Notre-Dame Organist Vincent Dubois Wows in Wheeling Wednesday
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WHEELING - People filled the pews at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph Wednesday and waited eagerly for the music to start. Some people were talking, some were walking around the church while others were simply sitting.
When Vincent Dubois started playing and made the organ sing, almost everyone was silent.
Dubois, the Titular Organist of the Notre-Dame Cathedral, stopped in Wheeling to honor the Cathedral of Saint Joseph's 100th anniversary, which was on April 21.
Dubois, who is from France, is famous for performing at concert venues around the world, from Europe, Asia and the Pacific. He regularly performs at The American Guild of Organists and has taught at various universities in the U.S., such as Yale University, Oberlin College and Baylor University.
He performed six different works from various composers, such as Cesar Franck's "Cantabile" and Camille Saint-Saens "Danse macabre." For his final performance, Dubois was given a theme from the Cathedral of Saint Joseph - just two lines of sheet music - and improvised on it. Every other performance, he needed no sheet music.
Each time he played, his hands glided across the keys of the organ and his feet moved all across the pedals to put the cathedral's organ to work.
And when he did so, the sound of his performance filled the space of the cathedral no matter how many notes he played, while candlelights danced in the background. After all, the organ has 62 ranks and 3,756 pipes ready to make sound.
Sometimes, the bass of the organ shook fixtures in the space. Other times, the high notes seemingly bounced off the walls.
In any case, all one could hear besides Dubois' skillful playing was the occasional "wow" from someone observing his performance.
Dubois said it was his first time in West Virginia, but was honored to discover the Cathedral and its organ, calling both "fabulous." He spoke on the pieces he performed, especially Maurice Durufle's "Suite."
"He has not composed that much pieces, but each piece he has written was sort of perfection," Dubois said. "He was somewhat very demented against himself, and he has left only an hour and 15 minutes of music [behind]. And these works are the most sung requiem in the world, more sung than Mozart."
Brother John Byrd, who is involved with the church and is a Marist Brother, was present at the Cathedral during the performance. He said it's likely nobody had ever played the Cathedral of Saint Joseph's pipe organ quite like Dubois did on Wednesday.
"The organ is probably hoping it won't get played for a while, that was such a workout," Byrd said.
As for getting Dubois to make a stop in West Virginia, he said it was simply a case of someone knowing the right person.
"I'll tell you this, he would not have played if he didn't know the organ could handle it," Byrd said.
Rev. Clifton Mastran, vice-rector of the Cathedral of St. Joseph said the concert was just one of many ways they're celebrating the church's 100th anniversary year.
"There are few instruments more closely associated with the light of a great cathedral than the pipe organ," Mastran said. "For centuries, the organ has filled churches such as this one with music that can express everything from quiet prayer to tremendous joy and praise."
Dubois made sure to put the cathedral's organ to work, playing quiet songs at one moment and making the whole church boom with sound the next. Those in attendance seemed to appreciate it, based on how many people were taking videos of each performance while others immersed themselves in the music.
The Cathedral of Saint Joseph has two more musical events planned, with "Rhythms of Spain and Latin America" on Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. and "A Concert in Honor of Christ the King and St. Cecilia on Nov. 22 at 3 p.m.