Abbaye de Vaucelles, September 24th 2005

I came to the beautiful abbaye de Vaucelles on 24th September 2005 for the 20th wedding anniversary party of Bruno and Christine Deletr'e, who run La Chapelle du Hainault, a group for which I had sung earlier in the year.
Another building on the way in up the main drive.
The outside of the main building that is still standing, in which we ate and made music.
When Karl and Florence Schwerdt and I arrived, a rehearsal of BVW 147 was just finishing.
The dining room, at the back, from the outside.
This figure was just outside the dining room.
Behind the building was a partly formal garden, including these two rather trite angels.
A view from the end of the garden back towards the still inhabited Abbey building, and a shell which it seems is being restored.
A closer view of what looks like the restoration.
I started to take some photos more for the fun of them than simply to document the evening. It was the perfect time: the golden moment just before the sunset.
Some trees at the back of the garden.
And some more.
A view to the west (the side of the garden with the main building).
A corner at the back of the main building with a curiously small window on the left.
A weeping willow, I presume, just in front of the ruined part of the abbey.
A rather new addition. By allowing the sand to be covered in leaves I fear the point of the oriental original has been missed.
A close-up of a couple of windows of the ruined building.
Closer still.
The small window again.
A back corner of the main building.
Before supper various pieces of music were performed, including extracts from BWV 147 and best of a solo sung and read piece by Bruno's singer brother, Bertrand. It started with an instrumental piece, here pictured.
The two solo violins were Bruno and his son Matthieu.
A view of the choir in the middle of BWV 147, during an aria, when I was able to leave the end of the basses and walk around to the front to take pictures.
The choir from closer up.

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Last updated 2017/05/10