By Cristina Cabrera Jarro -
Photographer: CRISTINA CABRERA JARRO| FC
International and national award winning organist David Baskeyfield sits at the Frattelli Ruffatti organ console set at the foot of the altar at Epiphany Church in Miami. On Feb, 24, 2022, he played the first organ concert since the pandemic stopped all performances at the church.
MIAMI | The arts communicate something about the presence of God that other means do not quite express.
“Catechesis, theology, the truth is there. And they reveal who God is. They reveal his glory, they reveal his truth,” said Father José Alvarez, pastor of Epiphany Church in Miami. “But it’s the arts that connect that truth to the heart.”
The Frattelli Ruffatti pipe organ at Epiphany helps do that in a big way.
Its over 3,000 pipes in 60 ranks, four divisions, three manuals, 41 stops, and 57 registers vibrated with sound once more this February, when concerts featuring the instrument resumed for the first time in two years.
“It’s been maybe a little quiet the last couple of years with the pandemic. I can’t think of a better way to reinaugurate it, dust every pipe off,” said Tom Schuster, organist and music director at Epiphany.
Part of the Music at Epiphany 2021-22 series, the Feb. 24, 2022 concert featured international and national award-winning organist David Baskeyfield. (Another concert took place March 30 featuring harpist Maurice Draughn; the final concert took place April 23 featuring the UM Frost Chorale performing Gabriel Faure’s Requiem.)
“I couldn’t have picked a nicer place to have a first concert back. You have this wonderful instrument here,” said Baskeyfield, who had not performed in concert since the start of the pandemic in 2020.
Photographer: CRISTINA CABRERA JARRO| FC
International and national award winning organist David Baskeyfield plays the Frattelli Ruffatti organ console set at the foot of the altar at Epiphany Church in Miami. On Feb. 24, 2022, he played the first organ concert since the pandemic stopped all performances at the church.
Musical selections included pieces by J.S. Bach, Mozart, Marcel Dupré, and Paul Dukas as well as the premiere performance (as far as Baskeyfield’s aware) of “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” composed by Dukas for orchestra and transcribed by Dupré for organ. The tune was made famous by a sorcerer’s-hat-wearing Mickey Mouse performing magic, and a little mayhem, in Disney’s 1940 animated musical, “Fantasia.”
“I try to do a broad spread,” Baskeyfield said of the repertoire. He also performed his trademark as an organist, an improvised a variation written with a few notes from Epiphany’s Schuster.
In 2010, Baskeyfield competed and won first prize, as well as the audience prize, at the bi-annual Miami International Organ Competition for young artists, hosted at Epiphany.
“Since then, he’s only gotten better,” said Schuster.
Used to touring, competing and performing at various churches and venues that house organs, Baskeyfield suddenly found himself at a pause, like everyone, when the pandemic hit in 2020.
“At first, the way it was presented, it was a great couple of weeks of paid vacation,” he said. “I was probably playing the organ, practicing, learning a bunch of new pieces hours and hours a day. And then as it kept going, the fatigue really started settling in because I love playing the instrument, but at the end of the day there has got to be a purpose for learning these pieces.”
He spent time at home reading, caring for his dogs, “and watching Netflix, like everyone else in the country.”
Photographer: CRISTINA CABRERA JARRO| FC
The Frattelli Ruffatti pipe organ at Epiphany Church contains over 3,000 pipes, ranging in size from 16 feet tall, to about 1/2 inch tall. It was made in Italy, then completely disassembled and shipped to Miami.
Baskeyfield said that one of the good things that came from the pandemic was the ability to stream live, which most churches and venues are now set up to do. “You have the potential for a larger audience,” he said.
Pandemic or not, Baskeyfield continued his choir’s customary Wednesday night rehearsals via Zoom meetings, although the internet lag made it impossible to rehearse together. So they came up with choir karaoke, essentially singing hymns and anthems on mute while the music played.
“I think we actually became closer during that because with choir practice, yes, we do chat, but mostly we are rehearsing,” he said. “We don’t really get that much time for everyone to talk to everyone there. And so, we kind of went through person by person checking in to say how they were doing. And some people were having a really difficult time.”
He recalled mothers from the group who were working at home online, while their children were also home, and a few elderly members who couldn’t go out at all.
Now, to be almost out of the pandemic and performing back in person is a gift. “At the end of the day, everyone is here to have a good time,” he told the audience at Epiphany. “It really is wonderful to be back doing this.”
IF YOU GO
- Epiphany Church celebrates solemn Masses with choir and orchestra throughout the liturgical year, featuring masterworks from the Classical and Romantic eras. The next ones will be on Sunday, May 8, 2022 and Sunday, June 5, both at 11 a.m.
- Admission is free, donations encouraged.
- For more information call 305-667-4911 or email [email protected].
- Epiphany Church is located at 8235 SW 57th Ave., Miami, FL 33143.
Photographer: CRISTINA CABRERA JARRO| FC
A closer view of one of the organ consoles of he Frattelli Ruffatti pipe organ at Epiphany Church shows the 60 ranks, four divisions, three manuals, 41 stops and 57 registers. The organ contains over 3,000 pipes, ranging in size from 16 feet tall, to about 1/2 inch tall. It was made in Italy, then completely disassembled and shipped to Miami.
