Born in 1964, Hungarian- Canadian Xaver Varnus  studied in Budapest, where his first piano teacher was Emma Németh, one of the last pupils of Claude Debussy.   He was also a student of Melinda Kistétényi.  He left Hungary in 1981 to go to Paris to study with Pierre Cochereau organist of the great Notre-Dame Cathedral. Today, he calls the South Shore home.

How does one reach out to  Xaver Varnus, world renowned organist who has performed in the most majestic churches and concert halls around the world,  with more than 51 recorded albums and a large presence on YouTube? I sent him a Facebook message and crossed my fingers.

Hello Xaver, I write an arts column for Simple Local Life, an online South Shore media company and would love to interview you. Are you currently doing interviews?

It wasn’t very long before he messaged me back

Hi Deborah, thank you for your message. We can do it any time. We are working currently on a life interview for BBC, for my 60th birthday in 2024. But I’m mostly free on this days. Do you like to visit me here, have a tea with me, and listen my beautiful organ?

Of course I was excited at the prospect of hearing the Casavant Organ and delighted to be invited for tea! We settled on February 13^th  and I asked whether morning or afternoon would be better.

Saturday would be perfect, but would it suit you if we met early in the afternoon? I’ve never woken up before 11 a.m. and I’m afraid I can’t even change that habit at the age of 56 😃

It was a sunny afternoon when I knocked at the door of the former Brooklyn Pilgrim Church, now called Varnus Hall. I was greeted warmly  and welcomed in. 

You can see we are still working on things.  Eventually there will be a café for visitors to have a coffee or tea.  Leave your coat on. I will play for you first and then we will have tea.  But first I need my shoes.  Did you know there are special shoes required to play these great organs?

I did not!  So of course I had to look this up when I got home.  The pedals on an organ are like another keyboard so it is important for the organist to have dexterity with their feet as well as their hands. Organ shoes have a sole that minimizes the irregular surfaces on the bottom of the foot simultaneously being thin enough to be able to feel the foot pedals.  The heels of the shoe help the player get proper leverage and heel to toe technique so the organist can play two pedals at the same time.  

Varnus Hall is chilly and I was happy for my coat.  Entering the de-consecrated church for the first time there was a lot to take in. You notice the beautiful stained glass window, original to the church, framed by the massive Casavant organ.  The ceilings of the hall are very high.  

As Xaver ushered me to a  pew, with a pillow on the seat,  I was giddy with excitement, I was about to hear live music for the first time in over a year!!!!  With a twinkle in his eye he said “Welcome to Siberia, sit here please.”

As I sat, transfixed, for my private ½ hour concert, my ears, eyes, and every fiber of my being was drinking in the majesty and energy of the music.  The chill of the hall, the sun through the stained glass, Varnus coaxing this beautiful instrument through the rise and fall of intricate pieces of music…..  I was moved, thrilled and thoroughly entertained!

While Varnus performed Bach’s Prelude in E minor (“The Cathedral), a short prelude by Cesar Franck, “Consolation” by Franz Liszt and Toccata & Fugue in D minor by Johann Sebastian Bach, I was transfixed. Here is a little taste:

Xaver Varnus moved to Nova Scotia from Toronto in the fall of 2020, having purchased both the former Brooklyn Pilgrim Church and the organ online.  Here is what the church looked like before and after the organ was installed.  This YouTube link shows how it was installed.

I bought the church and the organ both on the same day.  1^st Baptist church in Truro had this beautiful instrument that I knew from my friend Robert Hillier to be very wonderful.  It is a unique instrument in very good shape. I hoped it would fit and it did with about 10 cm clearance.

3000 pipes, ranging in size from about 3mm to 9 ft! Made of wood and metal. Xaver took me in behind the great instrument to see the pipes up close.  When he asked me not to touch anything I was very nervous.  But what a fascinating experience to be standing in an organ that I was listening to only moments before!!!! 

The church/concert hall and the residence are in the same building. It was but a few steps from the chilly hall to the warm and cozy residence.  We sat at his dining room table where we enjoyed a lovely cup of tea accompanied by French pate sandwiches, poppy seed cake, Madeleine cookies and lots of conversation.   

