Today was a marvelous day of performing, rehearsing, and exploring the Koblenz area! After a breakfast at the music academy, we had about an hour and a half of morning rehearsal to keep refining our a cappella repertoire. Our rehearsal space overlooked the Rhine again, and I feel like I am residing in a fairy tale with such immense beauty and castles all around me.
When we were done with rehearsal, we headed into Koblenz to see our performance space, get lunch, and then do a walking tour with the director of a singing school in Koblenz. Our performance space is a gorgeous church called Liebfraukirche right off of the main square in Koblenz. When hard pressed to tell my favorite aspect of these trips, I’d likely say that my favorite part is seeing all of the historic and gorgeous churches and getting the chance to sing in them. I don’t feel worthy of performing in such stunning, timeless spaces, yet by the grace of God we get to, and it gives me great joy to do so.
After checking out Liebfraukirche, we departed for lunch and our walking tour! Koblenz only has a population of about 100,000, and it is very walkable. We saw sights such as the market square, a few other churches, government buildings, and a massive statue of Wilhelm I (King of Prussia) that overlooks the convergence of the Rhine and Moselle rivers. Also on the river (or rather above it) is a massive fortress that we’ll be taking cable cars up to in a couple of days.
Following the walking tour, we returned to the church, got dressed for the concert, and got seated. The opening two pieces of the concert were from a boys’ youth choir at the singing school, and then we had a 14-piece repertoire on the concert. We received a very warm reception from the audience for each piece! Given the language barrier, I always wonder how contemporary pieces in English will play with international audiences, and they seemed to not only enjoy those but view a few of them as their favorites (I’ve included a clip of one, When You Are Old by Hans Bridger Heruth, below). Before we departed the church to head back to the academy, multiple German audience members came up to me and expressed how much the concert moved them, with one saying we had “disordered” her emotions in a way that she didn’t know she needed. Music is not a universal language contrary to the overused saying (a blog post for another time), but music does transcend conscious and subconscious barriers to touch some place deep in our souls beyond any nationality or political affiliation. Perhaps that is why those who are empire-hungry in this world place such emphasis on suppressing the arts: they fear its liberating power.
Once we returned to the school, we had an outdoor pizza party overlooking the Rhine, and then I confess I went to bed before I finished writing this post! As I write this paragraph, we are heading to the Cologne Cathedral to sing. I can’t wait to update you later today on the experiences that await us, and thank you for reading!
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