On trips like this, there are a few days that transcend all of your fondest hopes and dreams, days you’ll view as highlights of your life 50 years from now, and days you’ll have gratitude for that is hard to put into words. For the Cardinal Singers, today was one of those days. Today, we had the once-in-a-lifetime chance to sing at the Cologne Cathedral (or Kölner Dom to German speakers; the city of Köln has linguistically morphed into Cologne for English speakers over the centuries).
Following breakfast, we departed around 9:00. By bus, Köln is about an hour and fifteen-minute drive, and after arriving, we had about an hour and a half to settle in and explore the Cathedral. My photos cannot do it justice compared to being in person, but the size is even more unfathomable than you can imagine! It rises above everything else in the Köln skyline, and once you are at the base of it, getting the entire height of the church’s exterior in one photo proves difficult if not impossible. The inside is just as impressive, with vaulted ceilings and stained glasswork that seem to stretch to the heavens. I appreciated the free time to take in the space as a visitor before we performed, as it allowed me (and a few other choir members) to kneel and pray in the space before the concert. Other than the sheer majesty of the architecture, the most striking thing about the church to me was the diversity of the people within it! Nationalities and languages from all across the Earth were present, and I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by how many people from all corners of the world had traveled to the Cathedral to take it in and to worship.
After our exploration, we met again in the Cathedral’s choir room to warm up and rehearse before our scheduled performance time. During this time, we also met the Cathedral’s music director, and he graciously bragged about our choir and introduced us to the masses of people inside the Cathedral when we performed. The performance itself was what I can best describe as otherworldly. I don’t mean that as bragging on our sound, but rather as a testament to how surreal the space was. Due to the length of the space, after cutting off louder chords, we could hear our sound echoing through the church over 5 seconds after the offset! In addition to the auditory uniqueness, seeing the seemingly incomprehensible distance of stained glass and intricate architecture made me feel humble in the most soul-nourishing way imaginable. A choir is greater than the sum of its parts, and what better way to remind choir members of that than to sing in such a significant space in both size and history?
The international audience clapped heartily after each selection, and true to what I’ve observed in our other concerts in Germany, the warmest receptions were for the spirituals. When audience members were congratulating us, we even met some other Americans! After the concert, we had another hour to explore or so before we departed head back to our residence at the academy, and a group of us climbed about 600 stairs to get to the top of the church! Following dinner at the academy, we had free time, and a small group of us watched Germany compete in the Euros (European soccer tournament) on TV, where they smashed Scotland to open group play.
In an earlier blog post, I mentioned that there are moments on these trips where all I can do is give thanks. Today was full of those moments! After we performed the music director informed us that we were the first guest choir in over 50 years to receive permission to perform in front of the altar. Such a performance opportunity is rare, and that it was granted to us is a testament to the reputation of the Cardinal Singers abroad, particularly in Germany. As a choir, we made history today, and to do it in such a historic, holy space is a memory that will not soon leave me.
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