Reims rhymes with....

Here's some pictures from Reims. I enjoyed it very much; it's very much a party town and a beer town. I went to a microbrewery (as mentioned before) and met some nice British women who told me that going to France is just something the Brits do for a weekend trip! Must be nice, although I wouldn't give up "up north" for anything.

The prime attraction, to me, of Reims, nay, all of France, is the mighty Reims Cathedral...


Count 'em. Not one, but four rose windows. You can't imagine how huge this place is.


Close-up of one of the smaller rose windows


Detail of the flying buttresses. Hehe. Buttress.


The organ, in the French classic tradition. It has a spectacular statue of Christ on top of the middle pedal tower.


The great American capitalist Andrew Carnegie built a library in Reims.

I went on a champagne tour:


This kept me occupied for about an hour and a half.


Different sizes of champagne bottles, excluding the Nebuchadnezzar, which holds 24 regular bottles' worth


Quickly, Robin! To the Champagnemobile! 25 km of Champagne cellars...


I didn't realize it until I got home and checked my guidebook, but this is an ancient Roman doorway to the city that still stands!

And tomorrow I leave France for Germany. I can't say I liked France as much as Holland... the people are MUCH worse at English than the Dutch; they have more silly rules on etiquette (vous/tu) but ignore common-sense ideas (don't use your cell phone at dinner, clean up dog leavings, respect for bicyclists). And yet, as much as I'm ready to move on to elsewhere, I'm sad that Recklinghausen will be the last leg of my trip!

Playing at Caen

This is some pretty bad playing, but this organ (and the space) took some getting used to! Obviously the audio can't best capture the sound of this organ, but you get some idea of how incredible it is. You can at least tell it's Cavaille-Coll...

Caen, Part II

Caen is a very nice small town in Normandy. Despite its size, it still has quite a bit of shopping and many beautiful churches. It was pretty much completely destroyed during WWII, and rebuilt itself after the war. Normandy is known for its apples, and in fact is not a wine-producing region of any import. It does, however, produce apple brandy and hard cider. Calvados is a tasty apple brandy produced there, and I also picked up some fortified cider, which I haven't yet gotten around to drinking. It seemed like most of the organs were "pas interessante", as my guide told me, and they were probably all built after the war - not a good time for European organ building! I took pictures of all the churches I visited, but here's a few highlights from the trip:


Caen has a castle.


Jail in the castle


St. Peter church in Caen, seen from the castle tower


The church is getting restored to its original color; I think it's quite beautiful!


Statue of St. Joan of Arc

couple cities behind in posting...

I've just arrived at a surprisingly nice hotel in Strasbourg. I have a very nice view of the market outside, although the room is terribly tiny. I thought I'd get around to some pictures from my visit of Caen and playing the organ at the ancient L'Abbaye aux Hommes. Since then I've also been back to Paris, to Reims, and now Strasbourg, but I'm trying not to leave anything out! I have more from Caen that I'd like to share, but it'll wait until later because the Cathedral museum here in Strasbourg closes at 6 PM.


The abbey seems to be next to the town hall or something. It has a lovely garden. The church is built out of a special stone available only in Caen.




The Cavaille-Coll organ, finished in 1885, making it one century and one month older than myself. Cavaille-Coll was one of the greatest organ builders anywhere. His instruments have defined French music since the late 19th century. This organ was restored recently to the original specification, and impressed me more than any other instrument I've played!


At the console, with my tres a la mode t-shirt I bought at a French department store.




The grave of William the Conquerer is directly in front of the High Altar.

Reims

Yesterday I left Paris to go to Reims. When I looked at a train schedule, I had my hopes of traveling around France dashed by realizing the TGV actually takes about 8 hours for most of the trips! So I'm just heading east at this point, and tomorrow I'll go to Strasbourg, where there is an organ that Mozart played upon.

Reims is in the Champagne region; later today I'm going to visit a champagne cave. It also seems to be a big beer brewing town. I ate dinner last night at Les 3 Brasseurs, which is a microbrewery. Their beer isn't outstanding by the standards of American microbrewing, but it is a worthy effort. The food was the best (and most decadent) I've had yet in France: I had a "Welsh", which it turns out is Welsh rarebit on bread with ham and an egg!

Reims also has a gigantic beautiful cathedral. It's without doubt the best church I've seen yet. I think you could probably line up my apartment structure 3 times and fit it inside this church with plenty of spare room (and more room on top!)

I really prefer the small towns to Paris. They're cleaner, a bit cheaper, the people are much nicer, and they're less touristy. And yet all the good points of Paris are still here: French tradition, beautiful architecture, etc.

I thought I'd have more time to blog when I got done with the academy, but it turns out that being a tourist is just as busy! You really have to fit in as much sight-seeing and activities as possible. So I'll have more pictures eventually, but for now I just don't have the time (or energy) to edit and upload them - maybe I can take care of that on the train tomorrow.

