The penultimate leg of our month-long tour
was quite possibly the most special and memorable part of our trip. Our 5 days
in Italy were well spent soaking up (and contributing to) the unbeatable
Mediterranean culture, delicious food and warm climate. We were given the
wonderful opportunity to travel by coach to several picturesque villages
outside Rome (Ninfa, Norma, Cave and Palestrina), where we were warmly greeted by
enthusiastic locals and acquaintances of Bella Woods. The generous hospitality shown
to us over the course of those 5 days warmed the cockles of my heart.
Our first performance on Roman soil was
given at the Baldini Hall, Piazza Campitelli. I was struck by the unapologetic,
rapturous applause from the audience, who despite being few in number (“A third
of the audience are in the front row!” – Warren), filled the room with multiple
exclamations of “Brava!” at the conclusion of the concert.
[Poster for our
concert at Baldini Hall]
On our third day in Rome, The Choir of St
James’ gave a concert at the beautifully ornate, Baroque Church of Saint
Ignatius. Here, we presented a slightly different program interweaving
movements of Palestrina’s Missa Ut re mi
fa sol into a mix of other works including Pater Noster by our own talented Owen Elsley and Rutter’s Hymn to the Creator of Light (two crowd
favourites).
Singing Palestrina’s music was something
the Choir liked to do a lot of in Italy, especially in the town of Palestrina! Sicut cervus became a bit of a signature
piece and certainly a poignant encore at our concert in the town of Palestrina
(where we were fortunate enough to be given a free guided tour of Palestrina’s
house). We also enjoyed singing Sicut cervus
with the Sistine Chapel Choir when we were invited to sit in on their rehearsal
one afternoon in Rome. Some members of The Choir of St James’ even managed to
tick “singing at St Peter’s” off the old bucket list with a secret rendition of
Sicut cervus at 8:30am on our final day
in Rome.
Exhausted, sunburnt and well fed with our
bellies full of pasta and Chianti, we all convened to the balcony of our
beautiful villa in Cave on our last night in Italy. We all reflected on the many
amazing musical and culturally rich experiences we had shared over delicious
cheese, bread and more Chianti.
[Saint Ignatius Church]
As I continue to reflect on this incredible
trip, I feel increasingly grateful for the opportunity to have shared beautiful
choral music with not only my incredibly talented and disciplined peers, but
also with people who live on the other side of the world. Having heard each
audience’s appreciation for The Choir of St James’ and the ways in which our
performances touched them spiritually and emotionally affirms to me the significance
of the Choir’s first European tour. This echoes the passion for singing in an
ensemble shared by its members and it especially acknowledges Warren’s
unwavering hard work, musicianship and leadership.
Pip Dracakis
No comments:
Post a Comment