Choristers and MFL students hit the high notes in Paris

The choir and French trip to Paris got off to a great start last Thursday evening as Mrs Ashworth cooked a delicious supper of macaroni cheese and banoffee pie for us all to enjoy before an early morning departure at 1.30am. On arrival in Paris we spent the afternoon exploring the Avenue des Champs-Élysées and l’Arc de Triomphe, including sampling some of the patisseries available. After a well-deserved night of sleep, Saturday saw the choir travel to Chartres Cathedral to perform; unfortunately there was a lot of scaffolding inside the building and so we were not able to enjoy the full splendour of the interior. However, the choir enjoyed the opportunity to sample the acoustic and performed to a most appreciative audience. Both the MFL and choir groups enjoyed the splendour of the Chateau de Versailles in the morning and the L6th French group practised their listening skills at the cinema, watching Le Livre du jungle while the choir sang at Chartres. On Sunday morning, the choir headed for the American Church in Paris, where we were most warmly welcomed. The church is a beautiful building with a generous acoustic. We performed within the 11am service at the church and provided music both before and after the service. Many of the congregation followed the choir to Notre-Dame and La Madeleine as they were so impressed by our singing. Meanwhile the French group ascended the Eiffel Tower, enjoying the DJ beats at the Trocadero for the Paris colour run. Afterwards we headed down to the nearest port for a cruise down the river Seine, taking in all the sights along the way. Later in the afternoon we also had the opportunity to visit the Pompidou centre and view its latest exhibition of the work of Paul Klee before heading to the Montmartre area of Paris to climb the steps to the famous Sacré-Cœur with its amazing views across Paris. Some pupils took the opportunity to climb to the top of the Dome for an even more impressive view of the city. Monday was a very exciting day with a late morning recital at Notre-Dame Cathedral. The choir excelled and enjoyed the wonderful acoustic in the building; the huge number of tourists provided an enormous audience to appreciate our singing! The Cathedral staff kindly gave us the opportunity to explore the amazing Treasury that houses the Holy Relics of the Passion of Christ, acquired by Saint Louis and housed at Saint Chapelle before the Revolution. The group then headed to the impressive Louvre Museum; as it is impossible to explore the whole museum within a day, we opted to explore the Denon section of the building where Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is housed. By mid-afternoon, it was time for the choir to go and perform at La Madeleine. Of all the amazing buildings we performed in, I think the choir enjoyed La Madeleine the most as it had such an incredible acoustic. At La Madeleine the programme included solos and duets from Ella Corlett, Sophie Finch, Alex Hutton and Imogen Moore who all performed fantastically well. The L6th French group took this opportunity to wander through the Jardin des Tuileries, sample some crepes and visit the Opéra district. The choir performed exceptionally well for all concerts and lasting memories of singing in such prestigious venues were made.

A big thank you to all students who behaved impeccably during the trip, as well as Mr Gorodi, Mrs Ashworth and Mr Walker for their support.

Mr Marshfield and Mrs Loveless