Sprites and Demons

Sounds of the organ will conjure images from the dark side during a screening of The Phantom of the Opera.

By: Susan Van Dongen

Penna Rose, Princeton University’s director of chapel music, will have her choir complement the school’s principal organist, David Messineo, when he plays live organ music to accompany the 1925 silent film Phantom of the Opera. Staff photo by Frank Wojciechowski

   No other instrument inspires a sense of celestial connection like
a grand pipe organ. It can conjure the dark side of the soul, too. Just hearing
the opening chords from J.S. Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor might
evoke images of demonic faces from the silver screen. Classic — and not-so-classic
— horror movies often have the ghoulish star seated at the keyboard. Picture,
for example, Vincent Price in The Abominable Dr. Phibes.
   One special organ concert in Princeton has become a pre-Halloween
tradition. For the fifth time, Princeton University’s principal organist, David
Messineo, will create live organ accompaniment to the 1925 silent film The
Phantom of the Opera at the University Chapel, Oct. 12 at 9 p.m.
   The chilling sensations and sensual moments in the story are
augmented by the varied tone colors of the organ, as Mr. Messineo enhances the
drama unfolding on the silent screen.
   "I’ll be playing lots of minor chords," he says with a laugh.
"That’s what we do with horror and suspense."
   It’s rare to find a musician skilled in the art of accompanying
a silent film. As an organist at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, Mr. Messineo
studied film and commercial music with a master — the late Lee Irwin, who
died just this year. Rumored to be in his mid-90s, Mr. Irwin accompanied silent
films during the early part of his long career.
   "It’s a lost art," Mr. Messineo says.
   Accompanists prepare in different ways, but Mr. Messineo prefers
to first watch the film and sketch the running order of scenes from the movie.
He then decides what kind of incidental music would be appropriate for each segment.
   "Most of the time you’ll improvise, but you’ll also try to have
themes for the various characters," he says. "For instance, I have a theme for
the Phantom. It’s very similar to movie scores. Just like in Star Wars,
every time Darth Vader or Princess Leia appear on the screen you’ll hear a different
theme.
   "Phantom is unusual because the movie centers around
the opera Faust. There are four scenes from the opera, so I’ll be playing
from the actual score by (Charles) Gounod."
   Penna Rose, Princeton’s director of chapel music, will have
her choir involved in Phantom, too.
   "They’ll be wearing their robes and cowls, wandering around
the chapel, providing some interaction," she says. "Then, right before the movie,
they’ll do a candlelight procession with chant."

With this Gothic architecture, now undergoing restoration, Princeton University’s Chapel provides the perfect setting for organ concerts such as the one accompanying The Phantom of the Opera. Staff photo by Frank Wojciechowski

   With its vaulted stone ceiling and towering pillars, the University
Chapel enhances the ambiance of the viewing experience, even echoing some of Gothic
set design in the film. Mr. Messineo would usually be playing the magnificent
Mander/Skinner organ, but due to the ongoing chapel renovation project, the organ
will still be under protective cover. A trusty digital organ will provide the
music this year.
   Mr. Messineo came to Princeton about a year ago. He has been
a professor of organ at Montclair State University for 12 years and was minister
of music at the Glen Ridge Congregational Church for 16 years.
   Ms. Rose came to Princeton in 1992 and has been active in introducing
the public to a variety of music offered in the chapel.
   It was her idea to offer the popular After Noon concerts, where
people can stop into the chapel on their lunch breaks to hear some of the finest
organists in the tri-state region. One organist, Johanna Franke, flew from Leipzig,
Germany, to perform on Sept. 26.
   After seven years in the chapel, the lunchtime concerts have
temporarily moved to Procter Dining Hall at the Graduate College. The concerts
will move back to the chapel after completion of the renovation project in Feb.
2002.
   "The nice thing about having the concerts at the Graduate College
is that we’ve been offering a light lunch afterwards," Ms. Rose says. "People
have been coming to the concerts for years, and now they have the opportunity
to have lunch together, meet and talk."
   Ms. Rose also hopes the afternoon recitals get people interested
in a series of evening concerts running throughout the academic year. She says
the chapel and organ should be ready for holiday performances in December. The
grand unveiling of the Mander/Skinner organ will be Feb. 22, 2002.
   The digital instrument currently in use will do just fine, but
Mr. Messineo misses playing along to Phantom on the Mander/Skinner organ.
   "There’s something about it," he says. "I’ve played on so many
different instruments, but this organ goes where you want to go. It works with
you."
The Phantom of the Opera, accompanied by organist David Messineo, will be presented
Oct. 12, 9 p.m., at Princeton University Chapel, Nassau Street and Washington
Road. Tickets cost $10, $8 for students. The After Noon Concert Series takes
place at Procter Dining Hall at Princeton’s Graduate College, off Alexander Road,
Wednesdays at noon. The concerts are free, but lunch costs $5. For information,
call (609) 258-3654. On the Web: www.webware.princeton.edu/Chapel/music