New audio guide leads visitors through Bern’s oldest church
A new audio guide will lead visitors through the French Church in Bern's city centre from Wednesday. The focus is particularly on music, which has always played a major role in Bern's oldest church.
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The broad musical spectrum ranges from Gregorian chants by the Dominican monks who built the church in the 14th century to Renaissance and early Baroque music, the ban on music after the Reformation and psalms coined by French Huguenot refugees.
Visitors can also learn more background information about the church in German, French and English, the parish announced on Friday.
The audio guide takes visitors through the history of the building and its musical tradition at 12 stations. It was created on the basis of recordings from the anniversary year 2023, when the “Paroisse française”, or French Church, celebrated its 400th anniversary. The tour takes around half an hour.
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Services are still celebrated in French in the church. However, thanks to its excellent acoustics, it has also long since established itself as an important concert church in Bern.
Adapted from German by AI/ts
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