Author: Jeffrey Brillhart

As an introvert, I have always loved this time of year. I love autumn, with its bold, then fading colors and increasingly chilly evenings. I love the unique shades of blue the sky takes on in autumn. I love the warmth of community at Thanksgiving. And with each day growing shorter and the darkness longer, this introvert is even more inspired to find creativity and renewal in the solitude and personal reflection that come with these long nights and darkened days.

I love how music reflects the seasons. The music of harvest. The music of Thanksgiving. The music of Advent. Advent has a sound unlike any other season, filled as it is with minor-key music (“O Come, O Come Emmanuel”) and its language, filled with longing, hope, expectation, and wonder. For an introvert, all this inward-looking and longing feels like a deep balm. With the arrival of Christ comes our endless cries of Gloria in excelsis. The world explodes in joy, and all seems well.

In this holiest and most beloved of seasons, it is music that signals the arrival of something different and something profoundly holy. It includes music that fills us with joy and hope. It includes music that salves the brokenhearted and the ill with messages of goodwill, empathy, and love.

In the coming days, you will experience the full scope of this season. Its darkening days and minor keys. Its balm. Its joy. December 14th’s concert, “Prologue to Epilogue,” will trace the entire story of the season with anthems and carols. Singers, brass, organ, bells, and your voices will combine to remind us of our unique Christian heritage and our ever-hopeful nature. The “Longest Night Service” on Wednesday, December 17, will provide balm and solace in the magnificence of our candlelit church, familiar music, soaring solos, and prophetic preaching.

On December 24, the darkness of Advent turns to abundant joy with three incredible Christmas Eve services. The 4:30 p.m. Family Service (the largest service attended of the year) is an explosion of youthful energy and excitement as a cast of 100 children tell and sing the story. With the Bryn Mawr Brass, our staff of organists, our wonderful Choristers, and your voices, the walls of the church will soar with joy. At 8:30 p.m., we will gather around the table to hear the Christmas story said, sung, and preached, and celebrate the birth of our Savior. At 11:00 p.m., the much-beloved choir-led Christmas Lessons and Carols will return. Led by our renowned Sanctuary Choir and a cast of lay readers, the glorious story will be retold through scripture and song. From Adam to Mary to the Shepherds and the Wise Men, no characters will be excluded!

Where Advent music whispers promise, Christmas music proclaims fulfillment. Singing together, be it “Silent Night” or “Joy to the World,” or listening to the choir soar in its harmony, is a communal act that transforms us, individuals, into one people — one breath, one voice, one hope. Such is the power of music. Such is the power of community. Such is the power of this church. Such is the power of Christ.

“Film music is like a small flame put under the screen to help warm it.” — Aaron Copland

Silent Film is one of the greatest cultural legacies of the United States. Sadly, more than 80% of the more than 11,000 silent films produced have been lost. With the introduction of “Talkies” in 1928 (The Lights of New York), the era of silent film quickly ended. During a short, furious period of silent movie palace architecture, America saw a campaign of theatre construction that made gold leaf, ponderous chandeliers, and the Mighty Wurlitzer Organ the rule and not the exception. Thousands of movie houses depended on live musical accompaniment for their silent movies, and while some smaller houses merely had pianos, the vast majority had theatre pipe organs. While these wonderful instruments were not inexpensive, even back then, it was far more affordable to have a “Mighty Wurlitzer” with a few house organists on staff than to pay for a full orchestra or even a modest band to perform in the orchestra pit every day.

These organs became wildly popular, and several manufacturers jumped on the bandwagon to join the Wurlitzer company to have an organ in every movie house in the land. In Philadelphia alone, there were more than 157 theater organs (now only a handful remain in the Delaware Valley).

When the “talkies” became mainstream movie entertainment right around 1930, the production of theatre pipe organs came to a screeching halt. While some organs were used on special occasions for a few short years, many took over the namesake of their chief reason for being – they became “silent.” Some were destroyed when old theaters were torn down decades later, some were ruined and/or vandalized, and a modest number of them found their way into churches and private home installations starting around the 1950s.

While there were originally several thousand theatre pipe organs around the U.S. and U.K., today only a few hundred remain.

One of the greatest films of that era was “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” Filmed in 1923 and starring Lon Chaney as the Hunchback, it was Universal Studios’ greatest silent film success. Based on Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel (which led to the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral), it is a masterpiece of stagecraft, makeup, and special effects. It premiered in New York City at the Astor Theater, which installed a large Morton theater organ for the occasion.

