Esk Community Choir - What's New?: T16 EUROPEAN TOUR

Enjoying the relaxing cruise on the Rhine - Caitlin, Nola and Jan

By: Susan Walker

Oh...Willkommen zuruck! Still here in this picture postcard town of Speyer where I left you in the last episode, reflecting on our trails whilst cooling our heels over a 'Sweet Wine' upon the Rhine. Our tour of the town was scheduled for the following day but with a full itinerary approaching, we headed for some respite and our next 2 night sojourn in the nearby town of Frankenthal.

So sad to see our charming driver Klaus leave us.

With Klaus's accumulation of hours behind the wheel having reached its peak, Frankenthal was also the place where we had to bid our delightful driver auf wiedersehen and did we 'love to have that drink with Klaus...'cause Klaus was...our mate!!'?...you betcha!!!

It is worth mentioning at this point that just one of the hurdles facing Touring Choirs is the provision of rehearsal space in our Hotels. Why, previous tours had seen the choir choking up stairwells and lifts for the chance of a quick sing.

Altos and Basses
Stretching down the hallway

The Sopranos tucked around the
corner into Room 102

However, here, with the prospect of one of our major performances taking place the following day, a rehearsal was deemed necessary and, like many of our Hotels, a facility in Frankenthal was again not an option. However, where there's a will, there's a hallway so, picture if you will 24 singers with noses pressed to the walls, voices reverberating off this very narrow spine of a corridor singing 3 and 4 part harmonies... unaccompanied. A Kodak moment surely gone begging...though Brian, who with his trusty camera had an uncanny ability to miraculously materialize snapping shots from every possible angle, will surely have pictorial proof of our hilarious hallway rehearsal tucked away somewhere among his portfolio. (Yes! We found the proof.)

And so it was that on day 10 with Concert performance gear in hand, we headed off to explore Speyer. With the UNESCO World Heritage Speyer Cathedral, built in 1030 and regarded by virtue of its proportion as the largest and by virtue of its history, the most important Romanesque Cathedral in Europe on one side of the car park and Speyer's Technic Museum with vast displays of aircraft from vintage to Space Shuttles on the other, it didn't take long for the males of the group to decide where they wanted to be.

Kaiserdom zu Speyer

Speyer Museum

Martin Luther

Yes! They heralded our arrival.

After three hours of soaking up the atmosphere in this amazing city, we were back on the bus and heading for some more sight-seeing and sustenance before preparing for our performance in Worms.
Apart from the T16 Esk Touring Choir, Worms' most famous visitor was Martin Luther who, in 1521 reportedly arrived under less than desirable circumstances, spoke out of turn and was declared an outlaw by Emperor Charles V. A group of reformists protested this decision and the Protestant movement was formed. However, for our party, there was nothing but acclamation and adulation following our sublime performance at the glorious Church of St Martin's where Alexis was gifted a lovely painting as a further token of their appreciation.

St Martin's Church in Worms

Ewald

A new day dawned and with packed ports and performance gear piled on the bus by our new driver, Ewald, (less suave...more attitude...great driver!) we were hurtling down the highway to Heidelberg, 30 minutes away. Heidelberg, a charming little book-end beautiful city nestled between the Neckar River and the Oden Forest is a city whose history can be traced back to the 5th century; a city which has retained its grandeur, a timeless reminder of a rich past and an ever evolving future, its economy possibly boosted by the post-war American occupation; its romantic Old Town cityscape dominated by Heidelberg Castle and all of which was a magnet to we tourists. Motivated by Ondra's account of Heidelberg's history, the lure of its attractions and with hours to explore, many made their way around the enchanting cobblestone lanes to the Market squares, cosy pavement cafes, restaurants and quaint retail outlets while others, more keen to shed kilos and curious for adventure hiked up the hillside to reach the Castle. Others less capable chose to take the Funicular, a hillside railway, up the 70 meters to the top.

Looking toward the castle in Heidelberg

With the first of our Benefit Concerts scheduled for this day, it was soon time to rendezvous and regather our thoughts for the performance some 30 minutes away at Bad Schönborn's Sankt Rochus Kliniken, a Rehabilitation centre for orthopaedics, rheumatology, cardiology and neurology. Observing many patients with varying degrees of incapacity wandering the vast halls with their carers truly was motivation for a very special performance and with elevators under repair, even the climb up multiple flights of stairs to access the change room was not enough to diminish our enthusiasm. We gave our sparkling variety performance to the delight of many amid the confines of their cafeteria...this venue possibly for us another first! Their appreciation was our gift and we departed feeling the joy of illuminating many hearts at this amazing centre as we headed for the promise of more in the next city, Nurnberg.

