Evendays

Sons 1 and 2 and I sang last Friday night with the regional high school chorus. The concert took place in the St. François Church in the middle of Lausanne. A fun building from the 13th century, it stands lopsided (which you only notice from the inside) having shifted over the years because of the surrounding traffic. Acoustics are still good (if the group is good).

 

We sang a requiem composed in 1946 by the Frenchman Maurice Duruflé. A lot of work for the little time it lasts, there are still some beautiful sections. (Gregorian sounding Introit and Kyrie. The Sanctus sung by the women in four parts is heavenly.)

It was the boys’ last concert with the group. Son 1 is swamped with classes at the university and Son 2 will be off to the spiritual internship next year, so neither will continue singing “reinforcement” with the tenors.

I’ve not yet decided what to do. The group of high school teachers who sing backup are tightly knit. A hard nut to crack and hard for outsiders to find their niche. And with the boys gone, most of the motivation for singing with that group has disappeared too.

There are two big supermarket chains in Switzerland. One is COOP (pronounced COE-OPE). The other is Migros. Both have big, orange logos. Both offer bargain lines of products, from cell phones to nights at the club to credit cards. The two companies fight it out every year for the hearts of Swiss residents.

Migros (pronounced ME-Grow — I know, really bad grammar) has worked out a deal with an up-and-coming rock group to host a 40,000 seat concert. The only way you can attend the concert is to win a lottery. And the only way you can win the lottery is if you have a Migros fidelity card. They will be “giving” away the 40,000 seats to 20,000 winners.

This is quite a coup. For the afore-mentioned rock group is non other than the Stones. Yes, that mossy, wrinkly, Super Bowl halftime entertainment band will be making a stop in Lausanne. Hosted by the biggest grocery store chain in Switzerland.

Just imagine if Costco brought you the Eagles… If Walmart presented Genesis… If Kmart sponsored Kiss… Makes me want to stay home and order from Amazon.

They did a great job, that Marseilles chorus. On Friday afternoon they sang at the Bethany Home where 50 of the residents deeply appreciated the time of worship. And the Home laid out a great spread for the travelers. Wonderful!

The nearby Protestant church loaned us their “temple” on Friday night and between 50 and 60 listened to a beautiful concert of hymns, with a good selection of “Gospels” in the second half. The local parish was deeply blessed. And we appreciated their generosity.

I’m listening to a CD Son 2 picked up on Saturday evening from the Acappella concert in Montreux. (Think: Smoke on the Water by… some group with a color in their title.) Over 1000 folks were there and Daughter, a friend and Son 2 had a great time. A very “musical weekend”.