Sunday, September 14, 2014

Last night we gave our second concert in San Nicola, the church in this tiny community of Scheggino. The church, though small, was packed with the local residents. The mayor was there (see the second photo below). The first photo is of the church. It shows practically the entire sanctuary.

After the concert we had a banquet with speeches from the conductor and acknowledgments of all of the musical staff.

The conductor, Colin Baldy, thanks the chorus for the excellent work in the two concerts and

 acknowledges the applause of the chorus 

Frank Nemhauser Director of Music for the Berkshire Choral Festival

Debi Kennedy, CEO of BCF, and to her right, Mark Chaundry, tenor section leader, and to her left Riccardo Bonci, the organist and accompanist. 

Choristers at the final celebration

Thus we give a fond farewell to BCF at Scheggino for 2014.

PLEASE BE SUFRE TO RETURN TO:

www.parisfall2014.blogspot.com

Saturday, September 11, 2014

Wednesday and Thursday were rehearsal days, but there was an afternoon trip to the small town of Spello on Thursday. We were to visit a vineyard with tastings and some hors-d'oeuvres to accompany the wine. Unfortunately, it was at the very top of this hill town and the busses were too wide to go up the narrow roads so we had to walk. After about one third of the way, the old lega started to give out so we had to return to the foot of the village where we spent several hours having a bite and a coffee. The rest of the group did go all the way up and told us we missed some good wines and sone delicious food. Oh, well. We did enjoy the rest at the piazza Kennedy where the caffe was located. See the pictures of the caffe and the piazza. 

On Friday, we had a morning dress rehearsal and went to Trevi for a late afternoon concert. The concert was in the church which is located above an interesting museum. The concert was a success even though there wasn't a large audience. The conductor had three curtain calls. Here are photos of the church and some of the pictures in the museum.

Saturday, September 6, 2014

After a pleasant morning at the Palazzo, we went to the train station to meet the other singers, and then took a bus to Scheggino where we checked in and went to our hotel. We were surprised to find that we had the same room as we had four years ago when we first came here to sing. In the early evening we went to a lovely square near the Truffle Museum where we had a reception with some nibbles and drinks, and made some more friends and renewed old acquaintances. we then went off tyogether where wte were introduced to the staff and given information about our week here. Finally, we had dinner in the large dining room of a local restaurant. Then off to bed to get a good nights sleep to get ready for the first day of rehearsals and sessions.

Scheggino is a lovely village that sits for the most part on the side of a small mountain. The main commercial (such as it is) sits on the banks of the Nera River and the residential area just off the commercial area and up the sides of the mountain. See the following photos of the town. More will follow.


The only site in town for internet is in a local café where the internet reception is very slow. It has taken me a half hour to down load 4 photos so I will load only written text until we get back to Paris. Then I will add the photos, and there are loads. Here are some.

Fountain in garden of Palazzo Leti

Entrance to the Palazzo Leti and gardens

Small street in Spoleto 

Monument at end of Palazzo garden with entrance to two rooms.

View of small street behind the Palazzo

Outdoor patio for breakfast and relaxing

Chimney and roof of Palazzo

Church of San Ansano in Spoleto

Another interior view of church

Front entrance to church

 

Plaque for the church

The restaurant Il Tempio del Gusto where we had dinner in Spoleto. See other photos on other posts.

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Back to our usual routine after our day off. We have rehearsals all morning, then the afternoon, after lunch, is free for us. This is when I have a short siesta and then work on my email and on the blog. I am still trying to download photos without spending hours. I may have to wait until we get back to Paris and then do all of them at once. We have dinner and then another rehearsal for about two hours. The works that we are singing are coming along nicely. We still have rehearsals Thursday and Friday before the concerts on Friday and Saturday evenings. More on the concerts themselves later. For those interested, we are doing four works: Stabat Mater by Scarlatti, Nunc Dimittis by Holst, Magnificat by Stanford, and Beatus Vir by Montiverdi. I am sure that you are all very familiar with these works.

We are a chorus of about 100 singers, most from the US but some dozen from such places as England, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, and Singapore. Our concerts will be Friday in the town of Terni, and Saturday here in Scheggino. Our conductor is Colin Baldy with whom we have worked many times before, once here in Scheggino in 2010, and a number of times in Canterbury, England between 2000 and 2008.

Wednesday and Thursday were rehearsal days, but there was an afternoon trip to the small town of Spello on Thursday. We were to visit a vineyard with tastings and some hors-d'oeuvres to accompany the wine. Unfortunately, it was at the very top of this hill town and the busses were too wide to go up the narrow roads so we had to walk. After about one third of the way, the old lega started to give out so we had to return to the foot of the village where we spent several hours having a bite and a coffee. The rest of the group did go all the way up and told us we missed some good wines and sone delicious food. Oh, well. We did enjoy the rest at the piazza Kennedy where the caffe was located.

Following is a series of pictures of Assissi where we had gone Tuesday.

This last photo was of our luncheon at a country restaurant that is well-known in the area. 

On Friday, we had a morning dress rehearsal and went to Trevi for a late afternoon concert. The concert was in the church which is located above an interesting museum. The concert was a success even though there wasn't a large audience. The conductor had three curtain calls. Here are photos of the church and some of the pictures in the museum.

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Today we had an all day trip to Assisi the home of St. Francis of Assisi. We had a guided tour of the city, then went for a typical Umbrian meal at a restaurant out in the country, and then we went back to the city for some free time. Then back to Scheggino for the evening. We had a little bite to eat at the local café where there is WiFi. We took a lot of photos that we will post here as soon as I am able to download them. Keep an eye out for them. I tried to download some yesterday and it took about 39 minutes for a half a dozen. I may be able to do it faster tomorrow afternoon when we will not have a rehearsal.

Here is the seal of Scheggino right in the center of the village square.

Friday, September 5, 2014

Well, here we are in Spoleto, the day before we are to go to Scheggino for our BCF week of singing. We spent the night in Spoleto, being persons of leisure, at the wonderful Palazzo Leti located at the top of thee city overlooking the hills. We had stayed there four years ago and liked it so much that we came back this year. Our host, Gian-Paolo met us as we entered the garden that fronts on the entrance. This is an old house that dates from the 15th century and has been beautifully restored by the current owners. From the garden, you can see the surrounding hills and countryside. In the garden there is a terrace with tables and chairs for outdoor breakfasts and refreshments.  There is a lovely lounge and a small breakfast room. The rooms are all tastefully decorated and very comfortable.

See the old beams in the ceiling.

The rooftops and the mountains taken from the hotel terrace.

Again.

And again.

Remember the old toilets?

Antique cabinet and covered bowl.

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An outdoor dining table at the Il Tempio del Gusto in Spoleto. The restaurant was about 100 meters from the hotel.

The outdoor dining area on the terrace outside the main dining room.

The same terrace from afar.