the childrens' choir at Antwerp's deSingel for our Matthäuspassion,
originally scheduled for the day of the Brussels attacks
originally scheduled for the day of the Brussels attacks
My main musical project in the springtime was five performances of the St. Matthew Passion of Bach, in three locations: Lier, Antwerp, and Bruges. These were really a pleasure to perform, although one important performance (in Antwerp) that was to be given in the presence of the King and Queen of Belgium was unfortunately cancelled because of the Brussels bombing attacks that shut down the airport for weeks and closed several Metro Stations.
While these closures and the increased security measures and police presence were an inconvenience for many people, in reality most of our daily activities simply carried on as normal. In our own commune of Watermael-Boitsfort people still went about their daily activities, and while the children's school instituted some new security procedures, their classes resumed after a short interruption of a couple of days. The city has already been under an increased security level since the shooting at the Brussels Jewish Museum in May of 2014, so we are not unfamiliar with having uniformed soldiers on guard at sensitive points throughout the city. I'm sure the whole thing was far more disturbing for those who were watching it unfold on television from other countries; as for us, we didn't turn on the radio or television, and restricted our information-gathering sources to newspapers, and even then tried not to read them all the time.
While these closures and the increased security measures and police presence were an inconvenience for many people, in reality most of our daily activities simply carried on as normal. In our own commune of Watermael-Boitsfort people still went about their daily activities, and while the children's school instituted some new security procedures, their classes resumed after a short interruption of a couple of days. The city has already been under an increased security level since the shooting at the Brussels Jewish Museum in May of 2014, so we are not unfamiliar with having uniformed soldiers on guard at sensitive points throughout the city. I'm sure the whole thing was far more disturbing for those who were watching it unfold on television from other countries; as for us, we didn't turn on the radio or television, and restricted our information-gathering sources to newspapers, and even then tried not to read them all the time.
the solists and conductor for the Matthäuspassion in Antwerp and Bruges
The cast for the Lier Matthäuspassion, identical to the 2015 production
Springtime saw a good amount of holiday time. As I have written before, Belgian schoolchildren enjoy a week holiday just before the beginning of Lent, and then another two weeks at Easter. After I finished my fifth and final performance of the Bach St. Matthew Passion that had been rescheduled for the first Saturday of that Easter Holiday, we left for a couple of weeks of house-sitting for our friends the Hammers in Bousval/Genappe, with Osa and the chickens, ducks, and cat, as we have done several times before.
reading up on the rules for Risk while house-sitting in Bousval
Maggie at her embroidery
hugs with Duncan
nice weather for dinner outside
Malcolm creatively splitting wood for fires
There was lots of time for entertaining with friends, but also to engage in our normal recreation practices... like board games, embroidery for Maggie, music listening, reading, and visiting historical sites nearby like the Abbey of Villers la Ville. This monastery was founded by monks of the order of St. Benedict in the 12th century, and today presents as a magnificent ruin. It's definitely worth the visit to walk around the beautiful grounds of the Abbey.
visiting the ruined Abbey at nearby Villers de Ville
Malcolm in the abbey ruins
We also took advantage of the time to visit the Cinquantenaire Museum (free on the afternoon of the first Wednesday of each month) and also Autoworld Brussels, to see the Vespa exhibit and the permanent exhibition.
Amphibious car at Autoworld Brussels
There was also some time spent gardening. Our friends Mike and Joyce are selling their country place, and so we asked if we could transplant some berry bushes. We managed to successfully transplant five currant bushes and about twelve raspberry canes to our garden allotment in Watermael, and gave the extra raspberry canes to Kiana to add to her garden.
digging up raspberry canes, rhubarb and currant bushes for transplant to our garden allotment
garden allotment post-transplantation, and with strawberry plants split off and hilled up in rows
As well I had signed up for a short trail race in the Ardennes, to take place in mid-May; our friends Bryan and Kiana, Lawrence and Tiffany, and Simon and Clare regularly complete trail runs, and two summers ago Maggie and I were the support crew for one of those in Houffalize. This year I was tempted to run the (relatively) short "Trail des Trappistes" of 18km, on the promise of an Orval Trappist Beer as my recovery drink.
