|
February 22,
2005
Greetings to all -
It has been about 4 months since our concert at Our Lady
of Gethsemani Trappist Monastery in Kentucky. Many have asked
about the experience.
Here's how I remember it.
---------------------
Going to Gethsemani was not a new experience for me. I had
been there many times through the years, going back to
my seminary days and when I first read Thomas Merton. It
was Merton, among other influences, that drew me to this
remarkable, mysterious and beautiful place, a place where
monks have prayed, lived and died for hundreds of years.
But this visit was different.
Vibraphonist Dick Sisto, a
close personal friend of Merton's had arranged for us
to perform a jazz concert there. When we received the invitation
to play, we were both eager and accepted. This had been
a dream of mine for years and when the opportunity arose,
I jumped at the chance. Wow, a chance to play where Merton
lived and is buried. Was God calling me yet again to
this place? Why?
Dick picked me up in Louisville and we began our drive to
Bardstown where the monastery is located. He explained that
he had been in touch with Brother Paul, who was the Cantor,
and that it would be nice to ask him to sing with us at some
point in the concert. I agreed. Then he laid the bomb on
me........ He said that I was to play an ELECTRIC piano since
we would be playing in the church. There was a grand piano
in another space but since there were people on retreat,
they wanted us to play in the church and moving the grand
into the church would not be possible. I was naturally disappointed.
But then, Dick said that this was probably one of Merton's
jokes, since Tom was always quick to point out anything that
even suggested of ego. We both laughed. OK, so it was going
to be this way. I didn't care, I just wanted to be there
and play and figured that we would make music anyway.
Kentucky is the Fall is absolutely beautiful so we thoroughly
enjoyed the drive to the monastery. There we were greeted
by Brother Paul Quenon, a warm, friendly and easy going man.
We were taken inside the monastic area and shown where we
would play. The monastery had changed over the years, mostly
the retreat areas, but certain buildings and areas remained
as I remembered them in the late '60's. I asked Br. Paul
how long he had been at Gethsemani and he said, "46
years". He was a novice under Merton. One would think
that after being there so long that they would be out of
touch, but not so with Br. Paul. His comment to me when we
first met was, "yeah, I checked out your Web site".
Br. Paul is not only an excellent singer, as we found out,
but also a fine poet. He has several books published.
We located the Yamaha electric piano and as we loaded it
onto a dolly, Dick pointed out the old horse barn where Tom
Merton wrote many of his books. We set up in the church near
the altar. The impression that one gets when walking the
halls of Gethsemani is how stark but beautiful everything
appears. Simple stone walls display an occasional piece of
modern sculpture (done by monks), all in a Zen-like setting.
(photos available on the Web site, http://www.sanctuaryjazz.com).
The atmosphere in the church demands reverence. You can
feel the presence of the monks going to daily prayer and
Mass. They gather for prayer six times daily. We had, a few
months previous, gone to Sunday Mass there and witnessed
a visiting delegation of Muslim scholars present. After Mass,
one of them spoke of the things that Islam and Christianity
have in common. It was very interesting and comforting in
these troubled times. But this day, we would play jazz in
this sacred space. Much of the credit for the openness that
Gethsemani now offers, I think goes to Thomas Merton (Fr.
Louis as he was called). And, Merton was a big jazz fan who
loved Coltrane.
(more in a few days)
Blessings -
Chuck Marohnic
|
