London. Saturday, May 9, 2010

Saturday. May 8th, 2010

What a wonderfully refreshing day today! This past week has been pretty tiring because I was in Paris and I wanted to see everything, so I spent everyday wandering the city and seeing the city, probably walking a total of about 10 – 15 miles daily. So when everybody was blastedly tired from jetlag last night and went to bed early, I figured I would join the club and hit the sack at a reasonable hour. Having slept about 10 hours, I felt absolutely wonderful in the morning, as opposed to fantastically exhausted, compared to the rest of the week.

After a group meeting, during which we went over a bunch of program logistics, we were set loose to go on the town. We have a couple with us named the Whimmers who have spent a lot of time in London and they are more or less serving as resident tour guides for us. They gave us a walking tour, which would take us down by Trafalgar Square and the Parliament, Big Ben, etc. However, I decided I wanted some produce, so I went with my friends, Michelle and Scott, who are dating and are wonderful as well, to Portobello Road. It actually reminded me of 25 de Marco, from Sao Paulo, but actually quite toned down. You can find a lot of pretty cool things there on Portobello, but the prices aren't nearly as good as at 25 de Marco. But it was a really fun atmosphere and we saw some fantastic stuff. There are a whole lot of really cool vintage shops, wonderful produce venders (L4.50 for about 2 wks' worth of vegetables—also, can we pause and just contemplate how delectable carrots are in the UK?! Great scott!), and tons of little knick knack stores with lots of odds and ends. Seriously a really fun and awesome atmosphere. I loved it.

After getting back, I made some food, ironed my newly acquired shirts, INLCUDING a beautiful white and purple checked shirt I bought at H&M this morning for L10, and got ready for our concert tonight at St. Martin's at the Fields.

They did some really nice Purcell pieces, including one of my very favorite choral pieces in the world, “With Drooping Wings,” from “Dido and Aenaeas.” We sang it earlier in the year for our fall concert and that was when I first fell in love with it. It is at the end of the opera when Dido has died and the chorus is imploring the cupids to “scatter roses on her tomb” and to keep their watch and “never, never part.” It is an absolutely beautiful and stunning piece, which really cuts to your soul as you both sing and hear it. The writing is really quite amazing, especially considering the time when Purcell composed the opera. As I remember it, there are quite a few 7ths and 9ths between the interwieving parts and can be fairly dissonant at times. It is a fantastic piece though.

The second half was first Mozart's Gloria, I believe, which I don't think I'd ever heard, but REALLY liked. Following that was his Requiem Mass, which I had never heard performed live. Oh my gosh, I LOVED it. It really is an amazing piece of work and it has some exquisite parts. I remember a specific part when the choir repeated multiple times the lyrics “salva-ma.” I could feel and hear Mozart crying and weeping to the Lord “Save me, Jesus!” And it wasn't necessarily that he was pleading with the Lord to save him from sin, but rather from the depths of dispair and depression in which he spent much of his life. It was amazing to hear his voice through his music and feel his raw emotion. I think it was partly due to the performers, but I believe it was mostly Mozart's doing. I think I first fell in love with this piece after watching “Amadeus.” I know the story portrayed in the movie isn't necessarily true, but it still gave me access to the piece and now I totally love it.

It was interesting how hearing live music for the first time in about 3 weeks had an effect on me. I've been listening to good, intelligent music for the past couple weeks, but LIVE music had a real impact on me. I almost felt like I was being purged of impurity as I sat there. I am interested to see how this develops during this study. Suffice it to say that I am THRILLED to be here and am SO excited to get going on this.

Out.