For the chapter’s annual fall foliage trip this year, we visited the Shaker Museum in Enfield, NH and the next-door Mary Keane chapel with its III-29 Casavant pipe organ. There was a scheduled picnic lunch followed by a guided tour. A table was set up for us in the Museum dining room with a pitcher of fresh squeezed apple cider and a desert of sliced, fresh apples with whipped cream. Over lunch we heard something of the organ and the Shaker village which thrived on the Enfield site from 1793 to 1923 when it merged with the Shaker village in Canterbury, NH. The property is now maintained by the museum. Thanks to Mary Ann Haagan of the museum staff for the hospitality and the tour.
The chapel and organ were not part of the original Shaker property. Mary Keane received a substantial inheritance that she used to purchase the Shaker property and build and equip what is now the Mary Keene chapel. The property was then operated by the La Salette religious brothers who ran a seminary and religious retreat there. The order has long abandoned the Enfield site, but still operates in many countries, so there is no organizational or religious affiliation between the brothers and the Shakers.
.Mary Keane left a significant mark on the site and the history of Enfield What a beautiful mark it is, worthy of the term, “Lush.” The chapel is built with granite walls, covered inside with marble, large bright stained glass windows, columns and an altar in classic 19th century Catholic style. The construction of the chapel and the installation of the organ date to about 1930.
The chapter event was attended by about 10 chapter members and guests. Here, around the lunch table left to right are Laura Belanger, Phil Becker, Lois Becker, Henry Danaher and Bob Bengston. Henry arranged the day for us as well as provided music on the Casavant.
The tour of the museum included rooms on the first two floors of the 5 story “Great House” building. Mary Ann from the museum provided commentary and answered questions. Most of us had a nodding aquaintance of the Shakers and their life, but the questions gave additional insight. We started in a very large room in which the Shakers did their communal dances. The Shakers were skilled in carpentry and joinery, and built the building’s floors, walls and built-in wall storage cabinets. They were not skilled in stone cutting, however and the granite for the walls was quarried and laid by masons from Boston. Columns were added to the room to support the ceiling after construction as the wide span required more support than the beams provided.
Rooms with Shaker artifacts gave an opportunity for questions. Looking at the portraits around the room, we wondered if the Shakers were as dour as the pictures made them look. “No.” Portrature in the early days of photography was a formal event, and the preferred pose included a very serious countenance. The older of the Shaker women were most worthy of portraits and their beauty had faded into late middle age. The black and white images did not show that Shaker women wore colorful clothes and some of their capes were on display.
The village supported itself with agriculture, animal husbandry and the sale of craft products. Shaker products were largely hand made, although machinery assisted.
The Shakers were musicians and their compositions still survive in books for sale on the web. There are many such songbooks and some of their songs are still used today. The song “Simple Gifts” is perhaps the best example having been quoted in Aaron Copelan’s syphonic suite, “Appalachan Spring.” I have used that song in Thanksgiving Eve services at my church played on my harmonium with a tenor soloist. I have also referenced it to my choir because it points to the beauty of the simple solo voice and unison arrangements. I will never again disrespect Sunday School songs. Music perhaps links their society to our musical organization.
The rise of the Quakers, Shakers and other religious communites in the 18th Century was in part opposition to the industrialiation of work and the desire for self sustaining living in the countryside. The original reasons had dissapated in the 20th Century, and by now there is only one surviving Shaker community in Sabbathday Lake, ME with only three members.
The Mary Keane organ in the chapel was demonstrated by Henry Danaher. Commonly, organs built in the 1930s were rich sounding, emphasizing color stops up to 2’ pitch with no mixtures. The walls of the chapel and the reverberant acoustic beautifully supported the disposition. The organ has considerable power, sounding something like the Methuen organ in its space. When my ears overload, I can tell it is of that ilk. Henry says it is his favorite organ to play at least in this area, and he describes it as “lush.” One thing that makes it lush is the string celeste on the manual that goes down to low C. Most organ strings stop at tenor C. So when coupled to the pedal, it noticeably adds to the ensemble. The organ is well maintained and no cyphers (etc.) were heard.
Henry, who also plays and demonstrates the organ in Dartmouth’s Rollins Chapel, rendered a full program of music. One of the more interesting and satisfying pieces was a piano piece he adapted for the organ. He also played a Bach piece that illustrated his point that an organ does best for the type of music for which it was designed. As expected, Bach lacks clarity on an instrument like this, but, following the Swingle Singers philosophy that Bach sound can stand many interpretations, was still satisfying.
Chapter members Bob Bengtson and Laura Belanger tried out the Casavant. Bob played a lively piece by John Ferguson that demonstrated the difference between the mf trumpet on the swell and the ff trumpet on the Great. Laura improvised.
It was a great day in Enfield and a pleasant drive in early fall.
