July 7th 2005 - Singing in Bavaria

Singers from Churchdown Male Voice Choir, their partners and supporters returned from a 7-day trip to Miesbach in Bavaria, Germany and brought back with them some wonderful memories, a few more inches round the waist and the start of some new friendships.

Miesbach is twinned with Tewkesbury, and the German twinning committee had gone to extraordinary lengths to make our short stay as enjoyable and as exciting as it could be. Bavaria is a beautiful state in Southern Germany. It is a land of lakes, mountains, farming and spectacular scenery. Its people are friendly, hospitable and fiercely proud of their old traditions. Many wear their national dress; the men in leiderhosen and the women in mid-length dresses with decorated bodices. Singing is also a part of their traditions, especially the songs of the Alpine regions, although they also perform from other repertoires and often sing traditional songs in English. In the area we were in there are 4 men's choruses and a similar number of mixed groups, including the Miesbach Singvereinigung, which we hosted at a concert in St Nicholas Church, Ashchurch earlier this year.

Our hosts had arranged three concerts for us in three very different venues. The first was in the old church of St Sixtus, which sits just above the lake in Schliersee. We had chosen a programme to suit the surroundings, but even then the large audience was very responsive and we were treated to a standing ovation. Many of our supporters said they had never heard the choir sing better. The wonderful soprano Sue Black was with us and thrilled the audience with 'Alleluia' from Mozart's Exultate Jubilate, 'In Trutina' from Carmina Burana, by Carl Orf and Pie Jesu from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem. Jeff Bourton also captivated the audience with I'll walk with God and Faure's Panis Angelicus.

The second of our concerts was in the Waitzingkeller, a hall in Miesbach especially built for children, but truly of concert hall proportions and superb sound and lighting equipment. In this concert we shared the bill with a children's choir and the Miesbach Singvereinigung. Our programme in the second half was a more popular one and included a selection from Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance with Sue Black singing O Wondering One, Malcolm Webb taking the lead in I am a Pirate King and Ralph Barnes taking the part of Samuel in With Cat Like Tread. Ralph was also heard in the lovely duet with Cornelia Veit, a member of the Singvereinigung. They sang Tonight from West Side Story to rapturous applause from a packed house.

The third concert was performed in what was probably the most unusual venue we have ever used. A converted barn especially designed to demonstrate the qualities of the organ and presided over by a beaming and venerable Dr Sixtus Lampl, curator of the collection of over 60 organs housed in nearby buildings. Here we shared the bill with the Leiderkranze Tegernsee, a local group which specialises in traditional Alpine songs. Again our contribution in the concert was received with enthusiasm.

A most wonderful and exciting tour and one which will live long in people's memories.

An additional and very moving part of our tour was to sing at a memorial service at Dornbach Cemetery. In an open-air ceremony the choir sang the hymns and two unaccompanied pieces, The Lily of the Valley and Jacob's Ladder. In a strange twist of fate during the singing of this latter song the sun made its first appearance for many days. Our appearance at the cemetery was at the request of the members of the British Legion who were co-incidentally touring in the area. The mood of the ceremony reflected the feeling of the descendants of the fallen in the graveyard but the atrocities in London were also in the forefront of people's minds.

Latest tour report: 2008 Choir Tour: Harrogate

From the archives: 2007 Choir Tour: Miesbach in Bavaria

From the archives: 2006 Choir Tour: Cornwall