April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
Eyes (and ears) have it in Hudson Falls
The array now illuminates St. Mary/St. Paul's Church in Hudson Falls as part of an extensive project to improve lighting.
The sound in church also has been upgraded with new equipment, including a digital/pipe organ with synthesizer, a carillon with 42 bells, and a sound system with a special transmitter for those with hearing problems. The changes cost $150,000.
Fuller experience
"I think it's worth the money to have proper sound and lights," Father Lonergan said. "It makes things so much richer, and the reaction of the congregation has been fantastic."These improvements came about after he visited new churches to see how lighting and sound enhanced the buildings; his parishioners seemed to have the same ideas for lighting and sound.
For two-and-a-half months, electricians rewired the church, installing more than 142 new spot/flood lights, 18 high ceiling flood lights, a new pewter chandelier in the Lady Chapel and 16 newly refurbished lanterns. A UNISON dimming panel, which is used in Broadway theaters and at Disney World, controls the entire lighting system, allowing nine scenes to be pre-set and lit with the touch of one button.
One-touch
The new system makes life easier for the teenage sacristans who control the lights and for parishioners reading in the pews. "When I came here, we had to turn on 35 switches," Father Lonergan said. "Because it's all pre-set, all they have to do is hit the right button. It's hard to understand what it was like before the new system, but it was dark. If you sat on the end of the pew, you couldn't see anything."This lighting includes three types: congregational, which shine directly down upon the pews to allow parishioners to read; architectural, which emphasize the ceiling and other features of the church; and accent, which illuminate the Stations of the Cross, shrines and sanctuary.
Pieces of history continue to shine brightly in St. Mary/St. Paul's: The 16 lanterns were designed for the church and hand-crafted of wrought iron more than 50 years ago in Florence, Italy. Previously, each lantern contained one 500-watt bulb; but Naomi Miller, a lighting consultant from Troy, redesigned each to contain four miniature spotlights shining upward, a fluorescent light shining through an opaque sleeve and a floodlight shining down.
Sounds good
The sound in church has been improved with a new sound system and a special transmitter for the hearing-impaired, and new Schulmerich carillon and Rodger's digital/pipe organ with a synthesizer that adds 334 voices to the organ. Everything from Mozart to "Taps" for a military funeral is possible with this synthesizer, and Father Lonergan loves having so much variety in music for his parish."We can create every sound that can be created by a modern band with their keyboards -- and then some," he said.
Elaine Altizio, parish choir director and organist, also is amazed by the hundreds of sounds that the organ and synthesizer can produce. "I'm in heaven," she said. "I wish I could spend night and day in the choir loft."
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