FROM DR. DAVID HURD: THE ORGAN AT SAINT MARY’S

The organ at Saint Mary’s is deservedly known as a world-class instrument; praised by organists and those who appreciate organ music far and wide and recognized as one of the treasures of the parish. It has supported decades of inspiring music and been recorded by an array of concert organists. It was originally installed in 1932 as Opus 891 of the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company of Boston, under the direction of the legendary American organ builder G. Donald Harrison. Revisions to the instrument have occurred in 1942 and, more recently completed in 2002, under the direction of Lawrence Trupiano, who continues to keep the instrument in excellent working order.

As we are all aware, the recent restoration of the rose window on the Forty-Sixth Street façade of the church has necessitated the erection of scaffolding which has extended from the floor of the nave to the arches of the ceiling. To gain access to the window, this scaffolding has had to be constructed over the central section of the structural shelf on which the organ rests. Most of the organ’s pipes are to the right and left of the rose window, but many are directly below it. All those pipes below the window—except the largest and heaviest bass pipes which flank the inside of the façade wall—had to be removed for their protection in order that the scaffolding could safely be erected so that the rose-window restoration could proceed. In the fall of 2019, Mr. Trupiano and his assistants removed those pipes—most of the pedal division and the Grand Choeur trumpet—and stored them in the room immediately west of the choir loft. He also positioned plastic over organ components which were to remain in place during the window restoration to protect them from the inevitable debris which the window restoration work would generate.

For over a year, the organ has been missing several of its ninety-two ranks of pipes. Because of the scaffold, it has been particularly difficult to hear the organ clearly from the floor of the choir loft where the console is located and from where the organist and singers work. Nonetheless, the organ’s remaining ranks of pipes have continued to sound forth, and singers and organist have summoned their skills to make music together from the loft. For Holy Week, we were all gifted to behold the magnificent restoration of the rose window, no longer obscured by scaffolding, and the parish musicians in the loft were again able to hear one another, the organ, and the wonderful acoustical environment of the church with increased clarity.

During Easter Week, Mr. Trupiano was able again to access the organ and inspect its condition. Obviously, some specialized cleaning of the organ will be needed as well as the correction of mechanical issues which have arisen in the months of inaccessibility. However, the organ has come through the window restoration process in generally good order, largely due to Mr. Trupiano’s preventive measures and the skillful effectiveness of the window restoration team. Now, the task remains of cleaning the organ area, putting the long-silenced ranks of pipes back in their places on the windchests, and making the repairs and tonal adjustments to the pipes which are invariably necessary when they have been handled or moved. Mr. Trupiano hopes to begin this process before the heat of summer makes working in the altitude of the organ shelf impossible. It is hoped that all the voices of Saint Mary’s organ will soon again be singing gloriously.

For more detailed information on the organ at Saint Mary’s and its history, please see this link to an article on the New York Chapter American Guild of Organists’ Organ Project website. —David Hurd

YOUR PRAYERS ARE ASKED FOR Christopher, Liduvina, Modie, James, Jonathan, Emerson, Rita, Marilouise, Quincy, Florette, John, Shalim, Abraham, Burton, Dennis, Emil, Ethelyn, Hardy, Margaret, and Robert; for all who suffer from COVID-19; for Louis, priest; for all those who work for the common good, and for all the members and friends of this parish . . . GRANT THEM PEACE . . . April 25: 1871 Edward Louis King; 1880 Golgotha Jones; 1881 Jeremiah Bennett Aitkin; 1885 Madge Leroy, Jessie Helen Burhaus; 1895 Granville Perkins; 1923 Mary Harvey; 1926 Elizabeth Guion; 1944 Louise Preston Sharp; 1965 David H. Cunningham.

SOCIETY OF SAINT FRANCIS TRANSITION . . . The friars will move from Saint Mary’s on Monday, May 10. Sunday, May 9, will be their last Sunday with us. The Neighbors in Need team leaders have been planning for this transition with the help of the friars. See below for how you may be able to help.

