Night Music

Many decades ago, when I was about 20 years old, I decided it would be simply the greatest experience if I could play — just once — on the pipe organ in a large church. I wanted to know what it was like to be at the reigns of such a powerful instrument, hearing the notes all together sing out to fill a whole cathedral.

So, I drove just a few blocks from our house to the Music School at UT Austin, a place of such familiarity to me – my home away from home – for viola lessons, theory classes and orchestra rehearsals. There, I paid a visit to the late Dr. Frank Speller, then Professor of Organ, asking him if he’d teach me that summer semester. He agreed, on the condition that I’d have to audition, performing a Bach Invention on the piano. So, I chose No 16, at the back of the book. Thankfully, Dr. Speller thought it was good enough and we had a great time together as he taught me a summer’s worth of lessons.

One evening towards the end of the semester, I made my way down to First Methodist Church, a stately, domed structure near the Capitol in downtown Austin. It was the church that my family attended and where my sister was married.  Checking the doors after hours, I eventually found one open – a small side door – and made my way up the spiral staircase to the organ loft. I snapped on the light, positioned myself squarely on the bench, prepared all the stops, and began to play. As my fingers and feet touched the first notes, my secret, private performance began and music burst forth, making its way to the far corners of the sanctuary. It was exactly what I had yearned to experience and the moment filled me with an intensity that filled my heart and has stuck with me to this day.

Tonight, Stephanie and I attended the Night Concert by Candlelight, presenting Robert Hugo on Organ, It was held here in Prague, just across the Charles Bridge at St. Salvator Church in Klementinum. We entered the ornately adorned, darkened church and made our way down the candlelit aisle to our pew. Soon after, the concert began and the grand, 17th century church overflowed with Organ compositions by Bach, Händel, Mozart and more. Hugo took us from gentle, flowing – to boisterous, booming tones that filled that vast acoustic space, and we could feel the vibrations surrounding us with each passage. I lowered my head and closed my eyes for the experience.

It was a night to cherish, where once again I was a young woman of twenty, filled with awe at the majesty of such a glorious instrument. Thank you, Prague.