Mastersingers in Barcelona — 2005

    Friday, July 22, 2005
Concert at Castelldefels and Departure

Mastersingers overseas tours always end with a banquet that gives ample opportunities for group fun and long good-byes.  This week in the Barcelona area was quite different.  A third or more of our group left the hotel in Malgrat de Mar during the day today, intending to spend the night at a hotel in Barcelona (to facilitate sightseeing both today and tomorrow).  So this was a strange day.  For those remaining in our hotel tonight, the day was devoted to indulging the pleasures of the Costa Brava, visiting sightseeing spots by boat or car, buying last-minute gifts, or just hanging around the hotel and talking.  Others were engaged in packing, traveling to Barcelona, and taking in what sightseeing they could until concert time.

At about 7 p.m., those of us still at the Hotel Reymar were bussed to Castelldefels, a city of 40,000 on the Mediterranean, about 10 km. southwest of Barcelona.  It seemed to us a vibrant city — at least what we saw of it.  At its heart is the Plaça d’Església, the location of the Parochial Church, where our concert was to begin at 9:30.  As we assembled outside the church, this large plaza was filled with activity:  kids playing, people dining, families gathering, couples strolling — all enjoying the Friday evening as the temperature began to moderate.  We entered the church, which seated about 350.  Our audience was already there, about 275 people, who listened politely while we warmed up and started a few of our pieces to get the feel of the place.

We then took our seats in the side of the church, and listened to the host male chorus, Coral Marinada de Castelldefels, while it sang three Catalan pieces to the accompaniment of an accordion.

We began with five pieces from our sacred repertoire, which the audience seemed to appreciate a great deal.  They really warmed to our folk song section, and seemed impressed with the variety of languages, cultures, and styles represented in our repertoire.   All the while, Bruce was interacting with the audience, especially those in the front rows, and his informality and humor, together with the spirit and intensity of our group, clearly made a favorable impression on our listeners.  The setting was our most intimate, since the chorus was so close to the audience, and perhaps all these factors combined to produce what seemed like the most responsive audience of the week.  And of course, their response to our “gift” of “Els Segadors” raised the good feelings that had been building to their emotional pinnacle.

After the concert was over, we assembled in a hall adjacent to the church, where champagne, other drinks, and cookies were available.  Many of our audience and the host choir joined us, as did our guides from the host organization, the Federació de Cors de Clavé, and of course, our wives.  In this stiflingly hot but festive atmosphere, there were a few brief speeches, the singing of what has become one of our theme songs, “Ride the Chariot,” and a lot of hugs and heartfelt goodbyes.  This scene lasted for 45 minutes or so until the busses arrived which would take some of us directly to the airport, and others back for one more night at the Hotel Reymar.  The remainder of our group drifted off to cabs for the trip to their hotels in Barcelona.  And with that, it was over.

It was a grand experience.  Sure there were disappointments, such as the accommodations and the coordination of our initial transportation from the airport to the hotel.  But the music, the fellowship, the sightseeing and recreation all more than made up for the minor problems.  It was a shared adventure which each of us will remember fondly.

And there was one more special thing that happened at Barcelona.  Those of us privileged to be a part of it, thought of the first Mastersingers tour in 1996 as a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  Then there was another once-in-a-lifetime experience with the 2000 tour.  And then the brilliant triumph at the Eisteddfod in Llangollen in 2003, and the New York and Chicago reunions in 2002 and 2004.  During this time our much-loved leader, Bruce McInnes, has been tentative, not sure he’ll be able to do it all again.

Now, fully retired and as vigorous as when he convened us in 1996, Bruce reminded us that we’re his only singing group, and he observed once again that “Mastersingers is the blood that flows in my veins.”  But more than that, he indicated that he’s ready for more tours and annual reunions, and we all got a sense that we have progressed from an ad hoc collection of singers to an organization that will continue for a very long time.  Bruce was the common denominator that brought us all together, but our ties with each other are now so strong, and the talent so deep, that we’re all ready for almost anything, ready to sacrifice and adjust our busy schedules to make time for this wonderful group of people and the extraordinary experiences it provides.