Re-animating Charlie Chaplin: St. Peter’s star organist to accompany ‘Gold Rush,’ Oct. 23 in Morristown

Josh Stafford will provide organ accompaniment to Charlie Chaplin's 1925 silent classic, 'The Gold Rush.' Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Josh Stafford will provide organ accompaniment to Charlie Chaplin's 1925 silent classic, 'The Gold Rush.' Photo by Kevin Coughlin
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Josh Stafford will provide organ accompaniment to Charlie Chaplin's 1925 silent classic, 'The Gold Rush.' Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Josh Stafford will provide organ accompaniment to Charlie Chaplin’s 1925 silent classic, ‘The Gold Rush.’ Photo by Kevin Coughlin

By Kevin Coughlin

He has won the most prestigious prize in the organ world.

He holds degrees from two of America’s finest music schools.

He has mastered Bach and Vierne and Dupré.

So what makes Josh Stafford nervous?

Charlie Chaplin.

On Sunday, Oct. 23, 2016,  the organist and music director of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Morristown will fire up the sanctuary’s 1930 Skinner organ to accompany Chaplin’s 1925 silent classic, The Gold Rush

That’s 90 minutes of nonstop improvisation. Stafford, 28, is no stranger to such musical high-wire acts. He has provided the soundtrack to church screenings of The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Phantom of the OperaBut those are horror movies.

“Comedy is a lot harder…there are a lot of challenges with the timing,” Stafford said, noting all the sight gags that must be underscored with precision.

There’s even a moment where actors clearly are mouthing the words to Auld Lang Syne. The organist must pay close attention. “You’re influencing how the audience reacts,” he said.

Charlie Chaplin, playing the Lone Prospector, eats his shoe in 'The Gold Rush,' the film for which he most wanted to be remembered.
Charlie Chaplin, playing the Lone Prospector, eats his shoe in ‘The Gold Rush,’ the film for which he wanted to be remembered.

Since coming to St. Peter’s in 2013 with degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music and Yale University, Stafford has influenced many positive reactions.

The highlight came in June, when he edged out nine world-class organists to win the $40,000 Pierre S. du Pont First Prize at the  Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition.

After that two-week pressure-cooker, anything else should be easy, right?

Just the opposite, Stafford insists. Leaving nothing to chance, he has spent weeks rehearsing for The Gold Rush, in between his other church duties.

First, he watched the film away from the keyboard, to grow familiar with the characters and plot. Sitting still for that long, he conceded, was difficult for someone raised on modern movies with elaborate soundtracks.

Yet living with this silent comedy has given him a deep appreciation of Chaplin’s genius.

“The way he moves is incredible. It’s like watching a great dancer. It’s also incredible to see how expressive his face is,” said Stafford, a fan of the icon’s subtlety. “He’s not as over-the-top and overdone as a lot of the silent film actors.”

Josh Stafford of St. Peter's accepts top prize in the Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition.
Josh Stafford of St. Peter’s accepts top prize in the Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition. ‘He gets the best out of any instrument he plays,’ says Rector Janet Broderick. Stafford says his $40K prize is in the bank, and a national tour is taking shape.

The Gold Rush blends comedy and pathos in the tale of a prospector’s misadventures in the Klondike.

A New York Times reviewer in 1925 called it “the outstanding gem of all Chaplin’s pictures,” and Chaplin, who also wrote and directed the movie, later said it was the one for which he wanted to be remembered.

Chaplin was musically gifted as well–the Little Tramp wrote the song Smile–and in 1942 he scored and dubbed orchestration for The Gold Rush. 

Stafford is sticking with the original version, however. That means he’s making up every note as he goes along.

“One of my favorite parts is reacting to the audience reacting,” gauging what works and what doesn’t. “It’s fun to change as the movie goes on.”

Stafford changed from piano to organ at age 11, when his piano teacher in Jamestown, NY, suggested he attend a summer camp run by the American Guild of Organists.

“I fell in love,” Stafford said. He was blown away by the volume, by “the amount of power at my fingertips.”

As a teen he dabbled with electronic organs, playing show tunes and pop songs on a radio show from a Friendly’s restaurant, Saturday Morning Breakfast Party. He practiced on a Hammond B-3,  a staple of rock and R&B records.

But great church organs, like the 4,032-pipe instrument at St. Peter’s, mechanically simulate an orchestra in ways that Stafford finds more satisfying than electric keyboards and digital synthesizers.

“The feeling you get–the wall of pipes envelopes you, surrounds you in ways that speakers never do,” he said.

Stafford said guests can expect that same excitement on Sunday night at The Gold Rush.

“It’s a great group experience, a one-of-a-kind experience. You never will hear this score again. It’s a fleeting moment.”

Showtime for ‘The Gold Rush’ is 7 pm. Suggested donation: $5 ; children, free. Halloween costumes are welcome. St. Peter’s is at South Street and Miller Road in Morristown.

Josh Stafford, music director at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Morristown. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Josh Stafford, music director at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Morristown. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

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