tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4913115562599381562024-02-20T23:23:59.152-08:00Oregon Chorale TourOregon Chorale Tourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09338594364706738341noreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491311556259938156.post-14509730109512042442014-07-06T20:31:00.000-07:002014-07-07T08:32:03.043-07:00Day 16 - The Voyage HomeToday we got up frightfully early for our trip home. We assembled in the hotel lobby around 2:45 a.m.(-ish) and loaded up the bus. The hotel had thoughtfully prepared snack bags for each of us upon checkout -- juice, an apple, and a couple of sandwiches. We were blocking the narrow street in front of the hotel but due to the hour it didn't become an issue until just before we were ready to leave. We finally pulled out for the airport at 3:05.<br />
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We got to the airport about 3:40 a.m. and bid a last farewell to Juraj and Jaroslav, then went into the aiport and got our boarding passes. We had a long wait before we were able to check our bags in (like, 4:30 a.m.) and the staff were being a lot more finicky about bags than we had experienced coming the other direction. They asked to see our carryon bags and weren't satisfied with some of them so there was some last minute rearranging or checking of bags which was frustrating. Finally we were through, and then through security and got to the gate about half an hour before boarding our KLM flight to Amsterdam.<br />
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The flight was short and reasonably smooth. On arrival at Schiphol we had to basically retrace our steps from when we arrived there 15 days previous. Our layover was much shorter, though, just a couple of hours. After a trip through passport control and a Bio-Technical break (and some shopping for some of us) we went through security (again) and finally boarded the plane and headed back to PDX.<br />
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The flight was mostly uneventful other than a little bit of turbulence at one point and a very upset baby. We arrived at PDX about half an hour early (wow!), went through customs etc. and collected our bags and then proceeded to do a lot of hugging and good-bying before we parted and went our separate ways.<br />
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For me this trip was a wonderful opportunity and so much fun. The chance to sing with my friends again and to enjoy seeing such amazing sights with people I really like was terrific and something I will always treasure.Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05953998801421616559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491311556259938156.post-50874612875176122712014-07-05T08:21:00.000-07:002014-07-07T08:21:49.955-07:00Day 15 - Prague/Wrapping UpToday was a "free" day for us in Prague. Juraj led a group of people over to the Jewish quarter and around a bit. I slept late, then walked up to the Saint Nicolas church (amazing!) and then did some shopping. The weather had been nice but broke for a downpour around 5:30 or so, then cleared up again.<br />
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We gathered around 6:45 to walk over to the Ambassador Hotel for our end-of-tour banquet. This lasted about 3.5 hours (!) and included a yummy dinner, folk dancers and a trio of musicians, and a lot (a lot!) of fun. Tim C and Colin had some "true or false" questions for the participants that were very funny, there were some songs, and Bernie had some fun observations for Juraj. We also presented Juraj and Jaroslav (our driver) some gifts and of course our heartfelt thanks and best wishes. We then walked back to the hotel to get some rest before our early morning departure.Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05953998801421616559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491311556259938156.post-64717989913025338112014-07-04T12:56:00.000-07:002014-07-04T12:56:24.967-07:00Day 14 - PragueToday started with a tour of Prague Castle, the Old Town and some other famous parts of Prague. We left the hotel at 9 on our bus and after some driving around we were dropped off near Prague Castle. We walked around the complex and visited the Cathedral of St. Vitus -- we sang Non Nobis. From there we walked around the perimeter and saw the gardens, then headed down the hill. We went by the American embassy (it was closed for the holiday, of course) and sang our nice arrangement of the Star Spangled Banner in front as an Independence Day tribute. Locals came out and took pictures :-). From there we walked through a small church near the river, then over the Charles Bridge and back eventually to Wenceslaus Square near our hotel. We had free time for lunch.<br />
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At 3 p.m. we left the hotel and walked over to the square for a group photo, then on the bus and back up pretty much where we were dropped off this morning. From the drop off we had to walk up a significant hill and through some grounds to get to the church. My feet were not happy :-(.<br />
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The St. Laurence church is quite small. It's an Old Catholic church, which was surprising to me since I hadn't realized that was the case (I thought it was a Catholic church). We met up with the event coordinator and the bishop, then we started rehearsing for the Mass and concert. Between the Chorale and our roadies we took up just over half the pews in the church!<br />
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Mass started at 5 p.m. and we were warmly welcomed by the priest who was concelebrating the Mass with the bishop (the priest was the only English speaker). We sang our usual Mass parts (Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, Pater Noster and Agnus Dei), though I'm pretty sure we sang the Kyrie as the opening hymn and the Gloria as the psalm (it seemed to me to be a daily mass, not a longer feast day (one reading only)).<br />
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After Mass we had about 10 minutes, then we started the concert. We sang:<br />
<ul>
<li>The Star-Spangled Banner (split)</li>
