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Looking Up: Jenny Setchell When you're sitting in a glorious cathedral for hours, listening to your husband rehearse on an organ concert, you certainly have the time to look at such places as the ceiling… By Hans Petrovic
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fter close to 25 years of travelling around the globe with organist Martin Setchell, who is also adjunct professor at the University of Canterbury's School of Music, his wife, Jenny, certainly did have the opportunity to appreciate the splendour of the many cathedrals, churches and concert halls where he performed. Taking photos over the years in places all around the world, Jenny has had published a coffee-table book, “Looking Up”, which contains spectacularly beautiful shots of elevated organs and ceilings around them. The 57 photos in the book were taken mostly in religious structures in Europe, America and Australia, the majority being from Germany, with plenty of others from England, France, Holland, the United States, Canada, Scotland, Poland, Holland, Austria, Italy – and New Zealand. “Little did Martin know that I was going around taking photos while he was rehearsing,” says Jenny. “I would sit around for six hours in those cold, hard pews, listening and telling him if the pedals were too loud or the flutes too soft. I also had lots of time to look at the ceilings. You get to see things that tourists and the congregation don't see, because they don't have access to certain parts of the church. “I see myself as a recorder. The actual skill and talent lies in the people who
I would sit around for six hours in those cold, hard pews, listening and telling him if the pedals were too loud or the flutes too soft
designed these organs. In some places, the instruments blend in perfectly with their surroundings. In others, they stand out. “The organ is usually only part of a whole harmonious picture. Its grandeur is complemented by the beauty of the surrounding ceiling whether it be fan,
barrel or rib-vaulted, highly ornate stone work or painted wood. “It is the context in which the organ is placed and the harmony of the whole that creates the magical effect. “Some of the organs are more than 400 years old. So, in some churches, you get to hear what the people heard there 400 years ago.” In the book, Jenny writes: “I stand in awe of the centuries of work from musicians, organ builders, craftsmen, painters and architects who laboured to create these visual and aural canvases for us all to enjoy; and we should also be grateful to those who continue to
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