GERMANY TOUR BLOG 2023

This August, the Choir of the Queen’s College, Oxford, travelled to Germany for their annual summer tour. Spending ten days in scenic Bavaria, the choir sang concerts in a vast range of iconic historic venues belonging to the cities and towns of Munich, Bad Wiessee, Neusdadt, Trier and Heidelberg. Despite the near-constant rainy weather, spirits remained high both in travel and concert, and the tour was certainly a happy end to the academic year and send off for our choir leavers.

munich

Beginning with a three-day stretch of concerts in the lively city of Munich, the choir filled the stunning acoustics of the Theatinerkirche, Stephanuskirche and Ludwigskirche. These evening concerts, with their audiences at full capacity, showcased the choir at its finest, who presented highly varied programmes of sacred music previously sung in services and concerts throughout the year. These concerts were followed by group dinners at a number of traditional German restaurants, allowing for some well-deserved R&R combined with a taste of the culture!

Among these three gigs, the concert at Ludwigskirche was by far the stand-out. The church’s awe-inspiring architecture and generous acoustic was emphasised by its magnificent 20th-century organ, on which the choir’s organ scholars performed solo works as part of the concert. This concert was brought to a close with our now senior organ scholar Luke Mitchell accompanying a performance of Jonathan Dove’s ethereal work, ‘Seek him that maketh the seven stars’ on the organ. A snippet of this performance can be found at: Facebohttps://www.facebook.com/queenschoir/videos/210532828688945ok

‘The rich, colourful interior of Ludwigskirche in Munich made our concert there a standout tour experience for me’ (Lucy Barker, alto)

bad wiessee

After Munich, the choir continued to move across Bavaria, passing first through the more rural town of Bad Wiessee, and then to the historic towns of Neustadt and Trier. While the visits to Neustadt and Trier included overnight stays, the day-trip nature of the choir’s visit to Bad Wiessee called for some group exploration of the area during free time. A picnic lunch and rare spot of sunlight was enjoyed at the gorgeous landscape of the Tegernsee lake before rehearsal and concert in the Maria Himmelfahrt Kirche, which as warmly received by its audience.

Neustadt

After Bad Wiessee, the choir’s performance in Stiftskirche, Neustadt, on the sixth day of tour, was particularly special, acting as an official pre-festival ‘teaser’ concert to the Neustadter Herbst-Festival für Alte Musik. This concert also featured a performance of the ‘Eclogue’ from Kenneth Leighton’s stunning Veris Gratia, a work which was written by Leighton during his time at Queen’s for its very own Eglesfield Musical Society. This work was recently recorded by the choir alongside Ralph Vaughan Williams’ An Oxford Elegy (narrated by Rowan Atkinson), for their newest CD, coming out in October 2024. Organ works from the Baroque era also featured in this teaser concert, performed by organ scholars Isaac Adni and Luke Mitchell.

This concert was incredibly well-received, with its audience giving a standing ovation after the choir’s performance of John Rutter’s ‘Hymn to the Creator of Light’, an especially sentimental piece for the choir, having been sung previously as the last evensong anthem of the year. One audience member and concert reviewer described the choir as ‘a shining light of the international choir scene’ in a recent review.

‘a shining light of the international choir scene’ (audience member and concert reviewer at stiftskirche, neustadt)

trier

After spending the night in the quiet town of Neustadt, the choir travelled to Trier, the oldest city in Germany, to give one final concert in the majestic Liebfrauenkirche. Between rehearsal and concert, the choir took a group visit to the adjacent cathedral and enjoyed a tranquil walk around its beautiful gardens and cloisters.

The Trier concert was certainly an emotional wrap-up for our choir leavers, featuring a stacked programme of choir favourites including Leighton’s ‘Eclogue’ once more, and ending with William Harris’ beloved ‘Faire is the Heaven’, a staple in the choir’s Evensong anthem repertoire.  

‘Singing our last concert in the Liebfrauenkirche in Trier was definitely my concert highlight. It was an incredible space and acoustic… there was not a dry eye left during the encore!’ (Tiggy Jones, soprano)

heidelberg

The penultimate day of tour brought the choir to the city of Heidelberg. With the day at leisure, the choir enjoyed exploring the city together before making an evening visit to the Neckar river bank to watch the incredible firework display of the Heidelberg Castle Illuminations, which proved a wonderful way to celebrate the end of an immensely successful concert series together.

 On the following morning, before heading back to Munich airport, the choir made a quick stop at the Jesuitenkirche for morning Mass. Featuring Jonathan Dove’s magnificent Missa Brevis sung by the choir from the church’s gallery, this service made for a joyful and rewarding end to a packed ten days of singing.

All in all, the choir’s tour to Germany was a huge success both musically and otherwise. While it was certainly bittersweet saying goodbye to our leavers after such a fantastic tour (and year!) of music-making, we have no shortage of exciting concerts and events lined up for the remainder of the 2023-24 academic year, including performances in the Sheldonian Theatre, our very own stunning Baroque Chapel and more. To find out more, stay tuned for updates on the ‘What’s On’ page of our website, or follow us on social media:

We thank you for your continued support to the choir, and hope to see you at future events and tours!