In Memoriam

Losing two friends, two women within a week, is quite sad. It is Advent and I sing again and again of the great mystery, “A great and mighty wonder”, which has befallen us. The eager expectation of the coming of Christ, the Light in the darkness. A darkness which we experience literally as November, December and January are indeed very dark and dreary months in this part of the world. Months when we need artificial light almost all day long. Just as well Christmas and the winter solstice come together. We can light candles, make the darkness bearable, look forward to the true light. The light of the Christ child, which has nothing to do with our pagan rituals and festivities: the giving of presents, consuming too much food, drinking far too much wine. It is the hope of new life, of eternal light, the living light.  It is also the warmth, love and comfort of family life, of friends. Friends leaving us during such a period of happy expectation, is a shock, feels like a betrayal. But perhaps my two friends are the privileged ones, perhaps they see the light before we do. Don’t we also sing that those who have died need no lamp, no light, for Christ shall be their light, their all?

The problem is not the friends who died, the problem is those who are left behind, the unfinished business. All those things we wished we had said to them when we still could. And all those things we wished we had not said.  Where they are now, do they know of our good intentions, do they know our thoughts? Does one of my friends know I wrote her a letter telling her how much I had appreciated her friendship and how sorry I was for the things I had done which seemingly had offended her? Hoping she would feel the peace that passes all understanding. That she would be surrounded by it. I wrote that while she was dying, unknown to me. I delivered it at the hospice, only to be told she was no longer among the living. She had seen a great light before I had. I am still waiting for that Light, the Christ child born on Christmas morning as the Bible story goes. I hope that I can sing for her. Sing with the choir at her memorial service. But if not, if I am already travelling as I have planned, I will sing for her wherever I am. Friendships, none of them perfect. But there was mutual love, care, and understanding I hope.

One of the friends I had known for over 56 years! Once I was her bridesmaid. She had three, made all the dresses, also her own. She was proud to have me and I was honoured. Enough? She was poor, I was rich in comparison. She struggled through life, suffering from depression but never giving up. Doting on her husband, her two sons, being hospitable and welcoming to anybody in need. Was I good enough to her? Did I do enough for her? Did I show my admiration, my love for her? Or was I a bit aloof because of her very poor background? Questions which can never be answered now. I spoke to her for an hour on the telephone two months ago and she was so thrilled and happy although she had been ill for two years and knew that the illness would kill her in the end. I didn’t know about her condition. We had not really drifted apart, but lived too far away, lived such different lives. She was no letter writer so did not answer my letters. She thought her end was still far off, made plans for us to meet, plans for next summer when we would spend time together. I cannot go to her memorial service as I will be elsewhere. But for her too I will sing. Knowing her has enriched my life. Her optimism against all odds, in the face of unemployment, depression, illness and poverty, her zest for life, her kindness and her hospitality, her struggle to give her sons a better life, chances she never had, they have taught me a lesson. And I will miss her a lot.

A week in Cambridge

Cambridge, the Mecca of church music. Each college of the University has its own chapel where Evensong is sung every day. But some colleges are more famous than others, and their chapels more beautiful and impressive. The best known of course being King’s College, followed by St. John’s.

 Iconic images of King's College Chapel

 St. John's Chapel and roof

 I had the great pleasure of staying in Cambridge for a full week. Having friends there I was immediately “volunteered” into singing Choral Evensong with an unknown choir in a village church in Stapleford, just outside Cambridge. A challenge, but I knew the music and was really looking forward to it. It was such a privilege to be able to sing with another choir and see how and what they are doing.  In the morning I had been to Choral Eucharist in King’s College, and the contrast couldn’t be more striking. But both services were memorable and meaningful. Of course it is impossible to compare a country church with King’s College, a University Chapel full of choristers who are being professionally trained aiming to achieve perfection.

 Stapleford village church

The week was full of music. It started with a concert on Saturday night in which a friend played the viola. Not a bad start of the week! On Monday night I joined another unknown choir which was having one of the final rehearsals for a concert the following week. This was all music I did not know at all, amongst it many compositions by Joseph Rheinberger, so all I practised that evening was sight reading! Not bad to get a free two-hour training.

 Another picture of King's. No pictures inside the chapel.

Writing and listening to Evensong in the colleges were the only things on my to-do list, apart from seeing friends. Friends who live in Cambridge and friends who came to town to have lunch with me. Staying in this lovely house in which I felt like a pea in a pod, and being within walking distance of everything I wanted to see and/or do was a huge bonus. In one week I managed to attend five choral services in King’s College Chapel, three of them Evensongs. It could not have been better. I knew half of the music, and it was a joy to hear what it ideally should sound like. Being an alto, when singing I concentrate on my own part and can’t really hear the whole. But music, however beautiful, must be enjoyed within the context of the liturgy, otherwise it is hollow and just a meaningless art form. Sitting in a wonderful chapel where generations of young people through the ages have worshipped, adds extra meaning to it all. The music seemed to soar up, pure and bright in this high ribbed ceilinged chapel. The late afternoon sun illuminating the multi coloured windows and bathing them in a golden light. The golden pipes of the organ rising up high above us on the transept dividing the inner and outer chapel, fitting in perfectly. My eyes were drawn to the stained glass windows, depicting the story of the Bible in many multicoloured pictures, too many to take in in just an hour. It is a magnificent chapel, and although I went through St. John’s chapel and meant to go to Evensong there as well, I never did, the lure of King’s being too powerful to resist.

It was a week I shan’t easily forget. What privilege to be a student in Cambridge!

