Bristol Hannover Council
Song of praise for Hannover — and twinning
** This summer I had the pleasure of visiting the city of Hannover on the Bristol cathedral choir tour of 2024 as a chorister at Bristol cathedral. I’m sure all my fellow choristers would agree that Hannover was extremely welcoming and of course singing in the wonderful churches was as much of a pleasure for us as we hoped it was for our audiences.
We covered a wide repertoire on our travels, including Vierne, Byrd and Holst. A particular moment I found special was our concert in Aegidienkirche – which was destroyed during the second world war – as it felt so symbolic of the bridges built after the second world war between Bristol and Hannover that continue to strengthen.
Alongside the series of concerts we definitely kept busy. On our first full day in the city we attended a reception at the Rathaus with the vice mayor followed by an ascent of the Rathaus tower. One of our other stops was the Herrenhaeuser Gartens, where we enjoyed a peaceful walk and saw some lovely greenery.We also visited the scenery in the Harz mountains where we investigated the Baumannshohle.
The caves were completely beautiful but definitely challenging to navigate for the loftiest of the lay clerks as there were some particularly low ceilings. Also in the Harz mountains most of the choir took a very stylish mode of transport down the mountains to get the best view by zip-wire; I would definitely consider travelling by zip-wire more often if it was more widely available.
Contrary to popular belief, many of the choristers also turned out to be quite the daredevils on our trip to Heide park where we let loose on some scary rides. Whilst the choristers were riding roller coasters, our choir master (Mark Lee) and organist (Paul Walton) were having just as much fun on the miniature steam train which was much more their cup of tea.
All in all our choir tour to Hanover was a brilliant experience for everyone and by the end all my fellow choristers felt more like siblings than ever.
Hannover was amazing; the hotel was friendly and accommodating; and of course the cathedral team who took care of us were awesome as ever. After a long 19 hour coach journey, where we celebrated Mr Walton’s birthday, we made it back to Bristol with lots of great memories but very much in need of a long nap.
MADDY WINTER / Senior chorister
###
