Very busy weekend

Flowers post-Paulus

This has been an extremely busy week: two performances of Paulus, a performance of a Handel recit and aria, and a full rehearsal of the Weihnachts-oratorium in 48 hours makes Jack a tired boy.  Today I've been taking it easy so far, but have to warm up and do some singing of some Mozart arias to see how they will be for tomorrow's audition for Theatre Transparant in Antwerp.

No pictures of the Paulus performance have come to me yet, but the first one on Friday night was only ok from my perspective as I was still getting over a terrible attack of fever and chills that kept me from sleeping on Tuesday night, and left me exhausted and achy.  Fortunately I was still able to sing a decent performance Friday, but slept a long time Friday night so felt in much better form on Saturday.  The conductor was very pleased, and I was satisfied that I was able to do most or all of the things I had planned to do, from an expression/interpretation point of view.

Saint Nicolas visits the Cash Converters

There is a "hock shop" just around the corner from our house, and I went out for a walk to kill time before the performance, to help wake up my body for singing and take my mind off the worries of the performance.  There was nothing that interested me there, but Saint Nicolas was set up to welcome children that day.  His official arrival isn't until the 6th of December but you can spot him here and there in Belgium already.  It actually makes sense that St. Nicolas would be at a hock shop, as he is among other things the patron saint of pawnbrokers, after all...

First fire in the woodstove

old school tv

Everyone is really happy with the wood stove, and after three days of letting the mortar dry out and harden we finally lit the first small fire on Sunday afternoon, and toasted the newest "member" of the household.  I realise that I haven't lived permanently in a house with a fireplace for a long time.  My parents moved from a house with a fireplace insert in 1985 to another house that lacked a fireplace, and then I lived in a variety of places as a student, none of which had a good fireplace in them.  Spending time at the Rose family cottage and at Bruce's house convinced me of the value of a good quality wood stove, and we talked about installing one in our Endean Avenue house after we moved in in 2001, but never did.  Now finally we are happy to have a really nice one!

After a nice afternoon dinner I drove back into Brussels for an evening rehearsal with orchestra and choir of the Christmas Oratorio.  It was held in a rather odd location, a piano repair and construction factory that is often used as a rehearsal space, or as kind of eclectic gallery / show space.  It was a bit crowded in there but surprisingly the sound of the instruments and singers was quite clear.

conductor Joris Verschueren

Joris Verschueren in a pianist and counter-tenor, who now has mostly stopped singing and conducts more and more instead.  He's very clear, musically intelligent, and very easy to work with, so I am sure that there will be no surprises with the Weihnachts-Oratorium this coming Saturday.  The concert sold out quite some time ago so it is sure to be a full house!