1 00:00:01,041 --> 00:00:03,291 Viewers like you make this program possible. 2 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 3 00:00:03,375 --> 00:00:05,834 Support your local PBS station. 4 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 5 00:00:08,417 --> 00:00:10,333 [city noise] 6 00:00:14,792 --> 00:00:18,250 [distant instrumental classical music] 7 00:00:18,333 --> 00:00:53,333 ♪ 8 00:00:53,417 --> 00:00:58,458 It's been said that music gives a soul to the universe. 9 00:00:58,542 --> 00:01:01,291 And life to everything. 10 00:01:01,375 --> 00:01:05,250 ♪ 11 00:01:05,333 --> 00:01:06,709 Almost about 200 years ago, 12 00:01:06,792 --> 00:01:10,083 this grand space was the site 13 00:01:10,166 --> 00:01:11,834 of a long forgotten event, 14 00:01:11,917 --> 00:01:15,041 the first of its kind. 15 00:01:15,125 --> 00:01:19,625 An oratorio staged as a benefit concert. 16 00:01:19,709 --> 00:01:22,083 ♪ 17 00:01:22,166 --> 00:01:25,583 And I think it's appropriate that it happened here, 18 00:01:25,667 --> 00:01:26,917 in this neighborhood, at the intersection 19 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:29,959 of the old world and the new. 20 00:01:30,041 --> 00:01:32,375 And this concert happened at a crucial moment 21 00:01:32,458 --> 00:01:35,625 in the cultural history of New York City 22 00:01:35,709 --> 00:01:40,041 and firmly set the city on course to become the diverse 23 00:01:40,125 --> 00:01:43,917 and very vibrant center for the arts it is today. 24 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:46,500 [instrumental classical music] 25 00:01:46,583 --> 00:01:57,250 ♪ 26 00:01:59,834 --> 00:02:03,000 [harbor sounds, classical music] 27 00:02:03,083 --> 00:02:06,792 ♪ 28 00:02:06,875 --> 00:02:08,000 You have to imagine New York City 29 00:02:08,083 --> 00:02:10,750 in the early 1800's. 30 00:02:10,834 --> 00:02:13,917 Now, at that point, it was the largest city in the country 31 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:18,583 and it was growing day by day with immigrants from Europe. 32 00:02:18,667 --> 00:02:21,542 But culturally it was still kind of a backwater. 33 00:02:21,625 --> 00:02:23,959 It was lagging far behind Philadelphia 34 00:02:24,041 --> 00:02:27,000 and especially Boston, where the arts were thriving. 35 00:02:27,083 --> 00:02:29,041 [male opera singer vocalizing] 36 00:02:29,125 --> 00:02:32,083 So you can understand how meaningful 37 00:02:32,166 --> 00:02:35,750 that night in 1826 was to the life of this city 38 00:02:35,834 --> 00:02:38,792 when 2300 people crowded into this great space 39 00:02:38,875 --> 00:02:43,750 to hear what was billed as an event to far surpass 40 00:02:43,834 --> 00:02:47,583 anything of the kind ever produced in the union. 41 00:02:47,667 --> 00:02:49,625 Now, for many members of the audience, 42 00:02:49,709 --> 00:02:52,041 it was their very first exposure to music 43 00:02:52,125 --> 00:02:54,166 sung in an operatic style. 44 00:02:54,250 --> 00:02:55,709 ♪ 45 00:02:55,792 --> 00:02:58,625 [singing in foreign language] ♪ Graceful consort! ♪ 46 00:02:58,709 --> 00:03:02,333 ♪ Ev'ry moment brings ♪ 47 00:03:02,417 --> 00:03:05,959 ♪ new rapture, new rapture ♪ 48 00:03:06,041 --> 00:03:11,834 ♪ ev'ry care is put to rest... ♪ 49 00:03:11,917 --> 00:03:14,250 ♪ 50 00:03:14,333 --> 00:03:17,291 The oratorio is one ingredient 51 00:03:17,375 --> 00:03:20,834 in this explosion of musical culture here 52 00:03:20,917 --> 00:03:24,875 in the city, and it began here at the old cathedral. 53 00:03:24,959 --> 00:03:29,959 It's remarkable, the history of the Old St. Patrick's Cathedral 54 00:03:30,041 --> 00:03:32,208 and it's really been an untapped gem. 55 00:03:32,291 --> 00:03:35,667 Most New Yorkers aren't even aware that it even exists. 56 00:03:35,750 --> 00:03:36,875 The walls are original, as I mentioned. 57 00:03:36,959 --> 00:03:40,417 This used to be the exterior wall of the church... 58 00:03:40,500 --> 00:03:44,083 People are always rediscovering the fascinating history 59 00:03:44,166 --> 00:03:47,375 and--and connections to this church. 60 00:03:47,458 --> 00:03:49,875 ...in the very spot I'm standing on, 61 00:03:49,959 --> 00:03:53,291 this is where the baptism scene of "The Godfather" was filmed. 62 00:03:53,375 --> 00:03:56,208 Michael, do you renounce Satan? 63 00:03:56,291 --> 00:03:59,792 I do. [organ music] 64 00:03:59,875 --> 00:04:02,458 Now we have one more stop in front of this statue here 65 00:04:02,542 --> 00:04:04,959 before I take us up into the choir loft. Over here we have... 66 00:04:05,041 --> 00:04:06,959 During one of my tours, I bumped 67 00:04:07,041 --> 00:04:10,083 into these two gentlemen from Italy. 68 00:04:10,166 --> 00:04:12,166 And it wasn't until afterwards 69 00:04:12,250 --> 00:04:14,709 that they revealed to me who they were. 70 00:04:14,792 --> 00:04:18,125 And as a result of that meeting and introduction, 71 00:04:18,208 --> 00:04:21,375 they had the Italian government finance them 72 00:04:21,458 --> 00:04:25,208 to return here to recreate that very oratorio 73 00:04:25,291 --> 00:04:28,208 that took place here over 150 years ago. 74 00:04:28,291 --> 00:04:30,750 [classical music, woman singing in Italian] 75 00:04:30,834 --> 00:05:08,125 ♪ 76 00:05:08,208 --> 00:05:11,417 [Renzetti speaking Italian] 77 00:05:11,500 --> 00:05:16,125 [Renzetti and woman sing notes] 78 00:05:16,208 --> 00:05:23,041 [man singing opera in Italian] 79 00:05:23,125 --> 00:05:25,083 [speaking Italian] 80 00:05:25,166 --> 00:05:28,083 [translation] 81 00:05:41,333 --> 00:05:45,667 [classical music] 82 00:05:45,750 --> 00:05:53,041 [singing in Italian] 83 00:05:53,125 --> 00:05:58,333 The opera company, the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, 84 00:05:58,417 --> 00:06:02,083 is working to recreate that evening from 1826. 85 00:06:02,166 --> 00:06:04,542 So it's a gift from Italy to America, 86 00:06:04,625 --> 00:06:06,834 from the old world to the new. 87 00:06:06,917 --> 00:06:09,000 [both speaking Italian] 88 00:06:09,083 --> 00:06:11,750 [translation] 89 00:06:24,166 --> 00:06:27,083 [city noise] 90 00:06:44,750 --> 00:06:47,750 We are in the crossroads of New York City. 91 00:06:47,834 --> 00:06:50,834 You know, just geographically, if you look at us on a map, 92 00:06:50,917 --> 00:06:52,709 you can see where we are. 93 00:06:52,792 --> 00:06:56,208 We're in the very center of this vitality and creativity. 94 00:06:56,291 --> 00:06:59,291 But just a few years before the cornerstone was laid 95 00:06:59,375 --> 00:07:03,417 in 1809, the city of New York was not here. 96 00:07:03,500 --> 00:07:06,709 This was rural up here, and people complained 97 00:07:06,792 --> 00:07:09,291 about coming to the consecration of the church. 