Pipe Up

The splendid interior of the Methuen Memorial Music Hall.

Photograph by Len Levasseur

The Methuen Memorial Music Hall, with its lavish English baroque-inspired interior, was built to house the first concert organ in the United States. It’s worth a visit, even for those who find the music emitted by the 6,088-pipe instrument a bit bombastic, or associated only with church services. People bring “baggage to the table,” says concert organist Carson P. Cooman ’04, research associate in music and composer in residence at Harvard’s Memorial Church, just as they do with “other forms of classical instruments…in a world where pop music reigns.” He took up the organ at age 10, mastering its traditional range and flourishes, as in J.S. Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, but now he specializes in contemporary works. He’ll perform “Yankee Doodle Variations,” by Carlotta Ferrari, among other pieces, on July 18 for the hall’s summer and fall concert series.

Watching organists, dwarfed by 64-foot pipes, maneuver keys and pedals while you puzzle out the musical mechanics can be half the fun. (Air vibrating through different-sized pipes produces the panoply of sounds.) The Methuen organ was built in 1863 in Germany for the Boston Music Hall. Edward F. Searles, a rags-to-riches, Methuen-born interior designer, bought it later and built the hall. The splendor speaks to his respect for the instrument; the three-foot-thick walls to its power.    

Click here for the July-August 2018 issue table of contents

Read more articles by Nell Porter-Brown

You might also like

Salsa Squared

Latin dancing fills the streets in Harvard Square   

On the Margins

Filmmaker John Armstrong’s “outdoor adventures” find the human spirit.

Pony Plunges

Scrapbooking a woman who rode horses into the sea

Most popular

House Committee Subpoenas Harvard Over Tuition Costs

The University must turn over all requested materials related to tuition and financial aid by mid-July. 

Two Momentous Faculty Retirements

Arthur Kleinman and Harry Lewis depart the classroom.

The Professor Who Quantified Democracy

Erica Chenoweth’s data shows how—and when—authoritarians fall.

Explore More From Current Issue

Harvard Medalists

Four people honored for exceptional service to the University

Garber, Trump, and the Fight for Harvard’s Future

Introducing a guide to the issues, players, and stakes.

Walter Wick’s I Spy Series

I Spy Creator Walter Wick at the Norman Rockwell Museum