St Saviour’s House, Society of St Pious X
The organ player who plays at St John on the Wall told me about St Saviour's House and said that the organ and chapel were quite beautiful. Such tip-offs don't come around so often, so I emailed Father McLaughlin, who runs the retreat, and he agreed that I could come and play.
The view from the organ gallery
The chapel is extremely still and beautiful and I was left to my own devices. I joined with the organ for a fair few hours; for some time I disappeared completely. There were no thoughts, there was only stillness and music. No one knows who built the organ. It throbs, swirls and moves wonderfully. It fills the chapel with organic goodness. I read recently an interview with Jonny Greenwood and he talks about his obsession with church organs. He mentioned that the internal workings of the organ are called the brain, which is such a wonderful name, because not only does it describe the complexity of the instrument, it also speaks to the way that an organ can get inside mine and replace it for a while.
““...these ancient churches have centuries of sounds that have almost soaked into the walls and the organ pipes!””
I feel very happy that I have been able to soak extra sound into the walls of this chapel! Here is an improvisation from the day. It centres round a five note motif starting on a G. The second and third pieces have a certain amount of feeling around, waiting to find out which way the improvisation is going to go. A pleasing debate with free will occurs, as you wonder whether you are playing the improvisation or the improvisation is playing you. I love looking at a keyboard and wondering where it is going to take you. It confines you within tempered notes and sets you free by locking you into a clearly defined and evenly spaced framework.
