First rehearsal of Johannespassion

We had the first sing-through with the Vocaal Collectief yesterday, and it was a great experience... now that I've worked a bit with the conductor, met the other soloists, heard the choir, heard key orchestra players, and sung through all of my music, I'm really starting to get excited...

The sense of collegiality is very strong, especially among the three male soloists, who carry the bulk of the recitative, and I can tell that we're going to have a great time. Wilfried Van den Brande is singing the role of Jesus, so with his colourful bass he makes a nice contrast with the Geoffrey Degives, our Evangelist, and myself singing Pilate, two small interjections of Peter, and the three arias. Geoffrey has so many difficult recitatives to do, he really carries the whole thing, and Jesus, while he sings slightly less, nonetheless must be majestic and noble. We are getting together for another rehearsal tomorrow to tune the recits up and try to make them as dramatic as possible.

Here is the full distribution:

• Cristel De Meulder, sopraan
• Inez Carsauw, mezzo
• Geoffrey Degives, evangelist & arias
• Matthew Zadow, Pilatus, Petrus & arias
• Wilfried Van den Brande, Christus
• Vocaal Collectief, koor
• Jan Van Mol, continuo
• Metropolis Kamerorkest
• Kati Sebestyen, concertmeester
• Jaak Gregoor, dirigent

The choir is very good, well prepared, and the instrumentalists seem to be masterful players, and are very interested in the process. The conductor Jaak Gregoor is excellent, easy to follow, with a good sense of drama and a clear idea of what he wants, encouraging us publicly on what was as he liked, and correcting us quietly and discreetly on what he wanted touched up. The tradition of Bach scholarship in Belgium is very well established, so it is all really shaping up to be a glorious first St. John Passion for me, and I hope not the last one!

Living in Europe is artistically enriching not just because of the musical opportunities (and not just for the Trappist beer!) but also for the art that is everywhere, as part of the lively broth we are all simmering in. I wanted to include a couple of paintings in this post that I've been looking at and thinking about in preparation for this work. First, the painting at the very top of this post is "Christ before Pilate" by Nicolaes Maes, a pupil of Rembrandt, painted in 1649. You can see that Pilate is caught up with an inner vision, not looking at Jesus, washing his hands to cleanse himself of any blame for the whole affair.

What is clear from the way Pilate is portrayed in the St. John Passion is that he is deeply conflicted about the events that are happening. He isn't a straight villain; rather it seems that he wants to help Jesus and is frustrated by his apparent refusal to help himself. Pilate comes across almost as the only person in the story who glimpses who Jesus really is, almost as if he will be the first christian... at first I though it would be difficult to do play both Pilate, and the "character" of the bass arias, but now I realize they aren't incompatible at all.


This painting just above is entitled "Jérusalem", and was painted by Jean-Léon Gerôme, in 1867. I first saw this painting in the Musée d'Orsay in February of 2007, while on a visit there with Dina and Michael Namer and Bruce Kelly, and it left an incredible impression on me. The late afternoon sun is setting on the backs of the retreating crowd, the crucifixion has happened, the drama is over, and the painting seems to portray the point of view of someone standing there, looking east to Jerusalem, feeling lost, abandoned, without purpose or direction. I can almost hear the silence and loneliness pressing in...

But I am getting ahead of myself... the aftermath is all still to be explored, if one is so inclined, on the evening of Good Friday, and particularly in my case, after the concert!


Duncan's friend Fritz is over for a playdate, and they are having a great time playing in the boys' room with battery-powered cars, lego, and checking out Malcolm's bottle cap collection.

Malcolm is enjoying some computer time after a one-week hiatus in the country at Nettinne. Normally by Sunday afternoon he's already getting bummed out about going back to school, but as I pointed out to him his journal de classe is blank for the coming week, so he should relax and enjoy himself.

a little later

Malcolm is taking a break from online video games to help with the vacuuming, as we are in the midst of a little cleaning blitz. Maggie has been away for a few days but comes home tomorrow, so we want the place looking reasonably tidy for her return. Duncan and Fritz are tidying their room after two hours of Playmobil and Lego, before I accede to their request for the t.v., and a little quiet time.

I am taking it easy myself after a very very busy week, and another one to come. Rehearsals on Monday, Tuesday, the dress on Wednesday and then the performance on Friday mean that I need to chill out today, maybe take a cigar on the terrace and listen the the some Rock and Roll or Jazz to give my brain a rest before the plunge back into the world of Bach.

Have a happy end to your weekend!