Feuer im Lichthäuschen!

At Longfield Gospel we like to socialize. We meet before concerts to rehearse (and eat and drink and chat), after concerts (to eat and drink and chat), of course during concerts (to - ha, NOT to eat and drink and chat, but to rock the place!!), in Summer we have barbequeue events, in Winter we do Winter things and lots more.

Whereever you find people from Longfield you always find not only people willing to sing and entertain but also to party!

Yesterday a bunch of us were invited to Barbara´s "Lichthäusl" - nobody knew what that was, and we all thought of a fireplace out in the open. Instead it turned out to be a Finish hunting hut with an indoor fireplace and grill. We all came dressed with 20 layers of warm clothing and Winter boots, but instead of a fire out in the rain and the cold we arrived at something cosy and warm and comfortable.

Outside it was pitchblack dark, the wind was blowing and it was raining - and inside it was warm and hospitable and the fire was shining.

It was so warm that we let the door open - otherwise it would have been more like sauna! Thanks Gods all of us had enough layers to take off! Come inside and meet your friends...

Good food, good drinks, good friends - what more do you need? We also had a good laugh! Oh well, a typical Longfield event. We just need a platform to get started.

And honestly, I have never been at an LGS party where there wasn´t too much food and where anyone of us went hungry. We just love to eat, who doesn´t? And it makes inviting people so much easier, because everybody brings along plenty (in addition to the heap you prepare yourself), and afterwards the host has about another week to wonder what to do with the left-overs *gg*).

At first none of us had known what a "Lichthäuschen" is - afterwards we all knew: It is a warm and bright place where you meet friends and feel comfy. What a great idea! We come back any time, thank you so much for having us!

Today I am in a poetic mood, so I want to close with the words of Chris de Burgh in one of his wonderful songs:

"We must send the word to all the people in the land,
 go to every hill and mountain,
 for the time is now at hand
To light a fire!

 

They will see it through the world!"

Longfield Pool- and Grillparty!

An einem wunderschönen Samstagnachmittag trafen wir Longies uns auf die nette Einladung von Franziska und Herby zu einer Riesengrillerei. Das Wetter spielte mit, es war herrlich warm und "grünte so grün" wie in Spanien, wenn die Blüten blühen! Wir freuten uns darauf, nach ausgiebigem Planschen in Pool und Whirlpool den Griller anzuwerfen!

Aber zuvor noch ein romantisches Foto vor dem herrlichen Rosenstrauch! Was sein muß, muß sein. :-)

Nach Kuchen und Kaffee ging es dann also ans "Eingemachte". Die Aufregung stieg langsam aber stetig, wie deutlich zu erkennen ist!

Und dann gings los! 3...2...1....ESSEN!!!!!

Jeder hatte etwas mitgebracht, um zum Erfolg der Grillerei beizutragen, aber dennoch war es großartig, was unsere beiden Gastgeber zusätzlich alles aufgefahren haben! Gemüse, Würstchen, Käsekrainer, Koteletts..... Herrlich! Und das gute Essen trug natürlich zusätzlich zu der ohnehin schon tollen Stimmung bei!

Es waren ein wunderbarer Nachmittag und Abend voller Spiel und Spaß, nettem Plaudern, ein bißchen Singen und vielen netten Longfield-Freunden!

Und später gabs dann auch noch Eiskaffee.....Yum, yum......

Liebe Franziska und lieber Herby, danke für eure Gastfreundschaft! Es war super bei euch! Und wir kommen im nächsten Jahr gerne wieder und lassen uns wieder von euch verwöhnen! Stimmts, meine lieben Longies? ;-)

P.S. Und danke, liebe Christine, für die Fotos, die ich für meinen Blog verwenden durfte!

Longfield Gospel Singers at the Stephansdom

Dear friends and readers,

For many Austrian - or rather Viennese - people the Stephansdom (or St. Stephens Cathedral or rather "Steffl" as we gently call our huge dome) is the centre. Of everything. Of Vienna or in a way of the world, sometimes even of our identity as Austrians/Viennese and of everything else. We measure every distance from downtown which - for us - is St. Stephens, we are born and bread like this, it is in our genes, we cannot help it. Full stop. And for all the others it is definately the centre of downtown Vienna and a maior tourist sight right in the heart of the city.

Besides the dome is the most important church in Austrian catholizism (okay, the Salzburger Dome is important too, bear with me mind!), and everyone who does not bother lots with St. Stephens or catholizism still knows, "okay, it is THE church and somehow very important."

