I (Sal) just watched the second half of the Sound of Music before going to bed at work last night (Sunday, September 18th of 2005). I've watched this musical movie umpteenth times. I used to watch this around Easter every year growing up, which I always look forward too. After watching this last night, I decided to re"search" the origins of his movie...
"...In Maria's words, "Now I had heard from my uncle that all of these bible stories were inventions and old legends, and that there wasn't a word of truth in them. But the way this man talked just swept me off my feet. I was completely overwhelmed by it..." When he finished his sermon and came down the pulpit stairs Maria grabbed his elbow and loudly asked, "Do you believe all this?"
A meeting between the priest and Maria changed her beliefs and the course of her life.
Though Maria was intensely devoted to her convent, she was taken away from the outdoor activities she once thrived on. Her doctor was concerned her health was failing due to a lack of fresh air and exercise. This was when the decision was made to send Maria to the home of retired naval captain Georg von Trapp. Her position was not governess to all the children, as the movie portrayed, but specifically to the captain's daughter who was bedridden with rheumatic fever. The rest is truly history. Maria never returned to the convent and married the Captain on November 26, 1927. This is the story that has been made immortalized by "The Sound of Music."
"Narrated by travel writer Brett Harriman -- a former Sound of Music tour guide and founder of Harriman Travel Books -- this captivating two-part travelogue explores Sound of Music fact and fiction and the charmingly scenic sites that set the backdrop for arguably the most popular musical film of all time"
-Interviews: Today Show (Sound of Music), from youtube.com "My Favorite Movie with Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews
SOM Tour in Salzburg
From http://www.christopher-plummer.com/videoaudioclips.html"
-Music Videos:
The Sound Of Music - You
"I love this one, but Kurts voice scares me a little, he sounds like the kid who sang "Walking in the air", but anyway. here is number 9 in my sound of music series!"
Do Re Mi - Sound Of Music - Julie Andrews
""Do-Re-Mi" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music. Within the story, it is used by Maria to teach the notes of the major musical scale to the Von Trapp children who learn to sing for the first time, even though their father has disallowed frivolity after their mother's death. The song is notable in that each syllable of the musical solfege system appears in its lyrics, sung on the pitch it names.
.."
-Theatre Performances: Do Re Mi (Full Version), from youtube.com "Renaissance Performing Arts Association's Summer 2006 production of The Sound Of Music. I had such a wonderful time playing Liesl (the one standing behind Maria's chair in the begining) along side great people. I love you all..
My Favorite Things - The Sound of Music
"Here's a clip of me and the kids singing "My Favorite Things" from "The Sound of Music".
Sorry- for some reason the sound and the mouths aren't quite matching up" What's My Line The Sound of Music OBC, Original Broadway Cast. from youtube.com
"When Helga Schamaun returned to Morris recently to attend her 50th Morris High School reunion last week, she was looking forward to reuniting with former classmates, like Gretchen (Leuty) Weiler.
But she had in mind a reunion of a different sort, as well.
Fifty years ago, Schamaun was the first American Field Service (AFS) exchange student at Morris High School. So this Morris visit would mark not only her high school reunion, but also a reunion with her Morris “mom,” Marion Beck. Beck and her husband, the late Howard Beck, hosted Schamaun -- then Helga Rainer -- during her senior year at MHS.
Schamaun had traveled by boat in 1958 from Salzburg, Austria, to the U.S., and then by Greyhound bus to Morris.
“I didn’t know what would happen to me,” she said.
Beck, who taught for 23 years in Morris elementary and junior high schools, recalled the 16-year-old Schamaun: “She was a typical teenager, very outgoing,” she said. Schamaun, who had left behind her mother and a younger sister, called Marion and her husband “mom and dad.”
“She was a delight to have,” said Beck.
“I asked her to bring along recipes when she first came,” said Beck. “She brought a cookbook.”
Schamaun was surprised to eat corn on the cob, which was fed in her homeland only to the pigs. However, corn was soon a favorite, along with other foods, especially Beck’s apple pie.
“She asked me one day,” said Beck with a laugh, “’Mom, are you the best cook in Morris?’”
As a young girl in Austria, Schamaun had lived through some of the history she was learning about in her Morris classes. During World War II, Schamaun’s mother had taken the family into the mountains to escape bombings. As a soldier, her father had been killed just as he was preparing to return home from the war.
Happier memories of Morris include the occasion of Schamaun’s 17th birthday celebrated in the Morris High School auditorium when the band played and the football team sang “Happy Birthday.”
Although they haven’t seen each other in 30 years, Schamaun and the Becks have kept in touch. In 1974, Schamaun returned for a brief visit to Morris and, following the birth of her second son, the Becks visited her current home in Switzerland.
Now a retired doctor of anesthesiology, Schamaun looked fondly at her Morris “mom” and remarked, “How fine ‘mom’ looks. I remember that it was hard to leave Morris; coming here was a good experience. My mom had a really good feeling about my coming here and I was lucky to have found a family like ‘mom and dad.’"
"
Once the center of power for the large Austro-Hungarian Empire, Austria was reduced to a small republic after its defeat in World War I. Following annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938 and subsequent occupation by the victorious Allies in 1945, Austria's status remained unclear for a decade. A State Treaty signed in 1955 ended the occupation, recognized Austria's independence, and forbade unification with Germany. A constitutional law that same year declared the country's "perpetual neutrality" as a condition for Soviet military withdrawal. The Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 and Austria's entry into the European Union in 1995 have altered the meaning of this neutrality. A prosperous, democratic country, Austria entered the EU Economic and Monetary Union in 1999..."
