Sunday afternoon at the Opera

This is been another one of those wondrous days in Paris. It began when I went to mass for All Saints at Saint-Sulpice this morning. The titular organist Daniel Roth was playing, which included the improvisation before the service, and the short recital afterwards.  My organist your friends will know the name Cavaille-Coll.   my non-organist friends need to know that he was the most important organ builder in France of the 19 century. The installation at Saint-Sulpice is considered to be his most important instrument, and certainly his largest. Some of the most famous organ composers in the world have worked in this building. Charles Marie Widor, Albert Schweitzer, Marcel Dupre.  Their organ compositions are legendary, and Dupre's Prelude and Fugue in B major is my absolute favorite organ work - here is a video of a student playing this on the Saint-Sulpice instrument with Roth himself pulling stops and turning pages.   ( https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lniaqocbLjM ). 

And just when I thought the fun was over, Siri walked me back to my hotel via the Louvre, the Paris Opera – also known as the Palais Garnier - and Holy Trinity Church, where Olivier Messiaen was the organist for so many years.

Aside from a rather mediocre novel and a certain hit musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, the Paris Opera (aka the Palais Garnier) was amazing. They allowed visitors to see the house, the stage, and the Chagall ceiling. It really was worth the price of admission – even the reduced senior citizen admission for which I qualified!

The amazing hall, with its gilt, chandeliers, and mirrors, was brilliant, as well as the balconies that overlooked the main steps and the avenue de l'Opera.  It is one of the loveliest places in Paris!  Even without the associations with popular musicals, it is well worth a visit.

And then, as I was walking back to the hotel and walked by Sainte Trinitie church where Olivier Messiaen was the organist for so many years, I went in. There was an organist rehearsing Mussorgsky's pictures at an exhibition. I know it has been transcribed for organ, but hearing it even with the stops and starts of a rehearsal, was brilliant.

And so I ended my day at a resto bar near my hotel, having steak tartare and beer. All in all, a very fine day.

Today's Music:  Dupre Prelude and Fugue B major

Today's Paces:  15,100 (est)

Tomorrow's Prayer Intentions:  all those who have never been to Paris. They are missing the opportunity of a lifetime.