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This picture on the left was what it was
all about. Here is the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra in rehearsal
with the Chorus for Beethoven's 9th. This concert, and the incredibly
exciting performance of Dream of Gerontius, were both broadcast live
to 8 countries, and recorded for later broadcast to another 6. The
Chorus had a standing ovation for the latter
performance which is quite something for the reserved Finns we
gathered.
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Helsinki is an attractive city with a
great tram system which we used extensively. Some special places were
the Sibelius Monument in Sibelius Park, eating gorgeous cake in a
lovely cafe near the South Harbour, trying beetroot soup for
lunch (!), visiting both the Lutheran and Orthodox Cathedrals,
meandering round the South Harbour outdoor market and the historic
indoor fish market, and wandering the white streets at night.
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In between the rehearsals and performances
we had some time to look around the city and extended our stay by one
day along with several other Chorus members. A special highlight after
the first rehearsal was a reception given by the British Ambassador at
the lovely pink Embassy down near the South Harbour in a very exclusive
part of the City. The Ambassador was very charming and witty.
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Here's Kathy on the right looking suitably
muffled up. Apparantly minus 7 Celsius was something of a
heat-wave! Over on Suomenlinnaan Island out in the South Harbour
the wind chill made it more like minus15! Sadly we
saw very little sun.That was a great trip with the ferry
bashing a channel through the ice. The pretty Island has a historic
harbour and is heavily fortified reflecting Finland's chequered history.
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