"As Lately We Watched, a traditional Austrian carol is performed by the Lee's Summit 1st Nazarene Christmas Choir. Solo: Valerie Hall (1975-2008) pre-recorded. Arranged by Stan Hall."
"...Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy comprising nine federal states[4] and is one of six European countries that have declared permanent neutrality[5] and one of the few countries that includes the concept of everlasting neutrality in its constitution[6]. Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1955[7] and joined the European Union in 1995.[8]
The German name Österreich is derived from Old German Ostarrîchi "Eastern Territory".[9] The name was erroneously Latinized as "Austria" (Latin auster "south wind", metaphorically "south" thus austrālis "southern" and so on. There is no evidence for the region being called "South" anything in any other language). Reich can also mean "empire", and this connotation is the one that is understood in the context of the Austrian Empire/Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, Holy Roman Empire, although not in the context of the modern Republic of Österreich. The term probably originates in a vernacular translation of the Medieval Latin name for the region: Marchia orientalis, which translates as "eastern marches" or "eastern borderland", as it was situated at the eastern edge of the Holy Roman Empire (and of the Duchy of Bavaria, respectively), that was also mirrored in the name Ostmark, for a short period applied after the Anschluss to Germany....
Missions
Mission in Wien
"We're a german-korean Missionary family, and we serve in Austria. In this Video we introduce ouself and have some austrian believers share why their Country is Mission Field. At the end there are some interviews taken on the street which show what people over here do believe and there are also some pictures of our open air Evangelism."
Music
-Acapella
Regez Sisters, a female christian-evangelical accapella group
*saw article on the Twin Cities Pioneer Press on Dec. 26th 2006 Singing sisters entertain at Dorothy Day "5 singing sisters, 1 cause As part of a world tour to share their Christian faith, the Regez Sisters from Austria brought some holiday cheer to a surprise concert Monday at the Dorothy Day Center."
BY BRIAN BONNER
Pioneer Press "Thanks to a chance encounter with a homeless man, five young Austrian sisters showed up at St. Paul's Dorothy Day Center on Christmas Day to spread cheer and perform an impromptu concert.
Fred Woods, the downtown center's program director, said it's not unusual for the homeless to be entertained by singers during the holidays. "But this is special, all the way from Austria," Woods said.
The Regez Sisters � Priscille, 26; Rebekka, 24; Corrine, 21; Daniela, 19; and Marion, 18 � brought their own "Sound of Music" to nearly 300 people who came for their noon-hour meal at the downtown shelter.
The sisters are part of an evangelical Christian network that tours the world, taking the message of Jesus Christ to audiences a cappella and also with guitar and piano accompaniment.
The five young women are from Linz, Austria. They met Richard Johnson, a Crystal police investigator and chaplain, on a mission in Israel three years ago. When Johnson heard their voices, he was impressed. He offered to host them if they came to Minnesota.
"These girls sing a cappella in a way that will knock your socks off," Johnson said. "These girls could sell $100 tickets."
Terry McCoy, one of the homeless in the audience, agreed. "They were real nice," McCoy said. "I loved it."
Since Dec. 13, the sisters have been taking their upbeat energy to churches, elder care centers and prisons or jails in Minnesota.
A few days ago, while traveling with Johnson in a van, the sisters saw a homeless man by the Lexington Parkway exit off Interstate 94. He was holding up a sign asking to work for food. The group stopped, started talking with him and learned that he stayed at the Dorothy Day Center.
"He gave us the idea to come here and sing," Johnson said. "We were close and wanted to come and give a Christmas concert."
When Johnson stopped by the shelter about 11:30 a.m. Monday and told Woods that five lovely Austrian sisters were ready to entertain, the Dorothy Day Center's program director didn't hesitate to invite them inside.
The final Minnesota performance of the Regez Sisters will be Wednesday before juvenile inmates of the Hennepin County Home School in Minnetonka. Then it's off to Florida before starting a South American tour in January.
Daniela Regez said the sisters have been singing with their parents, Rudi and Christine, since they were young. They started performing at concerts several years ago. Last September, they decided to start a world tour, performing wherever they lined up invitations and hosts.
She said their aim is to share their faith, "not to get famous or get money by selling CDs."
But for those who want to hear their music or buy their CDs, the sisters have a Web site with samples, schedules and contact information at www.regezsisters.com. It's in German and in English.
Daniela Regez said the sisters don't like to identify with any specific branch of Christianity. "Jesus came for every person in the world," she said. "The world needs a savior."
The faith that inspires their singing and their travel has been tested: They had a sixth sister, Stefanie, who was killed when a truck ran into the family's car in Austria in 1998. But they say their relationship with Christ and the chance to spread their message of peace and hope has helped them overcome their sibling's death.
One of their best memories of Minnesota was their Christmas Eve show before female inmates at the Hennepin County Jail in Minneapolis. Marion Regez said the emotional event brought audience and singers to tears. "It was so wow," she said.
The sisters don't yet know who will organize all their South American appearances, nor do they know what they'll do after they stop touring in September. For now, they're just enjoying the stops along the way.
Or, as their Web site says: "We love life and we love God, who gave it to us."
Brian Bonner can be reached at bbonner@pioneerpress.com.
or 651-228-2173.
-Rock
"A scene were Maria prays for the children and family she would later help out with on her first night. When do you pray to your Heavenly Father? Do you pray before going to bed? Do you pray for your love ones? Daily?"
" http://WatchMojo.com/ presents a video travel guide on the amazing country of Austria. Known as Mozart's birthplace, Austria has plenty to engage visitors, check it out!
"
Vienna Austria Travel Austria Europe Video Movies
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