Duke U - 17 FEB 2008

Today we went to check out the Duke University Chapel…one of the last great collegiate Neo-Gothic projects in the United States. I wanted to hear the 50-bell carillon that sounds before and after Sunday service. I found out there was going to be a free organ concert at five, by renowned artist, John Scott, so I went to a local museum and came back to hear the organ. 

Not as impressive as Los Angeles First Congregational Church which is “one of the largest musical instruments ever built, and one of the largest and most complete organs in any church in the world.” (I once got to tour the inside of that organ.) The Duke Chapel is so large the sound sort of gets lost…at the end of the last song I walked down the isle to be facing the pipes and I didn’t notice the sound get any louder or more impressive the closer I got to the pipes. At the First Congregational Church you actually feel the sound. However, Duke’s pipes are the most impressive looking what with their gilded housing and Gothic arched ceiling. It's amazing what tobacco money can do. 

Yes, Tinky Winky is irreverent…that’s why we have so much fun together.