Apparition of the eternal church

As part of the University of Chicago's special week long symposium honoring the Centennial of the birth of Olivier Messian, there was a screening of Paul Festa's 2006 film "Apparation of the Eternal Church" - which captured the "confrontation" of thirty-one artists including literary critic Harold Bloom, filmmaker John Cameron Mitchell, drag artist Justin Bond, and the late harpsichordist Albert Fuller with the apocalyptic organ music of Messiaen.

While the film is short running a little under an hour, it is a fascinating portrait of how people experience music. While Messiaen's intense 1932 ten minute organ work (the film's title is an English translation of the Messiaen work) elicited a variety of responses from the listeners; ranging from deep admiration to painful bewilderment, it is a testament to Messiaen and Mr. Festa that none one of them will forget Messiaen's intense "Apparition"

The film was screened at the Saint James Episcopal Cathedral in Chicago with live organ accompaniment and it is not very often that I'm able to hear Messiaen organ music played live in a darkened cathedral at night!

The trailer to the film can be seen here and Mr. Festa's blog is here.

If you want to hear the organ music, it is below. Put on the headphones and turn the volume up as loud as you can!