Mass in B-Minor; closing in on Hello Dolly

It's been a lot colder these days in Wavre, and there has frequently been frost on the lawn in the back garden in the mornings.  The woodstove has been humming along nicely and so we still haven't had to turn on the central heating yet.

But unlike the cats, I haven't had much time to sit by the fire these days.  I am going to be very happy to finally put my feet up on the 25th of November when Hello Dolly! is finished!  From now on we're rehearsing every day up until we close, with the possible exception of this Friday.

This last week we had some additional rehearsals added to our schedule to try to catch up with the production, which has taken a bit longer than anticipated to get on the boards.  As well I have had to reduce much of the musical complexity as my efforts to get the kids to learn harmonies have only been partially successful.  But they are still doing a good job and singing with enthusiasm, and some of what I have thrown against the wall has stuck.

Yesterday was the Armistice holiday and so the schools and stores were closed, but we called an extra rehearsal to run through the show in the presence of the technical director, and we got nearly all the way through.  I am must less panicked about the music than I was, and have made some more adjustments to the backing tracks.  Now the kids have to just run the show several more times so that we can see the places that need fixing.

flowers from Sunday's concert

Meanwhile I had my own big project to prepare and deliver: the B-minor Mass of Bach.  This was my fourth production of it, and the first time performing it in Europe, and while reviewing the overleaf of the score I saw that I first performed it in Kingston, Ontario, in 1999.  I realised with a bit of a shock that that was twenty years ago!  This year's concert commemorated the 25th anniversary of the founding of the EOB orchestra, and also it fell on Remembrance Sunday, so it was also presented in honour of the Armistice.

Poppy cufflinks made from shell casings reclaimed from

the battle of the Somme, and a Vimy Ridge Monument lapel pin.

with tenor Teun Michiels at the rehearsal

I was pleased to perform it with Jacques Vanherenthals, the Ensemble Orchestral de Bruxelles, and the Choir of the Minimes.  I also was happy because I had coached the choir on this work, and did the vocal warm up for two rehearsals and the performance, which they said they greatly appreciated.  Afterwards Minimes Director Julius Stenzel and Jacques were very complimentary, and Jacques repeated to everyone the generous words that the famous Belgian baritone Jose Van Dam had said when hearing me in 2015, remarking that he thought that I was an exceptional and formidable baritone with a beautiful voice.  That made me feel very nice!

It was also an extra special moment because Maggie, Malcolm and Duncan were there to witness it, which hasn't been the case for quite a while; Malcolm has been to some recent performances but it's rare to have all three of them there.

at the Cafe Leffe after the concert

Today I might get out for another run before I go to rehearsal.  The running has actually been going pretty well: on Friday the weather was sunny and clear and around six degrees, and I was inspired to do my fastest 10km in a long while, with an average pace of 5:30, and my fastest kilometre at 4:31 minutes.  That's not fast for real runners but for me it's pretty sprightly.

around the neighbourhood

It will be good if there is no Friday rehearsal for Dolly because it is the evening of my general rehearsal for the Brahms Requiem in Brussels.  That performance is on Saturday evening with a Brussels group called BachWerk, with whom I performed the Bach Christmas Oratorio two years ago.

So I will have to spend some time this week getting my voice in order for that, and also probably singing the Messiah back into my voice, as I have maybe a week before I have to have it ready for Newfoundland.  I also have to start looking ahead at the fourth part of the Christmas Oratorio and Cantata BWV 40, which will happen the week after I get back from Canada.  The good news is that part four of the Weihnachtsoratorium is one that I did with Stephanie Martin back in 2009, and it has those two beautiful duet recitatives with soprano that I know very well.  But BWV 40 is a new one for me, and it has a very exciting bass aria sung to the "Hell-Serpent":

Hellish serpent, are you not afraid?

He who will crush your head as victor is now born,

and the lost ones will be delighted with eternal peace.

So that will be fun to learn.  Then after the 15th of December I finally can relax for a bit!