Friday, July 27, 2007
Montmorency concert
I just came back from Montmorency, which is north of Paris. J.J. Rousseau used to live in this city and completed a lot of his essays there. It takes only 1 hour by train -- I actually commuted instead of staying at a hotel there.
I played for the Festival 'tourisme et orgues'. It rained but about 300 people gathered at the concert, and they were very warm and welcoming.
I spoke on the pieces during the concert (bien sure en francais!) and it seems that the audience really appreciated it. They are not used to have an musician that speaks during the concert in Europe -- this is something that I learned in the US.
The concept of the organ was done by composer J. Charepentier. It was built by Gonzalez, who also built the organ at Chartres cathedral.
You will find a website on this concert at
http://www.ville-montmorency.fr/content/heading604/content67000.html
I am feeling much better now, but I was very tired during last couple of days, since I have been doing things all the time -- including moving into my apartment. I am staying at Cite Internationale des Arts, which is located in the heart of Paris across from Notre Dame and Saint Louis en ile. It is in one of the most beautiful areas in Paris.
I can see Notres Dame and Bateau-Mouche in la Seine through my window.
I used to live here when I was studying in Paris. As an old resident, they let me to stay here for two months and it is wonderful.
But coming back here, I observe things that I usually did not. I took a look at the parking garage carefully and was astonished by the outrageous monthly rate! Thanks to God that I am living in Hurst!
Paris has changed. Mr. Delanoe, the mayor, has promised its citizen that he will improve the air quality by diminishing the number of cars. They have made a good number of small parking lots for bicyclers and they are very cheap so that any one can afford them.
Thet decided not to let the cars run on the road beside the Siene so that people can walk, run, and ride bicycles. I ran alongside La Seine this morning. It was so cool. And that was something I couldn't imagine doing when I lived here.
When I have some down time, I will be visiting corners of Paris that are not yet familiar to me.
Comminges concert
I have known about Festival du Comminges for a long time. It is one of the main classical music festivals in France and is 'sous le haut patronage du president de la republique' like 'Grand Prix de Chartres'. (Under the high patronage of the president of the republic.) The town has been famous for this prestigous festival for the past 32 years.
St. Bertrand de Comminges is a small rural town in southwest of France, near Spain. I spent more than 14 hours in the train for the round trip from Paris.
When I looked at the name of artists who have already played for this festival, I felt so so honored. They include Marie-Claire Alain, Cecilia Bartoldi, Alfred Brendel, Aldo Ciccolini, Alicia de Larrocha, and Korean artists such as Somi Jo and Kun-woo Paik -- to name only a few.
Every year, they also feature M. Chapuis, professor emeritus at Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Paris. He is one of the figures who has rediscovered early music in the late 20th century.
Here is the festival's web site: www.festival-du-comminges.com
The organ I played was in Neo Baroque style and was very gorgeous. The console was covered by a wooden cover; therefore I could not hear the balance of the entire organ well without a headphone.
Since it is a popular tourist area, in the audience were people from Korea, Japan, America, Italy, Germany, Spain, France, and so on.
St. Bertrand de Comminges is a small rural town in southwest of France, near Spain. I spent more than 14 hours in the train for the round trip from Paris.
When I looked at the name of artists who have already played for this festival, I felt so so honored. They include Marie-Claire Alain, Cecilia Bartoldi, Alfred Brendel, Aldo Ciccolini, Alicia de Larrocha, and Korean artists such as Somi Jo and Kun-woo Paik -- to name only a few.
Every year, they also feature M. Chapuis, professor emeritus at Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Paris. He is one of the figures who has rediscovered early music in the late 20th century.
Here is the festival's web site: www.festival-du-comminges.com
The organ I played was in Neo Baroque style and was very gorgeous. The console was covered by a wooden cover; therefore I could not hear the balance of the entire organ well without a headphone.
