Between 1999 and 2003, the choir made three trips into Europe, singing in Paris, in Hungary (Budapest and Vesprem) and in southern France (Arles and Nîmes).

Paris: 8th-11th April 1999

The Amici’s first foreign tour was to Paris by Eurostar. We performed three concerts, in Notre Dame Cathedral, in the church of Saint Severin and during a Mass in Saint Germain des Prés. The concerts were of music performed at our Easter concert on March 27th 1999 and additionally included works by Byrd and Palestrina.

The tour was a great success, and singing in Notre Dame was quite unforgettable. 

Hungary: 2001

The choir made a highly successful four day tour to Budapest, Hungary after Easter in 2001, giving two concerts – one in Vesprem, a small town outside Budapest, and the other in Budapest itself. These concerts were well attended and the audiences gave us a warm reception, especially after we sang two Hungarian folksongs in Hungarian. The problem after that was persuading them that we couldn’t really speak Hungarian.

During our free time, everyone enjoyed sightseeing in Budapest. It is an interesting city, and the old town is being restored quite sympathetically. It stretches across the Danube, with some of the oldest buildings being in Buda up on the cliffs bordering the river. There are lots of museums catering for most interests, art, music, books – mostly housed in historic buildings.

The day trip to Vesprem was a high point in the tour, and after the concert we all adjourned to a pretty hunting lodge out in the countryside for a well earned dinner. The food was excellent and the company great, with the real treat being the dessert offered to Caroline complete with Amici insignia on top!

Provence: April 2003

Shortly after Easter 2003, the choir spent five days in southern France. Basing ourselves in Nimes, we made a trip to the fascinating ancient Roman aqueduct at Pont du Gard, enjoyed a surfeit of wine and olive oil tasting, and performed two concerts in ancient churches in the historic towns of Arles and Nimes.

Our programme for both concerts was wide-ranging, from the austere writing of Josquin des Prez and Arvo Part, to the rich harmonic textures of Pizzetti’s Requiem -all a delight to sing in the reverberant acoustics of Eglise Saint-Julien and Eglise Sainte-Perpetue.