It is our pleasure to offer this film on October 31 at 8:00 p.m. in the chapel. The film will be accompanied by our organ scholar, Daniel Carroll, who will improvise the entire 1-hour, 40-minute soundtrack. The chapel organ has a kaleidoscope of colorful sounds that work perfectly in the genre of silent film accompaniment. Daniel is one of my most talented improvisation students. The Hunchback, accompanied by Daniel Carroll, will provide an incredibly enjoyable evening for all ages!

The film is free; concessions will be available! You are welcome to make a contribution toward the expenses of the evening at the door.

Without observing Good Friday, one cannot fully appreciate the joy of Easter. On this solemn day, Jesus willingly suffered and died by crucifixion as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. It was on Good Friday that Jesus broke the bonds of death and sin. We invite you to join us for one of our Good Friday worship services—at noon or at 7:30 p.m.—as we reflect on the depth of Christ’s love and prepare our hearts for the joy of Easter morning.

At noon, the youth of the church will lead a service of the seven last words of Jesus Christ, which reflect on Jesus’s sayings while on the cross. They are:

Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing

Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise

Woman, here is your son… Here is your mother

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

I am thirsty.

It is finished.

Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit.

Jesus didn’t say all seven things in one gospel account; rather, these are a compilation of the things Jesus said in all four accounts of his crucifixion. Taken together, these words paint a haunting portrait of our savior’s final day.

Through original reflections, prayer, poetry, congregational song, and musical responses from Singing for Life, the youth of BMPC will lead the congregation through these seven words and invite us to reflect on the incarnate God in full humanity and full divinity, act in obedience to God even unto death, and embody God’s love for us even amid terrible pain.

The evening service will follow an annual tradition started by the Music and Fine Arts department in 1989. This tradition has run the gamut of services, ranging from choral-based services to organ music recreating the Stations of the Cross to theater pieces, like last year’s “Tenebrae: The Passion of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.” This year, the service will be led by the Bryn Mawr Chamber Singers and the Reverends Agnes Norfleet and Rebecca Kirkpatrick. Liturgy-rich, the service will include some of the most remarkable musical works in the choral canon. The choir will present works by Antonio Lotti, Maurice Duruflé, Pablo Casals, Charles Callahan, and Francis Poulenc’s sublime “Four Motets for Lent.” This service is designed to help you release your worries and encounter God in a deeply meditative atmosphere, filled with beautiful music, readings, and prayer.

Whether you attend at noon or 7:30 p.m., there are profound and beautiful opportunities to engage worshipfully in this pivotal day and prepare yourself for the miracle and joy of Easter morning.

Of the vast musical repertoire choirs are blessed to sing, sacred British choral works stand as among the most beloved. A quick glance at BMPC’s music library reveals dozens of titles by the likes of Parry, Bainton, Stanford, Britten, Howells, Bairstow, and others. It is worth noting that some of the most positive feedback I receive from the congregation is about this repertoire! For example, Herbert Howells’ “Like as the Hart,” Charles H.H. Parry’s “I Was Glad,” and Edgar Bainton’s “And I Saw a New Heaven” are works that are always praised and appreciated.

We are delighted to present these works, along with some of the most powerful works of the British choral canon, in a concert titled “20th Century British Choral Masterpieces this Sunday, March 16, at 4 p.m. We will join forces with the choir of Church of the Redeemer. An offering will be received to support both choir’s concert tours this summer.

I want to highlight the largest work at Sunday’s concert, Herbert Howells’ astonishing “An English Mass.” Scored for choir, soloists, orchestra, and organ, this work was composed in 1955 for one of the leading musicians of that era, Harold Darke. Howells and Darke shared a particular love for seventeenth-century music. While Howells’ musical language is decidedly neo-Romantic in flavor, his rapport with earlier music is particularly evident in this work. What also comes through is the cathartic nature of much of the writing. You see, in 1938, Howells’ son Michael died of polio at the age of nine. From that moment on, every work he composed was influenced by the profound grief of a parent losing a child.

One moment, in particular, stands out in “An English Mass.” In the movement setting the Creed, Howells takes the text “And I look for the resurrection of the dead” and sets it for a solo soprano. In the sacred British choral tradition, the soprano part was nearly always sung by boy sopranos. At this moment in the Creed, Howells’ grief is temporarily assuaged by the sound of a single treble voice, clearly representing his son, Michael.

This is powerful music and among the most challenging works ever presented by the choir. Sunday’s concert, sung by over 100 singers and 21 orchestral musicians, will surely lift your spirits! I do hope you will attend, along with your friends and family members. Following the concert, enjoy a reception in the court, honoring the choirs and Barbara Berry, the artist of the current gallery show “Rhythm and Light.”

