GMC in Europe 2008

Wow…the Greater Middletown Chorale is in Vienna.

No exclamation mark, just a fact. We’ve been grounding ourselves in the local culture for the past two days and having a blast.

Our two groups were reunited at the Hotel Ananan on Friday evening, and those of us who were on the Northwest/KLM flight were reassured to know that the Lufthansa folks had had their own “hardships” (no choice of movie on the plane; an early arrival that resulted in an unscheduled wait for two hours; a Mozart visit that was less than spectacular). By comparison, our wait due to “technical difficulties” at the Amsterdam airport (we were finally airborne at 2:30, about three hours past our scheduled departure) was almost pleasant.

We soon rectified things with our first evening meal at a “wine garden” not too far from our hotel. It was a pleasant evening–our large group does seem to require two rooms wherever we go, but we took advantage by trading serenades. (Tim’s group was much more on top of it than John C’s, according to the judges.)

Our first concert at St. Stephen’s in Baden was an adventure. Our role at this church was to sing the Dvorak Mass in D Major in the context of the Saturday evening Mass. Our rehearsal at 4 p.m. required a long climb up and down corkscrew stone steps. Once there, we marveled as Scott and John “registered” the 1989 organ–a magnificent instrument with a traditional console. (No “pistons” and no swells meant that John ran stops while Scott played.)

The acoustics in the church were superb, and our listening contingent told us the Chorale represented! We were offered some parting gifts by the church choirmaster, and we were told by members of the congregation who have heard many groups come through that ours was truly top-rank (and they weren’t just saying that!).

We concluded our evening with a late dinner at a vineyard restaurant, where of course we enjoyed a sample of their product. The sights, sounds, and tastes of Vienna are already in our minds and hearts, and we’re feeling truly welcome in this ancient city.

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 13th, 2008 at 8:03 am and is filed under Tour, Tour Entries. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.