DESCRIPTION:
Olivier Latry improvises | Pipe Organ Church in Diocese of Brooklyn
1:30 Awake, O sacred instrument, intone the praises of God, our Creator and Father!
3:35 Sacred instrument, you will celebrate Jesus our Lord, dead and risen for us!
5:20 Sacred instruments, you will sing of the Holy Spirit whose breath animates out lives!
7:18 Sacred instrument, you will carry our songs and our supplications to Mary, the Mother of Jesus!
10:20 Sacred instrument, you will fill the assembly of the people with gratitude to Christ!
12:55 Sacred instrument, you will bring the comfort of faith to those who sorrow.
15:51 Sacred instrument, you will sustain the prayer of the believers!
19:19 Sacred instrument, you will proclaim the glory of the Father, the son and the Holy Ghost!
23:37 The congregation sings Holy God, We Praise Thy Name with the organ
26:05 Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio gives a final blessing

October 18, 2013
Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio The Seventh Bishop of Brooklyn
Fr. Michael Perry | Pastor of Our Lady of Refuge in Brooklyn
Olivier Latry | A Titular Organist of the Cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris
Michael Barone | Host and Producer of Pipedreams, American Public Media

Video of a pipe organ dedication after a 6 year journey to fully restore this 80 year-old pipe organ at Our Lady of Refuge Church. http://www.olrbrooklyn.org The Organist from the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, Olivier Latry, came to the middle of Brooklyn to dedicate this pipe organ. The restoration exceeded anyone's wildest dreams. The pipe organ soundd extraordinary. This was due to the 2 firms and their talented craftsmen who spent hundreds of hours renewing thousands of parts in the pipe organ. Particular credit goes to David Schopp of A.R. Schopp's Sons for over seeing the repair and cleaning of all of the reeds in the pipe organ and to Eric Johnson from Quimby Pipe Organs for leading the team to reinstall and tonally finish the organ.

The restoration of the pipe organ at Our Lady of Refuge is testament to what can happen when you surround yourself with dreamers, believers and doers, and an understanding that no dream will be realized unless tirelessly pursued. This short video shows a blessing service, adapted from a French tradition, in which the organ is called upon by the priest and the organist improvises on the priest's exhortations. Watch and listen to Father Michael Perry and Olivier Latry at the blessing of an organ whose restoration was underwritten by the generous donations of more than 1500 people, many of whom have (had) never set foot in that church.

The moral of the story is: Don't give up, and don't let anyone talk you out of your dream.

The video opens with a recording made of the organ in 1982 - that is what the organ used to sound like before it stopped working.

Michael Barone, Host and Producer of Pipedreams on American Public Media gives a voice over. http://pipedreams.publicradio.org

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio the Bishop of the Brooklyn Diocese blesses the pipe organ and then the Pastor of the Church, Father Michael Perry calls out to the pipe organ eight times and Olivier Latry one of the organists from Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris improvises outstanding musical commentaries. http://www.notredamedeparis.fr/Olivier-LATRY,405

Olivier Latry makes this little pipe organ sound better then it should - there is outstanding music making here. The audio quality is excellent. Enjoy it.

Remember! This church had no "rich people" that financially underwrote this restoration, they had a vision and determination and nothing was going to stop them from a first class restoration of this pipe organ. The parish is rich in many other things.

Their goal is to share this pipe organ with all people.

The companies that carried out this excellent organ restoration:

A.R. Schopp's Sons, Inc., is the largest supplier of organ pipes in the United States today. The company has been in business for over 110 years, and four generations of the Schopp family have been involved in its operation.

http://www.arschopp.com


Quimby Pipe Organs, Inc., has specialized in the building, rebuilding, tuning and servicing of pipe organs for 43 years. The company has a national reputation, with 69 new pipe organs with four large new instruments scheduled through 2017, and many famous rebuilds such as The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, New York, the Cathedral of Saint Paul, San Diego, California, and the Cathedral of Saint Paul, St. Paul, Minnesota.

http://www.quimbypipeorgans.com

2016 Update
Joe Vitacco worked as a volunteer at Our Lady of Refuge with Fr. Micahel Perry and the staff from 2006 to 2015. He led the fund raising efforts and oversaw the restoration of the organ at Our Lady of Refuge. The instrument's restoration was largely paid for with donations made by organ enthusiast from around the world, most of whom have never been to Brooklyn - these videos are for you!