“No one who was there will ever be able to forget the poignant effect of the St. Thomas Boys Choir singing Bach’s St John Passion on Good Friday in 1945, the first year of peace, performed in the beautiful old St Thomas Church, which had been largely spared from the war, but the windows were …
I spent the first week of 2024 with corona at home. I have had plenty of time to pray, video call with friends and family, reflect on the 2023. I was reluctant to make plan for 2024, because my plan for 2023 has failed thoroughly. Then one friend called, I help her a little bit …
Today I accompanied 3 funerals on the organ. It was a very special day to accompany funeral on 19.12. Around 90% of the funerals that I played, bereaved families wish to have Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s “Von guten Mächten” (By Gracious Power) at the funeral. This poem is originally written for his fiancée Maria von Wedemeyer-Weller, in …
“So that they go home with a joyful heart.”Ton Koopman Since I attended his masterclass. “A joyful heart” as souvenir to the audience has become what I aim for every time I play organ. Joy is not something shallow like simply saying “don’t worry, be happy”, nor the optimism build on the air. Joy is …
Beautiful interruption in life, unplanned yet happened naturally, I can call it coincidence or a gift. I preferred to call it a gift. When I received a gift, I should express my gratitude. This blog post is my gratitude to a gift I received on Monday. Bad WimpfenOn Monday I attended an organ introductory session …
I am in the chapter 5 of Donna Tartt’s The Secret History. The privileged, well-educated and moral-degraded college kids are getting more horrible page by page. I have only read 1/3 of the book, it is still too early to say anything definitive about the book. One thing for sure, Donna Tartt is an extraordinary …
When I am not reading, I am probably playing organ. One of my various musical engagements is accompanying funeral service at the organ. Some funerals are unforgettable beautiful. Recently, I encountered this kind of funeral again. A man has died, I play organ at his funeral. The atmosphere was calm and peace, the clergy read …
So wherever you are, in whatever life situation, just sing!Happy weekend, see you next week!
I travelled and spent beautiful time with my little friend last week. Since I gave her “Schubert Sound Book” last year, she loves it so much that her parents got her Mozart and Bach. So “Schubert”, “Bach” and “Mozart” belong to her very first vocabulary next to “papa” and “mama”. The “Sound Book” series of …
This children’s music book contains 5 places in the Palace of Versailles, each place is assigned to a music piece around 17th century. There are little white buttons to press to make the music play. Little words in French combine with the illustrations, they reflect what music for which occasion. The musical life in Versailles …