Chamber Choir in Paris – August 2010
For the fourth consecutive year, The Sage Gateshead Chamber Choir was able to field a choir of balanced numbers for a summer trip abroad – reinforced ably by some past and ‘associate’ members. This year it was Paris, with sacred music concerts at three of the great churches in that city – Saint Severin and Saint Sulpice (both in the Latin Quarter), and the huge and glorious Saint Denis in the northern suburbs. Whilst we would love to have sung inside the Cathedrale de Notre Dame de Paris, this was not possible; but ‘second best’, singing in the garden square directly behind the Cathedral, proved a relaxing and friendly affair with swathes of onlookers joining in the general mood of our light ‘secular’ music.
I am sure that I speak for all when I say that Saint Denis was unforgettable. There was more than one person blinking back the tears at the scale of the building and the sound of our performance – and this was just the singers! A most emotional and rewarding morning which will live on in the memory for a long time. If anyone needed persuading about the power of music and place, they will have had their answer.
After last year’s torrid heat in Barcelona, there had been a call for somewhere cooler. As it was, we fulfilled this request (just), but were blessed by hot sunny weather for the two main singing days – which is just as well as we were dashing about between concerts, cafes, and sight-seeing venues - but those who stayed over for the Monday will not forget the total change in the weather. Has it ever rained harder? Where did the 1000 people queuing up to go inside Notre Dame disappear to in the blink of an eye? Why did the writer stay outside to witness this and get soaked in the process?
We managed to pull nearly everyone together for a celebratory evening meal on the Saturday. It certainly had its memories, not least of which was the quality of the ‘cabaret’. We still fail to understand why, when confronted by a group of UK guests, the ‘cabaret’ insists in leading us in rousing choruses of Roses in Picardy and We’ll Meet Again (it was the same in Prague 3 years ago). It is also dangerous ground for anyone trying to lead a Choir in a sing-song as they tend to take over the performance with loud and multi-layered harmonies (to magnificent effect).
All in all, we held the Choir’s banner high, and enjoyed a weekend of good-humoured celebration and singing. There will be lots of photos, and hopefully some video, available in due course, so keep in touch with this site and you’ll see them. Ed fancies somewhere cooler next year – like Murmansk.
Rob Barnes
Photos from this years extra special trip can be found on-
The Photo Page.