Brother Damien Joseph’s last Sunday as photographer and videographer will be Sunday, May 2. The Angelus benefits greatly from the photographs, and we’ve been fortunate that Brother Damien has been able to serve as photographer so frequently. However, we will now need to come up with a new system. From time to time, I will take a photo with my phone for The Angelus. Those photographs work quite well. I hope we can have a small team of photographers taking turns week by week and a few people who can use their cellular phone to live-stream via our Sunday Mass on our Facebook page. All you need for that task is the login for Saint Mary’s Facebook page and you would need to remember to turn off the alarm and the Wi-Fi on your phone—cellular works better in our church space. Hooking the phone up is straightforward. We like the feed to start before 11:00 AM so that we can record the prelude. We stop the feed when the postlude is complete. If you are interested in taking photographs, setting up the live-stream, or having a go at both, please be in touch with me. —S.G.

VIDEOGRAPHY PLANS . . . We have good news but not immediate news about this project. No contracts have been signed, but we have identified the professional with whom we want to work. Fios optic cable is already in our church complex. The videographer and sound professional were delighted to discover that cable’s location will mean far less drilling to create access and add wiring than was originally thought. Our team’s goal is to keep working until we have proposals to accept for the individual parts that make up this project for our facility. Team members are MaryJane Boland, Clark Mitchell, Mark Risinger, Chris Howatt, and myself. —S.G.

NEIGHBORS IN NEED . . . At our monthly Drop-by Days, we distribute clothing and toiletry and hygiene items to those in need in the Times Square neighborhood. Our next Drop-by Day is scheduled for Friday, May 21. Volunteers work from 1:30 PM until 3:30 PM. Our guests are invited into the church at 2:00 PM and we close our doors at 3:00 PM. We need six (6) volunteers for each Drop-by. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Marie Rosseels, MaryJane Boland, or Father Jay Smith.

You may also support this ministry by making a cash donation (if using PayPal, please write “Neighbors in Need” in the memo line); or by making a donation of clothing or hygiene items. We welcome donations of gently used or new clothing and footwear; unopened toiletry items; backpacks, or small rolling suitcases. All these items should be clean and in good repair. Everyday wear is desirable, which is to say, no formal wear, party clothes or high-heeled shoes. We are not in need of men’s or women’s suits or evening wear at this time. Popular clothing items are: T-shirts, socks (e.g., white and black ankle socks), polo shirts, shirts, and blouses with collars; underwear for men and women in all sizes, including bras, slips, briefs; thermal underwear, sweaters, sweatshirts; slacks/blouses; caps, and scarves. Small blankets, towels and wash cloths, rain slickers, umbrellas, and zippered jackets are also desirable. Please speak to Marie Rosseels or Fr. Jay Smith about scheduling a donation.

ALTAR FLOWERS FOR MANY DATES IN 2021 ARE AVAILABLE . . . This includes the Day of Pentecost on Sunday, May 23, and our observance of Corpus Christi on Sunday, June 6. Most other dates, June through August and beyond, are also available. The suggested donation is $250. Donors often give flowers in memory, thanksgiving, or celebration of people or life events they would like to pay tribute to. Please contact Chris Howatt, if you would like to donate or speak to Brendon Hunter for more information.

THIS WEEK AT SAINT MARY’S . . . Sunday, April 25, The Fourth Sunday of Easter, Adult Education, led by Father Matthew Jacobson, 9:30–10:00 AM; Mass 11:00 AM. The main doors of the church open at 10:00 AM and close at 1:00 PM. The preacher at the 11:00 AM Mass on Sunday, April 25, will be Father Gerth. The service is played by Dr. David Hurd. Dr. Hurd will be joined by the cantor, Mr. Daniel Santiago Castellanos . . . Monday, April 26, Saint Mark the Evangelist (transferred), Mass 12:10 PM . . . Tuesday, April 27, Racism Discussion Group Meeting, 7:00 PM via Zoom . . . Sunday, May 2, The Fifth Sunday of Easter, Adult Education 9:30 AM, Holy Eucharist 11:00 AM. On May 2, Jeremy Jelinek will lead the Adult Forum, Father Jay Smith will be the celebrant at the 11:00 AM Mass, and the cantor will be Christopher Howatt.

