Performances of music and dance, Bruce trip to Scotland and England

 

I've certainly had way too much going on in the last two weeks to have any time at all to sit down and write.  It's been a fortnight "crowded with incident" as they say.

To begin with, I had three performances of the Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem to deliver.  Peter Tomek has remarked that as a baritone singer, there are a number of pieces in the concert repertoire that are done all the time, and that I should be able to sing these for many years to come.  The list include the Bach Passions, Messiah, the Fauré Requiem, Elijah, the Haydn Creation, and so on.  These three performances were my 8th, 9th and 10th of the Brahms, and it is always good to revisit something that you have touched upon at various times in your career.  I think my first performance was probably sung in English, with the Melos choir in Kingston in the late 1990s, and I was very proud to make my Kingston Symphony debut in the same piece back in 2009.

Bart's choir is fantastic and the four hands piano version, while lacking some of the harmonic support and colour of the orchestral setting, on the plus side allowed for a more nuanced singing texture.  These performances were special for me in another way, because the last time I sang in the AMUZ concert hall was in fact waaaay back in November of 2007; in fact, that performance in Handel's Dixit Dominus was the result of my very first Belgian audition, and turned out to be my European singing debut, with this same conductor and ensemble.  The difference is that this time Bruce was there to hear me sing, which was wonderful.  Things have certainly changed a lot in five years!

What is also interesting is that Bart will conduct five performances of Don Giovanni this coming autumn, in another debut for me, as Masetto / Commendatore, with at least one performance in the beautiful BOZAR.  Looking forward to that!

With the Brahms performances over, it was time to pack up Schnelli and head out to Amsterdam, to view the sights including the Concertgebouw (pictured below) and the newly renovated and reopened Rijksmuseum.  It is absolutely gorgeous, and very large; we had about three hours there and barely scratched the surface, concentrating on the flemish primitives.  If one is going to visit, my advice is to buy a multi-day pass, go on one day for a few hours, then take a long break and do something else, then go back the next day for another session.  Otherwise one gets overwhelmed, and simply can't take in the details any longer.

We had a brief lunch on the museumplein and then roared off to the DFDS ferry terminal in IJmuiden, which in the later afternoon is a route that can get congested, so it was a bit of a nail-biter to get there before the check-in closed.  We made it in time, and were lucky to have beautiful weather for the voyage.  Unlike the crossing that Maggie and the boys and I made on January 1st of this year, the sea was flat and calm, and so it was a very peaceful and contemplative trip, and the gravol wasn't really needed.  While it was the half-term school break for the English, and there were lots and lots of Geordies making their way home to Newcastle after a wild weekend in Amsterdam, fortunately there were few noisy people on deck 6, and so things were very quiet.  We even had time for a cigar and a Heineken on the stern deck, watching the port of Amsterdam recede into the distance, and contemplating the many off-shore wind turbines as they spun...

Upon our arrival in England the next morning, we headed north, stopping first in Alnwick to check out Barter Books, one of the UK's largest second-hand bookstores, and made a few good finds.  Around the corner from the bookstore is the Duke of Northumberland's home, Alnwick Castle, about which I have written before.  It is large and very beautiful, and has been used very famously as a location for the Harry Potter films.

After the castle we retired to the Black Swan pub for lunch and a pint, and discovered that the town residents are very friendly.  A couple from Australia was meeting a local couple at a nearby table, and after I offered to take their photograph together.  The Australians left on their journey, and the local couple didn't wait for an invitation but brought their pints over to our table and sat down!  John and Fiona were very nice; she is actually not from the Northumberland area, but rather from the outer Hebrides of Scotland, so was interested to hear that we were heading next to Scotland.

We had some miles to go after lunch was over, and crossed in the later afternoon.  Bruce was thrilled to finally make it to Scotland, after thinking about it for so long...

We enjoyed the familiar fantastic hospitality of Rob and Viki, and their family, and had some great walks around the village.

The next day we stopped off in Leith for Bruce to purchase a new kilt jacket and waistcoat, and then drove into Edinburgh proper, walking the Royal Mile, seeing the Castle, and even spitting on the Heart of Midlothian outside St. Giles Cathedral for luck.

Speaking of St. Giles, it was nice to tour it again.  I had forgotten the loveliness of the Thistle Chapel, where the British Royal Family worships when they are in Edinburgh.

The next day we bid our hosts a fond goodbye, and didn't mind the wet weather as most of the day was spent on the motorway, heading down to the Cotswolds, near Swindon where Bruce's Grandfather was born.  We found the house that was built on the site of the family farm:

... and in the midst of a slow drenching rain found the headstone for his Great-Grandparents and Grand-Aunt.

Our last day in the UK involved a trip east in the direction of the Channel Tunnel, with a slight detour for lunch and a cathedral visit in Canterbury.  It's quite something, so large that it seems to have its own weather!  Here is the view from the nave...

... and here is Bruce quietly singing from the Quire...