<li>Verbum Caro Factum Est (split)</li>
<li>Beati Quorum Via</li>
<li>Abendlied</li>
<li>Zahucaly Hori</li>
<li>Aka Si Mi Krasna</li>
<li>Hombe</li>
<li>Wasn't That A Wonder</li>
<li> Cornerstone</li>
<li>I've Been In the Storm So Long (Ann solo)</li>
<li>Were You There?</li>
<li>Battle of Jericho</li>
<li>Praise to the Lord (split)</li>
<li>Ain'a That Good News (split) (encore)</li>
</ul>
The church was a delight to sing in. It was very live, but since it was so small there was almost no reverb time. Even very soft singing was clearly heard. I especially thought that Were You There? was perhaps the best we've ever sung it. Alas I had a small goof on Beati Quorum Via that kind of spoiled it for me a bit. Oh well!<br />
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After the concert we took another group photo (everyone, not just the choir) and Cindy introduced us to her relatives that live in Prague. Then the long walk back and we were on the bus back to the hotel.<br />
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Tomorrow is a free day for us, capped off with our group dinner. Sunday we leave verrrry early for our 6:30 a.m. flight to Amsterdam and then home. Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05953998801421616559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491311556259938156.post-25783177624121194262014-07-03T12:03:00.001-07:002014-07-03T12:03:21.778-07:00Day 13 - On To Prague!Today was a travel day for us. We checked out of the hotel in Krakow and were on the road at 9 (ish). We stopped for a "Bio-Technical Break" just after crossing the Czech border, and then once again for a quick lunch stop in Brno around 2. We got into Prague about 5 (there was construction that slowed us down). It was a kind of a long day on the bus.<br />
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After checking in we mostly hung out or walked around the immediate vicinity. Our hotel is close to the Opera House and National Museum and not too far from Old Town.<br />
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The plan for tomorrow is a city tour in the a.m., then we will leave a little early for our 5 p.m. Mass and concert --- before we get to the church we are going to stop for a group photo in some to-be-determined picturesque spot.<br />
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I think for a lot of us there's a feeling of.... turning the corner and heading for home. We've been gone for 2 weeks tomorrow and while we are having a great time, it will be nice to be sleeping in our own beds in a few days.Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05953998801421616559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491311556259938156.post-15775136667754542942014-07-02T09:16:00.001-07:002014-07-02T09:16:56.795-07:00Day 12 - AuschwitzThis morning we had our tour of Auschwitz. Only 19 of us chose to go. Auschwitz is about 70 km from Krakow. We visited the museum which is at the main camp ("Auschwitz 1") and then briefly drove by the camp where most of the killing was done ("Auschwitz 2 - Birkenau") as most of what's there is a reconstruction; the Nazis destroyed most of the evidence before the Russians liberated the camp.<br />
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It's a sad and sobering experience. I think pretty much everyone cried at least a little, at one point or another. The section that got to me the most was in the area where they displayed personal effects that had been taken from the victims -- there was a display of thousands of children's shoes. It was just too much.<br />
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After our visit we returned to Krakow and we have the rest of the day free. Tomorrow we have a long drive to Prague.Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05953998801421616559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491311556259938156.post-10330407859166135562014-07-01T13:31:00.001-07:002014-07-01T13:31:33.760-07:00Day 11 - City tour & St. Catherine's ConcertThis morning we left the hotel and had a tour of the city. We set off by bus and briefly saw the old Jewish Quarter, then went across the Vistula and saw where the Ghetto had been and got to drive by briefly and see Oskar Schindler's factory. Then back across the river again and we drove to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wawel_Castle" target="_blank">Wawel Castle</a>. Wow! I'm comparing it to the castle in Budapest. Not as large, but in some ways more impressive. Very cool. After the tour of the grounds and a brief peek inside the Cathedral, we went back to the bus where some of us returned to the hotel and others (including me) went on a walking tour of the old town area. We looked at several churches including the Corpus Christi Church, St. Mary's Basilica and a couple of others that are not coming to mind. We had time for a leisurely lunch, then walked back to the hotel via the Florian Gate.<br />
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Krakow is definitely a city of churches, more so than any other city we've seen here. It's a great tribute to the faith of the Polish people. Often churches would be very close together (we saw a Franciscan church right next to the church of Ss.Peter and Paul, for example). We also spotted a number of religious (men and women both) walking around the street in full habit (Franciscan monks and secular priests alike). Not surprisingly we saw statues and pictures of Pope St. John Paul the Great all over! The Poles are rightly proud of their former Cardinal-Archbishop, especially here in his former diocese.<br />
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After we returned to the hotel we had about 90 minutes to relax and change before leaving for the concert venue at 4:45. Traffic was horrible so it took us a while to get to St. Catherine's. We finally got there about 5:25 (?) and got our concert order and then spent about 45 minutes running through some of the stuff we had not done. Unlike our previous church venues, St. Catherine's allowed us to sing secular as well as sacred music. After our rehearsal we adjourned to a nearby room, then started the concert at 7. We sang:<br />
<ul>
<li>Kyrie (Mass in G Minor) (split) (Shawn, Sheryl, Josh, Terry)</li>
