Firenze Acoustics

My most beautiful experience in Florence came not from the Uffizi gallery, although Boticelli’s paintings were incredible. It came not from the Galleria della Academia, although David was stunning. It came not from the Cathedral Santa Maria nor San Lorenzo. The most beautiful experience I had in Florence came on the last night from a divine chance encounter on the Piazzella Michelangelo when a stranger handed us a brochure to a concert starting immediately at the church up the road. Amy and I decided to go, and after a few more minutes admiring the flickering lights of the city, we walked to the church.

The hour of accapella singing was beauty in itself! I closed my eyes the vast majority of the time and felt restored from four long days of traveling. I wanted to fall into the beauty with all that I was and be consumed by it. (It probably helped that I was physically exhausted from the day.) We stayed the whole time, and I was overcome. I wanted to cry. (The exhaustion probably helped with that too.)

At one point when I did open my eyes, I meditated on the image of Christ on the cross and thought the angels probably sang like this at his death. His birth too. I asked the Holy Spirit to wash over me and was full of thanksgiving to God for this chance encounter and invitation. After all we’ve been talking about art and beauty, I felt like I had a true encounter with beauty itself. And I smiled for I finally found a reason for these huge churches whose existence I often struggle with: the acoustics.

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