Cambridge - Part One

[smallhobbit]

We went for a long weekend in Cambridge, where, despite it being a bank holiday, and heavy rain and thunderstorms in other parts of the country we had a lovely sunny time.

SM had been talking about visiting Cambridge for some time, so when I saw Andreas Scholl was performing at the Saffron Hall in Saffron Waldron, I suggested we combine going to the concert with a few days break since it was half term.

Andreas School is a German counter-tenor, and this was the third time we'd heard him, and the best yet.  We had seats in the middle of the second row, which was amazing.  He was performing with the English Concert, in a programme of mainly Handel and Purcell.  I do like English Baroque music so the concert was very enjoyable, especially Mark Bennett who was playing a period trumpet, which is rather like a coaching horn, curved round in the form of a trumpet but with the valves in the lower part of the tube rather than the upper.

Scholl was wonderful.  I wasn't familiar with the pieces he sang - and can't find any Youtube versions to give justice to his live performance, but in particular 'What power art thou' from Purcell's King Arthur, which is like singing staccato was brilliant and had as much force as a good actor delivering a soliloquy.  He also sang two duets with the trumpet Handel's 'Eternal Source of Light Divine' which was beautiful and finishing with Purcell's 'Sound the Trumpet'.  The latter is usually a sung duet, but was incredible with voice and trumpet.  When Scholl returned to sing his encore 'Ombra Mai Fu' it was just perfect.

***
Sunday we spent wandering around Cambridge, looking at the colleges (this is King's College:



walking along by the Cam, past the back of King's:



and then, after a proper Sunday lunch, and a visit to the Museum of Cambridge, past more colleges.  These are St John's and Trinity:

Comments

[sanguinity]

Oh, that sounds like an amazing concert!

One of my main memories of Cambridge was seeing a ditch full of lily pads and realizing 1) that lily pads are grow-anywhere weeds in England, and 2) if you're English, fairy tales are set in the back garden, or nearly so.

[smallhobbit]

The concert was excellent!

There will be a picture of lily pads tomorrow! But no frogs in view.

[sanguinity]

Yay, lily pads!

[corvidology]

Sounds like a really good time. I love Cambridge, not quite as much as Oxford but still love it. :D

[smallhobbit]

We did. We were discussing whether we preferred Oxford to Cambridge, and felt both had their pluses and minuses.

[mafief]

Sounds like you had a fun trip.
Those buildings look amazing. Visiting that campus is absolutely on my to-do list now.

[smallhobbit]

We had a great trip.

Cambridge isn't a campus - the college buildings are part of the town. They date from 1441 (King's College), 1511 (St John's College) and 1546 (Trinity College) - a lot of the other colleges have similar dates.

[mafief]

Oh! I'm confused... I read King's College like a subdivision of a university and that university being Cambridge. So, like my university has the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture.

I'll go figure this out... :)

[smallhobbit]

Originally the colleges were all separate, and therefore taught a number of subjects. Then they amalgamated to form the university. But they still admit students who are studying different subjects, but who then study that subject with students from other colleges. The students live and eat in their colleges. Also, each college will have its own chapel.

[moth2fic]

That all sounds and looks absolutely lovely, and I'm so glad you had sunshine!

[smallhobbit]

Thank you. We do extremely well for the weather - so much we had to sit in the shade ;)

[tripleransom]

It sounds as if it was a lovely day. Cambridge is beautiful and that concert sounds amazing!

[smallhobbit]

The concert was brilliant, and Cambridge was a lovely place to visit.

[vix_spes]

Oooh, that's a lovely programme and one that Scholl would do beautifully... glad you enjoyed it and that you had good seats!

[smallhobbit]

He did, it was amazing. And the seating was perfect- having booked months earlier I'd forgotten where we were sitting so we were pleasantly surprised.