Cavaille-Coll!

I'm far too tired from the train breaking down on the way back to format pictures and write a detailed story, but today I played the unaltered 1885 Cavaille-Coll at L'Abbaye aux Hommes in Caen! It was one of the most fantastic organs I've ever played. The town itself (and Normandy) was quite wonderful, with an interesting history, beautiful churches, and a castle!

Paris Churches

What is there to say on my 3rd night in Paris? Perhaps too much. I'm in one of the most celebrated vacation attractions in the world right now. I think I'll perhaps share a bit of themed travel advice to accompany some pictures.

My advice is to see the small churches of Paris. Notre Dame was underwhelming for me. Perhaps it's from being in massive Dutch churches for the past few weeks, or my dislike of tourists, but it really didn't do much for me, aside from the organ playing. Speaking of which, I did get to go to the loft and watch the titulaire organist improvise the Mass, which was incredible! Volumes have been spilled about his talent. But I'm staying near some wonderful churches in the Latin Quarter, and I highly recommend that anyone visiting Paris avoid the long lines and poor comportment of the crowds at Notre Dame and look for a church in their neighborhood. Here's a few I've seen so far - I've decided to forego editing and just post the raw photos:


Ok, it's kinda big...


Waiting in line... if you know me, you know that I despise waiting in lines. This was by the time I got halfway through the line.


The only part worth the wait! ...ok, the choir organ was cool too.


This was the most exciting part: seeing the original Cavaille-Coll console!!!

St. Severin

This is a beautiful church dating in part from the 14th century. I discovered this church while wandering the Latin Quarter. It's right in the middle of all the restaurants.




In Europe or the US, I walk into any church backwards so that I can see the organ!




I was reminded of the old quote from Luther, something about there being enough finger bones of St. John the Baptist in Germany to build a new cathedral.

St. Nicolas-du-Chardonnet

This church is in fact across the street from my hotel! After exploring for a while (and noticing an absence of a Low Altar), I realized this church is run by the schismatic Catholic group SSPX. There were 3 organs that I counted; a grand orgue, choir organ, and for some reason an Allen electronic organ.




An obscured view (I had to rest my camera on something to keep it steady) of the choir organ.


The priest was preparing for a Requiem Mass; you may notice the black altar dressings.

St. Germain-des-Pres




It has really beautiful stained glass!


The case strikes me as Germanic, but this is a French Classic organ.


I've developed an unhealthy fixation with choir organs.

I have many more photos, but I thought a general photo dump with some background would keep people happy. Au revoir!

Bonjour, Paris!

Yesterday I arrived in Paris. I should have more time and energy to blog now that the Haarlem Festival is over! I'll wrap up with a few more photos from there, then start sharing my French experiences (and I already have a few)

I think last Tuesday (not sure) we went to the Laurenskerk in Alkmaar to hear a recital on their organ, another wonderful 17th century instrument. Mr. Radulesco played a grueling recital of the Bach "Wedge" Prelude and Fugue, "St. Anne" Prelude and Fugue, the most recently discovered Bach piece (from 2007), An Wasserflussen Babylon, AND a work of his own, RESURREXIT. His piece was based on the Easter sequence "Victimae Paschali", and used lots of clusters and special effects. It was something that a lesser composer would have turned into noise, but Radulesco really did a great job with it.



Due to the secularization of Europe, most Dutch churches are shut down. I recall one professor telling us that one of the churches where we had lessons has a congregation of 8 people. The Laurenskerk is now an art museum and concert hall. The church has been completely redesigned - I said it's the only thing worse than what the Reformation did to these places.


It's a pig. Made out of chairs. In a church.

One of the last concerts was an "interpretation concert" where two performers played the same pieces on harpsichord and organ, then entertained discussion afterward as to why they played them as they did. It was interesting, although I found the Muffat fugue to be deadly dull on harpsichord. That and my last class were at the Nieuwe Kerk, which has a cute little organ:



And today, my second day in Paris, I just walked back from the Louvre to my hotel in the Latin Quarter in pouring rain. So I thought it'd be appropriate to post this picture not from today, but after the trip to Alkmaar last week. Due to missing a train, we all wound up in Haarlem rather late. Due to construction on the station, I had to walk 5 blocks or so to get my bicycle, and then it started pouring rain! So this is me much as I am now, after biking about 3 miles in the dark in pouring rain!



I'm going to really miss the great food, organs, and people in Holland, but France is looking like tons of fun! Stay tuned for updates!

Hello from Bavo!

This is very much unedited, but I wanted some quick content:

Photos from Sunday

I really wind up with too many stories to remember or write, and no time to record it. So I'll just dump a bunch of mostly unformatted photos here.

Remember to click on photos for the full-size view!


