Gospel at Saint-Julien-le_Pauvre
Your taste of life in Paris and France
ParlerParis.com
Monday, May 31, 2010 • Paris, France
Usually on a Sunday afternoon, when everyone is out enjoying their day off from work, the sounds of the city are more acute, more distinctive, more pointed. But for some reason, this wasn't the case yesterday. It was a strange kind of muffled city "white noise" that must have been the result of the low cloud that hovered over the city, acting as form of acoustic, like adding carpeting to the floor, walls and ceiling of a room.
Don't even ask why I'd notice something like that, but Paris has become an old friend whose multi-faceted personality and ever-changing moods affect our ongoing relationship. This morning the sun is surprisingly pouring in past the red geraniums in the window boxes through my windows onto the desk, in spite of yesterday's weather report predicting cloudy and rainy -- although the predictions change every few minutes, too.
Normally red is my favorite color for geraniums, but in keeping with the color scheme, twenty-two fuchsia-colored large-blossomed geraniums were delivered Sunday morning by the "Jardinerie du Quai" at "Le Saint-Tropez" along with two baby "oliviers" (olive trees). We picked them out from all the other possibilities at the nurseries along the Quai de la Megisserie on Friday afternoon to adorn the terrace which will be planted as soon as I can be assured the rain has passed.
Volumes have been written about Ronis' images of Paris, France and the world over, described as "the chronicler and creator of a romantic vision of Paris now firmly lodged in the public imagination," (http://www.timesonline.co.uk), but they are so much more than mere chronicles of every day life. Each image will suck you in as if you are not just an observer, but a part of the scene itself, into a depth that goes beyond the muffled white noise of the city.
I urge you not to miss the collection of Willy Ronis works curated into five themes and cleverly displayed at the Monnaie de Paris: Until August 22, 2010, at 11, quai de Conti in the 6th, closed Monday.
When we left the exhibition, we noticed yellow posters stuck on the walls of the quay promoting a Gospel concert at the Eglise Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre later that day. Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre is the oldest church in the city (built in 12th-century) and boasts of housing the oldest tree in the Square René Viviani, just north of the church -- a locust tree planted in 1602 by Jean Robin, gardener-in-chief during the reign of kings Henry III, Henry IV, and Louis XIII.
The tickets were expensive -- 23€, but spontaneously we decided to take in the "Negro Spirituals" put on by the "Legend Singers" in such a poignant venue. I hadn't heard gospel in Paris for many years, not since Bojangles Restaurant closed, where on Sunday afternoons one could listen to American gospel singers that could bring the house down.
The concert ended with "When the Saints Go Marchin' In" -- a song I grew up with, but sounding a whole lot different! We just giggled to ourselves...who would have thought we'd have ended up in the oldest church in Paris listening to "faux gospel" on a "white noise" kind of day.
Life in Paris is unpredictable, like the weather.
Our sincerest condolences go to American in Paris, Michael Genelin, on the sudden loss of his wife, Susy, to cancer, at the American Hospital in Paris. Michael is an attorney, international consultant of government reform and the author of two novels, "Siren of the Waters" and "Dark Dreams." He and Susy have resided in Paris the past five years and have always been special friends of Parler Paris. Susy had a shining sense of humor, which Michael reports was in tact until the very end. Just this past March, she thought to send me this photo of Barbie on her 50th birthday with a note: "About time that happened to her...!" She will be sadly missed by all who knew her.
Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris
Share this article with a friend...
Respond to Adrian
P.S. Don't forget to join us a week from Tuesday, June 8th, at our monthly coffee gathering, "Parler Paris Après Midi," from 3 to 5 p.m. at La Pierre du Marais. Visit http://www.adrianleeds.com/parlerparis/apresmidi.html for more information.