98 00:07:09,375 --> 00:07:12,709 This was still outside of the city: 99 00:07:12,792 --> 00:07:14,500 muddy roads and... 100 00:07:14,583 --> 00:07:17,875 orchards and farmland. 101 00:07:17,959 --> 00:07:19,291 [harbor sounds] 102 00:07:19,375 --> 00:07:21,083 But then, with immigration, the city of New York went 103 00:07:21,166 --> 00:07:25,792 from little to very big very quickly, and this was 104 00:07:25,875 --> 00:07:28,583 the cathedral church during that tremendous age of growth 105 00:07:28,667 --> 00:07:30,083 with an immigrant population that settled in this area 106 00:07:30,166 --> 00:07:36,166 basically Irish in the fore part of the 19th century. 107 00:07:36,250 --> 00:07:40,250 [classical music] 108 00:07:40,333 --> 00:07:43,375 And then some years later, 109 00:07:43,458 --> 00:07:48,375 there was also this Italian movement from Europe. 110 00:07:48,458 --> 00:07:51,166 ♪ 111 00:07:51,250 --> 00:07:54,208 One of the first and certainly one of the most influential of 112 00:07:54,291 --> 00:08:00,500 these early Italian immigrants was Lorenzo da Ponte. 113 00:08:00,583 --> 00:08:03,625 I had only known of him as Mozart's librettist, 114 00:08:03,709 --> 00:08:06,625 not knowing of his connection to this very church. 115 00:08:06,709 --> 00:08:09,917 But it turns out that he was the man 116 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:13,542 behind the staging of the 1826 oratorio. 117 00:08:15,875 --> 00:08:18,250 [translation] 118 00:08:46,667 --> 00:08:48,917 It's quite fascinating to--to ponder 119 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:52,125 that Mozart's librettist ended up here 120 00:08:52,208 --> 00:08:53,375 in this neighborhood. 121 00:08:53,458 --> 00:08:56,917 In his old age, he was a bookseller 122 00:08:57,000 --> 00:08:59,458 and a humble grocer, 123 00:08:59,542 --> 00:09:02,375 and he was a parishioner at this church as well 124 00:09:02,458 --> 00:09:05,041 and lived a fascinating life. 125 00:09:05,125 --> 00:09:07,959 [classical music] 126 00:09:08,041 --> 00:09:10,959 ♪ 127 00:09:11,041 --> 00:09:13,709 His life is somewhat controversial, but you really 128 00:09:13,792 --> 00:09:16,709 have to get inside the mind of this man. 129 00:09:16,792 --> 00:09:18,333 He was Jewish up until 14 years old, 130 00:09:18,417 --> 00:09:22,291 and right after his bar mitzvah, he was converted to Catholicism. 131 00:09:22,375 --> 00:09:24,750 ♪ 132 00:09:24,834 --> 00:09:27,792 His father could not afford to house 133 00:09:27,875 --> 00:09:30,333 and board his own children, so Lorenzo da Ponte 134 00:09:30,417 --> 00:09:33,375 was persuaded to enter the priesthood. 135 00:09:33,458 --> 00:09:37,166 Now, his stint as a priest was short lived, 136 00:09:37,250 --> 00:09:40,375 he had a little bit of a controversy in his life. 137 00:09:40,458 --> 00:09:44,417 He had numerous scandals as a priest. 138 00:09:44,500 --> 00:09:47,667 He was chased out of places for being a libertine. 139 00:09:47,750 --> 00:09:50,083 He consorted with all sorts of women. 140 00:09:50,166 --> 00:09:52,917 Venice was a free-for-all in those days. 141 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:56,667 Da Ponte himself was a real Casanova, 142 00:09:56,750 --> 00:09:58,417 so it's no coincidence that he happened to be friends 143 00:09:58,500 --> 00:10:01,542 with Casanova. Ha ha! 144 00:10:01,625 --> 00:10:03,291 He lived a very promiscuous life. 145 00:10:03,375 --> 00:10:06,333 ♪ 146 00:10:06,417 --> 00:10:09,291 There are all kinds of stories about his time there, 147 00:10:09,375 --> 00:10:13,500 including fathering two children to his mistress 148 00:10:13,583 --> 00:10:16,583 and living in a brothel. 149 00:10:16,667 --> 00:10:19,625 So, not surprisingly, he was accused 150 00:10:19,709 --> 00:10:23,709 of living a lifestyle unfit for a priest. 151 00:10:23,792 --> 00:10:28,917 He fled the region and in his absence was sentenced to prison. 152 00:10:32,542 --> 00:10:36,000 [translation] 153 00:10:46,667 --> 00:10:56,083 [speaking in Italian] 154 00:10:56,166 --> 00:10:58,083 [translation] 155 00:11:13,500 --> 00:11:18,417 [classical music, singing in Italian] 156 00:11:18,500 --> 00:11:21,500 ♪ 157 00:11:21,583 --> 00:11:24,583 [translation] 158 00:11:24,667 --> 00:11:31,083 ♪ 159 00:11:37,250 --> 00:11:39,375 ♪ 160 00:11:46,291 --> 00:11:48,667 ♪ 161 00:12:00,500 --> 00:12:28,792 [classical music, singing in Italian] 162 00:12:28,875 --> 00:12:31,917 The oratorio is different from an opera in that there's 163 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:35,834 no drama per se, it's more like a concert. 164 00:12:35,917 --> 00:12:38,959 This oratorio has sacred texts 165 00:12:39,041 --> 00:12:42,542 in Latin and English and sort of a hodgepodge 166 00:12:42,625 --> 00:12:46,417 of composers and styles. 167 00:12:46,500 --> 00:13:03,583 [classical music, singing in Italian] 168 00:13:03,667 --> 00:13:05,041 I'm not an authority on opera, that's for sure, 169 00:13:05,125 --> 00:13:09,000 but I did grow up listening to it, or perhaps I should say 170 00:13:09,083 --> 00:13:13,709 listening to sections of operas and arias. 171 00:13:13,792 --> 00:13:15,834 A couple of hours before my mother and father got home 172 00:13:15,917 --> 00:13:18,375 from work, in the apartment I would sit there 173 00:13:18,458 --> 00:13:21,834 and play these old 78s my uncle gave me, and I wasn't 174 00:13:21,917 --> 00:13:23,875 the only kid in the neighborhood with these experiences. 175 00:13:23,959 --> 00:13:27,250 Many of my friends and I in our teenage years - we'd get tickets 176 00:13:27,333 --> 00:13:30,291 to the old Met, the old Metropolitan Opera House, 177 00:13:30,375 --> 00:13:32,792 way up in the cheap seats or even the places where-- 178 00:13:32,875 --> 00:13:35,083 with just standing room, and we'd sort of look down and just 179 00:13:35,166 --> 00:13:37,875 marvel at the spectacle of the opera as best we can. 180 00:13:37,959 --> 00:13:52,208 [classical music, singing in Italian] 181 00:13:52,291 --> 00:13:55,291 My grandparents, who came from Sicily 182 00:13:55,375 --> 00:13:57,458 around 1910, they only spoke Sicilian, 183 00:13:57,542 --> 00:14:01,166 and they would sing occasionally as they were working in the 184 00:14:01,250 --> 00:14:05,875 house, which was another way I heard opera when I was young. 185 00:14:05,959 --> 00:14:07,834 I truly feel that music and the daily lives 186 00:14:07,917 --> 00:14:10,583 of Italian Americans are wedded forever. 