France and Belgium Tour Travelogue One
Dear Friends,
On Saturday, May 26, the Georgia Boy Choir’s Concert Choir and Young Men’s Ensemble left Atlanta on an Air France flight bound for Paris, thus beginning the 9-year-old organization’s 9th major concert tour. Dressed smartly in their new Oxford-pinstripe tour shirts, the 39 young singers’ mild manners belied their eager anticipation and excitement for the many adventures that the next 18 days would hold. Upon landing at Charles de Gaulle airport, they were greeted by and reunited with Teresa, one of their favorite tour guides ever.
After a brief stop at the magnificent Chateau de Chantilly, their shiny, white. extra-long motor coach began to carry them eastward toward the city of Reims, where the boys were welcomed with American and French flags being waved by the cheering members of the Maitrise de Reims (the choir of the Reims Cathedral) who were going to be their hosts for the next two nights. The bond between the American choristers and their French counterparts was almost immediate. After a delicious buffet of quiche, croissant sandwiches, various cheeses and meats, and a dazzling array of home-made French desserts, it was only a matter of a few minutes before a soccer game broke out and all barriers of language and culture were quickly erased.
When the young travelers’ heads hit the pillow that night, rest came quickly and easily. They were already beginning to feel “at home” with their newfound friends.
The city of Reims is in the heart of the Champagne region of France, so on Monday morning, the boys enjoyed a fascinating tour of the Taittinger Caves. Taittinger is a renowned champagne winery where the naturally bubbly wine is aged in an enormous underground labyrinth of cellars carved from ancient Roman chalk mines. The porous chalk walls throughout the caves help the constantly cool caverns maintain a high level of humidity. This, combined with the unique soil conditions in which the grapes are grown, allows the wine to age to perfection and naturally produces its bubbly character. While the youngsters did not get to sample any of the beverage, they had a fantastic time exploring the caves and learning about the process.
Nearby, there is an automobile museum containing several hundred cars from a Model T to a Formula 1 racecar and many, many in between. There was a preponderance, of course, of French cars such as Peugeot, Citroen, and Renault, but the boys really enjoyed wandering through the museum, taking lots of pictures and buying souvenirs.
In the afternoon, they were off to the utterly magnificent Cathedral of Reims. This historic building was the site where nearly all of the kings of France were crowned, and is also the location where the Georgia Boy Choir was scheduled to give the first concert of the tour that night. They listened with rapt attention as the history of the edifice was expertly presented to them. A few minutes later, when their rehearsal began, the ethereal sound of their voices filled the cavernous space and the boys were reminded of their purpose in being there.
After a delicious dinner, they changed in to their concert uniforms and returned to the cathedral for the concert, which they shared with their new friends from the Maitrise de Reims. The Maitrise took the stage first demonstrating that they truly are Masters of the choral art. They have a wonderful sound, warm and rich. It was a great thing that the young singers from Georgia were able to witness. When it came their turn, the Georgians did not disappoint. As they processed up the long aisle singing George Talbot’s Psalm 150, they exuded confidence and strength. As they progressed through their program, they demonstrated a love of the music they were singing and joy in sharing it with those who came to hear them. Their repertoire of sacred music exploited the cathedral’s splendid acoustic so that whether they were singing in a full-voiced forte or a nuanced pianissimo, every note rang clear.
Click on the following link to hear the Georgia Boy Choir singing “Love Bade Me Welcome” by the American composer, David Hurd during their concert in the Cathedral of Reims.
Before the concert could end, the singers from the Maitrise de Reims joined the Americans on the stage to sing a couple of songs together. The combined sound was nothing short of magnificent and it was wonderful to witness how, much as the soccer game had done the day before, music now became a force which united young people from different parts of the world and they became one as they sang together. It was a night that they will all remember for years to come.
This will not be the last time these two groups of young artists collaborate, because in the spring of 2019, the Maitrise de Reims is going to make a trip to Georgia to visit the Georgia Boy Choir and present a concert together in Atlanta. We all look forward to that happy reunion.
Until next time,
The Georgia Boy Choir 2018 France and Belgium Tour Team