MUSIC AT SAINT MARY’S . . . Both the words and the melody of the Easter chorale, Jesus Christus, unser Heiland (“Jesus Christ, our Savior true”), are credited to Martin Luther (1483–1546). The prelude on Sunday morning is a three-sectioned setting of this chorale by Franz Tunder (1614–1667). Tunder is believed to have been born in Lübeck, in northern Germany. It is likely that he studied with Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583–1643) in Florence. In 1641, he was appointed the main organist at Lübeck’s Marienkirche, where he was eventually followed by Dieterich Buxtehude (1637–1707). Tunder’s Jesus Christus, unser Heiland is a triptych to match the three stanzas of Luther’s hymn. The first verse is in five voices, two of which are played on the pedals; the chorale melody is in the upper-pedal voice. The second verse is in four voices with the melody in the tenor register played by the left hand. The third verse, also in four voices, places the melody boldly in the bass voice which is played on the pedals. Tunder’s Praeludium in G minor, Sunday’s postlude, is comparable in style and structure to many other pieces of its time and place. The Praeludium has a free, improvisatory opening which is followed by a fugal section. It closes with a brief fantasia over a pedal-point on G.

The musical setting of the Mass on the Fourth Sunday of Easter is Music for the Eucharist composed in 1994 by David Hurd, organist and music director at the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin. This setting was commissioned by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and premiered at the opening Eucharist of their biennial assembly that same year. The texts used are those produced by the English Language Liturgical Consultation (ELLC), established in 1985 as the successor to the International Consultation on English Texts (ICET). The ICET had been formed in 1969 and crafted the liturgical texts of our Rite II. The ICET and ELLC texts for Gloria in excelsis and Agnus Dei are virtually identical, and Sanctus is without any difference. The movements of Music for the Eucharist contain many musical cross-references, many of which are melodic motives based upon whole tone scales. An ascending whole-tone scale can be described as a major scale so intent on rising that it allows no half-steps and therefore omits one pitch in its ascent. This may be a fitting resurrection reference in this setting, which is also characterized by a mixture of lyric melodic shapes and bristling harmonic progressions. Originally published by Augsburg Fortress in 1995, Music for the Eucharist was reprinted by Church Publishing in its 2003 volume entitled Enriching our Music 1.

The Good Shepherd is an image, and a title, of considerable importance in the New Testament, and it is a reference which plays a significant role in our Eastertide liturgies. Specifically, the Collect for the Fourth Sunday of Easter is addressed to God “whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people.” During the administration of Communion on Sunday morning, the cantor, tenor Daniel Santiago Castellanos, will sing a setting of Psalm 23 by Antonín Dvořák (1841–1901). In March 1894, while Dvořák was living in New York City, he composed a cycle of ten Biblical Songs, Opus 99, of which God is my Shepherd is the fourth. These ten songs all derive their texts from the Psalter and were first published in Czech with English and German translations in 1895. Scored originally quite simply for piano and voice, Dvořák orchestrated only the first five of the songs in a manuscript which was published posthumously in 1914. These Biblical Songs are notable for their simplicity of means and effectiveness of expression. They are often performed as a cycle or in select groupings. Psalm 23 lends itself well to liturgical performance.