187 00:14:10,667 --> 00:14:15,250 [traditional music] 188 00:14:15,333 --> 00:14:30,583 ♪ 189 00:14:30,667 --> 00:14:35,917 Now, the other key element of music 190 00:14:36,041 --> 00:14:38,625 in this city and down here were the Italian festivals, 191 00:14:38,709 --> 00:14:42,709 Italian feasts we call them, and that's where we really 192 00:14:42,792 --> 00:14:45,542 became aware of all the old Italian music, 193 00:14:45,625 --> 00:14:49,041 the Sicilian folk songs, Neapolitan folk songs. 194 00:14:49,125 --> 00:14:51,500 They would have people in a bandstand from Italy 195 00:14:51,583 --> 00:14:53,583 and come and sing two, you know, two or three nights in a row 196 00:14:53,667 --> 00:14:56,417 till about 2:00 in the morning. 197 00:14:56,500 --> 00:14:59,667 And 'O Marenariello is a very important piece of music 198 00:14:59,750 --> 00:15:03,792 that always ended the festival, 'O Marenariello, and I use it 199 00:15:03,875 --> 00:15:07,500 at the end of "Mean Streets." It ends the film. 200 00:15:07,583 --> 00:15:19,500 [music, singing in Italian] 201 00:15:19,583 --> 00:15:28,542 [music, singing in Italian] 202 00:15:28,625 --> 00:15:30,917 [random organ notes] 203 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:41,792 ♪ 204 00:15:41,875 --> 00:15:43,667 Jared Lamenzo is the organ master here 205 00:15:43,750 --> 00:15:46,041 at Old St. Patrick's. 206 00:15:46,125 --> 00:15:49,458 He's the one who has to maintain this beautiful machine, 207 00:15:49,542 --> 00:15:51,709 which was built in 1868. 208 00:15:51,792 --> 00:15:54,250 All right. Here we are. 209 00:15:54,333 --> 00:15:56,875 I have an engineering background. 210 00:15:56,959 --> 00:15:59,250 That's how I learned how to tinker with mechanical things. 211 00:15:59,333 --> 00:16:01,208 That is not good. 212 00:16:01,291 --> 00:16:04,417 Those skills came in handy dealing with the Erben organ, 213 00:16:04,500 --> 00:16:08,041 which I need to tinker with to have it work. 214 00:16:12,208 --> 00:16:14,250 When you encounter an instrument like this, 215 00:16:14,333 --> 00:16:17,625 you know a lot of great organists must have played it. 216 00:16:17,709 --> 00:16:20,458 So one of the first things I looked into 217 00:16:20,542 --> 00:16:21,834 was who those people were. 218 00:16:21,917 --> 00:16:25,834 And I went to find newspaper clippings, 219 00:16:25,917 --> 00:16:30,083 whatever other references in various books 220 00:16:30,166 --> 00:16:32,834 about the musical activities in churches. 221 00:16:34,291 --> 00:16:38,917 And that's how I ran across the 1826 program 222 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:40,542 for the oratorio. 223 00:16:40,625 --> 00:16:43,041 ♪ 224 00:16:43,125 --> 00:16:46,417 It was in an article written in 1903 225 00:16:46,500 --> 00:16:49,750 in a book about the history of Catholic New York. 226 00:16:49,834 --> 00:16:53,875 ♪ 227 00:16:53,959 --> 00:16:56,250 As far as I know, 228 00:16:56,333 --> 00:16:58,875 this is the only surviving account of this event. 229 00:16:58,959 --> 00:17:02,166 An event which, until now, 230 00:17:02,250 --> 00:17:03,667 remained entirely lost to history. 231 00:17:03,750 --> 00:17:08,083 ♪ 232 00:17:08,166 --> 00:17:11,125 I couldn't believe I had found this. 233 00:17:11,208 --> 00:17:13,250 It was just this incredible glimpse 234 00:17:13,333 --> 00:17:15,917 into the musical life in New York City, 235 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:19,917 and there's very little from that time period available. 236 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:23,083 ♪ 237 00:17:23,166 --> 00:17:25,834 It mentioned this was the first Italian opera company 238 00:17:25,917 --> 00:17:28,333 ever to arrive on the shores of America. 239 00:17:28,417 --> 00:17:30,583 And clearly that was an important moment 240 00:17:30,667 --> 00:17:34,625 in the history of music and really an international story 241 00:17:34,709 --> 00:17:36,583 waiting to be told. 242 00:17:36,667 --> 00:17:39,500 ♪ 243 00:17:39,583 --> 00:17:40,834 So immediately when I found the program, 244 00:17:40,917 --> 00:17:44,208 I wanted to recreate it. 245 00:17:44,291 --> 00:17:47,000 I just didn't have all the music to do it, 246 00:17:47,083 --> 00:17:49,458 so I'd been looking around over the years 247 00:17:49,542 --> 00:17:52,583 at various sources to find the music. 248 00:17:52,667 --> 00:17:54,542 ♪ 249 00:17:54,625 --> 00:17:57,959 But some of it was just impossible to find. 250 00:17:58,041 --> 00:18:01,500 I had no idea the answers were waiting to be found 251 00:18:01,583 --> 00:18:03,166 halfway around the world. 252 00:18:03,250 --> 00:18:06,125 [city noise, street music] 253 00:18:06,208 --> 00:18:16,083 ♪ 254 00:18:16,166 --> 00:18:18,792 [translation for Italian accent] 255 00:18:48,458 --> 00:18:50,750 ♪ 256 00:18:50,834 --> 00:18:55,250 Francesco Zimei is a world-famous musicologist. 257 00:18:55,333 --> 00:18:58,709 He's been working to recreate the original musical program. 258 00:18:58,792 --> 00:19:01,500 And he's had the task of finding pieces of the original 259 00:19:01,583 --> 00:19:05,542 Italian arias that have since gone missing. 260 00:19:05,625 --> 00:19:09,542 [classical music] 261 00:19:27,458 --> 00:19:41,291 ♪ 262 00:19:56,959 --> 00:20:01,625 ♪ 263 00:20:15,875 --> 00:20:19,834 ♪ 264 00:20:38,667 --> 00:20:40,458 [classical music] 265 00:20:40,542 --> 00:20:46,500 ♪ 266 00:20:46,583 --> 00:20:50,041 So after fleeing Venice, Da Ponte finds his way to Vienna, 267 00:20:50,125 --> 00:20:53,000 the musical capital of the world, 268 00:20:53,083 --> 00:20:56,166 and he is appointed the court poet. 269 00:20:56,250 --> 00:20:59,083 Just by a simple recommendation of Casanova, 270 00:20:59,166 --> 00:21:02,709 he's in the court of Emperor Joseph. 271 00:21:02,792 --> 00:21:07,125 He was once again able to enjoy his libertine lifestyle. 272 00:21:07,208 --> 00:21:11,000 ♪ 273 00:21:11,083 --> 00:21:14,709 And so it's no surprise that while in Vienna, 274 00:21:14,792 --> 00:21:17,875 he happened to cross paths with another libertine 275 00:21:17,959 --> 00:21:19,083 living a similar lifestyle 276 00:21:19,166 --> 00:21:22,000 by the name of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. 277 00:21:22,083 --> 00:21:23,917 [classical music] 278 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:26,000 ♪ 279 00:21:26,083 --> 00:21:29,834 [translation for Italian accent] 280 00:21:34,291 --> 00:21:37,792 As Mozart's librettist, Da Ponte was responsible 281 00:21:37,875 --> 00:21:43,208 for the dramatic text around which the music is based. 282 00:21:43,291 --> 00:21:45,125 Together, they created dramatic effects 283 00:21:45,208 --> 00:21:48,667 that had never been heard before. 