Malta, pipe organs and parties

May was an exciting and busy month, so full of events that I have had no time for any postings. The Choral Festival in Brussels, the practice sessions for the ECS week in St. Albans in August and a five-day choir visit to Malta and Gozo were among the highlights. I still cherish a lemon, picked for me by the Anglican priest in Malta from a tree in his back garden. It seems a miracle to find a lush garden at the back of what seemed to be a rather austere church facade. The street apparently is built on a ridge and the view from the back garden was fantastic. 

The Anglican Pro Cathedral in Valletta

Apart from two concerts and two services we had time to explore a bit of Malta, or at least of Valletta and surroundings, and also enjoyed a full day excursion to Gozo.  

An old street in Victoria, the capital of Gozo

Cacti in Gozo

The wild and rocky northern coast of Gozo

It was a wonderful mini vacation. Malta is too bare and too built up for my liking, but being there a as choir member is a different experience. I am only sorry I did not see all of the island, and so missed the most interesting part, the former capital Mdina and the south coast which is more authentic than the north with its many tourist hotels and apartments.

The organ in the church of St. Paul, Valletta

A typical street  in Valletta

Global warming hasn't meant anything yet to us this year. We have had some very hot summer days, but the temperature has dropped considerably, by some 15 degrees Celsius compared to last weekend, and it is wet, miserable and very chilly indeed. Why did I put away that nice warm coat? Or switch off the central heating?

Yesterday was Pipe organ day in Leiden. The town boasts many beautiful historic organs, and once a year a tour is organised with free 30-minute recitals on six different locations, five of them churches and the other one in the local concert hall. It was a busy day, and I had many obligations but managed to go at least to two concerts in the morning, in two remarkable churches, the well-known Pieterskerk in the centre of Leiden, frequented once by the Pilgrim Fathers, and the Lodewijkskerk, a Roman Catholic church hidden behind a nondescript front. Once inside the interior is unexpectedly light. The organ is remarkable and can be played from two consoles on two different levels. The church was completely destroyed when a ship full of gunpowder exploded and reduced a large area of Leiden to rubble. Lodewijk  Napoleon, then ruling the provinces, stimulated the rebuilding of the church, hence the name.

On 12 January 1807, a catastrophe struck the city when a boat loaded with 17,400 kg of gunpowder blew up in the middle of Leiden. 151 persons were killed, over 2000 were injured and some 220 homes were destroyed. King Louis Bonaparte personally visited the city to provide assistance to the victims. Although located in the center of the city, the area destroyed remained empty for many years. In 1886 the space was turned into a public park (Wikipedia)

The Dutch entry gives more detailed information about the catastrophe.

Pipe organ of the Pieterskerk, nestling against the west wall. 

The excitement of an "organ tour" is that the organs were built in different periods by a variety of organ builders. One organ may be perfect for baroque music, another one for French romantic music, or English music. The organists involved try to show the character and sound of each pipe organ by their choice of programme.

Pipe organ of the RC Lodewijkskerk

I did not have time to attend the afternoon programme as well, alas, and I did not have much time for lunch either. So instead of finding a nice cafe for coffee and lunch along the Rhine opposite the busy market stalls, cafes which would be absolutely packed with people, I went to a spot unknown to most tourists, the tea garden of the Hortus Botanicus, which is hidden behind the ancient Academy building, away from the main stream of tourists. Its walled tea garden is an oasis of quiet and rest. Basking in the sun, sheltered from the chilly wind, admiring the espalier fruit trees against the brick walls, enjoying  a strong coffee and a piece of delicious lemon cake, I fortified myself for the long walk back, along the mooring place of the historic ships and the Rembrandt windmill. So far for my good intentions to put myself on a strict diet.

Historic ships and Rembrandt mill in Leyden, Galgewater 

In the afternoon I went to the birthday party of a dear niece of mine, only to hurry on after a few hours to a buffet party for all the volunteers of the Cultural Institute of which I am a board member. I had to say no to a house concert I was invited to, to a special organ recital in the north of Holland and to the afternoon outing with the other volunteers. Pity things always come in droves. I wish I could spread out those events, so that there would be no more empty days.

Yesterday it was cold, but dry and sunny, today it is wet, very chilly and miserable. Even my choir robe made of artificial fibre and usually too hot, left me shivering. Will summer ever come? We can only hope and wait. My magnificent roses, covering the wall completely with a feast of purple and pink colours, hang their heads heavy with rain. The roses growing across the pergola let go of their pale pink petals prematurely. But the plants in the newly created border are doing well, together with the weeds! Some work for me once it stops raining.