A couple of weeks ago, our friends Harm
and Trinette from the Netherlands came to visit us here in Lübeck.
From 1993-1999, I took organ lessons from Harm while studying
musicology at the University of Amsterdam, and we've remained friends
ever since.
I had the chance to play a couple of
remarkable instruments during my tenure as his student, including
this one: an organ dating from the late 15th- or early 16th
century, located in Oosthuizen, the Netherlands:
Click here for a picture of the facade. Some of the pipes may actually date
from the early 15th century!
Harm has a broad repertoire as an
instrumentalist, but Buxtehude's music remains a favorite of his. You're starting to see why we get along so well. Yet he had never
visited Lübeck! So when I told him we'd be moving here, and that it was a must-see for any Buxtehude
aficionado, he promised to come visit once we got settled.
We had a couple of nice meals together,
and plenty of time to catch up. We also visited one of Lübeck's
coolest museums: the St. Annen-Museum.
The building in which the museum is
housed dates from 1502. It originally served as a place where
unmarried (and presumably unmarriageable!) daughters of wealthy
Lübeck merchants could live. Walking through the galleries with
their stone floors, pillars, gothic vaults and stained glass windows
really lets you enjoy the art in its proper context. Click here for
a cool picture.
My favorite artifact is a gorgeous
altarpiece by Hans Memling, which dates from 1491. Click here for a
picture.
This is one of those works of art that
you could just stare at for hours. It tells the story of the entire
Passion (plus the resurrection and ascension!) in three panels with
stunning colors, quirky details (monkey hitching a ride on a horse!)
and an engaging sense of action throughout.
We also saw the new exhibit on music in
Lübeck, with plenty of time and space dedicated to the great DB,
including several instruments dating from his tenure as organist of
St. Mary's.
Visiting a museum with Harm and
Trinette felt like going back in time, since we took a couple of
'field trips' to Belgium together when I was his student, visiting
Antwerp and Ghent, and museums were always on the itinerary!
 |
| Then... Ghent, March 1998, I think? |
 |
| And now! Cafe Affenbrot, Lübeck June 2014 |
It was such a treat to see them again,
and we hope to do so more often now that there's no ocean in the way!
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