Brazil Day 8 - Fifth Concert

We spent the morning individually at the hotel or around the city. Many got another pair of Havaianas, sampled local delicacies like fresh coconuts, or picked up a delicious lunch.

At 4:15 PM, we met in the lobby and walked to our concert venue for the day, the Basilica Nossa Senhora de Lourdes. After a brief warm-up, during which we became acquainted with the impressive acoustics, we met the Coral Dom Silvério. This choir is led by João, who accompanied us on our trip to Brazil 10 years ago and has even visited us once in Heidenheim. Together we rehearsed “Invoccao em Defesa da Patria,” a hymn to Brazil, and then sang several pieces before we had to clear the church for a worship service.

At 7 PM, the Coral Dom Silvério opened the concert with a beautiful Ave Maria. We followed with a sacred program, from “Locus iste” to “Immortal Bach,” with the latter being particularly well received as we positioned ourselves around the audience throughout the church, enveloping them in the special sound of this piece. As João requested a German folk song, we sang “Kein schöner Land” as the finale. The Coral Dom Silvério sang another piece before we all presented “Invoccao,” which the audience celebrated with standing ovations.

João runs a music class where he teaches younger children fundamental musical knowledge. However, most of the students can only afford a plastic recorder, and João had inquired if we had old or discarded wooden recorders. In total, about 60 recorders were collected, mostly from the Oratorienchor Ulm, which we handed over to João and his students after the concert, and they were very pleased. :)

On the way back to the hotel, most made a supermarket stop to stock up on snacks and drinks for the upcoming travel day.