Continental Tour, 1954

Miss Pamela Naylor, Mr. Arthur Millington and Mr. Michael Sykes, who all brought understanding to the interpretation of their arias. Our thanks are due to them as well as to Mrs. Hawkins, Mrs. Procter, . and Mr. Lawrence who so kindly came to play in the orchestra. Mr. Wicks played the continuo and Mr. Waine conducted. PROGRAMME

THE NATIONAL ANTHEM

PART I

1. Orchestra Unfinished Symphony in B minor 1st movement 2. Viola and Pianoforte Concerto in B minor 3rd movement—Allegro molto W. B. Hawkins 3. Two Violins and Pianoforte Concerto in D minor .. 2nd movement—Adagio M. A. Jones and E. H. N. Turner 4. Solo Pianoforte Study No. 47 in A ... A. Bloomfield

5. Solo Violin Melodie

R. Atkinson

INTERVAL OF 5 MINUTES

Schubert

Handel

... Bach .

Cramer

Tchaikovsky

PART II Selected numbers from SAMSON Words after Milton's Samson Agonistes, by Newburgh Hamilton Music, written 1741-2, by George Frederic Handel

EASTER TOUR TO THE CONTINENT

This year some difficulty was met in arranging a centre for the Easter tour to the Continent, but accommodation was ultimately found at Niederlahnstein, a small commercial and industrial town on the right bank of the Rhine a few miles from Coblenz. It is thus ideally situated, being at the "cross-roads" of the Rhine, Lahn and Moselle valleys, though in itself a place of no particular attraction. The more popular tourist centres, like Bad Ems and Konigswinter, are, however, rather lifeless at this time of year, and Niederlahnstein, with its nonseasonal activities, had the advantage of giving us a more typical picture of German life than would have been obtained at places of the usual holiday type. Nor was it lacking in local attractions, and one of the pleasantest mornings was that of the Sunday, when. in 37

lovely Spring sunshine, we walked up the ravine of Rupertsklamm and through the woods above the Lahn Valley. There was a local castle, too, Lahneck, which we visited on the first afternoon. It is partly inhabited, and we were shown round by the Baroness, whose English was excellent. We were positively encouraged to try on armour and wield the sundry two-handed swords, halberds, and other weapons on display.

Still, it was mostly as a centre for excursions further afield that we used Niederlahnstein. Some of these were by train—to Bad Ems and Coblenz—but most were in a not-very-modern bus named "Father Rhine", not, in respect of the first word, at least, altogether inappropriately. Its springing was mediocre, and it broke down once for an hour, but the driver was most cheerful and obliging, and it served us well. Most of us had a sneaking affection for "Father Rhine" before the holiday was over. In it we visited Heidelberg, with a diversion to Lindenfels, a pretty little town in the Odenwald, remembered by some of us for a picturesque approach to a castle which commanded some fine views, by some of us because a heated argument developed between our own guide and a local one as to whether Mary, Queen of Scots, had ever been imprisoned in the Tower of London, and by all of us for the magnificence of the slabs of cake consumed, with coffee, in a local cafe. In it, too, we visited Trier, on the outward journey over the open fields and woodlands of the Hunsruck, on the homeward down the 'Moselle Valley with its meanders and its vineyards. "Father Rhine" also carried us to Bonn and Konigswinter, and for a round trip—one of the best—to Maria Laach, a lake in the crater of an extinct volcano in the Eifel, with nearby its very impressive 13th century monastery church, and down the Ahr Valley to Bad Neuenahr, a very busy and attractive resort with, so it claims, the largest Casino in 'Germany. On this trip we visited the road-racing track, the Nurburg Ring, where, for a small payment, anyone may try his own skill and his car's paces. We paid our fee, and tackled half of it in "Father Rhine", who succeeded in topping 70 km. per hour down a steep, straight hill. It sounds more impressive that way : it is really only about 45 m.p.h.

Perhaps the outstanding day was the Tuesday, when we chartered a motor-cruiser, "Poseidon", and spent the day cruising up the Rhine gorge from Niederlahnstein to Assmanshausen, whence we went by chair-lift (a new experience, and an amusing one, for all of us) to the top of the valley. A walk through the woods, with wonderful views up the Nahr Valley, and up and down the Rhine, brought us to the great German national monument above Rudesheim, and we then walked down through the vineyards to Rudesheim itself, whence we returned downstream in the boat. For many reasons this was a memorable day : it was a pleasure to have a sizeable boat to ourselves, with open and closed accommodation; an excellent lunch was served; the Rhine traffic was a constant source of interest and one small party 38

made a census of the craft passed in one hour (13 tugs, '23 barges and 12 self-propelled barges, for those interested in statistics); Assmannshausen and Rudesheim proved well worth a visit; and there were the centres of Rhine legend, Rheinfels and the Lorelei.

There is no great point in commenting here on other well-known sights visited : the castle at Heidelberg, the Porta Nigra at Trier, the Bundeshaus at Bonn, the Drachenfels above Konigswinter. Nor shall we indulge in political review—it suffices to say that we met with kindness and courtesy everywhere. But we must mention our guide, Herr Fritz Kanzenbach, and our "digs", Haus Planert.

It was only when plans for the trip were well advanced that we learnt that the agency included the services of a guide in their arrangements. Herr Kanzenbach is a schoolmaster in Oberlahnstein, teaching modern languages but a graduate in history. His comments were therefore strictly historical, and his main interest was in family trees, so that we were always told who owned what, when he owned it, and how he had inherited it. For the non-historians these accounts were not always easy to follow, and some of our party have come away with rather confused notions about the ravaging of the Palatinate, the activities of Louis XIV in the Rhineland, and the duties of the Electors. We did, however, all have a deep respect for our guide's detailed knowledge, his desire to be helpful, and his kindly good nature. What many do not know is that he was able to do a good deal for us in the way of securing concession rates and making other arrangements. We venture to think that he enjoyed his time with us, too.

Haus Planert proved very suitable for our purposes, and our requests for meals at odd times were always cheerfully met. We enjoyed the food, which was so plentiful that much was frequently left over. Many of us, however, did not acquire a taste for the rather dry, close-grained brown German bread, and the sandwiches were not universally popular.

What are the chief impressions left by the tour? They will be different for each one, but for the writer some of the most memorable were : the extent of war damage, especially in Coblenz and Cologne; the general air of shabbiness, with houses of unfaced concrete blocks and lack of paint everywhere—an indication, no doubt, of the strain upon the German economy of the need to rebuild extensively and quickly; almond blossom and magnolias; the excellence of "kuchen mit sahne"; the ability of Peterites to get what they want with the aid of a phrase book and a large measure of self-confidence; the beauties of many landscapes, whether from water-level on the Rhine, or from the top of Konigstukl above Heidelberg, whether of vineyards in the •Moselle Valley or of the fairy-tale 'Marksburg Castle above Braubach. A mixed bag, certainly. 'Perhaps we are too close to the end of the holiday at present, and all these, and other impressions, will fall into perspective in the course of time. 39