Here is a picture of the altar of the church we had our last Mass in on Thursday. It was at 11 AM and one of their five regularly scheduled weekday Masses. Even so, there were about one hundred people in this huge church which is in downtown Munich and competed with the Frauenkirche to become the cathedral, but lost out. I had to conduct the singers from the choir loft which was about a block away. We did the Byrd four-voice Mass. (Palestrina singers, I don't think you know how well you can make a phrase MOVE. Had lots of trouble with this group.) It was a Latin Novus Ordo Mass.
Anyway, this church - though parts of it date back to the Middle Ages (and it was "Baroquefied" as was typical) it was almost totally destroyed by bombing during World War II. What you see is a meticulous reconstruction carried out over almost 30 years after the war. Actualy this is typical of much of what appear to be "old buildings" in Munich. There was a law Hitler passed called "Wehrkraftzersetzungsgesetz," which was basically a law against "defeatism." It meant that, in practice, people weren't allowed to remove valuable things from buildings in target areas because that would imply the military couldn't defend the Reich. The church was hit several times by bombs and was on fire before anyone had the courage to even attempt to remove anything.
It looks very beautiful now.
4 comments:
Yes!!! I like that law. I have such a one in my house. That is why I try not to ever leave.
Breathtakin beauty!
Thanks for the compliment--although really, it just reflects your discipline of the choir(s). We're terrified of what would happen to us if we didn't keep the music moving! ;)
In all seriousness, though, it is because you've put so much effort into training us, and focused so much on details like that.
And thank YOU for the compliment, but you choristers responded and now it is a natural part of your singing technique.
Post a Comment