Saturday, September 08, 2007

A little music for the weekend?


In Paris there are classical and choir music concerts almost every night. These concerts are often given by good amateur - or semi professional - musicians who like to perform in front of an audience and cannot afford to rent big concert halls nor to advertise. That is why most of these concerts take place in churches and are simply promoted with bright posters like on this photo. It's a simple shot but I like the colors and the dirty old wall!

16 comments:

  1. It's actually one of my favorite shots so far. How nice it would be to duck into a church in Paris on a rainy night and listen to some Chopin.

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  2. A little music, or a lot or music, will always be welcome, it's been said music feeds our soul. Next time I'm in Paris, I want to go to one of La Madeleine's concerts.

    The only sad aspect of it on this saturday is that today the music world is saying goodbye to one of the greatest tenors of our generation, Luciano Pavarotti.
    He will surely be very missed.

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  3. such a familiar Paris sight -- we always see these posters and resolve we'll make it to one of the concerts. Sadly, we generally walk so much during the day that by the time we get back to our hotel in the 13th, we're not energetic enough to head back out. Maybe next year . . .

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  4. My heart goes out to these musicians who keep the classics alive...oh yeah, and to you too Eric for being our eye on Paris.

    BTW...sorry to hear about France's loss in rugby.

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  5. I'd like to go to the Ave Maria concert, but I see it was last weekend - oh well...

    Also sorry to hear about the Rugby loss - but La Tour was lit up so beautifully for it - I count it as a win anyway!

    You're so right about Pavorotti, Monica - he was incredible.

    Happy weekend everyone!

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  6. Here in musicians' advertisements get attached to utility poles. Soon I'll post a photo at Portland (OR) Daily Photos so you can see what you think of them.

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  7. I like this shot. This, too, is Paris.

    If you blow up the picture, you will notice that there are two different prices: 18 Euros (Regular Price / Place Normale), and 13 Euros (Etudiants / Students). I like the idea of a sliding scale for students.

    Pavarotti was a great artist, indeed.

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  8. I like the idea of seeing Gospel next to Chopin. I wonder if that's what Monica meant about music feeding the soul.

    Materfamilias - you must definitely drop in on these concerts. There is something about going into a Paris church and admiring the architecture, artwork, etc., but it is something else to go in and listen to the acoustics of these churches. Formidable!

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  9. By the way, regarding yesterday's photo, be sure to see Monica's little video of the Eiffel Tower sparkling. It's really nice!

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  10. Eric, I love this photo! It is these everyday scenes that mean so much.

    Michael, you are right about the acoustics. Here in Seattle at St. Mark's Cathedral there is a program of chant and prayer at 9:30 PM every Sunday called Compline. All male choir, even broadcast on the radio live. It is beautiful in that setting, and mostly high school and college age people crowd in for it (free). In San Francisco we used to go to early music concerts at Old First that were really wonderful as well. In Paris, well. . .wonderful music in that setting must be amazing.
    -Kim

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  11. Music in La Madeleine is a treat. I happened to catch a concert by accident one year, and the sound was unearthly.

    The world will mourn the loss of Pavarotti, even those of us who have never seen him perform.

    I love these posters.

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  12. You take a chopin liszt to the supermarket, normally.

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  13. I used to go to free organ recitals at Notre Dame. And I got credit for my music class!

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  14. I've been to countless of those concerts, dragged by my guitarist brother. They are usually very good.

    Love your pic which, actually, is a perfect hommage to Pavarotti.

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  15. I've heard the Ave Maria in La Madelaine. It was the warm-up to the main performance which was a Bach requiem (I believe). It was my husband and I's first real date.

    We loved going to those concerts when we were in Paris (as well as other European cities). We also saw a Vivaldi performance at La Chappelle. It's a beautiful little chapel with gorgeous blue stained glass, the perfect setting for an evening of music. We had a good laugh over the cello player. She was one of those "over-the-top" musicians who really got into the music. But there's nothing wrong with a little passion!

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  16. Ham, I just was looking back at what I've been missing and love your "chopin liszt" comment. Maybe it's an old line, but it was new to me!

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