<li>Sanctus</li>
<li>Parce Domine</li>
<li>S'Andasse Amor a Caccia</li>
<li>Si Ch'io Vorrei Morire</li>
<li>Yo m'Enamori d'un Aire</li>
<li>Hiney Ma Tov</li>
<li>She Moved Through the Fair (Paul, Ann)</li>
<li>Bring Me Little Water, Silvy (Diane, Karen, Kristi, Cindy)</li>
<li>Abide With Me</li>
<li>Let Me Fly</li>
<li>You Are the New Day</li>
<li>Praise To The Lord (split)</li>
<li>Ain'-a That Good News (split) (encore)</li>
</ul>
We had a pretty good sized audience -- The church was probably half full. They were enthusiastic and gave us a standing ovation, which was really nice. Afterward we looked around the church a bit and had some brief words from Jacek, the event coordinator for the church.<br />
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I have to say some words about <a href="http://www.krakow4u.pl/eng_index.php?parametr=koscioly/katarzyna/eng_katarzyna" target="_blank">St.Catherine's</a>. Wow! What a joy to sing in. This church is about 650 years old (!). They do a lot of concerts there and they have created a small stage on the nave end of the church. This worked really well for us and for them as well; no issues with having to remove the Blessed Sacrament or having people wandering around the altar. The church has no pews anyway (pews are a Protestant invention and churches of that time and for centuries after didn't have them), just chairs, and so while the chairs close to the altar faced the altar, the ones further back faced the stage at the rear. The church is comparatively plain (compared, that is, to some of the churches we've seen in Krakow) but has a huge, amazingly beautiful mostly gilded retablo over/behind the high altar. It's probably 60 feet tall and just stunning. Other than that, though, the church is not gilded and decorated to the extant many of the other churches we've seen are. I'm not sure why that is.<br />
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The acoustics in this church were just AMAZING. I'd guess the reverb was around 5 seconds. It was very live, and very easy to sing in. I'd go back in a heartbeat!<br />
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Tomorrow we are going to see Auschwitz (well, many of us) and then we'll have free time.Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05953998801421616559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491311556259938156.post-40222682022217341022014-06-30T14:06:00.001-07:002014-06-30T14:06:32.931-07:00Day 10 - Salt Mines, KrakowToday was another travel day. We left Levoca at 9 a.m. and drove off on a side trip to see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spi%C5%A1_Castle" target="_blank">Spiš Castle</a> (<span class="unicode haudio" style="white-space: nowrap;"><span class="fn"><i>Spišský hrad</i></span></span>). We didn't get to drive up to it but we drove around it and took pictures; we also stopped at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spi%C5%A1sk%C3%A1_Kapitula" target="_blank">Spišská Kapitula</a> and looked around a bit. Then we came back then way we'd come, and after a "Bio-Technical break" as Juraj calls them we were on the road to Krakow.<br />
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The road was a fairly narrow one through the Tatra mountains. The mountains are just gorgeous -- really, really beautiful. It wasn't long before crossed the border into Poland and after a bit more traveling (about 3 hours total) we arrived in the outskirts of Krakow at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wieliczka_Salt_Mine" target="_blank">Wielizcka Salt Mine</a>. We had 90 minutes for lunch, then we had our tour of the salt mine.<br />
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It's amazing. A lot of walking ( we eventually walked down a total of 135m). The carvings and large rooms and art that the miners created is just astonishingly beautiful. Eventually we made it to the largest of the 3 chapels, where we sang:<br />
<ul>
<li>Adoramus Te</li>
<li>Beati Quorum Via</li>
<li>Parce Domine</li>
<li>Cornerstone</li>
<li>Ain-a That Good News</li>
</ul>
The acoustics were pretty good, and those present seemed pleased. Later on we came on a big open room (not a chapel) where we were permitted to sing one of our secular pieces, Yo m'Enamori d'un Aire. The tour was about 3 hours total. Pretty cool. <br />
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After the tour we loaded up the bus and drove about 25 minutes to our hotel and checked in. Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05953998801421616559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491311556259938156.post-60807117669720363182014-06-29T13:43:00.000-07:002014-06-30T13:43:44.351-07:00Day 9 - LevocaToday was a travel day. We left the hotel at 8:30(ish) and made our way in the direction of Levoca. <br />
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One of the appeals of this part of the journey for me was to come close to the village of Vráble in the Nitra district, where my grandmother was born in 1901. Although we did not pass through it we did pass within a few kilometers of it so I got to see the area and landscape my grandmother knew as a little girl. Neat!<br />
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Along the way we stopped first at the wooden church in Hronsek. It's about 300 years old. As it happens the caretaker was there so we got to go inside and look around and hear about the church; then we sang Non Nobis.<br />
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After that it was back on the bus with a stop at Banská Bystrica. We walked up to the Church of St. Mary which has an altar done by the famous sculptor Master Jan Pavol from Levoca. We sang The Glory of the Father and Non Nobis there. Afterward we had lunch ( a very nice central square, and it was a nice day) then we walked back to the bus with a stop to look at the Museum of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovak_National_Uprising" target="_blank">Slovak National Uprising.</a> Alas there was not time to go IN the museum but the grounds were pretty neat.<br />