... and here is the view from the Presbytery facing the altar.

The graves of King Henry IV (Prince Hal) and his second wife Joanna of Navarre were quite interesting, especially to fans of the Shakespeare histories.  There was also the grave of the Black Prince Edward (Son of Edward III), and a memorial to the assassination of Thomas Becket. 

I particularly enjoyed the paintings in St. Gabriel's Chapel down in the crypt.  These paintings are among the oldest religious wall paintings in England, and have survived only because the chapel was walled up in the 12th century, and stayed closed until 1879.

Then it was off to the Channel Tunnel train, and very soon we were in Calais, and on our way home to Brussels.  The autoroute passes quite close to Ypres, but as it was evening the museum there was closed, and we were too late for the Last Post ceremony, so we opted instead to make a quick stop at the Essex Farm cemetery nearby, where John McRae wrote "In Flanders Fields".  Bruce has read this poem often in Remembrance Day ceremonies in Canada and was very touched by the monument, and the rows of graves of commonwealth soldiers.

But then we were home, and after a bit of unpacking, and a good night's sleep, we attended Duncan's Dance recital, held at the theatre of the International School of Brussels.  He was very serious about it, and performed very ably; we all applauded very enthusiastically and were suitably proud.

Sunday was a quiet day for Bruce, as he stayed home to begin packing for his return flight, but the rest of us made it to church, and then returned home for a charcoal bbq of rotisserie lamb in the late afternoon, followed up with a walk down to place Keym for some artisanal ice cream.  It was almost as good as Bob's Big Scoop in Leslieville..

 

I spoke with Bruce this morning; his flight was uneventful and he's back home, with lots of souvenirs and many happy memories.  Until next visit!

As for me, I have a little bit of time to myself.  Maggie is doing physiotherapy each weekday for two hours, and as the boys are still in school I will be able to work on my upcoming projects.  The Duruflé Requiem is next, followed by the Bach BWV 88 at Minimes.  As well I will be singing some Mozart arias with David Miller for an operatic society that is planning some projects for 2014/2015, so that will require a fresh examination of those pieces.  Finally I have to meet with the Don Giovanni staging director Korneel Hamers this month before he leaves for Berlin for the summer, to chat about the October performances.  Masetto's aria is no problem but he has quite a few interjections and ensemble singing to get locked down, and I must have that learned this month, so that I can let it simmer over the summer.

One last thing, I was very happy to find a vintage shawl-collar dinner jacket at Armstrong's in the Grassmarket in Edinburgh.  I expect to have a chance to wear this soon to a formal dinner... interestingly enough it almost exactly matches the boys' Rose Hunting tartan tie... lucky!

Omnes Flores

 

If you look just up the street from our house, you'll see a beautiful garden with this memorial statue of the late Astrid of Sweden, the wife of King Leopold III of Belgium, surrounded by gloriously blooming tulips.  Since I took this picture though, it hasn't been very warm, and has instead been drizzly and grey.  We did have a lovely spot of bright weather yesterday, so that we had the top down in the car after church.  Bruce took advantage of the nice weather to have a pipe and a martini on the back terrace.  Seriously, he is having a good time despite the pensive look on his face in the photo below!

I am happy to have completed the Carmina Burana performance at the BOZAR; it was my second production of this piece and I felt far more involved in it than the first time.  It holds a number of special challenges for everyone involved, but for the baritone voice it is particularly difficult, so I am reasonably satisfied with how things went.  Bruce was able to attend, and that was really a magnificent thing: to have your mentor there for a debut in such a beautiful and famous recital hall is priceless.

The hall is everything that I hoped it might be; 2000 seats, designed by the father of Belgian Art-Nouveau Victor Horta, and an acoustic so well-designed that one can sing quietly without any tension about being heard.  There is plenty of balanced sound from the orchestra, and you even get a little reassuring sound coming back to the stage, but only just enough.

In other news, I include a picture of Malcolm celebrating his 14th birthday, which also happened this past week.  He received a number of very nice presents and birthday wishes from friends and family, and enjoyed the birthday cake (carrot with cream cheese icing) that Maggie made for him by request.  She used the same recipe that she chose for our wedding cake, and it has become a special favourite for the whole family now.

Malcolm and I also had a school visit this past week to discover the different curricula offered next year.  He's decided to continue with the most flexible programme offered, which is the Latin-Greek option.  That means that in addition to the standard core courses (French, Mathematics, Flemish, English, History, Geography, Music) he will study Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Latin, and Greek.  It seems like a lot of different subjects to juggle but we have encouraged him to pursue classes that he enjoys, and so far Latin seems to be one of his favorite courses.  He was tempted to do the applied science option, but that would have meant no more Latin or Greek, and he is hoping that he might get in some laboratory work if he can be excused from the English class.  This year he was exempted from English and so was able to do extra Flemish instead.

Duncan is preparing for his performances of Peter Pan (with his drama class) and the end-of-year dance spectacle; both are fast approaching.