Since it is a popular tourist area, in the audience were people from Korea, Japan, America, Italy, Germany, Spain, France, and so on.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Orleans concert
Orleans is one hour south of Paris. Chartres and Blois are cities in the region. This area of France has some wonderful chateaux. Unfortunately, I will not have a chance to visit them this time.
Orleans was the place that was mentioned quite often in nobles and has been used for titles of music throughout French history. A big part of the town was heavily destroyed during the war, but was restored well.
The Cathedral Ste. Croix where I played did not undergo damage in the war -- thanks to God! One interesting thing about this edifice is that its towers have crowns on top of them as a decoration.
The cathedral houses two Cavaille Coll organs. The big one in the balcony is being restored.
When I arrived last Friday, the builder, Bernard Hurvy, was still working and he let me take a look at each corner of the organ. He has already successfully restored the choir organ that I played for the concert.
He is supposed to "restore" the organ -- in other words, put the organ back to its original state, which is different from rebuilding.
He let me try the positive division that was already put back, and some stops in swell as well. They really sounded round and warm! It was an 'ah ha!' moment for me. "This is the kind of sound that attracted me to French organ!"
After having dinner with Bernard, we came back to the cathedral to practice and work more. It was during that moment that the swell pedal got broken. Bernard kindly stayed until midnight to repair it without complaining. He was supposed to leave the next day at dawn. I said to myself, "You broke it at the right moment!"
The concert took place Sunday afternoon. An audience of more than 300 surrounded the choir organ. I spoke on each piece in a casual way before playing (of course, en francais). I liked the set up and lay out of the concert very much.
The audience surrounded me. We could face each other and it helped make the communication a lot better. They were very warm and enthusiastic. There were some journalists from local newspapers.
I met a lady from Carollton, TX. She was the third Texan I have met during this trip.
Since Paris is only one hour away from Orleans, I got back to Paris last night after concert -- wishing that I'd be able to hear the big organ when its resoration is complete.
Orleans was the place that was mentioned quite often in nobles and has been used for titles of music throughout French history. A big part of the town was heavily destroyed during the war, but was restored well.
The Cathedral Ste. Croix where I played did not undergo damage in the war -- thanks to God! One interesting thing about this edifice is that its towers have crowns on top of them as a decoration.
The cathedral houses two Cavaille Coll organs. The big one in the balcony is being restored.
When I arrived last Friday, the builder, Bernard Hurvy, was still working and he let me take a look at each corner of the organ. He has already successfully restored the choir organ that I played for the concert.
He is supposed to "restore" the organ -- in other words, put the organ back to its original state, which is different from rebuilding.
He let me try the positive division that was already put back, and some stops in swell as well. They really sounded round and warm! It was an 'ah ha!' moment for me. "This is the kind of sound that attracted me to French organ!"
After having dinner with Bernard, we came back to the cathedral to practice and work more. It was during that moment that the swell pedal got broken. Bernard kindly stayed until midnight to repair it without complaining. He was supposed to leave the next day at dawn. I said to myself, "You broke it at the right moment!"
The concert took place Sunday afternoon. An audience of more than 300 surrounded the choir organ. I spoke on each piece in a casual way before playing (of course, en francais). I liked the set up and lay out of the concert very much.
The audience surrounded me. We could face each other and it helped make the communication a lot better. They were very warm and enthusiastic. There were some journalists from local newspapers.
I met a lady from Carollton, TX. She was the third Texan I have met during this trip.
Since Paris is only one hour away from Orleans, I got back to Paris last night after concert -- wishing that I'd be able to hear the big organ when its resoration is complete.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Photos from Monaco (set 2)
Photos from Monaco (set 1)
Monaco Harbor
A sign that asks tourists to wear proper clothing (no swimsuits!). They are too serious!
Near a casino.
By chance, I saw this restaurant called "Le Texan"!!
Monaco Opera
Photos from Paris
The view from my apartment in Paris. I can see Notre Dame from my window.
Cathedral de ChartresTuesday, July 3, 2007
Tuesday, July 3
I flew back to Paris last night. Monaco was fun.
