An Evening of Music
We're at the end of September, and fall has already begun. While daytime temperatures are still rising into the 80ºF/27ºC range, nights are chillier, and mornings warm up later. But the evenings are still warm, and this past Sunday evening was no exception.
We ended up going for a short walk in Santiago that night, after attending a chamber concert at the Hostal dos Reis Católicos. This is a parador nacional, a historic building converted into a five star hotel. It was ordered built by the Catholic Monarchs in 1499 to offer shelter and medical help (the butcheries known back then as such) to pilgrims arriving at the Cathedral to view the tomb of Saint James the Greater. It was converted into a luxury hotel in the middle of the twentieth century.
The concert was in the Capilla Real, the Royal Chapel, in the center of the courtyards. We did wander a little around the courtyards to find it, though they are off-limits, except under guided supervision, from June to October. It turned out the chapel is reached directly from the entrance foyer. The concert was given by the Philharmonic Chamber Orquestra of Cologne, and it doesn't seem to be the first time they've played here. When we entered, after trying to find the chapel, we sat towards the middle. The chapel wasn't filled to capacity, just little more than half. I found out about the concert through a poster I had seen last month in Santiago, and the tickets had to be bought physically at a participating store; there was no way to buy them online.
Some minutes after we had sat down, the musicians came out and went to the dais in front of the altarpiece. As soon as the bows touched the strings, the music overwhelmed us in complete silence. There were five selections, with a rest after the first three. They were concertos by Vivaldi, Bach, Rossini, Mozart, and Paganini. I discovered I loved the Italians, Bach left me indifferent, and Mozart was simply Mozart. At the end, they got a standing ovation, and returned for a last piece of music. I didn't catch the name because the acoustics were ideal for musical instruments but not so good for human speech. The music was rousing, though, and it was probably by a Russian composer because it sounded folkloric and very Eastern Europe. It reminded me of how they end the New Year's Concert from Vienna with the Radetsky March.
My husband and I loved it. We had never been to a chamber concert before, and appreciated very much listening to this beautiful music directly, rather than through the filter of a television or radio. It is sad, but I never got to attend a classical music concert in Boston. I never went to Symphony Hall (or whatever it's called now - it's been through several name changes) to listen to the Boston Pops. The only times I attended one of their concerts was on the Fourth of July at the Hatch Shell by the Charles River. Both times, once with my mother, and once with my then-8 year old daughter, we were so far from the Shell we could only hear the music over the loudspeakers closest to us. My parents didn't believe in spending money "needlessly".
After the concert, we drifted out onto the Praza do Obradoiro, where the cathedral had already been lit against the darkening sky. It was around nine o'clock, and as we strolled back to the parking garage, restaurants were filling up, and the outdoor tables rollicked with laughter and conversations in different languages. The smart tourists are here, now. They take advantage that, of late, September and October tend to have good weather, and the hordes of summer have gone. The streets are more lively than in winter, but not as packed as in the two previous months. The air was still warm, and a stiff breeze was blowing. I will keep my eyes open for more posters, and check different websites, to know of future concerts. It's nice to experience something different.
We ended up going for a short walk in Santiago that night, after attending a chamber concert at the Hostal dos Reis Católicos. This is a parador nacional, a historic building converted into a five star hotel. It was ordered built by the Catholic Monarchs in 1499 to offer shelter and medical help (the butcheries known back then as such) to pilgrims arriving at the Cathedral to view the tomb of Saint James the Greater. It was converted into a luxury hotel in the middle of the twentieth century.
The concert was in the Capilla Real, the Royal Chapel, in the center of the courtyards. We did wander a little around the courtyards to find it, though they are off-limits, except under guided supervision, from June to October. It turned out the chapel is reached directly from the entrance foyer. The concert was given by the Philharmonic Chamber Orquestra of Cologne, and it doesn't seem to be the first time they've played here. When we entered, after trying to find the chapel, we sat towards the middle. The chapel wasn't filled to capacity, just little more than half. I found out about the concert through a poster I had seen last month in Santiago, and the tickets had to be bought physically at a participating store; there was no way to buy them online.
Some minutes after we had sat down, the musicians came out and went to the dais in front of the altarpiece. As soon as the bows touched the strings, the music overwhelmed us in complete silence. There were five selections, with a rest after the first three. They were concertos by Vivaldi, Bach, Rossini, Mozart, and Paganini. I discovered I loved the Italians, Bach left me indifferent, and Mozart was simply Mozart. At the end, they got a standing ovation, and returned for a last piece of music. I didn't catch the name because the acoustics were ideal for musical instruments but not so good for human speech. The music was rousing, though, and it was probably by a Russian composer because it sounded folkloric and very Eastern Europe. It reminded me of how they end the New Year's Concert from Vienna with the Radetsky March.
My husband and I loved it. We had never been to a chamber concert before, and appreciated very much listening to this beautiful music directly, rather than through the filter of a television or radio. It is sad, but I never got to attend a classical music concert in Boston. I never went to Symphony Hall (or whatever it's called now - it's been through several name changes) to listen to the Boston Pops. The only times I attended one of their concerts was on the Fourth of July at the Hatch Shell by the Charles River. Both times, once with my mother, and once with my then-8 year old daughter, we were so far from the Shell we could only hear the music over the loudspeakers closest to us. My parents didn't believe in spending money "needlessly".
After the concert, we drifted out onto the Praza do Obradoiro, where the cathedral had already been lit against the darkening sky. It was around nine o'clock, and as we strolled back to the parking garage, restaurants were filling up, and the outdoor tables rollicked with laughter and conversations in different languages. The smart tourists are here, now. They take advantage that, of late, September and October tend to have good weather, and the hordes of summer have gone. The streets are more lively than in winter, but not as packed as in the two previous months. The air was still warm, and a stiff breeze was blowing. I will keep my eyes open for more posters, and check different websites, to know of future concerts. It's nice to experience something different.
You should try to watch the summer 'Proms' on BBC. Just finished a week or so ago.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I'll try to find it.
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