A Little Bit Of Heaven

When I was a teenager I had the privilege of hearing one of the greatest private concerts ever given. The place was "Calvary Temple" in Seattle. Calvary was at that time a huge Church in my denomination, and it was exciting to be given a private tour by my former pastor from Wallace, who was as an accomplished pianist and organist as you would ever want to hear.Calvary had a huge pipe organ, and the rooms where the pipes were was where I was when my former pastor decided to give us the treat of a lifetime. He had spent many years arranging Handel's Messiah for the piano, and even though i had heard him play the Hallelujah Chorus many times on the piano, I was not ready for what I was about to hear. My former Pastor was no longer in the pipe room. All of a sudden, a sound that could only be described as "other world" filled the pipe room. It came cascading down on us, overwhelming the senses, our emotions unchecked as tears streamed down our faces. He was playing the Hallelujah Chorus on the pipe organ, and there we were, in the pipe rooms. I can never describe the sensation, the chill, the spiritual uplift, the goose-bumps. When it was done, my father, who was there with me, turned to me and said" that is a close as we will ever be to heaven on this earth."

My Pastor has long gone on and as far as I know there are no recordings of his arrangements, but every time I hear the Messiah performed, I think of that experience in the pipe room of that grand old church in Seattle. Please enjoy this arrangement of the greatest music ever written. Here is the Hallelujah Chorus performed by the King's Choir. It is a little bit of heaven on earth. (Dad, you are there in person,too. I bet the sound is unbelievable.)