Ayman Jarjour and friends; housewarming; Luxembourg celebrations

"Komm, süsses Kreuz" from Bach's Matthäuspassion

with Ayman Jarjour, guitar, and Geraldine Coop-Denilauler, 'cello

Saturday was a busy day but we managed everything pretty well.  I had a brief rehearsal with Marie-Claude Roy in town, then drove to get my hair cut at my favourite barber.  Then I stopped by some specialty food shops to get things for the party on Sunday, and drove to Ben's shop to borrow a guitar; our guitar arrangement of the Schubert song Die Post from his cycle Winterreisse was a tone too high, so we used another guitar and simply tuned it a tone down.

Die Post

I was quite eager to sing with Ayman for the first time, but the other musicians also played tremendously well.  Our whole family attended this concert, and I was particularly happy that Malcolm was there to see and hear the classical guitars, and the 'cello, and also a great performance by flautist Wendy Quinlan.  He has started a quartet with some violin and piano players at his school, and has started playing flute again, so I am hoping this concert will inspire him to explore new musical projects.

the lamp is lit and the flag is flying for our party

Sunday we spent the morning and early afternoon tidying up and getting things ready.  Maggie and I made a ton of hummous, and Duncan his signature guacamole, and there were lots of vegetables cut up, and many cheeses and smoked salmon to put out on the table.  The guests started arriving around 16:00 and soon we had 90 people in the house and garden!  Amazingly that is more guests than we had at our wedding reception 20 years ago.  I realise now that I would have done well to have hired a couple of high school students to walk around with trays and bottles of cava, or to staff a bar area.

photos in the garden

We were really astonished with people's generosity; they brought so many plants that I will have a big day of gardening ahead of me today, to plant azaleas, rhododendrons, hydrangeas, tea roses, as well as many tulip and crocus bulbs.  People also brought lots of food to eat and many bottles to open, as well as things like placemats, or candelabras, or tea towels.  Really we are very blessed with generous friends.  We were able to visit with most of them, albeit briefly, but we are happy that now they have seen our new house and know where we live!  We also had a nice visit making new friends with the four families of neighbours that we invited.  One of our neighbours, Johan, is an architect, and he was happy to show us some old postcards of the Chaussée de Louvain that he had found during his researches at the City Hall.  One postcard from 1936 confirms the something that another neighbour Jacqueline had told us, that our house was the first built on this side of the street... 

There were no untoward incidents apart from the breaking of one wine glass, and the knocking over of a flower pot, which survived; no one slipped or fell.  We were very lucky that the weather held off, and there was only a drop or two of rain around 18:00 that swiftly passed.  Bryan and Kiana and Lawrence and Tiffany brought us firewood and a fire pit, and as the evening went on Bryan and Lawrence fired it up.

By then the party was thinning out a little bit and Maggie and I had the chance to actually eat something ourselves, and talk a greater length with the remaining guests.  The last few people sat outside around the embers of the fire until around 21:30.  Some of our guests had helped with some of the cleaning up, and we continued with it a little bit, but were pretty tired, and so left most of it for Monday morning.

monday morning glassware sorting

Fortunately we didn't have to buy or rent any glassware or plates, but instead had borrowed some from the church, and from friends, and from Maggie's supplies at school.  It took quite a few dishwasher loads to wash the glasses alone, and I had to hand wash all the beer glasses and the large platters, but it wasn't too much trouble, and I was able to get that done in the morning.

Then I warmed up my voice, and got ready for the driver from Brussels to arrive.  A van with four of the embassy staff and my pianist friend Marie-Claude drove up to the front door promptly at 14:30, and we left for Luxembourg.  The reception was held in a beautiful room in the Cercle Cité, right in the middle of Luxembourg City.  We had a brief sound check, and then Marie-Claude and I took a little stroll around the square to pass some time, and had a coffee and chatted until it was time for the reception to begin.

It was really nice to see Ambassador Nicoloff again, and to present the national anthems.  I also had some nice conversations with the Canadian embassy staff member who is planning some of the first world war centenary commemorations; we'll see if I get a chance to participate in some of those.  Then it was back into the embassy car for a long and sleepy drive through quite heavy rains to get home to Wavre.

Canada 150 reception in the beautiful Cercle Cité

Yesterday I went for a 15km run with Lawrence, my first in about ten days.  I was feeling pretty creaky but have to get ready for Saturday's Villers la Ville 30km race.  As well this week will involve learning the Bach Luther Mass; we have rehearsals next week, and then a performance next Thursday...