U-turn July
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July 23, 2006
Open air delightment
Sound garden (Photo RV)One week without my computer and the internet has had a healing effect. I had a kind of a system overload, so I desperately needed a break. Whereto? Well, if there is premiere at hand the choice is obvious, so me and my partner went to Gdansk in Poland.
The belltower of the recently badly damaged St. Catherine's Church formed the instrument of choice, since this was one of the intruments used during the 15th World Carillon Congress. Next to the tower is a lovely garden with benches, seating about 150 people. Fortunately we had a blue sky and about 23 degrees Celsius and shade from a couple of treetops.
In contrast with concert halls the sound of carillon and the electronics weren't limited to the garden, so many bystanders in the streets looked up and wondered what was happening. When one lives in the neighborhood the carillon sounds become part of city life and one doesn't hear them anymore. But with the electronics this was totally different.
Frans (Haagen) played beautifully. And this is an understatement since the keyboard wasn't replaced after the fire and still suffered from the water the Gdansk fire department sprayed over it to prevent the tower catching fire. Some of the keys were kind of stuck, but somehow Frans managed to muscle his way through, without noticeable artifacts for the listeners down below.
Posted by Renske at July 23, 2006 8:50 AM | permanent link
Tags: 15th World Carillon Congress, Frans Haagen, Gdansk, St. Catherine's Church, carillon