After tea, we moved to the sitting room and there we talked of many things. Eventually landing on the topic of stage fright.  Xaver Varnus has a very interesting point of view.

I never experienced such a thing.  Mistakes are natural in live music.   My thoughts are that a musician does not need to be afraid of the audience as they are there to witness the beauty of a performance. Also the audience often is not familiar enough with a piece of music to know when a mistake is made.

There have already been concerts at Varnus Hall but not how they were originally planned.  Due to COVID restrictions plans had to be adjusted and many pivots occurred. 

The epidemiological situation worsened. New restrictions came into effect that only 25 people could be in the building at a time. I was determined not to disappoint the locals and give six concerts for six consecutive days. So my dear friend Judy James called everyone who was on the inaugural concert list and divided the audience into six groups with a lot of work.

The night before the first concert day, the provincial government introduced a new provision that allowed only ten people to be in the building at a time. And then the wonderful Judy picked up the phone again and divided the audience into 19 sections

So I played 19 concerts in six days, at one, three and five o’clock every afternoon. It was a wonderful experience, visitors gave me an incredible amount of love and kindness.

Before the concerts, volunteer ladies arrived, armed with vacuum cleaners and brushes of suspicious size, and perfectly cleaned the two-hundred-year-old church. Others adorned the building with wonderful floral arrangements.

Fortunately he was able to pop over to the residence to relax or even have a little nap between concerts. 

I asked him when he first knew he wanted to do this for a career.

I remember when I was 5 years old and was sick at home.  My father, a Jazz musician, was taking care of me. My  mother, a mathematician, was at work, she was strict and had told my father I needed to stay in bed and rest.  My father was having a difficult time keeping me in my bed to rest so he bribed me with a story record to listen to.  Somehow the record contained a recording of organ music and not the story record it was supposed to contain.  But that was okay, I was enthralled!  From that moment on I knew I wanted to play the organ. 

We spoke at length about music and creativity.  Dynamics of performing and classical music.  Looking at how music fits in our society today.  

I think we must make classical music something that is not always so formal.  I never liked that about performing. An example:  I have often thought that  didn’t need a dressing room, I could get dressed at home or at my hotel.  Or I didn’t need a special artist entrance, I could enter like everyone else. I want the audience to know me and the music.  We need to have more creativity in schools. Encouraging learning of all kinds of music. Music performance should be improvisational and exciting.

Xaver shared his plans for the future of Varnus Hall post pandemic. 

This beautiful church and organ is part of my dream of hosting a permanent festival within the beautiful 19th century church walls.  Of course, after the pandemic travel restrictions are lifted. The church will provide a worthy home for the festival and for musicians, famous virtuosi and young talents alike, from around the world to perform. Varnus Hall will host not only organ recitals, but also piano and chamber music concerts.

Varnus Hall requires plenty of work on the outside to get it to its former glory. Fundraising concerts and a gofundme page  are in place to cover the costs of the restorations.

Varnus Hall is a magical place.  One where time passes very quickly and pleasantly. I looked at my watch and was surprised to see we had been visiting for 4 hours!   

A period of time filled with a private concert, delicious tea and deep conversations on life and music.  As I was leaving Varnus Hall  my gracious host encouraged me to return and that the door is always open. 

But before I close this Creating Space, I wanted to share one more part of my conversation with Xaver Varnus.  The part where he turned the tables on me, after watching this poignant performance.

Deborah,  Can someone who hasn’t experienced a lot of life really understand music they way it is supposed to be understood?

An interesting, thought provoking question. Here is my answer:

I believe we all have a capacity for deep feelings and understanding about music. Regardless of our life experiences.  Certainly the experience, or interpretation of a particular piece of music isn’t the same for us all.  Our lived experiences are unique. But I am of the opinion that in spite of, or maybe because of that, we all feel something.  I believe what matters is that we understand and hear music in our own way. And if it makes us feel something that is what is important.

 Do you agree with my answer? How would you answer that question?

I encourage you all to check out the concert videos of Xaver Varnus on YouTube and of course, he can be found on Facebook.