Finham Choral Society, Coventry's Christmas concert in Paris - 'Une Grande Aventure!'
On the weekend of Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th December over 35 members of the choir, plus husbands, wives and friends went on the choir's first foreign trip - to Paris! We sang two pieces - Rutter's The Lord Bless You and Keep You and Fauré's Cantique de Jean Racine - at the Sunday morning mass, followed after lunch by a Christmas carol concert with pieces in both English and French. Carols in French included Noel Nouvelet and Quelle Est Cette Odeur Agréable.

Tres Excité
We set off 'tres excité' on Friday evening from Birmingham airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle and choir members then checked into their hotel or met the French families they were staying with for the weekend. After petit dejeuner on Saturday, we all met at the Eglise Saint-Marcel for a choir practice. Saint Marcel church, where we were to sing on Sunday, was a modern building on Boulevard de l'Hôpital in the south-east of Paris.

Exploring and Eating
After the practice we set off to explore Paris in groups or pairs. Some people took a bus tour, some visited art galleries, but somehow we nearly all walked a very long way! On Saturday evening, we met up again in a private function room at the Le Grenadier restaurant at Austerlitz station, and with plenty of wine plus a four course meal we all enjoyed ourselves.

Singing
Singing at the mass on Sunday morning was very enjoyable and despite being in French we all felt part of the service. The audience was appreciative, and a member of the congregation even joined in with our performance of the Fauré Cantique. The parish then provided us with an excellent lunch, during which speeches were made thanking our hosts for their hospitality during the weekend. Particular thanks went to Jean-Claude and Chantal Mille who had worked tirelessly to ensure everything went smoothly and we all enjoyed ourselves. The afternoon concert went with a swing with some members of the audience joining in with well-known carols. Many of them said afterwards how much they liked hearing traditional English carols. It was late when we returned home on Sunday night, all 'un peu fatigué' but having enjoyed 'un très bon weekend'!