284 00:21:48,750 --> 00:21:50,041 [classical music] 285 00:21:50,125 --> 00:21:53,709 ♪ 286 00:21:53,792 --> 00:21:57,458 The music was married to the drama in a whole new way. 287 00:21:57,542 --> 00:21:59,041 ♪ 288 00:21:59,125 --> 00:22:02,959 [translation for Italian accent] 289 00:22:07,917 --> 00:22:09,750 [man singing in Italian] 290 00:22:09,834 --> 00:22:12,709 Da Ponte helped Mozart write "The Marriage of Figaro," 291 00:22:12,792 --> 00:22:17,208 "Così fan tutte," and one of my all-time favorites, 292 00:22:17,291 --> 00:22:20,166 "Don Giovanni," which, by the way, 293 00:22:20,250 --> 00:22:23,667 is supposedly a narrative of Mozart's life, 294 00:22:23,750 --> 00:22:26,041 but looking at Da Ponte's life, 295 00:22:26,125 --> 00:22:29,208 he was really the Don Juan between the two of them. 296 00:22:29,291 --> 00:22:41,959 [opera music, singing in Italian] 297 00:22:42,041 --> 00:22:45,500 After several scandals, love affairs, 298 00:22:45,583 --> 00:22:48,083 scheming, and prima donna behavior, 299 00:22:48,166 --> 00:22:52,417 Da Ponte had fallen out of favor with the new emperor... 300 00:22:52,500 --> 00:22:53,208 ♪ 301 00:22:53,291 --> 00:22:56,417 and was banished from Vienna. 302 00:22:56,500 --> 00:22:58,041 ♪ 303 00:22:58,125 --> 00:23:01,083 Da Ponte is forced out of the very city 304 00:23:01,166 --> 00:23:03,583 that would have been his bread and butter, 305 00:23:03,667 --> 00:23:07,542 the city of music, and he has to reinvent himself. 306 00:23:07,625 --> 00:23:10,959 ♪ 307 00:23:11,041 --> 00:23:21,041 [organ music] 308 00:23:21,125 --> 00:23:24,375 Well, I think that all churches 309 00:23:24,458 --> 00:23:26,417 are generally filled 310 00:23:26,500 --> 00:23:29,125 with a motley crew of people, 311 00:23:29,208 --> 00:23:31,125 but I think because 312 00:23:31,208 --> 00:23:34,750 St. Patrick's is 313 00:23:34,834 --> 00:23:37,250 filled with such a unique combination 314 00:23:37,333 --> 00:23:40,500 of multigenerational Italians, 315 00:23:40,583 --> 00:23:44,417 Dominicans, we're close to Chinatown. 316 00:23:44,500 --> 00:23:47,750 And it's also because it has such a sense of community 317 00:23:47,834 --> 00:23:51,000 that it attracts Catholics from throughout the island 318 00:23:51,083 --> 00:23:53,125 of Manhattan, that it's a very eclectic group. 319 00:23:53,208 --> 00:23:57,291 And so she--I can never get her to leave when church is over. 320 00:23:57,375 --> 00:24:00,583 She's always like, "Let's stay and talk to the weirdest people 321 00:24:00,667 --> 00:24:04,000 here," 'cause you--after church, you will find the most... 322 00:24:04,083 --> 00:24:07,500 There's someone who brings a dog, like "My dog's Catholic." 323 00:24:07,583 --> 00:24:09,333 The dog's painted. It's not just a dog. 324 00:24:09,417 --> 00:24:11,000 The dog is painted a different color. 325 00:24:11,083 --> 00:24:14,500 So like on Easter, it's like Easter-colored painted dog. 326 00:24:14,583 --> 00:24:17,125 It's like, yeah, that's the person with a dog at our church. 327 00:24:17,208 --> 00:24:19,041 Anywhere else in the world, people are like, 328 00:24:19,125 --> 00:24:21,166 "You can't bring a painted dog to church." 329 00:24:21,250 --> 00:24:24,083 But it's like, "All right, it's New York." 330 00:24:24,166 --> 00:24:26,583 Great day, guys. 331 00:24:26,667 --> 00:24:29,208 This church has become just kind of central in our lives. 332 00:24:29,291 --> 00:24:31,709 Yeah, it's interesting to look at the church 333 00:24:31,792 --> 00:24:34,208 and to see that, you know, it's a piece of history 334 00:24:34,291 --> 00:24:38,208 and it has this presence in our life. 335 00:24:38,291 --> 00:24:40,583 Got married there, 336 00:24:40,667 --> 00:24:43,291 had all our kids baptized there and, you know, 337 00:24:43,375 --> 00:24:47,208 and I'll probably die there. Ha ha. 338 00:24:47,291 --> 00:24:49,875 [instrumental music] 339 00:24:49,959 --> 00:24:51,417 ♪ 340 00:24:51,500 --> 00:24:56,375 So to truly understand the story of this old cathedral, 341 00:24:56,458 --> 00:25:01,542 you have to understand the story of its chief benefactor: 342 00:25:01,625 --> 00:25:06,041 a freed slave by the name of Pierre Toussaint. 343 00:25:06,125 --> 00:25:09,750 He was originally laid to rest in the north cemetery here, 344 00:25:09,834 --> 00:25:15,208 but because of his benefactoral work and charity, 345 00:25:15,291 --> 00:25:17,709 he's been put on the path to sainthood 346 00:25:17,792 --> 00:25:19,709 and he was removed from the cemetery here. 347 00:25:19,792 --> 00:25:22,208 He's actually up in St. Patrick's in Midtown. 348 00:25:22,291 --> 00:25:24,250 He's now the Venerable Pierre Toussaint. 349 00:25:24,333 --> 00:25:27,291 ♪ 350 00:25:27,375 --> 00:25:31,250 Very intriguing story and most people haven't even heard of - 351 00:25:31,333 --> 00:25:35,792 started off as a Haitian slave and was brought over here 352 00:25:35,875 --> 00:25:38,083 by a French family; it was actually the family 353 00:25:38,166 --> 00:25:42,083 that owned him, the Bérards. Mr. Bérard had passed away. 354 00:25:42,166 --> 00:25:44,917 His wife was left with no source of income now, 355 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:49,000 and so Pierre decided to become a hairdresser 356 00:25:49,083 --> 00:25:52,500 and he became so talented and successful, 357 00:25:52,583 --> 00:25:55,000 he actually tapped into the cream of society. 358 00:25:55,083 --> 00:25:57,458 This man was doing the hair of Mrs. Hamilton, 359 00:25:57,542 --> 00:26:00,583 Alexander Hamilton's wife, and Mrs. Livingston, 360 00:26:00,667 --> 00:26:02,667 all the wealthy women of New York. 361 00:26:02,750 --> 00:26:05,083 And we're talking about women who spent over a thousand 362 00:26:05,166 --> 00:26:08,583 dollars a year on hair. This was in the late 1700s. 363 00:26:08,667 --> 00:26:11,208 Now, he was able to support the woman that owned him, 364 00:26:11,291 --> 00:26:16,417 the entire family, and so in exchange for that, 365 00:26:16,500 --> 00:26:19,000 she allowed Pierre to buy his freedom, and he 366 00:26:19,083 --> 00:26:21,000 bought the freedom of his sister, his niece, 367 00:26:21,083 --> 00:26:22,959 and the woman he would ultimately marry. 368 00:26:23,041 --> 00:26:24,250 Now, through all of these challenges, 369 00:26:24,333 --> 00:26:26,583 he remained a devout Catholic. 370 00:26:26,667 --> 00:26:30,625 He actually never missed a morning mass in 66 years. 371 00:26:30,709 --> 00:26:34,041 And then when St. Peters planned to have the cathedral built, 372 00:26:34,125 --> 00:26:36,583 he was the first one to step up and said, 373 00:26:36,667 --> 00:26:38,333 "I will finance the construction of the cathedral." 