Gloria in Excelsis Deo! Chorale Tour, Days 3-4

Grüß Gott! Sorry for not posting yesterday, but what can I say. We're having too much fun in Europe to be blogging every day.

On Thursday, I spent the day being a tourist with our big group, but I chose not to do the big group tours yesterday or this morning. Rather, I spent Friday and Saturday on my own and with my friend Luke. Thanks to all my walking, I now have downtown Salzburg fairly memorized, and I know how the bus system works (all in time for me to leave town tomorrow!). I've even eaten lunch in restaurants where I hardly used any English (in fact, at lunch today, ich sprach kein Anglish; ich sprach nur Deutsch!). It was a lot more fun to experience Salzburg on my own schedule, and besides, my mind and body needed some time to be a little quieter, and a little less rushed. AND I was not waking up at 5:30 AM on concert day for a boat ride. Sorry. Was not happening.

Yes, concert. Today was the big concert day in the Salzburg Dom, and we sang everything to a packed house. It was glorious to see a multi-national audience take in Mozart's Missa Solemnis (I feel the need to tell you that Mozart served as the choir master in the Dom for a season working under Archbishop of Colleredo, so the mass we sung was written specifically for the space in which was sang tonight. Yeah.), Lauridsen's Lux Aeterna, and a few Moses Hogan spirituals. I had the solo on "My God is So High," and I was rather pleased with my performance! Except that I practically blew a gasket on the high A, but life goes on. So does the show. It truly was a wonderful experience, and tomorrow, we get to sing the Mozart mass for Mass! That's right. We're singing the Missa Solemnis as a liturgical work, not a concert piece, so that should be wonderful.

Picture time.

Prof. Janos Czifra, director of music at the Dom, leads us in a rehearsal

Just a beautiful day for a walk on the Salzach River

The famous Mirabel Gardens with a world-famous view of the Dom and Fortress

A Croation Catholic Church

On left: God's Word is a light onto my path
On Right: Blessed are those who hear the word of God and understand

Luke, my Aussie friend, with me at the end of our concert at the Dom. Notice the tie sits down. Don't judge.

We leave for Vienna after mass tomorrow, and it's a bittersweet farewell. I loved, loved, loved Salzburg with its mountain charm and sunny skies, but I'm eager to see the music capital of the world. Thank you, Salzburg, for a great 4 days of Weinerschnitzel, Weißbeir, and beautiful music.

Tchüss!
-JC