Posted on 05/09/2007 10:04:20 AM PDT by PAR35
Sainte Chapelle’s small cathedral of light was Fay Jones inspiration for his masterpiece. he called it Ozark Gothic. For Saint Chappelle:http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Cathedrals/Paris/Sainte-Chapelle.shtml
We are in the final stages of installing a new organ. It was about a 5 year project, start to finish. Ours is supposed to be very similar to this one in Houston:
http://www.stmartinsepiscopal.org/schoenstein.htm
These folks seem to deal in used organs:
http://www.organclearinghouse.com/services.php
But I can't see the connection with the interior at all -
It was the descending, interlocking interior beams that made me think of the stave churches. That's how they're built.
I have a friend that is a Mexican Architect from central Mexico who was educated in the US in the sixties. He had heard of Thorncrown but never seen more than a small snapshot. We were driving through that area on a leasurly business trip and I took him by there. We arrived on a misty morning without anyone but us around and walked through the mountain mists and into the chapel alone in silence.
We sat in a pew for about five minutes without a word exchanged. He turned to me and whispered: wow!!!
Jones wanted it built without disturbing the site. The property Owner had built it as personal gift to the area community and almost couldn’t get it finished. Jones desinged it so the trusses could be built on the flagstone floor and raised in place and all the members and glass plates could be hand carried to the site.
I think I have see it. Right by the Interstate, right? UGHlee!
Oh I'm not so sure, I think there may be a tie for that title.
Is that Cathedral called Glory to Cement Block?
You would think they could find a saint or Bible scene to convey the same message.
It’s a beautiful work. But it’s as far from “brutalist” modern as anything could possibly be.
No doubt the new Catholic Cathedral in Los Angeles doesn’t look like a church, but the one in Portage is in a class by itself. In additon to being ugly, it was non-functional. (It originally contained the bishop’s offices, but they moved out to more suitable space several years ago. )
It was a nice organ, but the "worship space" was built in the 60s, just like the Ugliest Cathedral in the World . . . so the acoustics naturally are hideous. Even a gaggle of acoustic engineers couldn't do much with it.
We remodeled a 50’s era space. The problem is that the music folks were in charge. Great acoustics now for music, but the room is too live for the sermons. So now they are spending another bundle of money to try to fix that problem.
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