Word of the Week: Orgel

Before you begin reading, go ahead and hit play on the video...

The word of the week is die Orgel, as in church organ! Last week, the Kölner Dom hosted its last Orgelfeierstunde (literally, organ celebration hour) of the year. Throughout the summer, organists from all over Europe travel to the Dom to perform for an hour on Tuesdays at 8pm. The event is free, though priests accept donations at the door as you leave.

We only made it to 3 Orgelfeierstunden this year, but they were all very fun. The first was very avant garde, and the second and third were a bit more traditional. We were so lucky to have friends and family in town on two Tuesday evenings this summer, so we got to not only show them the cathedral but also a concert.

The first time we went, we arrived about 15 minutes before 8pm and the place was already packed. In fact, people were bringing in their own folding camp chairs! We walked all around the cathedral and felt very lucky to find some open seats on the side. We waited for the concert to begin, and then at exactly 8pm the announcer introduced the organist, Roger Sayer of the UK, and the music he would be playing. Once the announcer left the podium, we sat quietly waiting for the music to begin and all of the sudden a deep, bone-rattling BAAAAAAAAAAAAM!!!! sounded right above our heads.

We had unwittingly sat right under the bass pipes of the organ. People in the know (or maybe people who pay attention to their surroundings) avoided the area, which is why we got seats. It was a very memorable concert, during which we plugged our ears and still clearly heard all the music!

see that pew closest to the organ, right below it?
that's where we were

Fortunately, there are more concerts to look forward this year at the Dom. Specifically, the 2013/2014 Geistliche Musik am Dreikönigenschrein, which runs from September to June and features the Dom's choirs. The website hasn't been updated yet, but all current info is posted on the Dom's Facebook page.