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From there we drove straight to Levoca. We checked into the Hotel Stela and had about 25 minutes to change into our formal gear and get over to St. James Church (right across the street, fortunately). We got a quick tour of the church and then had about 35 minutes of warmup. The priest had told us he would hold Mass until 7:15 p.m. (!) from 7 p.m. so we would have a better audience. We sang our concert at 6:45:<br />
<ul>
<li>Glory of the Father (split)</li>
<li>Verbum Caro Factum Est (split)</li>
<li>Aka Si Mi Krasna</li>
<li>Vita de la Mia Vita</li>
<li>Abendlied</li>
<li>Du Ser Meg i Auga</li>
<li>There Will Be Rest</li>
<li>Let Me Fly</li>
<li>I've Been In the Storm So Long (Sheryl solo)</li>
<li>Battle of Jericho</li>
<li>Praise to the Lord</li>
</ul>
The audience really, really loved "Krasna".. and you could have heard a pin drop during "There Will Be Rest.". In general they were really appreciative. After we were done we trooped up to the choir loft as the Mass started, and sang our Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, Pater Noster and Agnus Dei at the appropriate times.<br />
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I was really struck by how enthusiastically the congregation sang! They sang the Creed! It was pretty cool. I had planned on going to communion and had extricated myself from the last row of the choir (we were jammed in pretty tight) -- but when I saw there were a lot of other folks up in the loft area I assumed they would send a minister of communion up there so I just stayed there and waited... and nope, they did not, so I missed my chance. I was disappointed, but oh well.<br />
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During the last part of Mass it started to rain quite hard so we all got fairly wet just in the block or so between the church and the hotel. We all went upstairs to the hotel restaurant for dinner... which was really really slow. Like really slow. We were there for about 2 hours and it took forever to get served. The food was okay but not exciting.<br />
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The hotel was quite old and not very modern; they had an elevator but it was not much help since the hotel is on multiple levels. I wound up lugging all my stuff up two flights of stairs. There was no wifi in our room but apparently there was some access elsewhere.Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05953998801421616559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491311556259938156.post-3901110920023845132014-06-28T13:02:00.001-07:002014-06-28T13:02:56.943-07:00Day 8 - ViennaToday we had a day trip to Vienna. We left at 9 and arrived in the city a bit after 10. We walked up to the StephenPlatz and checked out St.Stephen's Cathedral -- amazing. Then we had some free time for lunch, and then (most of us) went to the Schonbrunn Palace tour. It was truly stunning. Unfortunately we only had time to tour the palace, but we didn't get to really look at the gardens and grounds which are ridiculously extensive. The glimpses that I saw were just amazing.<br />
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After that we went back to the city center and walked around the Hofburg palace and stopped in several churches -- the Augustinian Church, St. Peter's (we sang Non Nobis there) and then St. Michael's. After that we were back on the bus and headed out toward Bratislava again. We took the back roads and stopped in Hainburg for a leisurely and yummy dinner followed by a quick look around the town (it has some pretty awesome medieval fortifications). Eventually we were all herded back on the bus (really, it's like herding cats!) and headed back to the hotel in Bratislava. We arrived back about 9.<br />
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I have to say a quick word about our guide, Juraj. He is amazing. He is from Bratislava. We met him in Budapest and he will be with us until we leave from Prague. He speaks 5 languages (English, German, Slovak, Czech, and Russian) and has a Ph.D in architecture. He's incredibly knowledgeable about the history of the region, and of course he gives us a lot of information about the architecture of the various things we see. In addition he has a wonderful sense of humor, he's very very patient (important with this group) and he's VERY TALL (which makes him easy to spot in a crowd :-) ). We are very lucky to have such an excellent guide!Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05953998801421616559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491311556259938156.post-6354675092470907702014-06-27T13:36:00.002-07:002014-06-27T13:36:43.936-07:00Day 7 - Bratislava; St. Martin Cathedral ConcertToday started off (after a hearty and rather impressive breakfast) with a tour of some of the high points (literally) of Bratislava. We visited the War Memorial (commemorates the Soviet soldiers who died liberating Bratislava from the Nazis), then the Castle (now seat of the Slovak Parliament) and then walked around the old city center looking at buildings, followed by lunch. Bratislava's original castle and fortifications were quite impressive (somewhat reminiscent of Budapest though not as large). The War Memorial gave me mixed feelings -- I wouldn't want to slight the bravery of the Russians soldiers who fought the Nazis, but at the same time 20 years later Russian soldiers rolled into Prague to liberate it from... the Czechoslovakian people. So.. a little mixed there.<br />
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After lunch most of us went off to a pottery demonstration/cultural thing and wine tasting. I did not attend so I can't comment on that.<br />
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At 5 p.m. we were back on the bus to go to St. Martin's Cathedral for our 6:30 p.m. concert. This church is... amazing. I'm kicking myself because when I was changing into my formal gear I left my camera behind so I didn't get any pictures. It's a beautiful, beautiful church -- the coronation church for Hungarian kings and queens for many many years. We had about 35 minutes to warmup and get used to the space.<br />
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Tonight's concert:<br />
<ul>
<li>Verbum Caro Factum Est (split)</li>
<li>Kyrie (from Mass in G Minor) (split) (Shawn, Sheryl, Josh, Terry for quartet)</li>
