Day Seven France    
 
Day 7 – Monday May 8, 2006 On Monday I slept late at the hotel and Chris picked me up and we went back his home. I met his two young daughters, they are wonderful little children. After having some excellent cheeses (Cantal and Tomme de savoice), bread from Rouen and wonderful butter — not the stuff you get in the USA — we drove into Neuss to hear a romantic organ in St.Quirinus Catholic Church. The tenth-century church is very well kept. In Germany, one declares a religion to the state and taxes are withheld from one’s wages and paid to the church of choice. Thus the mint condition of the church buildings I saw in Germany! The organ was excellent, mostly original with some neo-baroque additions, but very different from a French instrument. This was the first time I ever hear Chris Frommen play the organ and improvise. I do not know why he does not play more often as he is excellent and spontaneously generated some very fine improvisations. It was fun to watch his daughters play with the organ. His youngest drew a sixteen-foot Tuba and played a few notes. From the smile on her face I could tell that she will be an organist! We had a wonderful lunch in an outdoor café. Returning home I met Chris’s wife who is also a musician and was singing in a performance of Mozart’s Magic Flute during my visit. What a terrific musical family. Monday evening I filmed my first video interview for an upcoming podcast. After a quick phone call to Vic Ferrer in San Francisco for advice, we rolled the tape. It was 12:00 midnight in Germany and 3:00 PM in California! Filming this interview was an interesting experience. Tomorrow we visit Cologne.
Recording St. Ouen & St. Sulpice
Monday May 8, 2006