374 00:26:38,417 --> 00:26:43,125 He was the biggest contributor to having this church built. 375 00:26:43,208 --> 00:26:46,083 [instrumental music] 376 00:26:46,166 --> 00:26:47,917 [bird chirps] 377 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:49,458 ♪ 378 00:26:49,542 --> 00:26:51,250 St. Patrick's was my church. 379 00:26:51,333 --> 00:26:54,083 I lived just around the corner 380 00:26:54,166 --> 00:26:57,542 in a walk-up tenement apartment on Elizabeth Street. 381 00:26:57,625 --> 00:27:01,166 In the 1920s, this was an Irish neighborhood, 382 00:27:01,250 --> 00:27:03,542 but by the time I was growing up in the 40s and 50s, 383 00:27:03,625 --> 00:27:06,542 it had become Italian, or I should say 384 00:27:06,625 --> 00:27:09,583 that it was Sicilian on Elizabeth Street, 385 00:27:09,667 --> 00:27:12,458 Neapolitan on Mulberry, and sort of mixed 386 00:27:12,542 --> 00:27:14,291 on Mott Street somehow. 387 00:27:14,375 --> 00:27:17,041 My grandparents' and parents' time, 388 00:27:17,125 --> 00:27:19,041 it was actually building by building - 389 00:27:19,125 --> 00:27:21,834 people from a small village in the old country 390 00:27:21,917 --> 00:27:23,917 found themselves in one building, 391 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:28,000 then from another small village next door, and so on. 392 00:27:28,083 --> 00:27:31,000 [traditional music] 393 00:27:31,083 --> 00:27:33,125 [city noise] 394 00:27:33,208 --> 00:27:35,041 [birds chirping] 395 00:27:35,125 --> 00:27:39,041 This church was really the center of all the activities 396 00:27:39,125 --> 00:27:41,125 of this neighborhood, and it goes way back. 397 00:27:41,208 --> 00:27:44,333 This courtyard, for example, was very important. 398 00:27:44,417 --> 00:27:45,583 We played in here all the time. 399 00:27:45,667 --> 00:27:50,083 We hid in the graveyard and, you know, all kinds of things. 400 00:27:50,166 --> 00:27:53,208 It was kind of a refuge; come in here and, you know, 401 00:27:53,291 --> 00:27:55,625 you hide out if you're in trouble, whatever. 402 00:27:55,709 --> 00:27:59,125 But...as we got a little older, 403 00:27:59,208 --> 00:28:01,333 we stayed out very late on Saturday nights 404 00:28:01,417 --> 00:28:05,542 and stumbled into the 12:30 mass. 405 00:28:05,625 --> 00:28:09,083 And we stood up in the back usually and came in 406 00:28:09,166 --> 00:28:12,875 a little late, you know, and come in late and leave early. 407 00:28:12,959 --> 00:28:15,041 And after a while, the priests caught on to that 408 00:28:15,125 --> 00:28:18,250 and they would insist that we come and sit down. 409 00:28:18,333 --> 00:28:20,709 But this place was, in a sense, something 410 00:28:20,792 --> 00:28:23,875 that ultimately affected the way I view the world 411 00:28:23,959 --> 00:28:26,750 and the way I hear the world and through my work. 412 00:28:26,834 --> 00:28:30,333 And this is where it came from, this area right here. 413 00:28:30,417 --> 00:28:34,458 [indistinct chatter] 414 00:28:34,542 --> 00:28:37,375 Growing up here, you know, in 1949, 415 00:28:37,458 --> 00:28:41,291 all the way up to 65, 66, 416 00:28:41,375 --> 00:28:45,375 music was something that was in the air - it was constant. 417 00:28:45,458 --> 00:28:50,500 And, you know, this place was not a - it was not that private, 418 00:28:50,583 --> 00:28:53,125 everyone could hear everything, 419 00:28:53,208 --> 00:28:55,291 everybody knew what was going on in the other apartment 420 00:28:55,375 --> 00:28:58,291 and also they listened to the music; if your taste was 421 00:28:58,375 --> 00:29:00,250 a certain kind - playing a record over and over again - 422 00:29:00,333 --> 00:29:02,542 that's what you heard. Then you had jukeboxes here, 423 00:29:02,625 --> 00:29:04,333 too, and jukeboxes had that incredible sound, 424 00:29:04,417 --> 00:29:07,417 the sound that would just go through the streets at night. 425 00:29:07,500 --> 00:29:11,041 [rock music] 426 00:29:11,125 --> 00:29:21,458 ♪ 427 00:29:21,542 --> 00:29:24,667 But you got to imagine, particularly in the summer, 428 00:29:24,750 --> 00:29:28,041 with the windows open, people's radios playing 429 00:29:28,125 --> 00:29:30,959 American pop music, American standards, 430 00:29:31,041 --> 00:29:33,458 the late 40s, all the way to swing, 431 00:29:33,542 --> 00:29:36,041 jazz, the beginnings of rock and roll, 432 00:29:36,125 --> 00:29:38,959 all of this emanating from everywhere, everywhere, 433 00:29:39,041 --> 00:29:42,500 including classical music and opera, 434 00:29:42,583 --> 00:29:45,709 which for me was very important. 435 00:29:45,792 --> 00:29:52,709 [opera music, singing in Italian] 436 00:29:52,792 --> 00:29:54,792 And I still have a relationship 437 00:29:54,875 --> 00:29:56,792 to opera and arias of that time. 438 00:29:56,875 --> 00:29:58,792 I'm always allowing that music 439 00:29:58,875 --> 00:30:00,792 to guide me in daydreaming up 440 00:30:00,875 --> 00:30:02,750 new visual stories or visual images. 441 00:30:02,834 --> 00:30:08,959 [opera music, singing in Italian] 442 00:30:09,041 --> 00:30:11,125 I think of like the antithesis 443 00:30:11,208 --> 00:30:13,041 of what I would want to see is an opera. 444 00:30:13,125 --> 00:30:15,458 I don't know - I don't know anything about opera. 445 00:30:15,542 --> 00:30:18,041 My grandmother was an opera singer. 446 00:30:18,125 --> 00:30:20,709 So it's actually - it's in my blood to like opera. 447 00:30:20,792 --> 00:30:22,542 Opera is amazing. 448 00:30:22,625 --> 00:30:25,250 It's just not like a mainstream thing anymore, 449 00:30:25,333 --> 00:30:27,125 and if this concert could bring it back 450 00:30:27,208 --> 00:30:29,959 and bring it to this neighborhood, that's amazing. 451 00:30:30,041 --> 00:30:31,625 And I would love to expose my kids to opera because it's in 452 00:30:31,709 --> 00:30:35,542 their roots and then him too, he needs some culture too. 453 00:30:35,625 --> 00:30:37,583 I need some culture. He needs culture. 454 00:30:37,667 --> 00:30:40,417 [piano playing] OK, let's do 455 00:30:40,500 --> 00:30:43,583 ♪ I love to sing ♪ Breathe. 456 00:30:43,667 --> 00:30:46,625 ♪ I love to sing ♪ 457 00:30:46,709 --> 00:30:48,667 For me, music is this language. 458 00:30:48,750 --> 00:30:51,583 I'm not somebody who plays an instrument, 459 00:30:51,667 --> 00:30:54,875 I'm not somebody who really understands it, 460 00:30:54,959 --> 00:30:57,792 but it's something that I'm grateful 461 00:30:57,875 --> 00:30:59,750 that we've instilled in all our children, 462 00:30:59,834 --> 00:31:03,792 because music is is this rare language 463 00:31:03,875 --> 00:31:07,709 that is the language of creativity. 