<li>Pater Noster</li>
<li>Beati Quorum Via</li>
<li>Wasn't That a Wonder</li>
<li>Aka Si Mi Krasna</li>
<li>You Are the New Day</li>
<li>Hombe</li>
<li>Abide With Me</li>
<li>I've Been In the Storm So Long </li>
<li>Cornerstone</li>
<li>Were You There?</li>
<li>Battle of Jericho</li>
<li>Praise to The Lord (split)</li>
<li>Ain'a That Good News (encore)</li>
</ul>
We had a small audience, maybe 30 or 40 including our "groupies". Cindy Uecker's family that lives in Bratislava were there and were very enthusiastic. Afterward they thanked us and seemed very impressed. For myself, this was the first time I'd actually sung "Storm" since it was handed out last week and I'd never done it before. I was pleased that my practice paid off and I did pretty well.<br />
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After the concert we returned to the hotel and went our several ways for dinner, etc. Tomorrow we are off to spend the day in Vienna, which is about an hour and a half drive from Bratislava. Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05953998801421616559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491311556259938156.post-64646340635246034382014-06-26T09:32:00.001-07:002014-06-26T09:32:02.496-07:00Day 6 - Esztergom, Bratislava<br />
Today was mostly a travel day for us. I got up early enough to attend 8 a.m. Mass at Szent Roch church down the street from our hotel. Of course I didn't understand a word, but the Mass is the Mass and it was nice to go. Then mailed a couple of postcards and zipped back to the hotel in time for our 9 a.m. departure.<br />
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We left Budapest (which takes a while... Budapest is really a huge city) and drove into the hilly area north to Esztergom. We were on fairly narrow roads which was interesting at times, and some of it was a bit torturous with switchbacks etc. We got into Esztergom and went to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esztergom_Basilica" target="_blank">Basilica</a> there, at about 10:30. We were there for about an hour. It is SO BEAUTIFUL! It's huuuuge. And just amazing. We all took a bazillion pictures. We got permission to sing, so we sang:<br />
<ul>
<li>Agnus Dei (Lotti)</li>
<li>Glory of the Father</li>
<li>Parce Domine</li>
</ul>
The acoustics were astonishing... quite bright but a lonnng reverb time, like 6+ seconds (we were in the middle of the nave). Nice. Afterward we took a group picture on the steps.<br />
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From there we drove on to Komárno where we stopped for lunch. Then it was on to Bratislava where we checked in to our hotel. For some reason they insisted on getting our passport #s and looking at our passports when we checked in -- something that didn't happen in either Bucharest or Budapest. Odd.<br />
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We are free for the rest of the evening; tomorrow is a city tour in the morning and then some opportunities for side tours. We have a concert at St. Martin's Cathedral at 6:30 p.m.<br />
Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05953998801421616559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491311556259938156.post-77116571635323726522014-06-25T12:37:00.002-07:002014-06-25T12:37:53.985-07:00Day 5 - Puszta, St. Michael's ConcertToday was a busy day! We set off at 9 a.m. for an excursion to Puszta, south of Budapest. We went to Tanyacsarda, a stables and horse breeding area. We went on a hayride, saw an exhibition of the various horses there (Arabian, Hungarian halfbloods, and Lipizzaner), then an opportunity for a quick horseride, followed by a walk through the stables, a look at some farm animals and a light lunch with some wonderful musical entertainment. We were back at the hotel around 2 p.m.<br />
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We were scheduled to leave for the concert at 3:30 p.m. but there was a snafu -- the church had a 4 p.m. Mass scheduled so we couldn't be in until after that. As it happened, we got to the church about 4:40 or so and had just enough time to warmup briefly before singing our concert at 5 p.m. We sang:<br />
<ul>
<li>Verbum Caro Factum Est (Hassler)</li>
<li>Adoramus Te (Gasparini)</li>
<li>Tambur </li>
<li>Wasn't That a Wonder</li>
<li>Abendlied (Rheinberger)</li>
<li>Hiney Ma Tov</li>
<li>Wana Baraka</li>
<li>Glory to God in the Highest (Thompson)</li>
<li>Sanctus (Courtney)</li>
<li>Beati Quorum Via (Stanford)</li>
<li>Let Me Fly (DeCormier)</li>
<li>Were You There (Bob King III)</li>
<li>Battle of Jericho (Hogan)</li>
<li>Praise to the Lord (Christiansen)</li>
</ul>
Our encore was Dawson's Ain'-a That Good News. We had a good audience, actually. The church was small, and between our "groupies" and the audience that wandered in the church was almost full.<br />
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After the concert we took the bus back to the hotel and had an evening to ourselves. Tomorrow morning we are off to Bratislava! Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05953998801421616559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491311556259938156.post-20907487368379928052014-06-21T12:57:00.000-07:002014-06-24T13:08:01.727-07:00Day 0/1 -- Heading OutThe tour group met at the Delta counter at PDX on Friday June 20th at 10:30 a.m. (ish). After checking our bags we proceeded through security, then split up to grab some lunch before the flight. I made the most of the opportunity to hit the PDX Burgerville franchise conveniently located in Concourse D, and others made other choices. We met at our gate approximately 1 hour before our flight, and then had a bit of a wait before we finally boarded our plane (an Airbus 330) for the long flight to Amsterdam's Schiphol airport.<br />
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The flight was uneventful --I was not able to sleep so I took advantage of the opportunity to watch a couple of movies on the inflight entertainment system. Unfortunately I was further back in the plane than most of the tour group so I couldn't readily converse with them.<br />
