We left the Hotel Villa Argentina this morning and stopped at the Chiesa di San Martino in Valle di Cadore, 21 miles away. You can clearly see this church from the main highway but because our bus could not navigate the narrow roads around the church, we had to walk to it from about 1/4… Read More Frustration
With a leisurely Sunday morning I took the opportunity to take pictures of my gorgeous surroundings near the hotel. Our bus took off in the opposite direction as yesterday—towards ever higher ground with many switchbacks. If there is anything I will remember about today, it is all the winding but picturesque mountain roads we traveled… Read More Mountain roads
After finishing breakfast, I walked around our hotel and with every step I took, I couldn’t resist taking pictures of the spectacular mountain scenery. This area has got to be one of the most gorgeous places on earth! Today the Historic Organ Study Tour took us to churches in the vicinity of our hotel in the Cadore… Read More Amid spectacular scenery…
I thought by now you must be a little tired hearing about all the churches and organs we have been discovering and playing on the Historic Organ Study Tour, so this post will be a little different. This morning we left the Treviso area and traveled to the northeastern part of Italy called the Dolomites,… Read More A Dolomite feast
Okay, I’m going to readily confess that I don’t play Italian organ music. In fact, I really wasn’t even planning to go on this Historic Organ Study Tour for that very reason—aside from a few small pieces by Girolamo Frescobaldi, I just don’t have any Italian pieces in my repertoire. Oh, I have the sheet… Read More True confessions
This morning we schlepped our luggage down to the Zattere dock where we took a ferry to Fusino. I have neglected so far to tell you that the weather has been absolutely gorgeous, blue skies, clear, cool (about 78 deg. F) with a light wind. Picture postcard perfect! What a difference from the last time… Read More Appearances are deceiving
Our appointment to see the Chiesa dell’Ospedaletto fell through which gave us on the Historic Organ Study Tour an opportunity to do something else beside see organs. Several of us walked about a block to the Accademia, where one of the most famous art collections is housed right on the Grand Canal. I think… Read More A change of plan
If you are an organist in Venice, you can’t be afraid of climbing ladders or have a fear of heights. Otherwise you’d never be able get to the organ console. We walked to the first church we visited today, within a block of our hotel—the Chiesa di San Trovaso where the Gaetano Callisto organ dates… Read More Climbing ladders
I have just awakened at my hotel in Venice, Italy, and it’s 4:30 am, my usual time for starting the day—except that Italy is exactly twelve hours “off” from Honolulu, which means that I am completely upside-down! I left Hawaii on Friday afternoon and had a nice visit with Joey Fala’s mom, Patsy, who took… Read More Already on Italy time! (What jet lag?!)
In my last post, I told you that I was the new Membership Chair of the Hawaii Chapter American Guild of Organists, and that I was working on the membership directory. I am happy to report that our chapter will have gained several new members as a result of the post. One of our new… Read More A new organist in town!