Jetlag is something which all long-distance travellers “suffer”.  I mused this week, whilst “suffering” myself, that we travellers should perhaps stop using the word.  After all, we are “suffering” because we have the privilege of having time and money enough to broaden our minds by immersing ourselves in other environments and cultures, a luxury of which many people can only dream.

I was feeling somewhat yonderly as I arrived at rehearsal last night, having been back in Sydney just two days after a long distance flight from Europe.  It did not take long for Carlos to sort that out.  After a five week break, it was energising to be back amongst friends singing some of the most wonderful music ever written, under the direction of someone who knows, loves and cherishes the music and all that it stands for.  By the end of the rehearsal, the feeling of yonderliness (no, Spellchecker does not like this word but I can’t think of any other) had entirely evaporated, and then I had the best night’s sleep since arriving back.  But then we all know it – singing is good for you and cures all sorts of ailments, apparently including jetlag.

And what were some of our mind-broadening experiences in Europe?  Musically, attending a concert in a small Yorkshire Dales church given by a UK Championship brass band (did the roof really raise a few inches before settling down again?), joining in Choral Evensong in the intimate and historic Chapel of Christ’s College Cambridge, and hearing the Dresden Philharmonic play Brahms’ Second Symphony (did someone once say that only German orchestras should play Brahms as only Germans understand his music – they could be right).

It is great to be back with the Choir, with the prospect of several more insightful and exacting rehearsals of this marvellous work, culminating in an exciting and exhilarating performance in the Cardinal Cerretti Chapel in May.