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We arrived pretty much on time at 8:30 a.m. (maybe a little earlier), and found ourselves with more than 4 hours to kill. We had a bite to eat, and a lot of conversation. We were amused by the frequent warnings over the PA that particular passengers were delaying their flights and needed to show up ASAP or their baggage would be offloaded!<br />
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Finally we were able to go through (yet another) security screening and board our flight to Bucharest (this time, a KLM Boeing 737). After a roughly 2 hour flight we were landing at the Henri Coanda airport (a.k.a. Otopeni) near Bucharest. We proceeded through customs and collected our baggage, then went on to meet up with our tour guide, the delightful Alina. Alina collected us and directed us to our tour bus, ably driven by Christian. We departed the airport and drove to our hotel in the middle of Bucharest, with a short tour of some of the city sights along the way.<br />
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By the time we arrived at our hotel and checked in it was late and we were all seriously zonked, so most of us grabbed a quick bite and headed to bed. It had been an absurdly long day.Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05953998801421616559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491311556259938156.post-17847840020099156212014-06-20T12:55:00.000-07:002014-06-24T13:08:19.935-07:002014 TourHi readers!<br />
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We are off on our 2014 tour to Central Europe! We will be hitting 6 countries in 16 days, starting in Romania, then Hungary, Slovakia, a day trip to Vienna (Austria), then Poland and finishing up in the Czech Republic.Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05953998801421616559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491311556259938156.post-47875419060225702742008-07-19T16:11:00.000-07:002008-07-19T16:13:42.994-07:00Another LimerickHere's the limerick I wrote for Linda Needham... bear in mind it needs to be read in an Irish brogue so the words more-or-less rhyme. Also bear in mind the Irish place name "Cobh" is pronounced as if it were spelled "Cove".<br /><br /><blockquote>Our intrepid Miss Linda went to Cobh<br />In response to a sign from above<br />An enormous book store<br />On the far western shore<br />Who says money can't buy ya love?</blockquote>Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05953998801421616559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491311556259938156.post-81897933833373767332008-07-13T14:03:00.000-07:002008-07-13T14:26:58.610-07:00Gazetteer of Ireland @ 1845These quotes were taken from a Gazetteer of Ireland published in 1845. I located the quotes as I search for information about the Irish Sea. Andy's Aunt Babs had the Gazetteer in the library of her home in Great <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Easton</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Leichestershire</span>, England.<br /><br />from the entry for "Belfast Lough":<br />"It's scenery, on both shores, is strikingly beautiful. An illiberal or prejudiced stranger, who enters Ireland by sailing up to Belfast is confounded by the brilliance of both the natural and the artificial features, and is liable under the rebound of feeling, to imagine that all he has heard of Ireland's bogs and poverty is a jest and that he is entering one of the most charming and opulent countries in the world."<br /><br />from the entry for "Dublin Bay" (I merged the two readings together)<br />"It exhibits so noble a combination of scenery and affords at different points such attractive varieties, such fine interchanges of the soft and august as to have won for it the fame of being a reduced copy or large miniature of the Bay of Naples; and thought destitute of features which correspond to either the natural sublimity of Vesuvius or the artificial power of the remains of Pompeii, it possesses a sufficiency of charm to justify the assertion of a celebrated (Scottish) writer of acknowledged taste that a (British) admirer of the picturesque will regard the prospect of the bay as ample recompense for the expense and trouble of a trip to Ireland."Rhondahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11673089962584072909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491311556259938156.post-6375725648910399232008-07-13T13:56:00.000-07:002008-07-13T14:01:04.217-07:00Two LimericksHere are two limericks from the farewell dinner, held in Killarney on July 3rd.<br /><br />There once was a lass with pink hair<br />Her longing to be a castle bard,<br />She scribes for O.C.<br />an alto she be<br />Our Rhonda will do what she dare.<br /><br />Young Bernie did everything choral<br />And helped Karen with everything floral<br />he Took his choir on a tour<br />and now he is poor<br />'Cause he needed some surgery oral.Rhondahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11673089962584072909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491311556259938156.post-29083867344578959022008-07-08T06:14:00.000-07:002008-07-08T06:23:50.859-07:00Onward and (literally) upwardOur little sub-trip continues: we successfully rented 2 cars for the 6 of us, drove to the final concert in Limerick (which was fantastic), drove R & S to the train station, then drove off to our cottage outside of Killorglen. We're now in the Killorglin library, having visited Skellig Michael yesterday and ridden horses today - two death-defying acts in as many days!<br /><br />It has been a fantastic tour, with loads of sightseeing, great company, and cool concert venues galore. Happy trails to everyone!Biffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11588673448571776213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491311556259938156.post-83113207090533668212008-07-06T02:39:00.000-07:002008-07-06T02:48:31.768-07:00Soon off to the airportWell, what a wonderful trip this has been. The chorale is scattering to all parts of the world as several continue their holiday (vacation) elsewhere in Europe before heading home. There are just a few of us who are boarding a 2:45 pm flight from Shannon that will fly into Philadelphia for a three hour layover and then on a flight to Portland that will arrive at almost midnight! LONG day. I am really anxious to get home to Jerry and Ben and to my own bed and shower! Familiarity is a good thing!