 Phone boxes, bikes and advertisements pinned to railings

Of course Cambridge was flooded with tourists, many of them Asians as we now see everywhere. And overrun by bicycles, not only ridden with a total neglect of traffic rules, but fastened to railings wherever one could find them, as were announcements of concerts and cultural activities. Cambridge isn’t just church music as it was for me, it is a city which is very much alive and busy. No chance to drive a car in the centre: it is strictly busses, taxis, bikes or pedestrians, who go in a steady stream from one shopping arcade to another one, the connection leading through a nice park. Shopping has become a pastime here, or perhaps everywhere in the western world. But although the place where I stayed was just off this pedestrian thoroughfare and had a supermarket round the corner, the street itself was blissfully quiet.

Narrow boats, punts and a lock on the river Cam

I was surprised by the many parks and green areas. I understand that large plots of land belong to the various colleges. The river Cam meanders quite a bit and many narrow boats are moored along its banks outside the built-up area of the centre of the city. Some looked very dilapidated and in bad repair. I suspect they are lived in by students, but don’t know for sure. Some had pot plants on the roof, and many had bikes on board, most of them rather old and often rusty. 

 Active punting...

 And punts in autumn mood.

The river is overcrowded with punts, every tourist trying to have a go. I even saw a Japanese wedding couple boarding a decorated punt. Not having a bike I walked and walked and really broke my own record. But it was very enjoyable. I walked to and through the colleges, to museums and through narrow streets, around the Backs and along the river banks, admiring the boathouses from the colleges on the opposite banks, each college having its own. I browsed in bookshops and music shops, but fortunately was limited in what I could comfortably carry home. Most of all I enjoyed getting a glimpse of life in Cambridge, and being able to take part in so many wonderful services and enjoying the great musical tradition of the Anglican Church.

 Typical houses and pubs at narrow street corners

Gates and Doorways:

Magdalen College on the left,              and Clare College on the right

 Jesus College and gates

 St. John's College 

Below, The Bridge of Sighs

Amersfoort, Bach Day

A day of free railway travel, a day full of classical music, and a historic town centre, what more can one wish for? And apart from the evening concert the music was free!

The day started out foggy, turning into sunny and rather warm.  Train travel is soothing in a way. No responsibility, a chance to watch the world go by. And this time the world looked better than usual as high rise buildings and building sites in the distance were blurred because of the fog.

In Amersfoort I could enjoy Bach non-stop, the different concerts even overlapping so it was hard to choose. An extra bonus was that the recitals and concerts took place on locations which are normally closed to the public: in many churches such as the Old Catholic Church, the Roman Catholic St. Xaverius, the Lutheran Church, a PKN protestant church, but also historic chapels no longer in use as such. 

 The "Mannenzaal"

 Old photos of the men who lived here

The location I liked most of all was the “Men’s Ward”, a medieval old men’s home, also at times a hospital. Many towns used to have such places for the poor and the sick, called “gasthuizen”, but this one is the only medieval one left in Europe. A small chapel is attached to it. Part of the larger complex it once was, was destroyed and broken down, but this ward is a gem. It can now be rented for functions: small dinner parties, receptions and concerts. Today there were concerts, chamber music, the audiences flanked on both sides by the old men’s beds and chamber pots.

The small chapel of the "Mannenzaal"

Another interesting thing was that in the smaller locations only a few musicians would perform. They were mostly semi-professionals or professionals, from in or around Amersfoort, so known locally. They would play Bach on instruments for which the compositions were not originally written. It was fun hearing a composition which I was familiar with performed by a totally different group of instrumentalists.  Concerts with choirs and more instrumentalists were given in the bigger churches: the St. Xaverius and the St. Joris (George), the main church in the Market Square. The organisers had been very creative. There were canal trips on open boats with accordion players playing Bach! The tower, the Lange Jan (Long John) has a carillon which played Bach every half hour, scattering their notes over the Saturday shoppers who were not aware of this special day. The bookshop hosted lectures about Bach, as did the Lutheran church which was too small for a recital.

 The main pipe organ in the St.Joris Church, the main church in the Market Square

 Below: The organ as seen from the stone rood screen separating the chancel from the nave 

The rood screen looking towards the chancel

The smallest of the two organs in the chancel, which is used as a separate chapel and was also used for concerts during this special day

The highlight for me was the main church with the magnificent pipe organ. Here one of the best known Dutch organists, in fact the father of the famous violinist Janine Jansen, played six choral preludes by J.S.Bach. The other two organs were played as well on this day, but for me the highlight was the recital on the main organ. In the church 4 small girls in tutu’s danced on the music of Das Wohltemperierte Klavier. They did well and were totally concentrated on what they were doing.

The chapel of the "Mannenzaal". The "zaal" is hidden behind the chapel

Amersfoort is an attractive city. The city walls are formed by the back of a closed ring of houses. Three city gates are still intact, one of them a water gate, allowing access to the river Eem. I think only Sneek in Friesland can boast of a water gate.

The Water Gate

The narrow streets, the houses forming the city wall and the houses along the canal are very picturesque. Alas, there was too little time to see everything. Besides in the afternoon the heavens opened and it poured down for hours on end.

 The historical Museum, "Flehite"

In the evening there was a concert in the St Joris church to close off this remarkable and most enjoyable day. However, after hours of Bach and still having to travel home, I called it a day and watched the sunset from the train window, which got me home just before dark.

 The "Muurhuizen", the houses forming the city wall

 

This can only be in Holland

After a quick meal I went out again to a nearby village for another organ recital, this time by an organist friend. Not Bach, but a mixture of composers and compositions. Anyway, enough music in one day to last me the rest of the week.