This isn't folk, but..............

I was very lucky to see the famous passion play performed in Oberammergau, Germany.

When the plague was ravaging Europe, the city elders of the high mountain village got together and prayed. They asked that the deaths from plague be abated, and in exchange they'd put on this passion play every ten years.

The stage is outdoors. The audience sits under a roof, and the actors are in the open air. Natural lighting, and the occasional bird flying through gave the performance a wonderful authenticity.

The singing is operatic and performed by a chorus who appears and leaves alternately. Photographing is not permitted. But that didn't stop me. I had just bought a new telephoto lens which enabled me to get some wonderful shots.

But the lens was not compatible with my camera, and there was a light distortion in all the pictures. It wasn't bad, but it was very fitting for the last tableau: I'll bet that no one else has a photo from that performance of Jesus on the cross with a ring of light all around him.

It was beautifully done, and I felt lucky to be there.

Margie