Day 5-Corpus Christi

Today was a great day!
We got to experience Corpus Christi, a very important holiday in Vienna. We got up early and went to St. Stephen's Cathedral. BREATHTAKING! The service started at 8:30, so we got there right at the start. We figured we would have to stand toward the back with the amount of people there. We walked in and went to an area where a bunch of people were standing. Then right before it started, they opened a little gate and a flood of people went through to try to get a seat. We went as far front as we could. We went ended up right next to the organist and about 5 feet from the chamber orchestra and chorus!!! I couldn't believe the seats we got! I kept watching the organist's feet. He was amazing. The orchestra (violins, violas, 1 cello, 1 bass, 1 bassoon, 2 trumpets, timpani) were fantastic. The intonation was spot on. The conductor was wonderful to watch. He was so into it. The decay in that cathedral was about 4 seconds! (I counted) The other thing I noticed was that the timpani player actually had the drums backwards from how we play them in the States. The low drum was on the right and the high on the left. Strange. I didn't get a chance to go up and ask him after. Also, the timpani had a crank-tuning system, not pedals. Myself and a friend of mine from the program went up a talked to the conductor afterward. He was very happy to talk with us. We also caught one of the soprano soloists outside and talked to her for a little bit. She is from another town in Austria, a few hours away, but she invited us to her house! My friend Jeff is going to email her and see how far she is. That would be great!

The conductor

My roommate Celeste and I walked around the Graben, a mostly tourist area with lots of shops. We stopped and had a coffee. Then we just so happened to time it right to see the procession of all the participants from the cathedral for Corpus Christi pass us on their way back. It was beautiful with all of their robes and uniforms. It was quite special to see, because this particular institute that I am in doesn't always fall during this holiday.

 This was the siding on a random building!

Cappuccino, tirimasu, and apfelstrudel. YUM!!

After class, we went to the famous Cafe Central, a great place where a lot of literary people were known to frequent for inspiration. It has yummy coffees. We went there for another cappuccino, and it also had a grand piano right next to us. The piano player came and started playing right after we got there! Highly recommended!

My roomie Celeste.

And finally, tonight we went to a fortepiano concert! It featured Richard Fuller on a rebuilt fortepiano, which is the predecessor to the modern piano. It's much smaller, like a harpsichord, and it has a quieter, thinner sound than a piano. It was the first kind of keyboard instrument to be able to play loud AND soft. The harpsichord could play at only one volume. He performed two Mozart concertos for fortepiano and string quartet. Yet again, absolutely amazing musicians. They moved and swayed to the music. It was like they weren't even counting measures or beats...they were just riding the waves until their entrance and then intrinsically matching intonation and rhythmic clarity. The string players also used period instruments, just like they would play in the Classical era. The cello didn't have an end pin, they all didn't have fine tuning pins, and they used gut strings instead of steel! The sound was very mellow and rich. It was held in the crypt of St. Peter's Church. Music is so instinctive here. They just get it. Even the audiences are pin-drop silent. At times I was even apprehensive to breathe during the quiet moments. You could feel the silence between the notes. The musicians share the same passion for the music that I have experienced...most of it beyond words.