Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Our American neighbours work at the military base, and last weekend they surprised us with a present of a frozen butterball turkey and some tinned pumpkin. Of course we had to cook it all up this weekend... Monday isn't a holiday here, and today I am off to sing the Brahms Requiem in Middelburg NL tonight, and won't be back until fairly late, so we celebrated last night instead, with the roast turkey, stuffing made with Liegois sausage, sage, celery and dried cranberries, mashed pommes de terre farineuses, gravy, green peas and harvard beets. Dessert was pumpkin pie with freshly whipped cream. Our friends Penni (originally from St. John's) and her husband Damien came with their two daughters and we had a great time together. It was a big hit with us and with our guests: Damien actually had thirds! There are quantities of stuffing and turkey left over and we plan to have our Montreal friend Nancy Craig over as well on Monday evening to help us celebrate further...
About the week of classes vertes... The boys had a good time; Duncan sent us a nice letter about his Nettinne adventures. Malcolm was less forthcoming with his descriptions of the week's activities, but that is in character, and his history/geography teacher said he was well behaved and he seemed to have had a good time.
I only have a moment, as Maggie and the boys have left by bike for church, and I have to warm up the voice and get ready to leave for Antwerp and Middelburg in a little while. What else is going on? A few nice things: I attended a concert last week in which my friend and mezzo-soprano colleague Joëlle was singing and my 'cellist friend Julius was playing, at the Flagey concert hall, conducted by Jacques Van Herenthals and featuring special guest conductor and singer, José Van Dam.
Van Dam is in his 70s now, but it was still wonderful to hear that very famous Baryton and to meet him after the performance, and to congratulate Joëlle. She has had a lot of new successes since we did La Grande Duchesse de Gerolstein together last Christmastime... it seems a lot longer ago than that, somehow!
I had a lovely surprise last week at church when I was invited to speak at the upcoming Burns' Supper in January. "Hail Caledonia" is the last speech of the evening, is traditionally given by a non-Scot, and I understand that one is expected to spend 75% of the allotted time slagging off the Scots, and the remaining 25% praising them enthusiastically.
That shouldn't be too difficult. I am excited to be asked, as I haven't been invited to give a speech in many many years - let's face it, I usually don't get, nor to be honest, do I wait for an invitation - and I am already thinking about it, and collecting my best Scotsman jokes, or at least ones that I haven't heard used at the last two suppers. We are planning on spending the better part of Christmas week in Garvald with Rob and Viki, so I am sure that they will be able to help me with my research.
* * *
It's Monday morning and everyone is at school. I'm just having a nice cup of espresso and waiting to meet Jacques Does in a couple of hours - he's the artistic director of Opera Avanti, the chamber ensemble that just did Le Nozze di Figaro - and we are going to go look at some theatres and meet with their managers, to see about arranging some more performances of that work. As well, if the halls are good, with good pianos, I like to keep them in mind for my Schubert song cycle programme.
The concert last night was really quite lovely. This particular setting of the Brahms requiem dates from the London performance of 1866, and it is done with two pianos instead of orchestra. It therefore is a different texture than the last time I performed it in Kingston with Glen Fast and the Symphony there, but the music still has great emotional power, especially the second movement... I can't quite describe how it feels to sit there listening to the choir sing this as you try to stay composed, and wait to sing your first solo. Here is the text:
| Denn alles Fleisch es ist wie Gras und alle Herrlichkeit
des Menschen wie des Grases Blumen. Das Gras ist verdorret und die Blume
abgefallen So seid nun geduldig, lieben Brüder, bis auf die Zukunft des Herrn.
Siehe, ein Ackermann wartet auf die köstliche Frucht der Erde und
ist geduldig darüber, bis er empfahe den Morgenregen und Abendregen.
Aber des Herrn Wort bleibet in Ewigkeit. Die Erlöseten des Herrn werden wiederkommen, und gen Zion kommen mit Jauchzen; Freude, ewige Freude wird über ihrem Haupte sein; Freude und Wonne werden sie ergreifen und Schmerz und Seufzen wird weg müssen. |
For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of
grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away. (I
Peter 1:24)
Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold,
the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long
patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. (James
5:7)
But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. (I Peter 1:25) And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (Isaiah 35:10) |
I find it almost unbelievably powerful. The conductor and I were driving up to Middelburg together, and he explained that as he gets older this Reqiuem becomes more and more emotional for him, as more people that he knows pass away. Both of my grandmothers have done so since the last time I sang it, and I realize what he means. It would seem that I might have another couple of chances to sing this piece again this coming season, but that is not yet confirmed, so please forgive me if I keep the details to myself for the moment.
I love it as a Canadian when I hear people in Europe talk of the "new church", and realize that it was built in the 16th century! As you can see from the pictures, the Nieuw Kerk in Middelburg is very austere... unlike the Belgian churches, the Dutch churches are all quite spartan inside. I was told that this is largely a consequence of the Beeldenstorm that in the summer of 1566 led disorderly mobs of Protestant Christians in the Low Countries to destroy religious icons and church decoration. The building was originally an abbey, and the building is divided into several sections. The photograph just above is of one end of the old abbey, and it is used as a smaller chapel with a chamber choir.
Here we see two organs in the chapel area... the organ on the left is a newer one, and functional, but the older one on the right is one of the oldest pipe organs in Holland. It is in the gothic style, covered with carved wooden heads on narrow necks, with their mouths open as if they are singing. They are discussing restoring it to function as well, but for now we need to use our imagination as to how it might sound.
That first picture of the choir in rehearsal above was taken in the other end of the church, the much larger section, where regular services take place, and there is another, larger and more elaborate organ there also.
In the photograph of the choir in rehearsal above you might have noticed the tall blue altar tapestry. This is a beautiful textile work by the artist Janpeter Muilwijk, who also sang in the choir for this performance, and it was raised into place only this february.
It's absolutely stunning, crafted with a combination of different techniques. The drawings were first made actual size on paper, and then scanned on a huge scanner to produced an electronic file that was used to direct the mechanized weaving of the tapestry in several sections. Then the detailing was done in a freehand embroidery technique by members of the congregation. The whole thing weighs 100 kg, and at eleven metres in height stretches almost to the very top of this tall altar wall. It's quite breathtaking, and as I sat there in the church for the rehearsals that afternoon and then for the service and performance later on, the tapestry changed remarkably as the different colours and intensities of sunlight streamed in through the tall windows, and marched slowly across the ancient flagstone floor. I particularly loved the silvery fish that shimmer their way, intermittently visible, through the water that borders the tapestry.
* * *
Closer to home, choir rehearsals are continuing for the boys, and indeed for me too. Malcolm and I worked through the first movement of the alto part of the Fauré Requiem last week, and he sang it through with Penni yesterday. He seems excited about the concert on the 20th, and I'm happy that we will sing together. I missed the last choral concert this past spring when the boys last performed, as I was in Canada, but this weekend received some photos of it, including Malcolm's first solo flute performance.
I wish each of you a happy Thanksgiving, with lots of happy times with your friends and family...
p.s. Look what Duncan and I found in Troc, the Belgian equivalent of Value Village, while waiting for Malcolm's bus to arrive! No, he can't get it...
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