<br /><br />The concert last night was a great experience and the best way to end the tour and our performances. I'm not sure how many people were there but my guess is about 400-450 including the people from the Voices of Limerick who shared the concert with us. Everyone was so appreciative of our music and gave us such gushing compliments. I am truly humbled!<br /><br />I plan to add more to this blog including pictures and limericks that were written by the tour group for each other. Stay tuned for more!Kristihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18037263703244824095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491311556259938156.post-61941923431532508642008-07-06T01:41:00.000-07:002008-07-06T01:55:31.563-07:00Final Concert & Winding DownYesterday was our last day together as a group. We left the hotel at 9 to drive to the Cliffs of Moher. I have to admit I was a wee bit skeptical about driving an hour or more to see some cliffs, but it was well worth the experience! The cliffs were breathtaking, and the visitor center was quite new and really well done with a bunch of informative displays and a virtual reality film that would make you dizzy if you weren't careful. My favorite display was one that would show you how the continents have drifted over the last 500 million years -- it was really interactive and well done.<br /><br /> After we returned from the cliffs we changed into our formal attire and headed off to the Augustinian Church for our joint concert with the <a href="http://www.voicesoflimerick.com/">Voices of Limerick</a>. We got there more-or-less on time but the 3 p.m. Mass was running quite late (it was a Mass for the Sick and they closed with Benediction, it appeared). So we got into the space around 4:05 instead of 3:45. We spent the time waiting milling around in the back and chatting with the Limerick choir. Finally we got up in the sanctuary and had the chance to run through a little bit of our joint number ("Down By The Riverside" by John Rutter) and then as it turned out we started the concert early (at 4:20). The Voices of Limerick sang first. They were much larger than we (I think I counted over 70 of them) and had a very full, warm sound. They sang for about 30 or 40 minutes; I particularly enjoyed a Mendelssohn piece they did and another in Gaelic by a local composer. Then we sang:<br /><ul><li>Down In The River</li><li>Glory of the Father</li><li>Pater Noster</li><li>Lux Aurumque</li><li>Irish Tune</li><li>Lagan Love (this was a BIG hit)</li><li>Loch Lomond</li><li>Witness</li><li>Deep River</li><li>My Soul's Been Anchored</li></ul><p> They really loved us and applauded wildly, so we sang our encore (Aint-A That Good News) and then the Voices of Limerick joined us to sing the joint piece. It went quite well, especially for such little rehearsal together. All in all it was our best concert of the tour -- the church was packed and the audience very enthusiastic. </p><p>After the concert we went back to the hotel and the Limerick choir joined us; we had an impromptu reception at the hotel and took some pictures and hung out and enjoyed some fellowship. I can't say enough about how warm and welcoming they were -- they were so kind and complimentary. I hope if we host a choir in the future we can do half so well.</p><p>After the reception wound down we had some dinner in the hotel and went to bed. Today we are scattering to the four winds -- some are staying on in Europe, headed to various destinations, and the group travelers leave for the airport at 11 a.m. (one last bus ride with Danny!).</p><p>All in all it's been an amazing, wonderful time and one that I will always treasure.</p>Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05953998801421616559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491311556259938156.post-26561346287722715642008-07-04T15:57:00.001-07:002008-07-04T16:08:32.954-07:00Bunratty Medieval BanquetTonight most of us enjoyed a slip back in time to the medieval feast at Bunratty Castle and what GREAT fun it was! The music was exceptional. Especially the ladies close harmony pieces and most especially the lullaby. Bernie has inquired and found out that the troupe is rehearsed by the same woman who directs the Voices of Limerick with whom we will be sharing our last concert tomorrow! Not only that, but the lullaby was arranged by the director and has yet to be recorded. We MUST get that arrangement! <br /><br />There was great food with which, of course, we only had a knife to eat! And one of our own was put in the dungeon! Ron (Swingen) was only down there for a few moments but he played the sorry soul well when released. :o) <br /><br />We added(?) our own US of A brand to the evening and did a rousing rendition of Stars and Stripes Forever on kazoos. Yes, kazoos. It was well received but perhaps that was the result of the free flowing mead and wines!<br /><br />Truly a good time was had by all and we must thank Mark Flannery and Christine Pellham for suggesting and making this opportunity happen! I hope to be able to post pictures at some later date. <br /><br />For now, it is late and I must be off to bed. Tomorrow is our last touring day on this fair isle before we head home on Sunday and return VERY LATE. <br /><br />Slain!Kristihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18037263703244824095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491311556259938156.post-56579914912296748032008-07-04T11:17:00.000-07:002008-12-10T05:34:13.696-08:00Scenery: Moll's Gap<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OyQmfEXaQoU/SG5pzB8SrII/AAAAAAAAAA8/3Jy_4DrKrTw/s1600-h/IMG_9211.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OyQmfEXaQoU/SG5pzB8SrII/AAAAAAAAAA8/3Jy_4DrKrTw/s400/IMG_9211.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5219225343584545922" border="0" /></a>Here's an example of the phenomenally-lovely scenery we drank in all day at the ring of kerry: Moll's Gap. If you click on the photo, I think you can download the ful-size image.Biffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11588673448571776213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491311556259938156.post-72159748390367370772008-07-04T10:46:00.000-07:002008-12-10T05:34:13.800-08:00Barnstorming!