A little Broadway in Sankt Rochus Kliniken Bad Schönborn

With our hotel situated just a short walk through an ancient tunnel to the 'Old Town', Nurnberg was another gorgeous German city which continued to deliver on so many levels. From the acclaimed Durer painting 'The Young Hare' - a depiction of which is now a contentious sculpture in the main square, the iconic timber-framed houses, the Old City walls, through quaint cobblestone walkways to the heights of the Imperial Castle...such history, such charm, such a cold breeze and a long way to walk! A few of the group, now feeling the effects of chilly mornings and weary of foot chose the luxury of a sleep-in while the rest absorbed themselves in the background and banter between Ondra and our most entertaining guide, Anke, before we had to prepare for our next performance, a charity concert at the nearby town of Langenzenn.

While wide publicity of our performances did not seem to be high on the priority list for most venues, for us it was about grabbing opportunities to sing in these amazing places. To gain a significant audience was always a bonus. In Langenzenn, while our Concert was full of the usual sparkle and variety which thrilled those 20 people who came to listen, the disappointment of audience numbers was strongly felt by the Concert organizers who had pinned their hopes on a full house in order to raise funds for a local family in need of assistance through the upcoming winter. Despite this, their gratitude was unquestioned as we delighted in their generous hospitality. For us, the lack of Langenzennites was secondary to the presence of one very special audience member, Felix Von Nida, who had made his way over from his home in London to coincide with this concert which was to showcase his father, Eric's solo interlude in 'The Dove'. We were thrilled to have Felix join with his parents Linda and Eric and us all for the remainder of our tour. As a final parting T16 gesture, Kathleen gifted to organizers her deftly crafted Lagerphone, an instrument so uniquely Australian that it will possibly languish more as an item of wonder and curiosity than a performance instrument.

Day 13 and a bright blue-skied morning greeted a conga line of Choristers as our attentive Tour Manager, Kathleen dutifully counted her flock and our driver, Ewald again loaded up the bus for our departure across the border into Austria. Though equally as skilled behind the steering wheel of our great Panorama Bus, it was evident from the outset that our Ewald was not of the same ilk as our humble and gentle Klaus. This became more apparent as we hit Saturday's snake-like traffic jam en route to an organ recital at Passau's Cathedral of St Steven, a gorgeous Baroque edifice which dates back to 1688 and houses the largest Cathedral Organ in the world.

Now you may or may not know that trucks along the Autobahn in Germany have a system whereby they quite happily follow each other in an orderly line along a specifically designated lane allowing cars to belt along in other lanes at heart-stopping speeds. On this morning, one care-free, apparently Romanian truck driver decided to slither across to the car/bus lane thus halting our progression. Ewald was angry...Plan A, some aggressive horn blowing. When this proved futile Ewald was out of his driver's seat like a coiled spring and onto Plan B which involved some hostile hand gestures along with pugnacious paraphrasing (commonly called road rage) at the Romanian driver's window. Thankfully Ewald returned to us unscathed having achieved the desired effect and again the wheels on the bus happily went round and round though sadly not in time to reach Passau for the organ recital. However, though our scheduled plans were thwarted by circumstances beyond our control, we were never going to allow to go begging the opportunity to create that richness of sound that singing in a Cathedral of this grandeur creates and so sing we were graciously permitted to do to a growing number of admiring onlookers.

The Organ in St Steven's, Passau

The choir in St Steven's, Passau

The streets of Passau

That day in Passau, though we could feel the unbridled passion our English speaking guide had for her adopted home, unfortunately we were unable to hear most of her descriptions, used as she was to groups of River Cruise tourists who were usually wired for sound. However nothing could diminish the fascination and grandeur of such a beautiful city culminating for most who still had the legs, with the exploration of Veste Oberhause Museum, once a fortress founded in 1219 located on a mountain crest with a view to die for of the town cuddled at the confluence of the Inn, Danube and Ilz Rivers.

Panorama of Passau from the Veste Oberhaus Museum (Photo: Ondra Strejcek)

And so it is with echoes of the days of yore in this ancient fortress dominating the beautiful University City of Passau that I will leave you to hopefully join us once more for the final leg of our T16 Tour when we drown ourselves in the senses and surrounds of Mozart's city, Salzburg.