464 00:31:07,792 --> 00:31:09,667 [instrumental music] 465 00:31:09,750 --> 00:31:13,208 [translation] 466 00:31:39,709 --> 00:31:41,542 [piano music] 467 00:31:41,625 --> 00:32:10,667 ♪ 468 00:32:10,750 --> 00:32:14,542 [speaking foreign language] 469 00:32:14,625 --> 00:32:20,583 ♪ 470 00:32:20,667 --> 00:32:23,625 [translation] 471 00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:32,709 ♪ 472 00:32:32,792 --> 00:32:35,917 [cello music] 473 00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:53,792 ♪ 474 00:32:53,875 --> 00:32:57,333 [translation] 475 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:10,542 [orchestra rehearsing] 476 00:33:10,625 --> 00:33:18,625 ♪ 477 00:33:18,709 --> 00:33:22,625 [speaking Italian] 478 00:33:22,709 --> 00:33:32,792 [woman and man singing in Italian] 479 00:33:32,875 --> 00:33:36,291 [translation] 480 00:33:53,333 --> 00:33:54,709 [woman and man sing in Italian] 481 00:33:54,792 --> 00:34:04,709 ♪ 482 00:34:06,083 --> 00:34:09,500 ♪ 483 00:34:09,583 --> 00:34:12,500 One of the really interesting things about the oratorio 484 00:34:12,583 --> 00:34:16,500 is that it was an early showcase for Maria Malibran 485 00:34:16,583 --> 00:34:18,959 and she would become the most famous and beloved singer 486 00:34:19,041 --> 00:34:22,458 of her time, a singer who defined her era 487 00:34:22,542 --> 00:34:25,875 and truly was the first opera diva in the world. 488 00:34:25,959 --> 00:34:28,875 [translation] 489 00:34:34,959 --> 00:34:37,458 After the concert in 1826, 490 00:34:37,542 --> 00:34:40,166 young women living in households with pianos 491 00:34:40,250 --> 00:34:42,000 wanted to take singing lessons. 492 00:34:42,083 --> 00:34:45,208 They dreamed of becoming divas like Maria Malibran. 493 00:34:45,834 --> 00:34:48,750 [translation] 494 00:34:59,875 --> 00:35:02,583 [translation] 495 00:35:08,417 --> 00:35:11,250 It does not exist, the person who can sing 496 00:35:11,333 --> 00:35:14,709 this kind of repertoire and sings everything. 497 00:35:14,792 --> 00:35:15,834 Yeah. 498 00:35:15,917 --> 00:35:32,417 [classical music, singing in Italian] 499 00:35:32,500 --> 00:35:35,041 I'm performing, for example, Domine Deus. 500 00:35:35,125 --> 00:35:39,000 It's an alto register. And what are you singing? 501 00:35:39,083 --> 00:35:41,625 Yeah, I sing With Verdu Clad 502 00:35:41,709 --> 00:35:45,583 and Let the Bright Seraphim - with all the coloratura, 503 00:35:45,667 --> 00:35:50,000 it's high and different from Domine Deus. 504 00:35:50,083 --> 00:35:51,375 Absolutely different. 505 00:35:51,458 --> 00:36:00,959 [classical music, singing in Italian] 506 00:36:01,041 --> 00:36:04,375 [translation] 507 00:36:04,458 --> 00:36:09,000 Yeah, together, we make Maria Malibran. 508 00:36:09,083 --> 00:36:22,500 [classical music, singing in Italian] 509 00:36:22,583 --> 00:36:24,542 [translation] 510 00:36:27,333 --> 00:36:30,917 I looked... for years trying to find... 511 00:36:33,166 --> 00:36:35,333 [translation] 512 00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:23,083 [piano music] 513 00:37:29,333 --> 00:37:31,750 ♪ 514 00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:43,000 ♪ 515 00:37:43,083 --> 00:37:45,667 [classical music] 516 00:37:45,750 --> 00:37:52,250 ♪ 517 00:37:52,333 --> 00:37:57,375 So Da Ponte found himself banished once again. 518 00:37:57,458 --> 00:38:00,333 He set out for Paris, hoping to secure a position 519 00:38:00,417 --> 00:38:02,083 in the court of Marie Antoinette, 520 00:38:02,166 --> 00:38:06,000 whose brother was actually Da Ponte's most recent patron. 521 00:38:06,083 --> 00:38:09,000 ♪ 522 00:38:09,083 --> 00:38:11,125 During his journey, he must have caught word 523 00:38:11,208 --> 00:38:13,083 that the party was over. 524 00:38:13,166 --> 00:38:15,166 [guillotine slices] 525 00:38:15,250 --> 00:38:19,125 So he altered course for London. 526 00:38:21,750 --> 00:38:23,667 [translation] 527 00:38:32,417 --> 00:38:34,375 Da Ponte could never pay his bills 528 00:38:34,458 --> 00:38:37,875 and always wanted to purchase more books. 529 00:38:37,959 --> 00:38:40,875 He was not a good businessman. 530 00:38:40,959 --> 00:38:42,875 He wasn't able to adapt 531 00:38:42,959 --> 00:38:46,208 and was not able to secure himself financially, 532 00:38:46,291 --> 00:38:49,542 and after several failed attempts at business, 533 00:38:49,625 --> 00:38:52,458 he got himself in trouble yet again 534 00:38:52,542 --> 00:38:55,250 and was forced out of London. 535 00:38:57,709 --> 00:39:00,709 He sets his sights on a new country 536 00:39:00,792 --> 00:39:03,667 still in its infancy called America, 537 00:39:03,750 --> 00:39:08,458 and eventually finds his way right here to New York City. 538 00:39:12,709 --> 00:39:14,625 [translation] 539 00:39:24,166 --> 00:39:27,083 [translation] 540 00:39:45,917 --> 00:39:49,875 Da Ponte also seemed to reconnect with his faith, 541 00:39:49,959 --> 00:39:53,417 putting his life of debauchery behind him 542 00:39:53,500 --> 00:39:57,166 and actually became a devout parishioner of this cathedral. 543 00:39:57,250 --> 00:39:59,500 [city noise] 544 00:40:05,500 --> 00:40:09,375 So we're now in the south cemetery of the basilica here. 545 00:40:09,458 --> 00:40:12,166 This cemetery is unique because we have 546 00:40:12,250 --> 00:40:14,750 this wall around the whole perimeter here. 547 00:40:14,834 --> 00:40:18,792 Now, we believe the wall was built a year after 548 00:40:18,875 --> 00:40:21,750 the burning of St. Mary's Church down on Grant Street, 549 00:40:21,834 --> 00:40:23,166 burned down by the nativist gangs, 550 00:40:23,250 --> 00:40:28,500 gangs like the Bowery Boys that were anti-Catholic and all. 551 00:40:28,583 --> 00:40:31,250 Back in 1844, there was 552 00:40:31,333 --> 00:40:33,750 real reaction against immigrants coming in. 553 00:40:33,834 --> 00:40:38,250 The nativists, the "Americans" did not want the Irish in. 554 00:40:38,333 --> 00:40:40,333 This was a movement 555 00:40:40,417 --> 00:40:44,000 of first and second generation born New Yorkers. 556 00:40:44,083 --> 00:40:46,625 They didn't like immigrants, OK? 557 00:40:46,709 --> 00:40:48,083 The wall was actually built as a defense point 558 00:40:48,166 --> 00:40:52,709 so that the Irish Catholics of the cathedral here 559 00:40:52,792 --> 00:40:56,250 could defend this church from ever being burned down as well. 560 00:40:56,333 --> 00:40:59,875 Archbishop Hughes was the archbishop of the city, 561 00:40:59,959 --> 00:41:01,333 the Catholic community. 