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OyQmfEXaQoU/SG5iN9Th0nI/AAAAAAAAAA0/5cOGoHlPtEA/s1600-h/barn.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OyQmfEXaQoU/SG5iN9Th0nI/AAAAAAAAAA0/5cOGoHlPtEA/s320/barn.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5219217010103276146" border="0" /></a><br />Yes, this is our latest venue, and it was great! our Bunratty Castle concert turned out to be in Mac's pub on the castle grounds...well, not exactly <span style="font-style: italic;">in</span> the pub, more like <span style="font-style: italic;">really near</span> the pub... in a barn because of the light rain.<br /><br />We were certain our concert was going to be for only a barn swallow or two, but due to Gunnar's tireless promotion (ok, and the ensuing downpour) the place was packed with delighted visitors who loved our singing. Also the barn acoustics were surprizingly good - what an adventure.Biffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11588673448571776213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491311556259938156.post-79554996819616909592008-07-04T10:39:00.000-07:002008-12-10T05:34:14.036-08:00We're in the Park-Rad-Inn-Arms Hotel<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OyQmfEXaQoU/SG5gk5ZNXSI/AAAAAAAAAAs/Hgs5JaQxQz4/s1600-h/lobby.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5219215205167095074" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OyQmfEXaQoU/SG5gk5ZNXSI/AAAAAAAAAAs/Hgs5JaQxQz4/s320/lobby.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />I guess it's almost time to go home: all the hotels are starting to blur together. I'm looking at this photo from a short time ago, and can't quite remember what hotel it was or what city it was in.<br /><br />The hotels have all been quite nice in some way - either conveniently placed, or spacious, or comfy beds... and (nearly) all the rooms in all the hotels have had close to American showers.Biffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11588673448571776213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491311556259938156.post-78553899646867985062008-07-04T10:26:00.001-07:002008-07-04T10:46:13.535-07:00Burning Down The Barn!We are in Limerick.<br /><br /> Yesterday we drove the Ring of Kerry, which is a scenic drive from Killarney out along Dingle Bay and back around. The views were... amazing, and we had amazingly good weather the whole time. Really, the weather the whole trip has been quite awesome -- it's rained quite a bit, but with few exceptions it has been really nice when we wanted to be outdoors. We stopped for lunch at a place Danny knew that had an amazing view of the sea; and later we stopped for ice cream in a village with the unlikely name of Sneem. We also went through a frighteningly small, narrow tunnel (we applauded Danny the driver for that one).<br /><br /> On the way back to Killarney on our drive we stopped at Muckross House, a manor house built in the mid-1800s. It has been restored quite nicely and the house and grounds are just gorgeous. Our tour guide had the most beautiful Irish accent, it was to die for ;-).<br /><br /> After Muckross House we returned to the hotel and rested and had dinner on our own, then gathered at 9 to share some early farewells since our schedules wouldn't permit proper goodbyes tonight or tomorrow. On the tour we've all had a "tour buddy" who we were responsible for making sure was present when the bus leaves. We were all tasked with writing a limerick for our tour buddies, and we shared them. I'm hoping we will all post them at some point. I'll just say that some were sweet, some were just darn funny and all were appreciated and a lot of fun. What a group! We also shared some limericks for Danny, our amazing driver and Gunnar our guide. Danny has been SO much fun on this trip -- skillful, knowledgeable and really funny. It's been awesome. After the gathering we commandeered the snooker room and sang some songs and shared some jokes. Eliot played some tunes on his pipes, and he accompanied Kate on a beyoooooootiful song she sang. Ron then led us in some other songs with his guitar and then I called it a night.<br /><br />This morning we left at 9 (Danny played Neil Diamond's "Coming to America" (I think that's what it's called) in honor of July 4th) and drove to Adare, a small village not too far from Limerick. We sang a 15-20 minute concert in the park opposite the visitor center and had a reasonably good audience, but it was outside and it was hard for us to hear ourselves. We did a pretty good job though!<br /><br />After we left Adare we drove to Bunratty Castle and had time for lunch (I paid €17.50 (about $25!) for some really good roast beef with mashed AND new potatoes (see Biff's post below), carrots and cabbage, a Coke and some lovely cake. Then we had a castle tour -- pretty cool. The castle was built in 1425 and except for replacing the roof they didn't have to do too much restoration. After the tour we grabbed our music and since it had started to rain, we went to sing in a barn next to the pub we were originally told we would sing at. We sang for about 20 minutes or so and actually had a surprisingly large and enthusiastic audience (about 50, I was told) -- I'm not sure where they came from but I think Gunnar rounded them up. It actually was one of the better concerts on the tour -- as Kristi said, "Who'd a thunk it!?"<br /><br /> After the concert we got on the bus and headed for the hotel, taking a moment to mark America's birthday by singing "America the Beautiful" by special request from Kate :-). It was heartfelt and really touched me. The hotel is really nice -- the nicest rooms we have had on the trip so far, and free Internet! Yay :-) Tonight most of us are going back to Bunratty Castle for our banquet. It should be a lot of fun.<br /><br /> Tomorrow is the Burren region and the Cliffs of Moher, then a joint concert with the Voices of Limerick. Sunday the group travelers head home. I'm about ready to sleep in my own bed... it will be nice to be back in the USA.Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05953998801421616559noreply@blogger.com0