It used to be that many of the Parisian churches had free concerts given by local or visiting groups - you could find them in weekly listings in the paper or tacked up outside the church. I was looking for some of those, but like so many things, many of the larger churches now cater to the performances that get the biggest draw and they charge a hefty sum for the concerts. But really, how many times do you need to hear Vivaldi's Four Seasons or Pachelbel's Canon? I know amateur groups still sing & play in Parisian churches, but how to find them?
I looked for a while and finally found a concert this evening of the Chorale Inter-Scouts at Saint Sulpice. They seem to be Parisian Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and the choir draws from multiple troops. They also seemed very Catholic, so different from most of our Scout troops. I listened to a few youtube clips and decided they were worth a try.
Here’s the church (known, among other things, as the setting for some of the drama in The DaVinci Code) and the fountain outside
So of course first we went in search of dinner. We found a sweet little Greek place around the corner from the church called Evi Evane where they told us they could seat us without a reservation if we would finish by 8:00. We said we were game if they could feed us fast enough. Turned out to be a fabulous meal. I had lamb meatballs with polenta and goat cheese. Linda also had a lamb dish that didn’t photograph so well. But the most interesting thing I saw was their version of moussaka which comes wrapped in eggplant slices. Definitely on the list if we go back.
The concert turned out to be great. They sang music perfectly suited to the church with it huge vaulted ceiling. The large choir was good, but the chamber group was amazing. See for yourself:
One oddness was a song where apparently they were singing a scout pledge
