Adventures in the Dr Vogelsang-Klamm 2

Adventures in the Dr Vogelsang-Klamm 1

Dancing down to Spital

Have no fear, your trusty Comenius blogger has not deserted you all, but is simply suffering from busy blogger syndrome!  We have been rushed off our feet with rehearsals and adventures… oh yes, adventures!!

see clip : Singing Mamma Mia

We are having a few problems loading all the video clips we want to show you, so I am posting the blog and the clips separately.

But first a musical update.  The singing gets sweeter by the quaver; the girls are really working very hard and the sound is coming together remarkably well over a varied repertoire; the Abba  songs are huge fun, but quite difficult in their choir arrangements and the different sections are having to pick their way carefully through the harmonies.  The Rhythm of Life is a hit with them all and, now that we have mastered the pronunciation of the Swedish song , we can appreciate the power and beauty of the melody;  we have noticed how often there is a tear in the eyes of the Swedish girls when they sing it- for your trusty blogger, this song is the discovery of the week:  ‘jag vill känna att jag levt mitt liv- I want to feel  that I live my life’.  

see post Gabrielas Sang

The most delicious moments still come with the classical pieces.  As  I play (ahem) the laptop keyboard, the strains of Mendelssohn fill the room with the sound of voices in harmony, just enjoying  making a heavenly sound together. 

We almost forgot to mention our warm-up sessions!   Every day begins with a half hour warm-up.  I managed to get some shots of Dr Wild’s ‘wild warm-up’ for you this morning.

see post: Wild warm up

So to the adventures!

‘We’re going bowling tonight!’  We announced triumphantly to looks of total puzzlement.  ‘But where???’ our songsters asked,  their teenage radar having detected nothing like the Trafford Centre in Spital  (the centre of Spital would probably fit into the Trafford Centre comfortably and with room to spare!).   Aha, we we’re going ‘kegeln’- bowling Austrian-style with 9 pins in a cosy,  two lane Kegelbahn ( bowling alley) attached to a local restaurant.  With two mixed Austrian and English teams, the competition soon hotted up as skill levels rose. 

See post Bowled Over

On Wednesday, after a busy day of rehearsals  and an English exam for Y10 which they sat with the Swedish girls doing one of their A level papers, Dr Wild decided to take advantage of the improving weather and led a walk up and through the Dr Vogelsang-Klamm,  a local beauty spot with waterfalls tumbling down the middle of a narrow gorge (Klamm).  It was a breath-taking experience…a steep and steady climb for about an hour certainly took my breath away, but the scenery was, as the girls would say ‘like, just amazing’.  Walking along the wooden gangplanks and up the what seemed  practically vertical flights of steps was quite an adventure. 

see post : Dr Vogelsang Klamm

Getting to the top justified the reward of a refreshing drink in a tiny mountain inn and then we wound our way back down the serpentine road to Spital.  We even managed to get a clip of alpine cows grazing with bells- so Sound of Music!  Whilst the adults marvelled at the mountain views, this Anglo-Austrian group made their own entertainment!

See post: So Sound of Music

Blogger’s apology:  The clips are ‘hot off the press’ , please excuse the wobbly and fuzzy bits!

So Sound of Music

Dancing down to Spital

As I post this blog, Emily’s slippers are smiling at me from under her exam desk! Yes, the poor Year 10s are sharing an exam room with the Swedish 6^th formers who are doing the first part of their English A level :  deep concentration, bird song and the gentle strains of the rehearsal next door fill the room.

The hotel provides three huge healthy  meals a day, but , of course, the teenage singing machine needs supplementary Haribos, Kinderschokolade, juice, crisps, maltesers and midnight feasts to begin to function properly… a need only a trip to a supermarket can satisfy!  If a  Europe – wide shortage of Pringles is declared, it has probably started in the tiny Adeg supermarket in the sleepy village of Spital am Pyhrn and the Comenius choir is the cause.  ‘Trip’ maybe overstating the length of the excursion; we ambled across the meadow outside the hotel, crossed the road and there was everything we needed: 3 minutes!  The village also has (only) one more shop: Schlecker- soon to be explored!

Mrs Morgan led the first afternoon rehearsal and soon The Rhythm of Life was putting a tingle in  our fingers and a tingle in our feet… doo-bi,  doo – bi, doo-bi.  The Austrian and Swedish girls loved its bounce. 

The Swedish teacher, Mrs Bikfalvy introduced the choir to a wonderful Swedish song, Gabriela’s Sang, in which a young woman learns how to believe in herself.  The tune is fabulous, but the pronunciation of the Swedish is quite challenging for us; the beauty of this international choir is that we  have our Swedish text coaches in the other choir members, and Mrs Morgan has organised extra sessions with the Swedish girls, so we really get to grips with the language to do the song justice- what a terrific opportunity!  Listen to the clip of the first rehearsal and you can’t fail to fall in love with the music.

We are in the country of the accordion, charming folk music and folk dances, so no trip would be complete without a chance to sample this for ourselves.  Brilliant!  Normally as a tourist,  you get to watch, but you never get to try.  One of the young music teachers at the school is an expert player of the accordion and traditional folk dance tunes and  Dr Wild himself steps a pretty step.  So off we went to the gym of the local school ( 3 minute stroll, just behind the Adeg supermarket- we are finding our way round very well), and soon we were clapping, twirling and ‘progressing’ in fine fashion ( these folk dances are  usually danced in a circle with the ladies ‘progressing’ to the next partner after each set).  See for yourself! 

 

Bis bald !

Fear not, your trusty blogger has not vanished!  It has taken us a little while to fix up our internet connection; we arrived a little too late in Spital to do it last night.  As I write, the joyful  strains of  Thank you for the Music  drift across the room.   But I must not be distracted from my task of keeping you all posted on our progress.

So to catch you up on Sunday’s activities first of all – after a leisurely breakfast, we set off  for Salzburg again on the now familiar number 3 trolley bus.  We stopped outside Mozart’s Wohnhaus, where Mozart lived with his family just opposite the house where  Doppler ( of the effect) was born.  (clip 1).  We crossed the river by the footbridge ( clip 2.)

Led by the intrepid Mrs Roberts we threaded our way through the old town towards the Salzburg fortress, perched high up above the town.  We couldn’t resist the Mozart statue (clip 3).  The castle was built by the Prince Archbishops of Salzburg as a sign of their power and wealth.  We took clip 4 from the ramparts of the Salzburg, looking down over the river.

Of course there was a little (!!!)  time to explore the winding streets and markets and catch a bit of lunch before heading back to the hotel, collecting our suitcases and returning to the station to meet the Austrian party- all 54 of them- to take or almost take over the train to Spital, our mountain retreat.

As we travelled, the scenery from the train window was spectacular:  crystal-clear streams, meadows bursting with colourful wildflowers, mountains and snow  hinted at lovely setting of our hotel.  Clip 5 shows the early morning view from the hotel with the mists beginning to lift and the sun making headway.  By clip 6, the view from the hotel is glorious- are we in Heidi or the Sound of Music- and the birds sound pretty happy, too!

A delicious breakfast buffet  fortified the songsters for a demanding morning rehearsal schedule – clip 7  gives you a sneak preview of the work going on.  My word, are they working hard!

As I finish this post, it is Mrs Morgan’s turn to conduct and she has led them brilliantly through the Rhythm of Life and now we are California dreamin’- Mr Beirne is busy turning pages for the pianist.  In my next post, I’ll include some clips from this session and a few clips from the folk dancing session this evening.

Tschüs, bis später!