Pasi Opus 29: A New Era of Sacred Music Begins

The story below was originally published in The Athenaeum, MTSM’s bi-annual magazine. The Athenaeum is published twice a year for alumni, patrons and friends of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary & School of Theology. To be added to the mailing list, contact: Heidi Walsh at 513.233.6159 or hwalsh@athenaeum.edu.

A new organ for the Chapel of St. Gregory the Great at MTSM has been the talked about for a long time. For Dr. Mary Catherine Levri, Director of Music at MTSM, it was something that was discussed with her during her interview to join the MTSM faculty. For many at the Seminary, the process of acquiring a new organ has been part of their entire tenures.

However, the next stage of the organ’s life cycle has been reached. Pasi Opus 29 has been installed in the Chapel of St. Gregory the Great. MTSM President/Rector The Very Rev. Anthony R. Brausch blessed and dedicated the organ in front of a capacity crowd on October 8 on an evening that included Solemn Vespers and a Choral Concert.

“For me, it was a privilege to make such beautiful music,” Dr. Levri said. “I could tell that the musicians enjoyed it and the feedback from the people in attendance, they enjoyed it as well. My favorite part was the joy that I saw in people’s faces, not just during the Vespers but afterwards. I hope we can continue to present those moments again through our Music & Liturgy Series.”

For some, this is an end point. Martin Pasi, the man who was selected to build this organ and brought it to life in the Chapel, is now in Minnesota to begin his next project.

For Pasi Opus 29, the next stages of its use are just beginning. While having been used in the capacities that it could be for daily services by the seminarians, with the organ fully installed and voiced, it can now get to work in being utilized in MTSM’s continuing mission of helping fulfill vocational callings of those who enter the grounds.

“It was clear from the beginning that this organ needed to be an accompaniment organ because of the nature of its use here at the seminary,” Pasi said. “Along with being utilized by seminarians and the choirs, the organ needed to be able to offer lots of different volume levels and colors.”

“Two words that describe the organ are subtle and gentle,” Dr. Levri said. “You do not have to utilize that many stops when accompanying the seminarians for the sounds of the pipes to meet the sounds of their voices. I look forward to continuing to explore the possibilities of what the organ can do.”

Accompaniment was a common theme surrounding the blessing and dedication of Pasi Opus 29. While what the organ can do will help enhance the Seminary and those who complete their vocational training at MTSM, it is just an object without the voices of praise that will come from those who enter into the Chapel of St. Gregory the Great now and for many, many years in the future.

In his letter to attendees of the blessing and dedication, Fr. Brausch referred to the evening as “a statement of belief and hope for the future” and later on in the letter says that “the human voice brings forth the word and understanding, the expression of belief and community”.

The Most Rev. Dennis M. Schnurr, Archbishop of Cincinnati, made reference to Scripture in his letter to organ blessing and dedication attendees, referencing a passage from St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, “Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another [in] psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and playing to the Lord in your hearts,” (Eph. 5:18-19).

The setting for the evening showed the first steps in fulfilling that mission. The organ was accompanied by The Athenaeum Chorale, The Athenaeum Chorale Chamber Orchestra and The Mount St. Mary’s Latin Schola. The performances allowed the organ to show its versatility, both in terms of power a filling the Chapel with noise and energy but also in companionship with the cantors and their melodies.

During his homily, Rev. Andrew J. Moss made note that days before the Second Vatican Council in 1962, Pope St. John XXIII blessed a renovated pipe organ in St. Peter’s Basilica. During his address, John XXIII said that the revised organ would symbolize “the life-giving breath of that spirit of the Lord that fills the world.”

That is where the work of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary & School of Theology comes in. While the organ will remain in its spot in the Chapel, the people who will utilize the skills learned from it will not.

“The organ is a symbol of the many voices coming together to praise God,” Dr. Levri noted. “I chose hymns for the organ blessing that talked about all of heaven and all of earth offering praise to God. The organ is a symbol of that, and the seminarians can think about it symbolizing their community in-house as they are formed for the priesthood.”