Sunny and Smiling Saturday
So, where does one head to in order to wipe away the thoughts of Terrible Thursday? The answer’s obvious! To Cambridge, of course. And that was where I found myself today, accompanied by several good friends from the hall, including the prettier one-half of the Canadian Couple.
It’s a lovely city less than two hours from London, and we were blessed with wonderful sightseeing weather. I last paid a visit there in the spring of 2000 - a long time ago - and it sure was great to make this return visit. Typically, we think of Cambridge as a university town – a place which has produced international luminaries such as Issac Newton, Stephen Hawking, Erasmus, Wittgenstein, Darwin, and dare I say, even Lee Kuan Yew.
The many established colleges commanded plenty of interest for us. We wandered past a majestic 19th century Gothic gatehouse into the green grounds of King’s College – one of Cambridge’s most famous – and then into the amazing Chapel, where we stumbled upon a rehearsal of Bach’s magnificent B Minor Mass. To hear those sublime sounds swirling around the vaulted ceilings and the stained glass panellings was an experience which one wouldn’t easily forget.
And then there was St. John’s College as well, including its Chapel, where we found another choir rehearsal in session. Heading outwards, past the Second Court, we came to the lovely Bridge of Sighs over the River Cam, named after its Venetian namesake. And beyond lay the New Court, with a luxuriant green lawn in front of it. It was very lovely, very calm.
We walked past the adjacent Trinity and Clare Colleges too, wending our way down the idyllic river, where there was quite a bit of punting action going on. There were a few within the group who decided to try their hand at it. It was, not to put a too fine point on it, a bit of a mess. But I had decided, along with someone else, to remain dry and to tour the immaculate Fitzwilliam Museum instead.
This is one of Britain’s oldest public museums and surely a jewel of Cambridge. Think of it as a National Gallery and British Museum in miniature, for the collections included not only an entire floor of visual art works, ranging from Flemish and Italian masterpieces, but also British and Impressionist marvels, but also another floor that offered up ancient antiquities and decorative arts.
We had time earlier in the day as well to check out the 12th century Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as a Round Church, for it’s perfectly round, with striking Romanesque architecture within. And there was also the wonderfully-named Mathematical Bridge. And of course, I have to mention our nice long lunch at the Mitre pub.
It was a nice visit. But I don’t think I would have wanted to study in Cambridge, or to stay there at some length. Well, let’s just assume imaginatively that the University would even have wanted to accept me! But compared to London, it’s such a sleepy place. Perhaps that’s why it’s fostered such great learning and discoveries. The scholars there had no distractions and nothing to do on the weekends….Or perhaps that’s just me admitting the existence of my lazy, pleasure-seeking self…
It’s a lovely city less than two hours from London, and we were blessed with wonderful sightseeing weather. I last paid a visit there in the spring of 2000 - a long time ago - and it sure was great to make this return visit. Typically, we think of Cambridge as a university town – a place which has produced international luminaries such as Issac Newton, Stephen Hawking, Erasmus, Wittgenstein, Darwin, and dare I say, even Lee Kuan Yew.
The many established colleges commanded plenty of interest for us. We wandered past a majestic 19th century Gothic gatehouse into the green grounds of King’s College – one of Cambridge’s most famous – and then into the amazing Chapel, where we stumbled upon a rehearsal of Bach’s magnificent B Minor Mass. To hear those sublime sounds swirling around the vaulted ceilings and the stained glass panellings was an experience which one wouldn’t easily forget.
And then there was St. John’s College as well, including its Chapel, where we found another choir rehearsal in session. Heading outwards, past the Second Court, we came to the lovely Bridge of Sighs over the River Cam, named after its Venetian namesake. And beyond lay the New Court, with a luxuriant green lawn in front of it. It was very lovely, very calm.
We walked past the adjacent Trinity and Clare Colleges too, wending our way down the idyllic river, where there was quite a bit of punting action going on. There were a few within the group who decided to try their hand at it. It was, not to put a too fine point on it, a bit of a mess. But I had decided, along with someone else, to remain dry and to tour the immaculate Fitzwilliam Museum instead.
This is one of Britain’s oldest public museums and surely a jewel of Cambridge. Think of it as a National Gallery and British Museum in miniature, for the collections included not only an entire floor of visual art works, ranging from Flemish and Italian masterpieces, but also British and Impressionist marvels, but also another floor that offered up ancient antiquities and decorative arts.
We had time earlier in the day as well to check out the 12th century Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as a Round Church, for it’s perfectly round, with striking Romanesque architecture within. And there was also the wonderfully-named Mathematical Bridge. And of course, I have to mention our nice long lunch at the Mitre pub.
It was a nice visit. But I don’t think I would have wanted to study in Cambridge, or to stay there at some length. Well, let’s just assume imaginatively that the University would even have wanted to accept me! But compared to London, it’s such a sleepy place. Perhaps that’s why it’s fostered such great learning and discoveries. The scholars there had no distractions and nothing to do on the weekends….Or perhaps that’s just me admitting the existence of my lazy, pleasure-seeking self…
2 Comments:
DH,
wished you were there with us huh?
I read with interest your comment about chancing upon a rehearsal of Bach's Mass in B Minor at the Chapel at King's College. Sounds like a beautiful experience! I hope you will pardon this plug, but if you enjoyed that experience then I highly recommend checking out the recently released DVD recording of the B Minor Mass sponsored by an organization that both direct and love, . The DVD was filmed in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris last year and it's really a rich recording, musically and visually. You can see a bit of it on the web at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8XHrT7DBwA
I've never been to King's College, but I would like to do that some day. I so respect and enjoy English choral singing.
Chandler Branch
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