More on Sunday’s Cantor: Daniel Santiago Castellanos is a composer, tenor, and pianist based in New Jersey. His piece for mezzo-soprano and piano, Death is nothing at all, won first prize at the 2019 NYC songSLAM competition. Ensembles that have performed his music include the Semiosis Quartet, The Orchestra Now (TŌN), Da Capo Ensemble, and The Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys. He graduated from the Bard College Conservatory of Music in 2018 and will attend the Mannes School of Music at the New School to pursue graduate studies in composition in the fall of 2021. Daniel has been a member of the Choir of Saint Mary’s since the fall of 2018.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR . . . Thursday, May 13, Ascension Day, Mass 12:10 PM . . . Sunday, May 23, The Day of Pentecost, Mass 11:00 AM . . . Sunday, May 30, Trinity Sunday, Mass & Solemn Te Deum 11:00 AM . . . Sunday, June 6, Corpus Christi, Mass & Benediction 11:00 AM . . . Sunday, August 15, The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

COVID-19 VACCINATIONS . . . As of April 16, vaccines are being offered to those 50 years old and older without an appointment at the following locations in Manhattan: Ford Foundation, 320 East 43rd St., Monday–Saturday, 9:00 AM–5:00 PM; Yeshiva University, 2495 Amsterdam Ave., Sunday–Thursday 9:00 AM–7:00 PM and Friday 9:00 AM–5:00 PM; Abyssinian Baptist Church, 132 West 138th St.; Tuesday–Saturday, 9:00 AM–5:00 PM; At the now-closed space that was “NFL Experience,” 20 Times Square, 7th Avenue Manhattan—the doorway is just north of Hershey’s at the corner of 47th St. and Seventh Ave., 7 days, 7:30 AM–7:00 PM; Fulton Community Senior Center/Hudson Guild, 119 9th Ave, Tuesday–Saturday, 10:00 AM–4:00 PM.

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION . . . We have begun a new adult-education series on Sunday mornings at 9:30 AM, How We Interpret Scripture and Why It Matters. The series will continue through and including Sunday, May 30. The classes will be led by a new teacher each Sunday. We will not be focusing just on modern historical-critical methods of interpreting the Bible, but rather on the variety of ways in which Christians have used and interpreted the Bible over the centuries: to create art and music, shape liturgy, found religious orders, do theology, speculate about cosmology, discuss morality, prepare baptismal candidates, and care for the newly baptized.

This coming Sunday, April 25, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Father Matthew Jacobson will lead the class in a discussion of the interpretation of the creation accounts in the Book of Genesis by Saint Ambrose of Milan (c. 340–397). Please contact Grace Mudd if you would like to attend the class virtually via Zoom.

On Sunday, May 2, the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Mr. Jeremy Jelinek will discuss the use of biblical texts in the “minor propers” which we hear sung at Mass on Sunday. The minor propers are the chants, the texts of which are in Latin, that we hear sung at the Offertory, Communion, and, sometimes, at the Entrance. These chants change week to week and the biblical texts used are related to the liturgical season and the readings of the day. Jeremy is a degree candidate in organ at The Juilliard School and is the interim choirmaster and organist at the Church of the Epiphany on the East Side. Jeremy has studied Gregorian chant at the famous Roman Catholic Benedictine Abbey of Saint Pierre de Solesmes in northwestern France. The abbey has long been a center for Gregorian chant.

I am looking forward to hearing more about these very different interpretive techniques and points of view, and I am very grateful that so many members and friends of the parish have agreed to share their time and expertise with us. Please join us. All are welcome. —Jay Smith

For all these classes, seating in Saint Joseph’s Hall will be arranged to maximize social-distancing. Unfortunately, we will not be able to provide refreshments. All those attending the class must wear a face covering.

STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN 2021 . . . Our stewardship campaign has come to an end. We were not able to achieve our $400,000.00 goal, but we recognize that we are living in a difficult time, and we are all doing the best we can. We live in hope and trust in God. Still, we continue to ask you for your help. We would welcome your financial pledge if you have not yet pledged for 2021. and we are grateful to all those who continue to support Saint Mary’s so generously.

