Vienna: Chorale Tour, Day 6

It's late, so I'll give you the cliff notes version of today.

We started with a tour of Scholß Schönbrunn (Beautiful Fountain Palace), the summer palace of the Hapsburg Family. It's modeled after Versailles, but only about 1/4 of the size, meaning that Schönbrunn is a paltry 1,000+ rooms compared to Versailles 4,000 rooms. I cannot impress upon you how beautiful and stately this place was. 

We then took a driving tour around downtown Vienna, passing by the Nachstmarket, Musikverein, Staats Operhaus, Hofburg, Carlsplatz, Parliament, and Teater Wien. We had no time to stop in these places...sadly. We also ventured out to Central Cemetery to pay our respects at the graves of Brahms, Beethoven, J. Strauss, and Schubert. I need you to think about this for a second: I stood before the graves of some of history's most important composers. It was another transcendent moment.

We had a brief, and I do mean brief, rehearsal at the St. Stephensdom for our 8:30 PM concert, and then we were given the entire afternoon to go play. I made my way to The Belvedere, a large estate owned by the Hapsburgs for the sole purpose of storing their art. This museum is notable for its large college of fin-de-siècle paintings, including an extensive gallery of original works by Klimt and Schiele. High point: standing before Klimt's "The Kiss." It's one thing to see it on paper; it's quite another to see this enormous piece in person. 

We had a great dinner and then a FABULOUS concert at St. Stephensdom with 400 people in attendance. 

And now we're home in our hotels preparing to leave for Praha (Prague) in the morning!

I will surely miss Austria...

Tchüss!

-JC

Schünbrunn Palace

Maestro Bill and Organist Jane in front of our poster.

The interior of St. Stephansdom

Life goal: throw a frisbee on every continent. I have completed this task on N. America, S. America, Asia, and with the help of Brian, Europe. Africa, Australia, and Antarctica are left!

The Vienna Staatsoper Haus. SIGH.

You just can't get away from home...

Lobet den Herrn: Chorale Tour, Day 5

Every once in a while, you get to have a profound moment that will forever change your perspective on a certain thing, and this morning was one of those moments. The choir was given the opportunity to sing Mass at the Salzburg Dom this morning under the direction of their music director, Janos Czifras. We sang Mozart's Missa Solemnis, K. 337 not as a concert piece but as liturgical worship. I want to put something in perspective for you. Mozart wrote this piece of music specifically for the space in which we sung. We sung the piece in the precise place where Mozart's choir and orchestra would have sung it. The organ upon which the organist played was the very organ that Mozart would have played. Prof. Czifras has the exact same job that Mozart's father, Leopold, had nearly 300 years ago.

In other words, we were truly living and partaking the communion of the saints; we were living, breathing, and singing in a small part of human history.

Furthermore, to sing the Mass as a liturgical aid in worship, not as a concert piece, brought a whole new level of understanding and depth to the work. The fermatas before changes in tempi are not just for aesthetic or dramatic effect. Mozart was accommodating for the reverberation of the space. The lengthy "Agnus Dei" was not only a theological statement; Mozart chose a slower tempo for the final movement because everyone in the cathedral would have taken communion during the singing of "Agnus." Indeed, in the time it took to perform the final movement this morning, everybody had taken of Christ's blood and body.

And even though the liturgy was in German, I still had a general idea of pace. The rhythms of our sacred liturgies are almost universal; every Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, and Offertory has its fixed place. When the congregation prayed a Vater Unser, I knew to pray an Our Father with them. One holy, catholic, apostolic Church, indeed.

I think I realized more than ever today that music, even the sacred music of the great masters, can be more than a relic for the museum-like concert hall. It can breathe life and carry significant meaning and weight. Music is not merely a vague aid to some kind of spiritual insight; music can be and should be a tool to proclaim the Gospel itself.

In the choir loft at the Dom - the same one the Mozarts used - to sing at Mass.

The Dom from the Choir Loft, before service.

Schift Melk monastery.

The chapel at Melk.

We're in Vienna now, and we have a huge day that will culminate with a concert at St. Stephensdom, the flagship Cathedral of Austria. I have been told that we are doing the impossible: an American guest choir singing a formal evening concert. For me to be part of the choir that will give a concert - let alone being a member of the Mozart solo quartet and to sing a Gospel solo - is a bit overwhelming.

But until then...

Tchüss!
-JC

Auf Wiedersehen: Rhodes MasterSingers Chorale on Tour, 2012

My friends, take a gander at these three pictures:

Beautiful Salzburg

Picturesque Vienna

Magnificent Prague

This is where I will spend the next 10 days with the Rhodes MasterSingers Chorale on tour. We will sing Mozart's Missa Solemnis, K. 337, Lauridsen's Lux Aeterna, and three spirituals by Moses Hogan.

It's okay if you're jealous! I've been looking forward to this trip for the last 10 months, and tomorrow, I'm going to get on that Europe-bound plane and not come back...for ten days.

I want to invite you to join me on my journeys. I'll be providing tour updates as often as I can complete with pictures, so check back often. 

Until then, Auf Wiedersehen!

-JC