2020-11-02
Just like riding a bicycle
Yesterday, All Saints' Day, November 1, was the first day I played a service at Sudbury United Methodist, where I am the organist/director. The last day I remember playing the dual manual Stuart tracker was mid-March, for the second Sunday of Lent. What a crazy long time ago that seems... so much has changed for us all!
I have written here about playing the organ. One of the many reasons I enjoy playing is the coordination challenges... there aren't that many instruments that are so whole body inclusive; both hands, both feet at work all the time. There have been more than a few moments when I wondered if I could lean over and hit a piston with my nose.
I have an antique organ console at home, a tube-based Wurlitzer that dates probably from the 1950's. It is a heavy piece of gear... I distinctly remember the struggles the movers had when it came into our house 25 years ago. Like everything in my life, it seems to have its own story. A congregant in the Weston United Methodist church, Bill Charnley, donated the instrument to me in the mid-1990's. He invited me to take it and just to cover the cost to have it moved. What he didn't tell me until afterwards was that it belonged to his wife, an accomplished pianist and organist who was killed in a freak accident. She and Bill were walking down the street in Metrowest Boston one day and a car simply left the road, crossed the sidewalk, and hit her. He had decided that the instruments reminded him too much of her, and he wanted me to use the organ and help him get into the next chapter of his life. As organs go, it is obviously more limited than more modern practice consoles; and it has a thousandth of the digital firepower that the new Hauptwerk rigs offer, but the fact that I can stay home and practice is a big plus. Having the Wurlizter here was a big reason I could prepare successfully for my Colleague and Associate level exams for the American Guild of Organists.
Obviously, taking a seven month break from consistent playing is a long time for any musician. Frankly, I have spent more time in pandemic life focussing on the violin, the guitar and the piano. I fired up the Wurlitzer during the last week and worked through my customary warm ups and reviews. It felt good to be playing again. I did worry a bit that things might get a little messy at the service, because the organ is an unforgiving master. But the chair of our worship commission bouyed me a lot on Saturday by writing "Oh, don't worry about being rusty. We are all so desperate to hear the organ again, the simple fact that you are there again is all we need!"
My brother-in-law, our good friend Tom and I played through our hymn selections as a trio yesterday, All Saints' day; and, despite our social distancing and N95 masking and limited communication abilities, we did a pretty good job. I was grateful to realize that, yes, it really is like riding a bicycle. I don't think I have ever taken such a long hiatus at the organ in my entire adult life... but once you feel the keys under your fingers, and you remember exactly how to get around that pedalboard without peeking, and you see registration possibilities as the music goes by, it does all come back. And, this week, of course, our beloved Commonwealth appears to be on a collision course with another serious lockdown. Our poor church members have done a ton of work to engineer the safest sanctuary they can for winter services, and my guess is that we may only get a few gatherings before COVID-19 shuts us down again.
So help me stay on the bench this month... vote. Vote, vote, vote. Vote for the people who will bring science back into our American life; and vote for the government that will deal effectively with this pandemic FIRST, and then deal with our economy. I have lost just as much business and resources and opportunities as everyone else in this season of hardship; but I am sensible enough to see that, without controlling the pandemic, we will lose a great deal more. Our friends in less-privileged communities have already lost a breath-taking amount of life and sustenance. Let's pull together to do everything we can so I can get back on the bike... or the organ bench... for keeps!
If you have more questions about this topic, don't hesitate to contact me and we can chat.
K
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