They are very serious!!! In fact no, not at all. It was sort of like LA or New Orleans. Living cost is incredibly high. The climate is just wonderful. I have never seen a place where there are only tourists! Most of the people seemed that they were visiting or having their vacations. Even some folks I met in the road and restaurants who were working in Monaco were from France and Italy. In fact, they commute to work there. While I was walking around, I also heard many Americans talking.
The audience at my concert was mostly tourists, too. The concert went well. The trackers of the organ were made of metal instead of wood. Therefore the action of the organ is not as delicate or light as one which is made of wood. It was even irregular. The organ was modeled after French Classic style instrument basically. Nevertheless Mr. Boisseau, the builder of the organ, put some stops for the organist to be able to play Romantic repertoire as well.
One of the fun things was that I saw my old classmate from Lyon, Jean-cyrille Gandillet, who is now a father of three children. Jojo (as we called him at conservatoire) is teaching at a conservatory in the Nice area and is the assistant organist at Monaco Cathedral. I was so glad to see him again after 8 years. We had fun, fun, fun, sharing memories of the old days.
Monaco is a very unique place. It is one of the smallest countries in the world, such as Vatican and Lichtenstein. They are very proud of their principality. You can see the picture of the prince and royal family at any place, even at a small grocery store.
Since the cathedral was in the old town on a hill, I had to climb the hill more than ten times. Due to the preparation of the concert, I only could visit in Monaco a little bit yesterday before boarding. I saw the Aquarium, Royal Palace, Opera (which was designed by Garnier), Hotel de Paris and the Casino. $$$.
I have been staying with a friend of mine in the Parisian suburb. I will move in my apartment at Cite Internationale des Arts tomorrow and will be able to download the pics that I took in Monaco onto my laptop. I promise to send some of them shortly.
How is FUMC Hurst? You will be surprised to hear how many times I am asked about FUMC Hurst in different corners of the world. They are very curious about the place for which I am working. Of course I rave about it!
Cheers, Dong-ill
They are very serious!!! In fact no, not at all. It was sort of like LA or New Orleans. Living cost is incredibly high. The climate is just wonderful. I have never seen a place where there are only tourists! Most of the people seemed that they were visiting or having their vacations. Even some folks I met in the road and restaurants who were working in Monaco were from France and Italy. In fact, they commute to work there. While I was walking around, I also heard many Americans talking.
The audience at my concert was mostly tourists, too. The concert went well. The trackers of the organ were made of metal instead of wood. Therefore the action of the organ is not as delicate or light as one which is made of wood. It was even irregular. The organ was modeled after French Classic style instrument basically. Nevertheless Mr. Boisseau, the builder of the organ, put some stops for the organist to be able to play Romantic repertoire as well.
One of the fun things was that I saw my old classmate from Lyon, Jean-cyrille Gandillet, who is now a father of three children. Jojo (as we called him at conservatoire) is teaching at a conservatory in the Nice area and is the assistant organist at Monaco Cathedral. I was so glad to see him again after 8 years. We had fun, fun, fun, sharing memories of the old days.
Monaco is a very unique place. It is one of the smallest countries in the world, such as Vatican and Lichtenstein. They are very proud of their principality. You can see the picture of the prince and royal family at any place, even at a small grocery store.
Since the cathedral was in the old town on a hill, I had to climb the hill more than ten times. Due to the preparation of the concert, I only could visit in Monaco a little bit yesterday before boarding. I saw the Aquarium, Royal Palace, Opera (which was designed by Garnier), Hotel de Paris and the Casino. $$$.
I have been staying with a friend of mine in the Parisian suburb. I will move in my apartment at Cite Internationale des Arts tomorrow and will be able to download the pics that I took in Monaco onto my laptop. I promise to send some of them shortly.
How is FUMC Hurst? You will be surprised to hear how many times I am asked about FUMC Hurst in different corners of the world. They are very curious about the place for which I am working. Of course I rave about it!
Cheers, Dong-ill
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