Feedback on the performance Polyphonic Choir in the Pantheon (Rome, Italy)

Our listener Steve Yarnall sent his impressions from the performance of our Choir in the Pantheon during Rome music Festival june 2012

SERENDIPITY

The Pantheon with its continuous history, the dedication to ‘all the gods’, the symmetry. the light and the acoustics cannot fail to impress. Even with the bustle and noise of crowds of visitors one has a sense of timelessness and awe. And on this hot summer day it fascinated us as ever.

We were just leaving when we noticed a group of young musicians wandering in and we asked what was going on. They told us that as part of the Roma Music Festival they and others were shortly to perform in the Pantheon. So we decided to stay and listen for a while and we managed to get seats in the few pews that were there

The nine groups each presented two musical numbers and we were enthralled. The highlight was the last group The Russian Polyphonic Choir. They sang music by Rachmaninov and Kastalsky

When they started one immediately forgot the noise of the tourists. many of whom just stopped to listen to the glorious voices as the echoed around the circular building. We were enraptured as the acoustics added to the glory of the voices and I shivered when I thought that this place of worship had probably heard music like this for nearly two thousand years.

 At the end of the piece by Kastalsky I looked around as people sat hushed and spell bound and the lady next to me wept tears at the sheer beauty of what she had just heard and I could well understand why.

We thank Mr. Yarnall a lot for such a rave review!

Also Mr.Yarnall sent us some of his fotos during our performance