DAY 4 On Day 4 we were pleased to see that the sun was back, thank goodness. One day of rain was easily enough! We all had a little lie in and some down time in preparation for a long day. We took the boat to Murano, past the cemetery island, where the boys were intrigued to learn that burials were restricted to this one island, in order to preserve Venice island.. We very much enjoyed some traditional ice cream. This was a real treat and pick-me-up before heading to the Museo Vetrario (Glass Museum) where the boys were incredibly well-behaved and enjoyed the wonderful glass sculptures. We met a German couple who were very excited to recognise us from the concert in St George’s - we are officially famous!
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All I can say is rain, rain and more rain!! Having said that, Venezia is beautiful in any weather. Our day started at the Palazzo Ducale where the boys were inevitably fascinated by the armoury and the prisons, where we asked them to make themselves feel comfortable(!). We were caught in a torrential downpour whilst queuing for Basilica San Marco. Miss Henson was a star; she stood with our rucksacks while we enjoyed the beautiful gold mosaics in St Mark’s. We had a great opportunity to teach the boys about the Venetian tradition of ‘Cori Spezzati’ (Split Choirs), which influenced the Anglican Choral tradition of our Cathedrals today. The boys were also very proud to hear that we had been invited to sing during Mass at St Mark’s. I declined the offer this time... but another time, perhaps? Another fulfilling day here in Venice. After a much-needed sleep and a really hearty breakfast we set off on a bus to Venice before riding our first Vaporetto down the Grand Canal. It was really breathtaking to see those views for the first time. We took a lot of photos on that first boat trip! We arrived at San Giorgio Maggiore and climbed the tower (actually, I must admit, there was a lift!) to be greeted by panoramic views of the highest order. What a stunning place this is! A quick impromptu performance on the steps leading to the church attracted an intrigued bunch of tourists, some of whom attended our concert later in the evening. After a 5:30am start we finally arrived in Venice, all in one piece and with a great sense of excitement. We checked in at the Hotel Elite (which thankfully has a piano for rehearsals!) and then headed into Mestre for the first pizza of the tour. Italian pizza really does live up to our expectations! The boys then enjoyed some down time in their rooms, where they have already made themselves very comfortable... and in some cases very messy! Platinum Boys' Choir will tour to Venice, 9th - 13th April 2012. They will sing in three stunning venues: St George's Anglican Church, Chiesa San Stae and Chiesa Santa Maria di Miracoli. The programme will contain be entitled The Art of Sacred Music and will contain anthems by Mozart, Elgar and Fauré. We are also very excited to be premiering a new anthem Holy Is The True Light by Richard Bates. We will be blogging whilst on tour so do keep an eye on this news page to keep up-to-date! Click 'Read More' below to see the full programme... We have just completed the recording of our debut album, In The Dark for Resonus Classics, the world's first solely digital classical record label. We are so excited about the results and look forward to providing more information about the release. See the photos here. |