The forests around their Genval/Bousval home are perfect for running, and so during the holiday I started my training... starting with 4km and then ramping up from there. For someone who swore never to run unless chased by someone with a weapon, I am a bit surprised how much I like running, especially in the forest! The breathing and pacing is exactly the same as swimming, but the difference is that a) it doesn't cost anything and b) there are no people. Both these attributes recommend it as an alternative to the pool.
The forests around their Genval/Bousval home are perfect for running, and so during the holiday I started my training... starting with 4km and then ramping up from there. For someone who swore never to run unless chased by someone with a weapon, I am a bit surprised how much I like running, especially in the forest! The breathing and pacing is exactly the same as swimming, but the difference is that a) it doesn't cost anything and b) there are no people. Both these attributes recommend it as an alternative to the pool.
my first 8km run in the forest in Bousval
We also had some fun activities around home this spring. Duncan bought some replacement stomp rockets for his toy, and we had a good time in the Bois de la Cambre one Sunday trying them out. Also I found an electric guitar at the pawn shop that I really liked. It's a 1996/1997 model, made by Canada's Godin guitars, and I really like it. Malcolm and I have had some fun playing it, and along with the bass that he received from his Grandfather Zadow he's been exploring playing rock music, mostly by himself but also sometimes with his friend Simonas.
Duncan playing stomp rocket in the Bois de La Cambre
Malcolm, Simonas, Gedeminas and I in the garage
A new guitar: a Canadian original from 1996/1997
No sooner were we back at home than Maggie had to leave to go to Amsterdam for a teaching conference. I went with her for the three days / two nights, and we enjoyed a couple of wonderful dinners out on our own in this great city. It was particularly nice to be there in April; my ten weeks in Amsterdam was during the winter, and so it was much colder then. I also managed to arrange an audition with a conductor while I was in town, as well as some visits to old haunts from my time there back in 2013.
The next week, Malcolm left for his Latin class trip to Rome. He was there for five days, and it was a bit of a nail-biter to get him through the makeshift and complicated security procedures at Brussels Airport, which had re-opened to limited flights, but he managed just fine, and did well on his museum assignments. I'm a little jealous; I've never been to Rome! Maggie visited it on a training conference shortly after injuring her knee skiing, so perhaps we need to make another visit for Duncan and myself.
The next week, Malcolm left for his Latin class trip to Rome. He was there for five days, and it was a bit of a nail-biter to get him through the makeshift and complicated security procedures at Brussels Airport, which had re-opened to limited flights, but he managed just fine, and did well on his museum assignments. I'm a little jealous; I've never been to Rome! Maggie visited it on a training conference shortly after injuring her knee skiing, so perhaps we need to make another visit for Duncan and myself.
Malcolm to the airport at 4 am to go to Rome with his Latin class for a week
During that week I sang the Rossini Petite Messe Solenelle in the Netherlands, in the beautiful city of 's Hertogenbosch, the birthplace of the famous Hieronymous Bosch, painter of such famous 15th/16th-century paintings as the one known as The Garden of Earthly Delights. The museum there was having an exhibition commemorating the 500th anniversary of his death, and so museums from all over the world lent their paintings to this exhibition. Unfortunately for me, there were no tickets at all available; by the time I clicked on the museum website they were sold out!
a lovely portatif organ in the Church in 's Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, where we performed my first Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle
and the large organ in the loft in the same church
Well that pretty much brings us up to the end of April. I also had an audition for the Netherlandse Reisopera the week following the Rossini, and I have had some other auditions since. We'll see if they result in any new work for me.
... next up... birthdays, a little Bach and Sweeney Todd...
... next up... birthdays, a little Bach and Sweeney Todd...
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