If you’re curious what other area congregations have been doing during this period of social distancing and how they are holding worship online, the Holland American Guild of Organists (AGO) has been collecting descriptions from area organists. Visit the website of the local AGO to see descriptions from Third Reformed, Second Reformed (Zeeland), Grace Episcopal, and First Reformed, with more coming soon.
https://www.hollandareaago.org/covid-19
Also, I imagine many of you, like me, have been missing live music. Since the world has been on lockdown, the phenomenon of the livestreamed concert has been gaining popularity. While I’m not a huge fan of this format, it certainly does offer us a way to connect through music while so isolated, and for musicians, a new way to perform in front of others.
I heard about Andrea Bocelli’s Easter Day concert, performed live in the cathedral of Milan, Italy. While Bocelli is not necessarily to my everyday musical tastes (I may have been heard calling him cheesy in the past), a colleague I respect told me this webcast was powerful and moving, and even watching after the fact—the livestream apparently drew the largest simultaneous audience for a classical music event ever—I’ll have to agree. This world-famous blind Italian tenor performs in an empty cathedral, accompanied only by the organist, with pictures of the empty streets of Italy and famous major cities around the world. If you need a bit of inspiration this week, look for it on Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huTUOek4LgU
Also, for organ fans, there is a weekly livestream from the Spreckels municipal organ in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. Their municipal organist, Spaniard Raul Prieto Ramirez, often includes well-known classical blockbusters as well as crossover popular music transcriptions. The concerts often include fascinating glimpses into the inner workings on this large (outdoor!) instrument, as well as commentary by the organist and others. These are played live on Sundays at 2 p.m. Pacific Time, and are available on Youtube sometimes only for one day after the concert and sometimes longer.
Happy listening!
~Rhonda Edgington, Hope Church Associate Director of Music and Organist