562 00:41:01,417 --> 00:41:06,041 But groups called the Know Nothings attacked the church, 563 00:41:06,125 --> 00:41:10,083 and the church was defended by Hughes, actually, 564 00:41:10,166 --> 00:41:13,458 gathering the forces and putting them behind this wall. 565 00:41:13,542 --> 00:41:15,709 They threatened to burn the church down 566 00:41:15,792 --> 00:41:18,333 and he was kind of a firebrand - he threatened them 567 00:41:18,417 --> 00:41:22,041 and it didn't happen. 568 00:41:22,125 --> 00:41:24,375 But they did defend the church from this wall. 569 00:41:24,458 --> 00:41:26,500 So that gave me a kind - I don't know. 570 00:41:26,583 --> 00:41:28,959 It gave me - when I was a kid, I heard these stories and I saw - 571 00:41:29,041 --> 00:41:31,375 now these streets are paved, but it was all cobblestone. 572 00:41:31,458 --> 00:41:34,917 It's like "Gangs of New York" going way back. 573 00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:37,959 And I wondered - everything had a story to tell... 574 00:41:38,041 --> 00:41:41,542 the history of the church, not necessarily what you may feel 575 00:41:41,625 --> 00:41:43,166 about it in terms of your own personal beliefs, 576 00:41:43,250 --> 00:41:47,250 but the history of this church, you know, this place was just 577 00:41:47,333 --> 00:41:51,375 breathing stories and lives long forgotten. 578 00:41:51,458 --> 00:41:57,083 [classical music] 579 00:41:57,166 --> 00:41:59,542 The Irish literally fought to earn their place here 580 00:41:59,625 --> 00:42:02,542 in the city, so they became very protective 581 00:42:02,625 --> 00:42:04,959 of the community and they were very protective 582 00:42:05,041 --> 00:42:07,291 of this church as well... 583 00:42:07,375 --> 00:42:09,959 and then you started to see a large wave 584 00:42:10,041 --> 00:42:12,750 of Italian immigrants flooding the city. 585 00:42:12,834 --> 00:42:14,000 ♪ 586 00:42:14,083 --> 00:42:17,250 But now the Italians come in and they weren't accepted. 587 00:42:17,333 --> 00:42:20,250 ♪ 588 00:42:20,333 --> 00:42:22,375 There was no doubt that there were cultural, 589 00:42:22,458 --> 00:42:25,959 language differences back then, but, you know, 590 00:42:26,041 --> 00:42:29,250 there was also this wonderful synthesis that took place. 591 00:42:29,333 --> 00:42:32,667 I think that if you just look at our church records 592 00:42:32,750 --> 00:42:34,875 and you see the amount of marriages 593 00:42:34,959 --> 00:42:38,333 that occurred between Irish and Italians, 594 00:42:38,417 --> 00:42:40,792 I think it tells you a great deal about 595 00:42:40,875 --> 00:42:42,417 what it is to be an American. 596 00:42:42,500 --> 00:42:45,792 [classical music] 597 00:42:45,875 --> 00:42:48,792 ♪ 598 00:42:48,875 --> 00:43:03,417 [religious music, singing in Mandarin] 599 00:43:03,500 --> 00:43:06,583 Everything is in constant change, 600 00:43:06,667 --> 00:43:10,166 but this church, this basilica 601 00:43:10,250 --> 00:43:14,417 has been and remains a constant, an anchor. 602 00:43:14,500 --> 00:43:16,500 [man singing in Mandarin] 603 00:43:16,583 --> 00:43:18,625 And it was built by people who flocked here 604 00:43:18,709 --> 00:43:21,208 to start a new life in this city, 605 00:43:21,291 --> 00:43:24,667 a city where people still come from all over the world, 606 00:43:24,750 --> 00:43:27,291 a city that for me has always been synonymous 607 00:43:27,375 --> 00:43:30,709 with America itself, 608 00:43:30,792 --> 00:43:32,750 America at its very best. 609 00:43:32,834 --> 00:43:55,583 [religious music, singing in Spanish] 610 00:43:55,667 --> 00:43:57,625 The Henry Erben Organ is one 611 00:43:57,709 --> 00:44:00,250 of America's great musical treasures. 612 00:44:00,333 --> 00:44:04,542 When it's played by a master and it hits these grand chords, 613 00:44:04,625 --> 00:44:07,792 I mean, you can feel it vibrating deep within you. 614 00:44:07,875 --> 00:44:10,500 And it means something special that my grandparents 615 00:44:10,583 --> 00:44:12,750 and my parents, who also lived in this neighborhood, 616 00:44:12,834 --> 00:44:14,500 heard and felt the same sounds 617 00:44:14,583 --> 00:44:18,291 bellowing out of this massive instrument. 618 00:44:18,375 --> 00:44:20,458 It really connects you with the history that has 619 00:44:20,542 --> 00:44:23,959 taken place within these walls 620 00:44:24,041 --> 00:44:25,375 and, of course, the history of this city. 621 00:44:25,458 --> 00:44:27,291 [organ music] 622 00:44:27,375 --> 00:44:31,750 ♪ 623 00:44:31,834 --> 00:44:34,792 It's not just an historical artifact 624 00:44:34,875 --> 00:44:38,792 because these pipes rang out and resounded 625 00:44:38,875 --> 00:44:40,500 through this entire neighborhood over the years - 626 00:44:40,583 --> 00:44:44,750 cheering troops returning from war, 627 00:44:44,834 --> 00:44:47,750 comforting people in the wake of September 11th 628 00:44:47,834 --> 00:44:50,875 and the sinking of the Titanic, 629 00:44:50,959 --> 00:44:55,750 mourning the loss of presidents from Grant to Kennedy. 630 00:44:55,834 --> 00:44:57,834 And it still plays today, 631 00:44:57,917 --> 00:45:00,166 it's a living, breathing instrument that's been played 632 00:45:00,250 --> 00:45:04,417 in joy and in sorrow, in celebration and in mourning. 633 00:45:04,500 --> 00:45:06,417 [organ music] 634 00:45:06,500 --> 00:45:12,083 ♪ 635 00:45:14,208 --> 00:45:16,166 Ah. 636 00:45:17,625 --> 00:45:21,041 Yeah, the light's just coming in through the windows right now. 637 00:45:21,125 --> 00:45:22,583 Wow. 638 00:45:24,542 --> 00:45:27,792 This is the organ, the Henry Erben organ. 639 00:45:27,875 --> 00:45:30,333 It's about the size of a three bedroom apartment. 640 00:45:30,417 --> 00:45:31,834 Ha ha! 641 00:45:31,917 --> 00:45:33,542 Yes. Yes. It's fantastic. 642 00:45:33,625 --> 00:45:36,417 [three organ notes] 643 00:45:36,500 --> 00:45:39,542 This would be my little Italian sound. 644 00:45:39,625 --> 00:45:42,959 [organ music] 645 00:45:43,041 --> 00:45:47,333 ♪ 646 00:45:47,417 --> 00:45:48,542 [organ malfunction] Ah. 647 00:45:48,625 --> 00:45:50,500 Oops. Ha ha ha! 648 00:45:50,583 --> 00:45:52,375 [speaks Italian] 649 00:45:52,458 --> 00:45:57,208 Yeah, there it goes. Here we go. 650 00:45:57,291 --> 00:46:00,125 This organ's a hundred and fifty years old, 651 00:46:00,208 --> 00:46:03,333 and after 150 years, I turn it on, 652 00:46:03,417 --> 00:46:05,500 I don't know if it's going to play the way 653 00:46:05,583 --> 00:46:07,625 it played yesterday or not. 654 00:46:07,709 --> 00:46:09,583 [random organ notes] 655 00:46:09,667 --> 00:46:13,834 The Erben has thousands of parts. 