The next two major events in our annual series of concerts will celebrate the gifts of British performers and composers. This Sunday, renowned British organist James O’Donnell will make his area debut, playing our magnificent Rieger organ, supported by the men of our Gregorian Chant ensemble.

James, now Professor of Organ at Yale University, has a long and distinguished career, first serving at Westminster Cathedral in London and then twenty-three years as Organist and Master of the Choristers at Westminster Abbey. At Westminster Abbey, James led the Abbey’s music department and oversaw all musical aspects of the Abbey’s work, including directing the celebrated Choir of Westminster Abbey. He was also responsible for the music at royal, state, and national occasions, including the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on 29th April 2011 and the funeral of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, on 9th April 2002. Most recently, he led the music for the state funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, his last event at the Abbey before coming to Yale.

I smile when I recall going to James’s home outside of New Haven, CT, for dinner and seeing photos of him with the Queen, Prince Charles and Camila, and other members of the Royal Family! I first heard James perform nearly 20 years ago at Yale and recall being flabbergasted by his virtuosity and musicality. This Sunday, his concert will celebrate this pipe organ’s strengths, with works by J.S. Bach, Nicholas DeGrigny, Dietrich Buxtehude, J.S. Bach, César Franck, and Maurice Duruflé. This will be a concert to remember! This Sunday, 2 p.m. The concert will last approximately 70 minutes. A free will offering will be received.

This taste of Britain will continue on Sunday, March 17, at 4 p.m., when the choirs of BMPC and The Church of the Redeemer will join forces with an orchestra to present masterpieces of British music composed for choir and organ. Stay tuned for more information!

Here is a to attend Sunday’s concert.

Many years ago, BMPC member Nena Bryans introduced me to Sister Helen David Brancato. Walking into the court to meet them, I saw Nena with a diminutive older woman. The closer I drew, the more I saw that this nun was a force to be reckoned with! From her dancing eyes to her exuberant energy, I was captivated and immediately became a fan!

I am delighted that Sister Helen will offer a solo show in the BMPC gallery from January 12 to March 2. Her exhibit celebrates the courage and strength of women from diverse backgrounds and eras who have lived with passion and compassion. Hildegard of Bingen, a mystic and visionary, faced exile for standing firm in her convictions. Others, like Dorothy Day, dedicated their lives to the poor and welcomed the stranger through the founding of the Catholic Worker Movement. In Brancato’s painting Song Over the Waters, Eve symbolizes all creative women who continue to channel their energy through writing, painting, teaching, healing, and service. Frida Kahlo, known for painting her pain, also captured her hopes and dreams. These women embodied fidelity and endurance, and these portraits honor the many ways they shared their talents and gifts with the world.

One work stands out to me. Inclusive Feast shows a familiar scene to believers: the Last Supper. However, sitting at the head of the table is a woman. Gathered around her is an assembly of diverse peoples. Diverse in age, diverse in color. One guest at the table holds her baby. I saw this work in Sister Helen’s workshop and was struck by the work’s beauty and message that all are welcome to gather together at the table. This is contradictory to the Roman Catholic Church’s policy that only Catholics may receive the sacrament of communion. I looked at Sister Helen and asked, “Wow, the priests must not have been too thrilled with this painting.” She shrugged her shoulders, laughed, and burst out with, “Not so much!”

Sister Helen studied portrait painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and explored various visual art forms at the Tyler School of Art, Temple University. A painter, printmaker, and illustrator, she has exhibited professionally in the Philadelphia and New York areas and formerly taught visual arts at Villanova University.

Sister Helen collaborated as an illustrator with Henri Nouwen on Walk with Jesus: Stations of the Cross and with Evelyn Mattern on Why Not Become Fire? Encounters with Women Mystics. One of her most significant accomplishments has been leading an open studio for artists aged six to eighty at the Southwest Enrichment Community Art Center in Philadelphia.

A recipient of an Independence Foundation Artist Fellowship, her work is part of the collections at the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art at Saint Louis University and Villanova University. Sister Helen’s artist statement reflects her deep commitment to her mission:

“My work is bound up with the human condition. I respond to nature peacefully and to human nature with healthy agitation. It is important for me to interact with the lives of the poor. Through painting, I try to bring the depth of my insight into the pain, the strength, and the dignity of my subjects.”

Please join us in the gallery this Sunday, January 12, at 11:15 a.m., where Sister Helen will lead you on a gallery tour and talk.

