A Special Evening of Music and Food at the Monastery

July 12, 2019

We are enjoying being back at the farm. The next few days are forecast to be rainy with thunder storms. Barry and I are taking advantage of that to clean up Seavo and organize our gear for our flight back to Canada next week. As we fly on Monday, we’d like to be ready to go before the weekend as we hope to have some more bike rides in this area which we love so much.

Tonight will be a treat. We are going with Cora to a special concert in the Marienstatt Abbey nearby.

Marienstatt Abbey and one of its beautiful gardens, tended by the monks.

Marienstatt Abbey is a Cistercian Monastery and pilgrimage site which was established in 1212. The Cistercian Order made up of monks and nuns, was an offshoot of the Benedictine Order. Based on manual labour and self sufficiency, many of the Cistercian Abbeys traditionally supported themselves with activities such as agriculture and brewing ales.

Today, Marienstatt Abbey boasts the largest pipe organ in the Westerwald region, has a library, a brewery with restaurant, a shop for books and art, a guesthouse and a privately supported secondary school.

A visiting organist from Poland will be performing on the renowned Cistercian pipe organ and a choral group will be performing as well.

Waiting for the concert and enjoying where we are.

An historic photo of the Cistercian Monks of the Abbey working the land, as well as the Monastery as it stands today.

The concert was well received with an audience that filled the Abbey. In fact, extra seating had to be brought in. We were treated to an organ concert of secular music, madrigals, improvisations....by Dr. Martin Gregiorus from Gydnia Poland. As well, a choral group from Darmstadt performed Gregorian chants from the 9th and 10th centuries in the Marienstadt tradition. Generally they were unaccompanied, but at times the organist and choral group merged in a call and response pattern.

A tremendous creative undertaking, pulling together a memorable evening, combining the setting of the Abbey and the traditional music of a capella voices and pipe organ and the ever changing illumination to set the mood.

The choral group were barely visible, with their pure voices emerging through the atmospheric lighting.

The incredible lighting was discretely set up to highlight the architecture and change in tone and intensity with the mood of the music . However, it does seem fitting that Mother Nature had the last word. As the evening progressed, loud claps of thunder and lightning, unleashed by an electrical storm, filled the church and made an indelible impact on all, including the musicians.

Of course, after an event like this, we needed refreshment and made our way to the Marienstatter Brauhaus, which is on the Abbey grounds and features beer made by the Monks and delicious food. It seemed like most of the concert goers in attendance had the same idea. Thanks Cora for planning ahead and booking a space for us.

We enjoyed some food and Marienstatter beer. A nice way to cap off a wonderful evening.

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