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Austrian Tour a Big
Success
1st - 8th
June 2006: The choir made a short tour
to Austria, singing in some of the most prestigious venues in Europe,
with concerts in Salzburg and Dross, a small town in the centre of
Austria's wine growing region about 50 miles from Vienna, culminating in
an appearance in St Stephan's Cathedral in the centre of Vienna.
The opening concert (pictured right) in the Wiener Salle in the
Mozarteum in Salzburg set the tone with Music Director Barrie Cooper
introducing the choir in German as they launched the programme with
Fanfare followed by With a Voice of Singing by Martin Shaw. Naturally,
in Mozart's birthplace, the programme included his music, with Brian
Parslow, Bass, singing Sarastro's Aria from The Magic Flute which the
choir complemented with Isis und Osiris.
The concert in Dross was notable for the range of languages sung. In
addition to English and German, there were songs in Welsh, Zulu, Hebrew
and Latin.
Kevin Robbins, the
distinguished Cornetist who accompanied the choir throughout the tour
gave exciting performances of Mozart's Laudate Dominum and the ever
popular Carnival of Venice in an arrangement which had the audiences on
the edge of their seats.
The choir's hosts in Dross entertained choristers, wives and guests
afterwards to a reception where they enjoyed local wines and delicacies
before rounding off the evening in the way Male Voice Choirs are
renowned, singing relaxed songs from the social repertoire.
The tour reached a climax when the choir was invited to take part in the
mid-day Mass in St Stephan's Cathedral in the centre of Vienna, which
they followed with a short selection of sacred music to entertain the
large number of tourists who thronged the Cathedral. A unique feature
was the playing of Kevin Robbins, as he was the first instrumentalist to
play in such circumstances. The audience, the choir and Kevin revelled
in the wonderful acoustic of the magnificent building as the sounds
reverberated around the space.
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