The Mount St Mary’s College and Balborough Hall Choir Tour to Rome

The Mount St Mary’s College and Balborough Hall Choir Tour to Rome

After a long journey by coach, plane, and then another coach, the Mount St Mary’s and Balborough Hall Choirs along with parents and staff arrived at the Church Village Hotel in the Catholic centre of the world – Rome!

Forza Italia!

After a couple of hours of rest, and our first Italian meal, we made our way to Sant’ Iganzio in Loyola. There we were met by our Headmaster, Dr Nicholas Cuddihy, who joined us on a brief tour of the church.

 

Stepping into History

A quick walk through Rome and we arrived at Oratorio del Caravita for our first concert. Together with I Fiori Musicali, an Italian choir involving staff and pupils from the Jesuit School in Rome, works from a diverse range of composers including Mozart and Faure were performed. The performances would have been captivating anywhere; but there in the oratory, where a young Mozart once stood and played, the atmosphere and sentiment created by the music was wonderful. A beautiful unaccompanied trio by Mendelssohn, performed by year 12 pupils Samantha, Alex and Annie, created a magical moment and another highlight was the point at which our choir joined with the Italian singers to sing Rutter’s ‘For the Beauty of the Earth’ – a very special moment. As the concert came to a close, Dr Nicholas Cuddihy spoke to the choirs and audience: despite their exhaustion, many only having grabbed fragments of sleep in the past 24 hours, they performed like true professionals – ‘a great credit to the Mount, Balborough and England!’

 

Rise and Shine for Day 2!

Stomachs filled with Italian pastries and cake, we began our second day in Rome with a visit to the Vatican Museum. We wandered through the museum, eventually reaching the Sistine Chapel. Its reputation does not do it justice. Whatever one may have heard, and no matter how many photographs and films one may have seen on the chapel, the intimacy and freshness of the depicted scenes from the Book of Genesis can only be appreciated in the Chapel itself.

 

A Magical Musical Moment

After a quick lunch, we made our way back to the hotel for a quick change into formal clothes for the next concert at Chiesa di Sant’Agnese in Piazza Navona. Brucker’s Locus Iste, Caccini’s Ave Maria performed by the talented Scarlett, and an arrangement of Our Father sang by the Balborough Hall Choir, drew more and more people into the church. When the final chords of Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus melted into silence, the audience was brought to its feet by roaring waves of applause. After the performance, the Music Director of Chiesa di Sant’Agnese who organizes numerous concerts by visitors every year, praised The Mount St Mary’s and Balborough Hall Choir, saying that they were the ‘best choir she has ever heard’.

 

A Delicious Evening

Upon leaving the church, the choirs, staff and parents enjoyed an ice cream as they walked around Piazza Novana before heading back to the hotel for a meal and a good night’s rest.

 

Written by Lucy Kitchener