656 00:46:13,917 --> 00:46:15,542 A lot of them are made out of wood, 657 00:46:15,625 --> 00:46:18,000 and the wood is dried and cracked 658 00:46:18,083 --> 00:46:22,500 because of, you know, changes of environment over the years. 659 00:46:22,583 --> 00:46:26,500 The... OK, is the coupler on? 660 00:46:26,583 --> 00:46:29,208 Oh, they're all on the floor there, 661 00:46:29,291 --> 00:46:30,500 Right, they broke off. 662 00:46:30,583 --> 00:46:32,542 The holes are worn so badly 663 00:46:32,625 --> 00:46:35,500 that they're just breaking in half. 664 00:46:35,583 --> 00:46:37,667 [creaking mechanics] 665 00:46:37,750 --> 00:46:41,667 With the leather being 150 years old in a lot of cases, 666 00:46:41,750 --> 00:46:46,083 the pollution it's been subjected to over the time, 667 00:46:46,166 --> 00:46:50,166 every pipe is just full of dust, 668 00:46:50,250 --> 00:46:54,834 it's a miracle it plays when I turn it on and it's just 669 00:46:54,917 --> 00:46:58,500 sort of a matter of time until it stops playing altogether. 670 00:46:58,583 --> 00:47:00,834 ♪ 671 00:47:00,917 --> 00:47:03,750 In light of its rarity, certainly, at this point 672 00:47:03,834 --> 00:47:06,792 and in light of its historic value, 673 00:47:06,875 --> 00:47:09,458 it's time for a comprehensive restoration of the instrument. 674 00:47:09,542 --> 00:47:12,375 [organ music] 675 00:47:12,458 --> 00:47:17,000 ♪ 676 00:47:17,083 --> 00:47:19,667 So I'm thrilled that everything has worked out the way it has. 677 00:47:19,750 --> 00:47:22,041 The choir here... 678 00:47:22,125 --> 00:47:25,041 The restaging of this oratorio will be a benefit 679 00:47:25,125 --> 00:47:29,917 for the restoration of this aging instrument. 680 00:47:30,000 --> 00:47:30,625 3, 4. 681 00:47:30,709 --> 00:47:36,000 [classical music] 682 00:47:36,083 --> 00:47:39,000 Music and music making have their origins 683 00:47:39,083 --> 00:47:42,959 in houses of worship like this glorious cathedral. 684 00:47:43,041 --> 00:47:45,083 It's a beloved sanctuary for me 685 00:47:45,166 --> 00:47:48,000 and the millions of others who have walked through its doors 686 00:47:48,083 --> 00:47:50,792 since it was built almost 200 years ago. 687 00:47:50,875 --> 00:47:54,250 And this performance, like this cathedral 688 00:47:54,333 --> 00:47:56,750 and the people working to maintain its relevance 689 00:47:56,834 --> 00:47:59,667 and traditions, reinforces the importance 690 00:47:59,750 --> 00:48:03,500 of nurturing the cross-cultural bridges 691 00:48:03,583 --> 00:48:05,542 that make this city so vibrant and dynamic. 692 00:48:05,625 --> 00:48:08,959 [classical music] 693 00:48:09,041 --> 00:48:20,792 ♪ 694 00:48:20,875 --> 00:48:23,458 [classical music] 695 00:48:23,542 --> 00:48:32,875 ♪ 696 00:48:32,959 --> 00:48:35,959 Lorenzo Da Ponte's whirlwind of a life 697 00:48:36,041 --> 00:48:38,667 landed him right here in New York City. 698 00:48:38,750 --> 00:48:41,750 His financial woes followed him 699 00:48:41,834 --> 00:48:44,542 as he fled bankruptcy three more times 700 00:48:44,625 --> 00:48:49,500 before finding stability by giving Italian language lessons. 701 00:48:49,583 --> 00:48:51,583 ♪ 702 00:48:51,667 --> 00:48:55,542 Sharing his Italian culture must have been an addiction 703 00:48:55,625 --> 00:48:58,500 for him because it consumed the rest of his life. 704 00:48:58,583 --> 00:49:00,667 ♪ 705 00:49:00,750 --> 00:49:03,750 He found his way into the elite social scene of New York City, 706 00:49:03,834 --> 00:49:06,208 no doubt thanks to his charm 707 00:49:06,291 --> 00:49:07,709 and stories of his life of adventures. 708 00:49:07,792 --> 00:49:11,125 [classical music] 709 00:49:11,208 --> 00:49:13,583 ♪ 710 00:49:13,667 --> 00:49:16,667 [translation] 711 00:49:24,834 --> 00:49:27,125 [translation] 712 00:49:42,959 --> 00:49:45,750 Da Ponte was a tireless promoter 713 00:49:45,834 --> 00:49:47,792 of Italian culture, 714 00:49:47,875 --> 00:49:50,333 and that included Italian opera. 715 00:49:50,417 --> 00:49:53,792 Those efforts eventually led to Da Ponte 716 00:49:53,875 --> 00:49:56,375 staging the 1826 oratorio. 717 00:49:56,458 --> 00:49:58,458 ♪ 718 00:49:58,542 --> 00:50:01,458 [translation] 719 00:50:19,458 --> 00:50:22,333 He lived in the neighborhood and arranged 720 00:50:22,417 --> 00:50:24,750 to put on a performance of music. 721 00:50:24,834 --> 00:50:26,792 Those very notes resounded in these very halls 722 00:50:26,875 --> 00:50:30,000 back in 1826 723 00:50:30,083 --> 00:50:31,709 and brought us here tonight. 724 00:50:31,792 --> 00:50:36,500 [classical music] 725 00:50:36,583 --> 00:50:38,333 [translation] 726 00:50:56,834 --> 00:51:01,208 [vocal warm ups] 727 00:51:03,917 --> 00:51:16,041 [vocal warm ups] 728 00:51:22,000 --> 00:51:24,208 [translation] 729 00:51:44,834 --> 00:51:47,250 [sustained applause] 730 00:52:01,583 --> 00:52:03,500 [applause abates] 731 00:52:08,542 --> 00:52:09,875 [classical music] 732 00:52:09,959 --> 00:52:31,667 ♪ 733 00:52:31,750 --> 00:53:13,583 [singing in Italian] 734 00:53:13,667 --> 00:53:16,166 [classical music] 735 00:53:16,250 --> 00:53:28,750 ♪ 736 00:53:28,834 --> 00:53:31,166 [classical music] 737 00:53:31,250 --> 00:53:37,291 ♪ 738 00:53:37,375 --> 00:53:39,959 In 1826, people were transformed 739 00:53:40,041 --> 00:53:41,834 by the experience of this music, 740 00:53:41,917 --> 00:53:46,375 so it set the stage for this cultural awakening 741 00:53:46,458 --> 00:53:51,166 that accompanied the commercial might of New York City. 742 00:53:51,250 --> 00:53:53,667 "Music is beginning to do wonders 743 00:53:53,750 --> 00:53:56,667 among the inhabitants of our gay city." 744 00:53:56,750 --> 00:53:59,125 Those words were written after the concert 745 00:53:59,208 --> 00:54:01,834 for an editorial in the newspaper. 746 00:54:01,917 --> 00:54:04,291 It was a real cultural awakening in the city of New York, 747 00:54:04,375 --> 00:54:07,083 and it extended beyond music to all the arts. 748 00:54:07,166 --> 00:54:15,333 [classical music, singing in Italian] 749 00:54:15,417 --> 00:54:17,458 I'd like to think this will be 750 00:54:17,542 --> 00:54:21,583 an historic stepping stone to another creative moment, 751 00:54:21,667 --> 00:54:25,041 some new venture artistically and spiritually. 752 00:54:25,125 --> 00:54:39,750 [classical music, singing in Italian] 753 00:54:39,834 --> 00:54:41,792 [translation] 754 00:54:52,709 --> 00:55:02,041 [classical music, singing in Italian] 755 00:55:02,125 --> 00:55:06,375 ♪ 756 00:55:06,458 --> 00:55:09,417 Music gives a soul to the universe 757 00:55:09,500 --> 00:55:11,166 and life to everything. 758 00:55:11,250 --> 00:55:13,375 [applause] 759 00:55:20,166 --> 00:55:23,500 [classical music] 760 00:55:23,583 --> 00:55:24,583 ♪