On New Year's Eve (or Hogmanay as they call it here in Scotland), David and I had the chance to attend a candlelit concert in St Giles' Cathedral. If you've ever visited Edinburgh, you can't miss St Giles' Cathedral. It's the church right on the Royal Mile between the castle and Holyrood Palace. It also has a spire that looks like a crown. It's an appropriate name for the church since St Giles is the patron saint of Edinburgh.
The cathedral is absolutely stunning inside. Beautiful stained glass windows and stonework. The oldest part of the cathedral are the four main pillars which date from the early 1100s!
It has a wonderful large organ in the cathedral. While we didn't get the hear the organ at this concert, I can testify that the cathedral has amazing acoustics! The concert was of several Bach and Hadyn numbers and included the St. Giles' Choral group and a very impressive soprano named Carine Tinney. There is something very special about hearing classical music in such an impressive and old building!
We were facing the large window pictured above and since Edinburgh lets off fireworks hourly on Hogmanay, we actually got to see fireworks light up the sky through the stained glass window. That's something I will never forget--it was almost surreal!
I took the opportunity to wear my 1937 gown and matching bolero:
And like the smoke from the candles, the feelings of the cathedral and sounds of the music still linger in my mind and bring a smile to my face! Such a wonderful way to bring in the New Year!
I hope you all had lovely New Year's celebrations. I'm really excited for all the potential that lies in 2014!
