Singing to friends

This morning, accompanied by Melita, I had the chance to sing another solo to our German speaking group in the German Ambassador's reception room which has super acoustics. Nineteen people were there. I sang Franz Schubert's An die Musik, a setting of words by another Franz, his aristocratic friend Franz von Schober, amateur poet, lithograph and actor, who was only a year younger than the composer but who lived more than half a century longer than he. It's touching to think that nearly two hundred years ago in Vienna those two young men shared the same music with their own friends. We tried it a second time in a lower key, encouraging the others to join in; it works quite well as a unison piece and I think everyone appreciated the words:

Du holde Kunst, in wieviel grauen Stunden,
Wo mich des Lebens wilder Kreis umstrickt,
Hast du mein Herz zu warmer Lieb entzunden,
Hast mich in eine beßre Welt entrückt!
Oft hat ein Seufzer, deiner Harf' entflossen,
Ein süßer, heiliger Akkord von dir,
Den Himmel beßrer Zeiten mir erschlossen,
Du holde Kunst, ich danke dir dafür!

Then I taught them this round in three parts ("Heaven and earth must pass away; music remains."):

We sang Die Loreley as well (not the same calibre of music as the Schubert but maybe easier to learn) and stayed for a scrumptious lunch outside on the patio, after which I cycled home through Rockcliffe, mostly freewheeling, a lovely downhill ride.