On Sunday, 54 Hungarian girls between the ages of 15 and 25 descended up on us in a chattering deluge. Apart from the problems of providing accommodation (we officially sleep 30) and food (the most I personally have ever cooked for was 20 - coq au vin for 54 tested me somewhat), the whole experience was a delight.
They are members of Pro Musica, a fantastic choir from the Zoltan Kodaly school in NYÍREGYHÁZA, who were on their way to Oviedo in Spain to take part in a Festival. Francis (my business partner, and for 30 years a professional singer) has worked with their director Szabo Denes over the years and has coached other choirs from their school, so when they asked if we could "put them up" for a night, we didn't hesitate - well not for long! And to say thank you they gave us a most sublime concert in the local church. Roujan has rarely seen or heard anything like it. It was astonishing to see the church filled with people who were truly lifted by the beauty of what they created; not a dry eye in the house. My personal favourite was Kodaly's Evening Song, with Biber's Ave Maria a close second. I was stuck at the back snuggled up with my four-year-old telling her the story of Gabriel appearing to Mary ("what are they singing about mum?") which is why the photo doesn't do much justice.
And afterwards, Francis and I were overwhelmed when 15 of the older girls - who were allowed to stay up late - sang for us alone in the rehearsal room. As singers ourselves, we could appreciate the extraordinary skill of the timing and tuning of this group. What joy was ours! Look out for them on Amazon as they have released 4 or 5 discs.
