In a dark, silent and cavernous, yet packed and expectant space, a small call sounded.
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Immediately the last note was superseded by a massive chord from the long-silent organ, which quickly morphed into a deafening series of runs and interwoven melodies as the lights came on and the building awoke. What was dark and still was now a bright, joyous atmosphere alive with music. On April 19th, Holy Saturday 2025, the Woodberry organ at Ste. Marie led public worship for the first time in months.
While it is usually the practice of the Church to use subdued tones and acapella singing for the period between the Thursday preceding Easter and the Vigil of the same, Ste. Marie lost her full organ months earlier. The Woodberry had been ailing due to dry weather, and even as our organist did his best to disguise dead notes and stuck ciphers, the organ slowly protested, until stuck notes finally interfered with its full function. Bach doesn’t sound the same with an unexpected, and unrelenting, whine.
The sad decision being made to rest the main organ until more amenable weather arrived, we made do with the smaller organ in the side choir loft. For the past weeks, it has been leading the ensemble in quiet chants and Lenten hymns, even swelling to some larger pieces by Handel to prepare for the forthcoming reawakening.
On Holy Saturday, the church, though filled, was silent and lit only by candles. Interspersed with various readings, psalms were accompanied by the small side organ, which our organist operated remotely from the main organ console. The anticipation for that final, climactic Gloria! was all the more potent this year for its prolonged delay, and the joy of Easter broke forth in triumphal organ swells once again in 2025. May it continue to do so for years to come!