Yesterday evening we went to a concert in nearby Pontivy. It is not often that we have music here, and as it was an organ concert we were particularly interested.
(That isnt the organ in the photo)
Concerts in France can go either way. You arrive on time, or even early and there are queues of thousands. You arrive very early expecting the queue, and there is no one. The French turn up late for most things, so we weren't too worried when we got to the church and found....no one.
Except, of course, for the organist.
The concert was due to start at 8.45pm. This is normal , to give everyone the time to finish work (most shops stay open till 7pm), and to eat supper.
Gradually, over the next half hour people drifted in in ones and twos. By 9 pm there were around thirty people there, spread out through the church . Another ten wandered in after the concert had begun, also normal.
The young organist gave a fine concert for an hour or so, but it must have been depressing for him to look at such a sparse audience. We loved it though.
That must have been a wonderful concert, although it's always a shame when not enought people turn up. I love your descriptions of concert arrival-behaviour in France - it's just the same here, and we even have a semi-offical 'quart d'heure Toulousain' which should be added on before any event starts. Church, concerts, sporting events, you name it...
ReplyDeleteHeehee....Awww poor him!
ReplyDeleteAtleast you enjoyed it : )
Gemma X
What a shame no more turned up to hear the young man play, I am sure he appreciated you being there.
ReplyDeleteI guess the most important thing is that you made the effort and enjoyed it. Maybe organ recitals are not the most popular for many but sounds like it was certainly worth it for those who went. Blessings!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds wonderful! I haven't been to an organ concert in years but I used to love them.
ReplyDeleteI can't stay up that late!
ReplyDeleteI can imagine how beautiful that must have been. Years ago we attended an organ concert in Tignish, on PEI, and there was an even smaller crowd - but oh, the music!
ReplyDeleteHow lovely - but I must be getting old - I am not sure I'd have been awake at the end if it started that late!!
ReplyDeleteThe concert must be wonderful. One of my friend is an organists at her church.
ReplyDeleteHow sad to perform and not many there. It is so rude to come into a concert late.
ReplyDeleteHere they won't let you in, till intermission. Same with plays. Why didturb everyone, during the show.
I'm so punctual that being late is a trait that I can never get used to. We used to teach English in the city and the students were on time for classes but whenever we had a party, they would arrive an hour or two late!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a wonderful concert.
I can just imagine the beautiful music - it's sad that organs seem to have been abandoned in our age of technology, I haven't heard one played (or even seen one) for a lot of years.
ReplyDeleteWonderful...my Musician would have loved that. We went to two piano recitals in Paris in 2001 (our only visit to France). The one at the Orangerie in the Bois du Bologne was standing room only...the one at the ancient little church across the Seine from Notre Dame was less crowded. Both were fabulous...it was during the Chopin festival.
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