Organ Practice at St Anthony’s

The organ loft is warmed
by risen candle-heat.
Spot-lit, we float glowing
above the cavern of the nave.
The pipes release birdsong -
the sudden squawk of seagulls;
the swirl of nightingales.


11 November 2008


William has been learning the organ for a few months now, and we go once a week on a Tuesday, to the nearest church with a functioning organ, for him to practise. The church happens to be Catholic, so has quite a different feel from the churches we are more likely to visit in the UK (usually for tourism reasons...). Apart from anything else, it is always full of people: lighting candles, crawling up the aisle in bare feet, praying in front of the statues, and buying devotional items from the shop. Now it is winter, I was struck by the surprisng warmth of the organ loft; and now we can't rely on natural light at 5pm, the odd fact, that the nave is left completely dark, and even the side aisles are mostly lit by candles, whereas we are in an island of light, about 30 feet above everyone else. The varying sounds of the organ, capable of being very beautiful or pretty hideous, also seemed exaggerated by the darkness and our isolation...