Oompah...in Lincoln

It's October and that means Oktoberfest. Not only in Bavaria, it seems. The Rotary Clubs of Lincoln know a good fund-raising idea when they see one and if it involves the consumption of large quantities of beer, then it doesn't take too much persuasion to drum up an enthusiastic response. They got together to rent the events centre on the Lincolnshire Agricultural Showground and persuaded the town band of a Bavarian village to come over and join with the Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue Concert Band to create an authentic event. 

2012 - Lincoln's First Oktoberfest 

But the Musikverein Lengenwang is more than an amateur Oompah Band and would do more than play in the beer tent. 

Rotary had arranged a series of concerts in the High Street, in Castle Hill and in the Cathedral.  Given that the videos on their website showed them performing the rowdy “Prosit!” toast at their own local Oktoberfest, I rather wondered what their repertoire might stretch to in the cathedral. There had to be a story here somewhere, and being intrigued by the background of the  Musikverein Lengenwang, I “googled” it in my best fact-checker and investigative journalist mode. 

Neuschwanstein Castle

I discovered that Lengenwang is a community of just 1,365 inhabitants living in 14 hamlets nestled in the foothills of the Bavarian Alps, not far from the famous castles of the eccentric King Ludwig II at Hohenschwangau.

The Club dates back to 1846 and now has a youth division of 19 members in addition to the main band of 45 musicians. That means roughly 5% of the local population play in one or other of the bands – a serious commitment to their music. 

Alas, by the time I felt tempted by the idea of the Lincoln Oktoberfest, the event was a total sell-out. Well done Rotary! - and a welcome boost for the coffers of the chosen charity - Linkage Community Trust which provides care, specialist further education and employment services to enable people with learning disabilities  to realise their full potential.

Alas, no beer in the cathedral!

So no blonde Fraulein would be leaning over the table with a litre of beer for me, but I could get the flavour of their music by walking  across the road from my flat to the cathedral for the Friday lunchtime concert. 

I took my seat in the main nave of the cathedral, somewhat bemused by the traditional dirndl dresses and big Guy Fawkes hats of the lady members of the band and the bucolic breeches and white stockings of the men. The composition of the band was  stereotypical to the point of caricature. The earnest conductor & musical director wore a full moustache and a broad smile as he bowed deeply to acknowledge the welcoming applause of the small but appreciative audience. There were no programme notes to reveal his identity, but he must have been the local schoolmaster and/or church organist. Then there was the teenage percussionist – who looked like every boy drummer in every boy-band on X-Factor. There was the obligatory ice-maiden sylph-like flautist, with looks that could kill, and a back row of red-cheeked, beer-bellied trombonists any one of whom could have doubled for Jimmy Edwards in his prime and had the moustache to prove it.

A performance of outstanding musicianship

All my fears and cynicism proved totally unfounded. The band delivered a faultless programme of classical music and regional tunes that were totally in keeping with the setting of the cathedral nave. The sound of a full-strength brass band in the acoustics of the cathedral was stunning and my only regret was that they didn’t allow themselves to go up-tempo for just one or two numbers. Lincoln Cathedral can take it. There are more than 40 concerts and recitals in the cathedral every year from the Hallé Orchestra to organ recitals, military bands and contemporary jazz. It would have been nice to have a bit of Oompah-pah. 

As they left the austere Uphill surroundings and went off and helped create Lincoln's first proper Oktoberfest, the cathedral returned to normal... but at Lincoln Cathedral, that could mean anything.

I can only hope that the fears that the band had expressed on their website proved well and truly unfounded: “Jetzt bleibt nur noch zu hoffen, dass das englische Bier so gut schmeckt wie daheim in Bayern” – Roughly translated as – “Let’s just hope that beer in England  tastes as good as beer back home in Bavaria." Well - if it was Bateman's of Wainfleet they should not have been disappointed.

Musikverein Lengenwang