So imagine how excited and honoured we, the Longfield Gospel Singers, felt when Georg (our chorus leader, conductor, organizer, nanny and many other things) told us that we had been invited by Dompfarrer Toni Faber (the head and master of the Stephansdom) to perform there at the "Lange Nacht der Kirchen" (= "Long night of the churches"). This is a maior event over here, all the churches in Austria are open to the public all night, concerts, discussions, activities are offered in all churches everywhere in the country - and you can imagine what a huge thing it is to perform in the most important one! THE STEFFL!!! Wow!!!!

Hours before the concert we met inside the dome where we had access to the very centre of the dome, the area around/near the altar, for sound checking and rehearsing.

The acoustics of the Stefansdom is a bit difficult for musicians, remember it was built in 1300 something when people a) did not bother with acoustics much and b) it is not a place basically built for what we take as public performances nowadays. It was built to be impressive, to demonstrate the power of the church and people should be overwhelmed when stepping out of their little huts right into the overwhelming power of God. Well, it still is impressive and all that, but it also is a bit delicate when it comes to acoustics. I don´t have a clue about sound systems and the like and was happy that other peope who obviously knew what they were doing did the job.

Before the concert started a slackliner literally walked the line high up in the air. At that time St. Stephens Square was already filled with people, and it was hard to get to the Pfarrkanzlei in time to change into our turquoise robes. Panic! Stage fever! We were ready to go and just wanted the concert to start!

We gathered in the sacristy of St. Stephens, and at that time now the dome was full of light, and it was beautiful!

Dompfarrer Toni Faber himself, who had personally welcomed us in the sacristy before, introduced us to the the audience! Thank you so much, we felt absolutely honoured!

And then the music, the intro to "Love shine a light", started, we one by one came on stage, and wow!!! wow!!! wow!!!! what an incredible moment it was! All of the huge dome was jammed with people, and they all were cheering and applauding! It was so enourmously moving, breathtaking, brilliant that for a moment I was not sure if I would be able to sing. (And I was told by others later that they had the same problem.)

But of course we began just as we were intended to, and then we did our thing and rocked the place! That is what we were there for and that is what we did. And hey, after all we are all performers, and how can you not perform when thousands and thousands of people are there for you? The audience was so lovely, singing along, clapping, waving..... From where I stood on stage I could see that the doors of the dome were wide open and that people were standing until out on the square to listen to us and to celebrate with us! HOW VERY VERY WONDERFUL!!! "I feel your love" was one of the songs we sang, and indeed we did feel the love.....

Here you can see the huge audience, it was absolutely overwhelming!

Thanks a lot to Herby Buschbeck for this great photo! I did not have any photo from the dome and the many, many friends who came to see us, and he was so kind to help me out.

When we left the stage to the sounds of "Amen"we all knew that we had been part of something very, very special that will stay with us forever.

I am very happy and extremely grateful that I had the honor to participate in this glorious event, it was extremely moving and among the best things I ever was happy to experience.  I know this feeling will stay with me and inside my heart for the rest of my life and will be cherished as something very, very special.

Thank you, Steffl! Thank you, phantastic audience! Thank you, Georg, and all my dear Longfield Singers! It was "amazing".....

Longfield Gospel Singers at the Schottenstift

In beautiful downtown Vienna lies the Schottenstift, where the Longfield Gospel Singers (LGS) performed their famous "Unplugged"-concert yesterday. It was the first time I could join them in a public performance, and I was really, really looking forward to it!

I had joined the LGS in February this year, and of course the first concert is a very exciting moment especially for the newbies. We had started rehearsing for "Unplugged" at the beginning of the semester, and since then old and new members have mingled, new friends have been made, and we did a lot of fun-filled rehearsing!

Our director and conductor at work. Longfield is his Baby, and he is putting a lot of blood and sweat and work into the project, but deep down I know that he has fun too!

Even though it was very warm - Spring has settled in outside, and the honorable old rooms of the Schottenstift do not have air condition (which is no good for singers anyway) - the mood was perfect, and we were happy to start the show.

The audience was absolutely marvellous and made it easy for us to get into the mood.

Our two leadsingers did their best to entertain the audience - just like all of us Singers did!

The point of the "Unplugged"-concerts is, that the audience has the opportunity to get really close to the choir. No microphones, no light-show - all focuses on hearing and the pure "life" experience.

This is why you get us not only on stage but also in different formations and different places, even right within the audience.

I sung and attended lots of concerts before, but this version of "Unplugged" was completely new to me. But believe me: It was absolutely brilliant, I have never done and seen anything better in a concert! The mood and energy were phantastic, and we definately rocked the place, together with the wonderful audience!

Another formation you could find us in last night. One of our last songs was the well known "Oh happy day" - and a happy day it was!

And afterwards some well needed rest in the quiet Spring night of the Schottenstift.

My first concert with the Longfield Gospel Singers - and I cannot wait for the next time. I guess I am hooked!