“There is something about the sound of the organ –
its ability to produce every dynamic level from inaudible to deafening,
and every frequency from too low to hear to too high to hear,
which
gives it a cosmic character, and it is only really improvisation that
can explore to the full, the dimensions available in a particular space
and for a particular liturgical moment. Such music is being created for
that space, that organ and that liturgy in real time. An improvisation
at the end of Mass in particular, can be seen as offering a response to
the the liturgy on behalf of the people – a huge wordless but musical Deo gratias.
Such moments, in the hands of a good player, give the organ an
oratorical power – in a very real sense, it can preach to the people.”
Monsignor Andrew Wadsworth, Executive Director of ICEL
