A special choir excursion to Brazil

Report by Jasmin Binde:

»When we learnt during the 2022 rehearsal week that a trip to Brazil was being planned for 2024, everyone was delighted. The choir had been in Vienna in April 2022 and, especially after the long coronavirus period, it was almost unimaginable that we would be travelling to Brazil a year and a half later. From the rehearsal week in 2023, everything became more concrete. Shouts of »Braziiil« could be heard again and again and after a concert with our a cappella programme and some organ works the evening before departure, we all met at Munich airport the next morning full of anticipation and flew together to Salvador da Bahia – together with our soloists.

When we landed in Brazil at around 8 pm local time, we were already greeted by our host Hans Bönisch and bussed to the Pousada Barroco na Bahia for a warm welcome – what a lovely start to our trip!

The following days were all about singing. In particular, we rehearsed the Verdi Requiem together with the Coro Barroco na Bahia, which we performed on 3 March in the Catedral Basílica Primaciale do Transfiguração do Senhor under the direction of Prof. Andreas Herrmann. As the cathedral was so well attended at this concert that around 300 people could no longer find a seat, the scheduled a cappella concert on 5 March was spontaneously replaced by a second performance of the Verdi Requiem. On 6 March, we sang another concert, this time a cappella, with Frank Martin’s Double Choir Mass and various motets by Anton Bruckner on the programme.

But in addition to the rehearsals and concerts, we were able to experience so much more: We visited the city on two city tours, and one bus tour took us to the Basilica of Nosso Senhor do Bonfim, one of the most important churches in Bahia. On our last two days, we went on excursions to the islands of Itamoabo and Itaparica. Whilst we could only reach Itamoabo by small boat or by swimming, Itaparica is much larger and so we travelled there by bus to a church ruin in the Parque Ecológico de Baiacu and, after another visit to the church, to the beach. In the evening, the “Brazilian Festival” took place in the pousada, at which the madrigal choir sang newly rehearsed pieces under the direction of the choir conducting students, as well as individual contributions from both choirs. And so on the one hand it was time to celebrate, and on the other to say goodbye. Over the last ten days, we had not only grown fond of the city, but also made wonderful encounters and contacts, especially with the choristers from the Brazilian choir, which we hope will last for a long time to come!

Adeus e obrigado por tudo!«