St. Mary's Cathedral, Sydney

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 Now during my visit to my family in Australia I finally got into the city, to my favorite place in Sydney -- St. Mary's Cathedral.

Solemn Sung Mass was beautiful with the men's and boys' choir and the organ and all the smells and bells of the Church.

After the service people may gather around and watch the organist play the organ voluntary.
I think yesterday it was Toccata in F by 17th century Dietrich Buxtehude.

There's just something about a Gothic (-style) cathedral!
It's something we lack in Jerusalem. 

More photos of St. Mary's in the coming days (after I have been without Internet for the last five days, oi).
For more about the cathedral (from my previous visits) you can type "St. Mary's" in the little search box on top. 

(Linking to inSPIREd Sunday and Our World Tuesday.)
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The new organ at Elma Arts Complex

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Yesterday I introduced you to Israel's newest organ at Elma Arts Complex Luxury Hotel in Zichron Yaakov.

Here is how Israel Organ Association describes it:

 Following the indications of the architect, German organ builder Philip Klais succeeded in filling a rather small volume situated above the stage with 24 stops (1326* pipes). There was no need, and indeed no room, for a wooden chest enclosing the instrument. As a consequence, all 16' and 8' pipes are covered because the place was not high enough to contain open pipes. All the pipes of the "façade"(front) of the organ are cut at the same length. Some of these are real pipes, from the Subbass 16' and the Principal 8', each one using only a part of the height of the pipe, and the others are make-believe "chanoines". The audience, sitting in the hall, cannot see the difference between them. The whole front looks like a large metallic curtain. The reason for this seems to be the need to use the pipes themselves as a separation between the hall and the organ, to prevent heat, humidity and dirt to get inside the organ. The console is just under the organ and facing it, so that only the back of the organist can be seen. The console itself is of the greatest simplicity: no cover to insure protection, no ornaments, no manual or feet commands except for a swell pedal and three sequences selecting pedals.

*some say 1414 pipes

The organ and pipes are way up on top, behind the nine tracks of lights.
(You can enlarge any of these photos with two separate clicks of your mouse.)

Some of the 24 stops.  The white part is made from crushed bone.

The two keyboards are protected by velvety covers with the famous company name.
It took two months to assemble all the handmade parts in Germany, then the organ was disassembled for shipment to Israel.
Here it took one month to rebuild it and then one month to tune. 

And of course the music on hand in case someone wants to demonstrate his skill and the organ's tone -- Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor!
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See more about this organ and Israel's other (mostly church) organs at the Israel Organ Association website.
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UPDATE June:  See a spectacular video of Cameron Carpenter playing this organ in concert!
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Mirror mirror on the organ, who is the fairest one of all?

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Finally I found a reflection for James' Weekend Reflection meme.
And it's none other that my son, Edo!
(The photo is enlargeable with two separate clicks, ahem!)

The mirror is for the organist to see the orchestra conductor.

The beautiful new organ was recently installed in the Elma Arts Complex Luxury Hotel in Zichron Ya'akov, on our Mediterranean coast.
See the organ in situ in its 450-seat auditorium at their website.

Our excellent tour-of-Elma guide, Gilat  (my step-daughter, who has a high position there), pointed out inter alia that Israel has fifty or sixty pipe organs.
But most of them are in churches.
Elma's organ is the only one in the country purpose-built for a concert hall.

I'll have more for you about the organ and the hotel in the coming days!
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UPDATE June 25:  See video of Cameron Carpenter playing this organ as only he can!
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