the pipe organ serves as a main worship aide in many Catholic churches.
Tag: organ
Organ concert at St. Paul Catholic Student Center
St. Paul Catholic Student Center hosted an organ concert that demonstrated the richness and beauty of the pipe organ located in its chapel on the UW-Madison campus on February 4.
The ethics of organ donation
An ever-emerging issue at the end-of-life is organ donation and the leaving of one’s body to “science.” Since the first successful organ transplant in 1954, organ donation and its morality have been an ongoing topic of discussion. While complex and nuanced, a general sketch of organ donation can be useful.
Organ concert focuses on Marian music
MADISON — The organ concert at Holy Name Heights on Thursday, Aug. 15, at 7 p.m. will have a special focus on Marian music on the Feast of the Assumption of Mary. Organist will be Dr. Simone Gheller, music director and organist at St. Jerome Parish in Oconomowoc. He will play these pieces:
• Magnificat Primi Toni by Dieterich Buxtehude.
• Paraphraise sur Salve Regina by Jean Langlais.Summer Organ Recital Series
MADISON — On […]
Organ recital to be held on July 19
MADISON — The […]
Organ concert to be held in chapel
MADISON — The […]
Bishop blesses Monsignor Schmelzer Organ
Bishop Robert C. Morlino incenses the refurbished Aeolian-Skinner organ after blessing it. (Ken Halfmann photo) |
MADISON — There was anticipation in the packed chapel at Holy Name Heights on Sunday, Dec. 17, as people waited to hear the newly refurbished organ played at the Madison Diocesan Choir’s annual Lessons & Carols.
Before the organ was played, Bishop Robert C. Morlino blessed the Msgr. Delbert L. Schmelzer Organ saying, “My dear brothers and sisters, we have come together to bless this new organ, installed so that the celebration of the liturgy may become more beautiful and solemn.
“The purpose of music in the liturgy is above all to give glory to God and to lead us to holiness. Thus, the music of the organ wonderfully expresses the new song that Scripture tells us to sing to the Lord.”
In blessing the organ, he prayed, “So that our song may rise more worthily to your majesty, we present this organ for your blessing: grant that its music may lead us to express our prayer and praise in melodies that are pleasing to you.”
No issue of January 4 |
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There will be no issue on January 4. The next issue of the Catholic Herald will be January 11. |
After the bishop incensed the organ, Glenn Schuster, organist and assistant director for the Diocesan Choir, played the organ for the first time, its majestic sound filling the chapel.
The Diocesan Choir directed by Dr. Patrick Gorman processed with “Adeste Fidelis” and then joined the congregation in singing, “O Come, All Ye Faithful.”
Restored pipe organ has uplifting sound
MADISON — Enter the quiet chapel at Holy Name Heights, walk down the aisle, then turn and look to the balcony. The pews are gone, and an organ console is visible. That’s different. Otherwise, not much to see, nothing all that remarkable.
Yet, there is now something truly noteworthy in the choir loft. Behind a wall of organ swell shades are the pipes and inner workings of a superb instrument, an Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ, old and used, but newly restored and installed in the chapel.
New organ will highlight this year’s Festival of Lessons & Carols
At the Advent/Christmas party sponsored by the Apostolate for Persons with Disabilities are, from left: Katie Gorman, one of the newest members of the Madison Diocesan Choir; her father, Dr. Patrick Gorman, director of the choir for over 25 years; and Pat Paska, a member of the choir since its beginning nearly 45 years ago. (Catholic Herald photo/Kevin Wondrash) |
MADISON — Much as O Come All Ye Faithful is a favorite known by all since childhood, the opening hymn of Lessons & Carols will become a glorious new sound Sunday, Dec. 17.
That’s when Dr. Patrick Gorman directs the Madison Diocesan Choir and all present, accompanied by a classic pipe organ described as magical, restored, and installed in the Holy Name Heights chapel.
Seeking an organ
“I have literally been working on this since I arrived in Madison,” said Gorman, now in his 26th year as director. “We put together so many different proposals, and it’s always been, ‘We can’t afford it! We can’t afford it.’
“New pipe organs are extraordinarily expensive. Then we started to look at organs that have come out of churches.”
With the help of Bruce Case of Case Pipe Organ Company in Verona, an exceptional pipe organ was found in Kenosha at the First Congregational Church that closed in 2013.
Though silent for years, the organ was in surprisingly good condition. The new owners, an evangelical congregation, had no use for it and agreed to sell it.
Rolls Royce of organs
Thanks to a generous gift from the estate of the late Msgr. Delbert Schmelzer, the Diocese of Madison was able to buy and restore the pipe organ, built by the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company in Boston nearly 70 years ago.
According to Case, it rivals the commanding Klais organ in the Madison Overture Center, and in some respects is superior.