All Music!

The first thing we do when contemplating travel is to check for music events - and Brussels has really delivered! For our musical friends, here's a listing with some oohing and aahing!

First was Les samedi's de l'orgue (Saturdays of the Organ) concert series - this was in an old church, kind of beat up, called Notre-Dame aux Riches Claires. (Great story - the Poor Clare's were the big deal back in the day. A bunch of women were ok with all the rules except poverty, so they were chartered as the Rich Clares!) Gruesomely uncomfortable chairs (90 degree backs, low to the ground, small) but the young guy Yoann Tardivel (fast fingers and toes!) put together an hour that entranced and impresssed: Georg Boehm, Girolamo Frescobaldi (tedious) Dietrich Buxtehude (stirring) Benoit Mernier (modern, strange, fascinating) and JS Bach to take it home! (this was free)

That was 5 to 6 pm. We walked over to the area for the next concert, ate soup and quiche and croque monsieur (ham and cheese hot sandwiches) then to the Eglise des Minimes for (gulp) 30 euros each (seventy five bucks or so). Big high ceilinged, beat up old church, square in layout. There we heard the Huelgas Ensemble present five hymns from the Eton Choir Book. Greatest hits of 1490, these were swirling meldy and harmony, a capella voices, hypnotic and beatuful, echoing in the great church building, each voice lifted by the others. We were dazed by the beauty. (although an hour and a half in the same d*mnd chairs nearly crippled me!) One of the singers (a Brit) told us afterwards that it was a transcendent experience to sing it...

Monday - today - started with the 12th annual Lundi D'Orgue (Monday of the Organ!) at a ratty looking (outside) church called Eglise Notre-Dame du Finistere (Our Lady of the Ends of the Earth. The inside was beautiful, dark wood and Mary Chapel and an unbelievable organ (see pictures). Bart Jacobs (organist at the Brussels Cathedral) played four pieces by A. DeBoeck. More conventional, beautiful, not so interesting but still... (This was also free.)

Tonite we went all the way - paid the 60 euro's (with Senior Discount) and sat in the Perfect Seats in the Palais des Beaux-Arts, a stunning art-deco concert hall, and heard the Ricercar Consort play and sing four Bach Christmas Cantatas. Top quality soloists, interesting looking instruments (four long stretchy trumpets, three different sized oboes, a little organ and a harpsichord) and we were once again uplifted, transported, blown away, walked out humming and dancing. And no it was NOT the Belgian beer Lindsay drank right before. Great music!

We'll look in Budapest and Slovakia - but we've got work to do there.

We also enjoyed the anonymous accordion player somwhere up the steps in the dark as we walked to the metro from the concert - very Paris film noir!

Oh, and I'm listening to Jacques Brel as I write.

Ah, music!