Haarlem at night (Not Sunday)

Busy Zondag

I'll have some great pictures later, as I need to get to bed immediately. But today I went biking with my roommates to Zandvoort, which has a beach on the ocean, and on our way back it started to rain hard! I think biking in the rain makes me an official Dutch citizen. Then we went to 2 concerts in Leiden and heard the oldest organ in the Netherlands! After that, 6 of us went to Amsterdam for food and drinks, and I've just returned home. I took some excellent photos and I look forward to sharing them perhaps tomorrow!

Jos van der Kooy

That's the name people at my church are going to dread when I return. He's my improvisation teacher, and I just had my first class (and played) today! I told him I had trouble improvising postludes, so he gave me a few techniques to inflict upon people at St. Michael's!

He told me to improvise in 7/8, and to remember the rhythm he had me call out "Amstel, Amstel, Heineken; Amstel, Amstel, Heineken!" He also had some brilliant thoughts on church music in general, which will definitely change how I go about my job.

Then Olivier Latry gave a lecture on a little-known composer named Florentz. It was very fascinating; in a nutshell he had an obsession with Ethiopia and wrote music which really exploits the unused tonal capabilities of the organ through mutations and clusters. As you can see, he's so little known that the only Wiki article about him is French. However, I believe (as does anyone who's heard his music) that he may have been the successor of Messiaen.

Blog? Who has time to blog?

I'm doing quite fine, but usually much too busy or tired to post. Here's a few of my experiences quickly summed up in no particular order, with pictures:

• I got a bike. I have lessons at the Cathedral sometimes, which is actually just as far from the Haarlem train station as it is from my house. Rather than walk 30 minutes, a bike is an 8 minute walk, and actually faster getting back to the house from Haarlem than train.
• Last night I heard a concert of the Amstel Saxophone Quartet playing with the organ at the Bavo kerk. They played 21st century music, including a premiere of a wonderful piece called "Lachrimae". I haven't enjoyed much of the new music I've heard here (and the Europeans REALLY love it), but this concert had some great music.
• On my bike, the first night coming home I got lost. I asked a Dutch person for directions and he actually said "Is easy. You go right, then left, then right, then left, then you will see the train station." Somehow I made it home.
• Today I had class on the Bavo organ! I didn't get to play it, but I did get to see it up close, which was quite exciting!
  

A model of the Cathedral


Myself practicing at the Cathedral organ!


A picture I made of the Bavo church organ, from the organ loft

Getting around...

As of today, I've met organists from the following countries:

England (3), Austria (2), Netherlands, Syria, Greece, Switzerland

I got to play!

I just played for a masterclass with Ben VanOosten on a Cavaille-Coll organ!

Had my first class today, with Olivier Latry! And tomorrow I have to play the Prelude from Durufle's Suite in class..

Guess whom I heard today...

....Gustav Leonhardt!! (I was hoping to have a picture up, but this is the best I could do) He played music by Ritter, Reincken, a couple wonderful pieces by Forqueray, d'Anglebert, Bach, and Bach's son Wilhelm Friedemann. It was wonderful to hear one of the most important living musicians live, and it was a really moving concert.

I attended with a Dutch organist I met. I also met 3 British organists, 2 Russian ones, and my Swiss roommate (who studies in the UK). And tomorrow at 8:30 is my first class, but I have a looooong walk to the Cathedral Basilica to play for Olivier Latry, the organist at Notre Dame in Paris!

A Fair Trade?

"Concert Saturday night... Bavo kerk... 9:15... 21.15... DON'T FORGET!"

I kept telling myself this, over and over. Then I check all the details in the guidebook, just to be sure. And I'm right on all of them. Repeat this several times a day for the past few days. Every time all the details match up. I have time to get dinner a little before 7, make it nice and leisurely, then get to the church in time to hear Mozart's Requiem.



So I'm patiently explaining to the register operator that American credit cards don't have smart chips in them, and that he has to use the magnetic stripe. This gets me nervous, so I check my cell phone - 8:20. 20.20. Still plenty of time. Also, better make absolutely sure that's right - it could be at 9! What does my program say? 20.15. As soon as I get it paid for, I run to the church and it's locked and they won't let anyone in late.

And I'm ok with that. Really. Why? Because I had Dutch pizza.

For those of you who don't know me well enough, pizza is my favorite food. I can eat it 3 meals a day, every day, and maybe tire of it a bit but still enjoy it. So after falling in love with Dutch food, I decide I have to see if they can improve upon pizza.

I went to a restaurant called Pasta di Mamma for dinner last night. I did what I usually do in a Dutch restaurant: walk in, and look around confusedly until someone tells me what to do. A woman working at the register started to explain things to me, rather poorly. It turns out this is a weird restaurant. As near as I figured out, it's like a cafeteria: you get a card with money on it, and use it to buy food and drinks. I wound up getting a pepperoni pizza, and it was delicious!! Cripsy, oily, cheesy, and they pour garlic oil on it at the end!



This was maybe the only thing that could make up for missing that concert, but it did the trick!