Combing the historical significance of the Christmas Nativity with the diversity of cultures and artists that have interpreted it through the ages, "Finding Bethlehem" guides you thoughtful commentaries of theologians and collectors alike, to artist statements and the voices of "behind-thes-scenes" participants in the Festival, the book explores the spiritual and artistic meaning of the Nativity.
This last August 27th, the third anniversary of Fr. Francis’ death, the deceased former Abbot made music come streaming from the organ and shook the windows of Mepkin’s church. Both his monastic community and his parents were in attendance for a 45 minute concert of virtuoso-caliber works by such composers as Bach, Vierne and Dupre.
Preparation for the evening actually began in 2001, when Cornell Zimmer came to the monastery with a machine called a “sequencer.” A sequencer memorizes every stop an organist pulls, every note he plays, every crescendo or nuance. Playback is intriguing, as the spectator watches the organ pull its own stops, pound its own keys and push its own pedals. With the new machine, Fr. Francis spent the next three days doing various takes of each piece, the best of which were recorded on a floppy disk and labeled “concert.”
The monks were greatly assisted in the concert’s becoming a reality by Mr. Eli Homza, retired church organist and monastic guest for the month of August. Commenting on Fr. Francis’ playing, he said “He does things with his feet that I can’t do with my hands. What he’s done is definitely CD quality.” Commenting on the concert itself Eli’s eyes narrowed as if looking at something far away. “It’s almost as if Fr. Francis foresaw this.” In his music, our former Abbot’s spirit made itself audible. He must have foreseen it. Indeed, he must’ve been, for a moment, present among us.
