We are now in Venice, Italy and it has been unbearably hot and humid (37 deg. C and 80% humidity) Thank goodness our hotel is comfortably air conditioned, but even five minutes outdoors leaves you dripping wet. Yesterday afternoon we had a three hour combination boat and walking tour so you can imagine how glad… Read More Basilica San Marco, Venice
Today Hans and Christiane took us sightseeing, and the day was gorgeous, following a thunder and lightning storm during the night. After a delicious German breakfast, we took off for the German Alps and after a gondola ride to the top of the mountain Herzogstand, we had a most spectacular view of the panorama below.… Read More The highest beauty
All along our 500 km journey, our host, Hans-Ulrich Erbslöh, kept phoning the office at St. Ludwig’s in Munich to see if we could see the organ there. Apparently it being Monday, it was both the pastor’s and the organist’s day off, but the secretary kept trying to reach them. By the time we reached… Read More St. Ludwig’s, Munich
We left Leipzig about 9 am with our friends, Hans-Ulrich Erslöh and his wife, Christiane, with whom we will spend the next two days. You may remember that Hans was the apprentice to Rudolf von Beckerath when the LCH organ was installed in 1975, and Hans has come back to Hawaii many times ever since.… Read More Bamberger Dom
Last night was the final event of the BachFest Leipzig 2012–the great Mass in B-minor performed by the English Concert. It was obvious that this was a very familiar and beloved piece to many in the audience. The man sitting next to us “conducted” the whole piece throughout and mouthed all the words to the… Read More The greatest work ever
In all our trips to Germany, we have never been to Berlin, and Carl was bound and determined not to let another opportunity slip by. In spite of the inclement weather, we took a four hour walking tour called “Hidden Berlin” which was excellent in spite of having to use our umbrellas several times during… Read More Hidden Berlin
Two nights ago we heard the St. Thomas Leipzig choir in concert, and last night we heard the St. Thomas New York City sing. I first am surprised that we have heard two American choirs (Valparaiso University being the other choir) at the BachFest. Valparaiso sang a good bit of American music in addition to… Read More St. Thomas NYC
We continued our pilgrimage to the Bach towns by taking a short trip to Köthen today. This is where Bach was in the employ of Prince Leopold of Anhalt Köthen and composed many secular works such as the Brandenburg Concertos and the Well-Tempered Clavier. We visited a couple of churches, St. Jacobi and the Marienkirche,… Read More Day trip to Köthen
Last night’s concert with the St. Thomas Leipzig Choir (Thomanerchor)and the Gewandhaus Orchestra featured music written for the 800th anniversary of the founding of St. Thomas, in addition to two Bach cantatas. The juxtaposition of old and new was a little startling, but most people seemed to take it in stride. As usual we only… Read More Of light and peace
It was very cold today (55 deg. F) but we decided to visit Weissenfels, the childhood home of Heinrich Schütz, about 40 minutes by train. When we got there, our first stop was the Marienkirche, which a caretaker opened for us specially, along with two other visitors to the BachFest in Leipzig. Even though Schütz… Read More Visiting Weissenfels