Bruce and I are doing some planning this week, and are starting to finalize the itinerary for next week.  After my next two concerts of the Brahms Requiem this coming weekend, we leave Monday for a short road trip to Scotland.  Already we have scheduled the trip by car to Amsterdam, the newly renovated Rijksmuseum; then the ferry to Newcastle, a tour of Alnwick Castle, and then a visit to Rob and Viki's in Garvald and a day or two in Edinburgh.  Then it will be long drive down to southern England, before the drive back to Brussels via Canterbury, Folkestone and through the Eurotunnel to Calais.  As you can see we are ready to go!

Looking ahead

 

Spring is well established here, and we have been enjoying the weather immensely... Maggie and I are so happy that we chose to get a convertible car; it's like riding a motorcycle, in that you feel so much more connected with the natural world outside the cabin.  Here's her commute through the Bois de La Cambre to get to her french class.

We have been driving together pretty much every day for the last week or so, going to her physiotherapy appointments.  I didn't write about it when it happened, but on the last day of her school ski trip in Switzerland this past winter, she injured her right knee, and after a course of preliminary physio it became clear that she would need surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament to restabilize it.

That happened a week ago, and she's already noticing a major difference in how secure her knee is feeling.  The daily physiotherapy will be a couple of months long, and she'll be off work for much of that time, but she's very happy to have had it done.  We are taking the opportunity to have lunch together more often, and with the weather it's nice to be outside on the terrace.

Yesterday was a day off for all four of us though, because of the religious festival of the Ascension.  Duncan is back at school today but Malcolm is having a pont; this is the day in between a Tuesday or Thursday holiday and the weekend.  As our American cousins usually take off the Friday following Thanksgiving Thursday so as to make a four-day weekend, so the Belgians take a "bridge day" to make a longer holiday, whenever they can.

The British "Mothering Sunday" already happened, but in Belgium as in Canada this weekend is also La fête des Mères, so that will mean more spoiling of Maggie by her sons, and to some lesser extent by her husband.  There are lots of flowers and chocolates in display windows everywhere, and yesterday we had an early Mother's Day cake/flan, with a sable crust, and an unbelievable cream filling with fresh fruit for dessert, after our afternoon meal.

I sang through all of Carmina Burana - some parts more than once - with Peter yesterday evening, and it was fantastic to let fly with it!  The first time I performed it in 2011 was a little stressful so I am very happy to explore it a second time, and I was surprised how free it felt, despite the many challenges involved.  There are two more rehearsals with choir, orchestra, and conductor coming up on Sunday and then on Wednesday, in advance of the concert on Friday.

It is exciting to sing for the first time in the BOZAR... I was there again last weekend for a concert:

• Giya Kancheli, Morning Prayers
• Robert Schumann, Concerto pour piano et orchestre, op. 54
• Franz Schubert, Symphonie n° 8, "Inachevée", D 759 (achevée par Anton Safronov)

The Schubert in particular was very interesting; as Schubert died during its composition (hence the informal title, "Unfinished"), we know the first two movements very well, but apart from his preliminary sketches, there have been a number of attempts to complete the last two movements over the years.  This most recent version was published by the Russian composer Safronov in 2007, and was reasonably successful to my ear.

The Kancheli "Morning Prayers" piece was interesting from my point of view, as it illustrated how great the BOZAR is as a concert hall... the piece was modern, with lots of winds, recorded sections, and atmospheric colours, but it also had a very difficult part for bass flute.  Many of the notes in the solo part were at the absolute rock bottom of the flute register, sustained for long phrases, but the sound of the low flute carried perfectly in the hall.  It is encouraging to be able to hear a lower woodwind in its extreme low register, even with the orchestra; psychologically I am gratified to know that even with Orff's large orchestration in the Carmina Burana, the textures will lighten up when I have to sing, and I don't need to push to be heard.  It's enough just to sing richly and everything will be fine.

I've also received the poster for the Brahms in Antwerp, later on in May, here it is!

Speaking of Schubert, Peter and I are discussing a reprise of our Brussels recital in the Chapelle de Boondael.  We were very happy to do Die Schöne Müllerin there at the invitation of the commune d'Ixelles last spring, and on the topic of "unfinished" Schubert, we are thinking seriously about making the Schwanengesang or "Swan Song" cycle part of our next concert.  It is not a real cycle, in that it was posthumously assembled for publication by Schubert's brother, and unlike Müllerin or Winterreise it includes texts from three different poets, but it is much admired by Schubertians for its dramatic range.  I've only sung one of its fourteen lieder before, the famous Ständchen or serenade, Leise flehen meine Lieder durch die Nacht zu dir; In den stillen Hain hernieder, Liebchen, komm zu mir!

Here's a link to Dietrich Fischer Dieskau in 1958, with Gerald Moore on the piano.   I am looking forward to many of the pieces in it, including the very creepy Der Doppelgänger, the thirteenth (!) song in the cycle... oooOOOOoooo!  But more on that later...