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Mark Loria, principal organist of the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, performs on the historic pipe organ during a September 2023 Mass. (Photo: Sarah Webb)<\/p>\n
By Jay Sorgi \u2022 Posted July 11, 2025 <\/p>\n
The Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul in Center City Philadelphia is offering a series of midday opportunities for people to experience God\u2019s presence through solemn and majestic sights and sounds. All while beating the summer heat during the lunch hour.<\/p>\n
The free Summer Organ Series will take place on three Wednesdays this summer \u2014 July 30, Aug. 27, and Sept. 17 \u2014 at 1 p.m. inside the Cathedral Basilica.<\/p>\n
\u201cI anticipate that these are on the shorter sides, about 30 minutes, the perfect lunchtime length,\u201d said Mark Loria, the principal organist for the Cathedral Basilica.<\/p>\n
The concerts are intended for \u201cfolks who might be free in the area, in need of air conditioning, physical relief, and perhaps some spiritual relief as well,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe cathedral becomes everyone\u2019s home on those days. I would want everyone to feel welcome to come and listen to the sacred music (of) the organ concert,\u201d said Father Dennis Gill, rector of the Cathedral Basilica.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe instrument produces a beautiful sound, and the music that Mark will be playing during the summer concerts, although it will be outside of the context of worship, there will be something sacred about it that will lead people to praise God.\u201d<\/p>\n
Father Gill suggested the series as a precursor to the Cathedral Basilica\u2019s role in next year\u2019s celebration of America\u2019s 250th birthday in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne thing that we hope to do is to have a concert close to the 4th of July or somewhere during the summer in honor of the 250th anniversary,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to anticipate that, to have people be aware of coming to the cathedral for opportunities to listen to music outside of the celebration of the sacred liturgy. With that in mind, I proposed this summer concert series.\u201d<\/p>\n
The concerts link to the historic importance of the organ in the Catholic liturgy.<\/p>\n
The Second Vatican Council, in its 1963 document Sacrosanctum Concilium, declares the pipe organ \u201cto be held in high esteem, for it is the traditional musical instrument which adds a wonderful splendor to the Church\u2019s ceremonies and powerfully lifts up man\u2019s mind to God and to higher things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe experience the organ as a function of the liturgy,\u201d said Charlene Angelini, the director of liturgy for the Cathedral Basilica.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat makes the instrument that we have so special \u2014 and pipe organs alike throughout the city \u2014 is the idea that it is actually powered by air and that there\u2019s breath coming through the pipes. When you think of the word of God or the way that we express or evangelize, we really are evangelizing from the (organ) bench in a very specific way. It\u2019s a beautiful analogy to those who are speaking the Word or the breath of God, inspiring us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The organ inside the Cathedral Basilica is one of the largest in the city, with almost 4,650 pipes. Part of the original organ from 1868 remains, while most of it has gone through extensive renovations from 1920 through the 1980s.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe organ is helping us (in how) the quality of the sound that we hear informs our praise,\u201d Father Gill said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt helps us worship with more than our minds in how it\u2019s giving shape to thoughts and ideas that aren\u2019t even spoken within us, but they take on a clarity in as much as they move us in the direction of God.\u201d<\/p>\n
Loria has been planning the works he will perform during the summer concerts, featuring those from a combination of historical composers, some who are still alive, and one who has Philadelphia ties.<\/p>\n
Composers include \u201cJohann Sebastian Bach, really one of the great titans of organ composition and really just Western music in general; Felix Mendelssohn; Maurice Durufl\u00e9 who is really, truly one of my favorite organ composers; some living composers such as Brenda Portman and my friend Alejandro Consolacion, an organist in Manila, Philippines. He\u2019s really just a beautiful musician, beautiful composer,\u201d said Loria.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a composer who\u2019s no longer with us but is associated with Philadelphia, George Walker. A few years ago, I did a transcription for the organ of his \u2018Lyric for Strings.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The late Walker, an African American composer and winner of the Pulitzer Prize, studied at Philadelphia\u2019s Curtis Institute of Music in the 1940s.<\/p>\n
The concerts will be presented over three Wednesdays this summer in the seat of Philadelphia\u2019s Catholic Church, a place that invites visitors to reflect on the grandeur of God\u2019s love for his people.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe architecture, the lighting, it instantaneously says that it\u2019s a special place,\u201d Angelini said. \u201cGiving people this brain break in the middle of their day to experience the beauty of the building and the sonorities swirling around, this amazing (instrument) at Mark\u2019s hands. I think it will be a beautiful experience for them.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just a beautiful and unique opportunity to allow people to experience music in a beautiful space, not specifically tied to a Mass, but a getaway, a respite from the heat and from the daily tasks that we find ourselves doing,\u201d Angelini said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHave people come and experience this lovely instrument, which takes on really somewhat of a human persona that speaks to you.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mark Loria, principal organist of the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, performs on the historic pipe…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":62739,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5132],"tags":[5229,44941,44942,44943,19494,44944,1448,2830,1311,44945,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-62738","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-cathedral-basilica-of-saints-peter-and-paul","10":"tag-charlene-angelini","11":"tag-father-dennis-gill","12":"tag-jay-sorgi","13":"tag-mark-loria","14":"tag-pa","15":"tag-pennsylvania","16":"tag-philadelphia","17":"tag-pipe-organ","18":"tag-united-states","19":"tag-united-states-of-america","20":"tag-unitedstates","21":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","22":"tag-us","23":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114847065478738644","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}