AIDS WALK NEW YORK 2021 . . . The New York City AIDS Walk 2021 will take place on Sunday, May 16. For the second time because of the pandemic, the Walk will be held as a virtual event. The Saint Mary’s AIDS Walk team invites you to join this effort and to provide financial support. To do both—to join and to contribute—you can click here. Despite the previous success of Saint Mary’s AIDS Walk team as fundraisers for the walk, we will not be able to form a parish team this year. We hope to be back as a team in 2022, and even though we will not have a full-fledged team this year, we encourage you to contribute to this vitally important cause.

As COVID-19 spread, GMHC adapted most of its services to virtual and created new programs where it saw its clients struggling. The COVID Destroyers Program began this past summer with GMHC staff and volunteers distributing masks and educational materials. Today, GMHC reaches more than 16,000 people in New York City and their services include mental-health support. With its clients among those New Yorkers most grappling with increased anxiety, grief, loss, depression, fear, and social isolation, GMHC uses phone and video-conferencing to continue to provide mental-health and substance-use counseling to hundreds of clients each week.

Saint Mary’s AIDS Walk team has been the most successful church group walking for many years. In 2019, the last year of in-person walking, our team ranked #4 out of all teams walking and raised $62,757 with the support of parishioners and friends and family from all over the country. We hope for an equal degree of success in 2022. Thank you to all those who have supported this outreach effort over the years.

AT THE MUSEUMS . . . At the Metropolitan Museum Fifth Avenue at Eighty-second Street, through August 1, 2021: Alice Neel: People Come First. (We have heard that, for reasons of safe-distancing, one must sometimes wait in line in order to be admitted to the exhibition gallery.) This is the first museum retrospective in New York of American artist Alice Neel (1900–1984) in twenty years. This ambitious survey positions Neel as one of the century’s most radical painters, a champion of social justice whose longstanding commitment to humanist principles inspired her life as well as her art, as demonstrated in the approximately one hundred paintings, drawings, and watercolors that appear in The Met’s survey.

Images of activists demonstrating against fascism and racism appear alongside paintings of impoverished victims of the Great Depression, as well as portraits of Neel’s neighbors in Spanish Harlem, leaders from a wide range of political organizations, queer artists and performers, and members of New York’s global diaspora. The exhibition also highlights Neel’s erotic watercolors and pastels from the 1930s, her depictions of mothers, and her paintings of nude figures (some of them visibly pregnant), all of whose candor and irreverence are without precedent in the history of Western art.

Neel was a longtime resident of New York, and the city served as her most faithful subject. Indeed, the sum total of her work testifies to the drama of its streets, the quotidian beauty of its buildings, and, most importantly, the diversity, resilience, and passion of its residents. “For me, people come first,” Neel declared in 1950. “I have tried to assert the dignity and eternal importance of the human being.”

WORSHIPPING SAFELY AT SAINT MARY’S: If you are at all unwell, please do not come to church. If you are experiencing symptoms, contact your primary-care physician and get tested. If you have a fever of 103.5, which is not being handled by an analgesic, and/or you are having difficulty breathing (by difficulty we mean you must stop talking to focus on your breathing), go to an emergency room immediately. That said, we are very happy to be able to welcome you to worship with us here at Saint Mary’s (11:00 AM on Sunday, 12:10 PM Monday–Saturday).

When you arrive, please fill out the contact sheet at the ushers’ table. Please take a seat in one of the open pews, and feel free to ask an usher, one of the brothers, or a member of the clergy if you have questions about seating, Communion, or safe-distancing. Face masks are required while in the church building. We know all too well that many of these precautions are tedious, but we accept them to keep ourselves and each other safe and healthy. We continue to pray for those who are sick and for a swift end to the epidemic.

This edition of the Angelus was written and edited by Father Stephen Gerth and Father Jay Smith. Father Gerth is responsible for posting the newsletter on the parish website and for distributing it via mail and e-mail, with the assistance of Christopher Howatt and parish volunteer, Clint Best.