I returned to Lübeck sooner than I had originally expected to, for more family and friend gatherings, two years after my first visit there as an adult. Lübeck is my mom’s hometown, and it feels like a second home to me now. My parents met there in early 1960, and I’ll share more about that later. For this morning, I want to recall a few great musical moments from the trip, while they are fresh in my mind.
1. Chorkonzert des Rundfunkjugendchores Wernigerode at the Marienkirche.
Also known as the Church of St. Marien, the Marienkirche, Lübeck is one of the tallest and grandest brick gothic cathedrals in Europe. It took centuries to build, and decades to rebuild after WW2. Maintenance on such a structure is ongoing, actually – it’s sort of always being built and revisioned, as it is utilized and explored and enjoyed by many. The main hall is utterly vast. Its arches and towering stained glass and two mighty pipe organs – plus the massive brick and other surfaces – all combine to create a cavernous reverb which sweetly amplifies and lengthens even the slightest sound of a footstep, a voice, a cough, or anything else. It’s one of the most beautiful long reverbs I have ever heard, and this makes the space ideal for certain kinds of music: Pipe organ of course, and church choir.
This amazing young group..
Rundfunk-Jugendchor Wernigerode
..happened to perform at Marienkirche while we were in town, to our fantastic luck. One of the top youth choirs in Europe, their performance was elevating. I try to think of the right superlative and yes, elevating – uplifting, in the truest sense. The group is top-level pro, yet all teenage kids, so one hears not only their finely rehearsed ensemble work and impeccably trained voices, but also the joy of discovery in every moment – their exhilaration at hearing the sound they create together. It was medicine for the soul, to watch and hear them in this completely organic, acoustic setting – voices and space, absent a digital layer or anything artificial at all. I was struck by how rarely I hear anything like that in my daily life these days. Humbled and inspired, I was revitalized, and moved to joyous tears.
So that happened. There was also a marvelous solo organist in the program, playing the giant pipe organ in between the choir’s sets, all of this amplified and extended by the aforementioned glorious and massive reverb. You can read the programme here for details about the composers and pieces.
Here’s the one shot I naughtily snapped in between the choir’s sets..
..I say “naughtily” because phones (“Handies” as they are called there) are rightly not allowed during the performance. I did it as quickly and stealthily as I could, and I shall repent appropriately. Great shot, tho, innit? 🙂
The gent on the right is of course their conductor, and his interaction with the choir was exciting to watch as was the comeraderie of the singers with each other. By the last set, their smiles were irrepressible as the energy and sound and music soared, and the audience and singers knew they were sharing a unique and unforgettable moment. Faith in humanity restored, and, I suppose, that’s why one might visit a church.
2. WIENER KAMMERORCHESTER / SEBASTIAN KNAUER
»ÜberBach« – works by Arash Safaian, J.S. Bach, Tschaikowsky, Grieg
This epic concert took place at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. Tickets gifted by a lifelong friend of my mom’s, we traveled with them and my aunt by train and arrived at this stunning building overlooking the harbor. The architecture is a concert in itself, here’s a slice from their website –
I have a hard time conceiving how this monument was dreamed up, much less designed and constructed. You enter and step onto what might be the world’s longest escalator, and it’s not a straight angle – as you see in the pic, the escalator has a gentle and asymmetric curve, which feels strangely soothing as you slowly ascend. Multiple staircases later we were in the main concert hall – here’s a snap I took while seats were filling up –
It’s like that on all sides. The stage is centered with the audience all around it, and much unlike the earlier-mentioned cathedral, this hall was impeccably designed not to add extensive reverb. Supposedly the sound is magnificent in every section, and it certainly was in ours. The room sounded much smaller than it is – more like a finely tuned recording studio than a normal concert hall. All the instruments felt nearby, and at times I’m pretty sure I could hear the musicians breathing.
The programme was fascinating and fun. Hamburg native pianist Sebastian Knauer is the sort of seemingly effortless virtuoso I find so fun to watch, and his duets with Danish vibraphonist Morten Friis were unexpected and thrilling. Vibraphone on a Bach piece? Well, why not!
Most remarkable for me was the sound of the string ensemble. This is where the unusual acoustics of the room really sang. Concert master Anna Morgoulets has a star presence of her own, and her tone (we guitar nerds have to nerd out about “tone”) – her tone was otherworldly, very much like a voice, and her timing and technique.. I feel silly trying to even describe it. She’s amazing.
So, that also happened!
3. Freddy Quinn’s 1962 hit, Junge, komm bald wieder
This song was a favorite of a very dear uncle of mine who recently passed. I had never heard it before this trip – at a memorial service for him, which I attended along with members of my extended family. Everyone was moved, and clearly many recognized the song from their youth. It’s a sailor’s song, simply calling a son to come home soon, as countless sailors’ moms have done through the ages. My uncle and aunt, and my mom and dad, all emigrated from Germany to the Americas during the early 1960s, while Junge, komm bald wieder was a hit, and I quickly understood the song’s special place in all of their hearts.
Here it is on Pandora, and I’m sure you can find it on other services as well.
As for me, I had thought about renting a guitar for my three week stay there, but opted out as the days were packed with travel and fun activities. I have my mom and cousins and uncles and aunts to thank for that, and for their warm hospitality to this Junge aus California. I feel I know them all better after this journey, and as such, have become more acquainted with myself. I did take some audio notes on the ol’ iPhone Handy! Have a few song ideas percolating, and one of them is straight-up Schlager. I love me some Schlager, and now that I have a chorus and song concept, I’ll just need to find a little free time to bang it out, hopefully within the next few weeks.
Oh!
4. This song – I can say this out loud now, cos I found it amusing, though a tiny bit frightening. Why did I choose to write and record and release a song with the opening line, “I jumped out of a plane,” like, minutes before getting on a plane? Coincidence, or my perverse unconscious mischievous process? I don’t know. Songs happen to me, you see, sometimes that’s the best way to describe it. I Changed My Mind is part of this journey, in fact it was still earworming me as we embarked at SFO. I had also watched the recent harrowing documentary about Boeing’s horrific demise into stupid greed and treachery, just a few weeks ago, so a small bit of my mind was thinking, “OK, this is it, then!” But thankfully, I live to sing another day.
With gratitude and love, don’t jump out of any planes, and komm bald wieder nach Haus.