For more than 40 years, BMPC has enjoyed an annual musical event during the seasons of Advent and Christmas. These Sunday afternoon programs have run the gamut from semi-staged operettas to celebrations of the American southwest to performances of “Messiah,” to performances of Menotti’s “Amahl and the Night Visitors, “to Lessons and Carols services. This year, we will offer a foretaste of Christmas Eve with a festive Christmas Lessons and Carols service.

Patterned after the celebrated annual services at Kings College Cambridge, this service will feature nine lessons accompanied by singing, either by the Sanctuary Choir or the congregation. The lessons detail the story of the fall of humanity, the promise of the Messiah, and the birth of Jesus told in nine short Bible readings or lessons from Genesis, the prophetic books, and the Gospels, interspersed with the singing of Christmas carols, hymns, and choir anthems.

Joining the Sanctuary Choir is the Bryn Mawr Festival Brass and carillonneur Lisa Lonie, who will present a festive prelude before the service.

Sunday’s service is filled with gorgeous choral works, including favorites by John Rutter, John Stainer, G.F. Handel, David Willcocks, and Philip Ledger. Of special note, in anticipation of the choir’s tour to France next summer, Pierre Villette’s stunning “Hymne à la Vierge” will be presented in French! This service presents an opportunity to hear amazing choral music and to lift your voices in praise in several carols accompanied by brass and organ. This is also an opportunity to show gratitude to friends and family by inviting them to join you in what promises to be a deeply stirring service of word and music. A free-will offering will be received to help defray the costs of the service. Please join us this Sunday, December 15, at 4 p.m.

Regardless of one’s stage in life, certain dates are remembered. A child’s birthday, a couple’s first date, the birthday of a beloved pet, perhaps the date you were offered your dream job, and, of course, wedding anniversaries! For most of us, those landmark dates also include the date a loved one passed from this life to the next. While birthdays are typically observed in a group with much festivity, dates such as a spouse, parent, or child’s passing are typically observed with some solitary reflection. I have lived long enough to now observe many such dates –my brother and mother, numerous choir members, and countless beloved members of BMPC. Even with the passage of time, these observances are difficult.

With this coming Sunday’s observance of All Saints Day, the BMPC congregation and friends in the community will be given the privilege of coming together as a very large family to remember our loved ones, especially those who have left this earth during the past year. During this most moving service of the year, the choir will offer one of the most beautiful choral works of the 20th century, Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem. Composed in 1947, Duruflé’s setting is perhaps the most moving of all settings of the Requiem. It has none of the bombast of Verdi’s or Berlioz’s settings. Like Fauré’s setting, this is a Requiem filled with peace and hope. Unique to Duruflé, he based much of the material in his Requiem on Gregorian chant and the Gregorian Mass for the Dead.

Duruflé’s masterpiece, presented along with Dr. Norfleet’s sermon, the Lord’s Supper, the reading of the names of those members who have died this past year, and the tolling of the carillon, will demonstrate the church at work as an agent of comfort and peace, and a powerful witness to Christ’s Resurrection.

In October 2005, I formed a new choir at BMPC. Singing for Life (S4L) was envisioned as a musical group for singers of all experiences, age 55+. Why Singing for Life? I was concerned that we were not offering musical outlets for singers who perhaps no longer felt comfortable driving at night or could not meet the rigorous demands of the Sanctuary Choir. Within just a few rehearsals, it was clear that S4L was here to stay!

What I didn’t know then was that a movement was beginning to play out throughout the United States. Little by little, older adult choirs were popping up all over! Why has this become such a powerful movement?

Studies have shown that singing in a choir has incredible health benefits. Singing regularly improves one’s breath capacity (did you know your breath capacity decreases by 1% a year? Singing can stop that decrease). Singing with others has powerful mental health benefits. A good choral experience is also a physical workout that positively impacts breath, muscle strength, and posture. Local vocal expert Robert Sataloff describes the act of singing in a choir as a “Voice Lift!”

A typical S4L rehearsal includes deep breathing exercises and vocalization to help expand and strengthen your singing and speaking voice and focus on posture. Our repertoire includes both sacred and secular music. We also sing in various languages (studies link language learning with mental acuity). To date, we have sung in Italian, Japanese, Hebrew, English, and German, to name a few!

S4L rehearses on Thursday mornings, 9:30-10:45 a.m., beginning October 3 and culminating with a concert at Dunwoody on December 19. No experience is required. Led by Jeffrey Brillhart and Kara Goodrich (who made her Opera Philadelphia debut as Mimi in “La Boheme” in spring 2022), S4l will make you smile as you discover or re-discover the joy of making music with wonderful people. To register, contact .