2018 began with a wonderful Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra Choir Johns Passion tour in Europe in March. Among the venues was the prestigeous chapelle of le château de Versailles. In april I had the honour to teach in the Ton Koopman Academy of the Hague Royal Conservatory. In may later the Amsterdam Baroque Choir toured China. Fun to prepare Bach AND (mind you) Brahms (Zigeuner Lieder) for maestro Koopman. But just before that I concluded the musical season of our house with a magnificent concert in my home-village: Le Printamps by Claude Le Jeune!
The next month, June, I opened the Itinéraire Baroque Festival in Dordogne conducting Monteverdi's Scherzi Musicali sung by Le Jeune Choeur de Dordogne and accompanied by Stingo music Club. A feast! The next week I was in Bach's own church; Thomas Kriche in Leipzig (see here below). And on top of that, that same month I conducted Rheinbergers beautiful Cantus Missa, sung by Plenum. 
We had a fantastic summer course at Château Les Hayes dedicated to three motets by J.S. Bach. In september Bach's B-minor was on the desk, touring through Europe and Japan with Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir. And what a great edition of the Parisian Bach Weekend Ton and I had in november. The year concluded with a cosy little Christmas concert with vocal friends in the beuatiful church of Chassy (Burgundy, Yonne) 

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Johannes passion

Highlight of the St. Johns Passion tour -13 concerts- was of course our concert in VERSAILLES

China

Many people think that I am only a renaissance & baroque man. Hard to get rid of that image. I conduct with great pleasure and satisfaction romantic and modern repertoire as well. But I have to admit that I was also eager to see how Ton Koopman did Brahms' Zigeunerlieder. Well, I can tell you, fantastic! He is 'au fond' a sentimentalist you know. The Amsterdam Baroque Choir was absolutely stunning. Proud!

BACH in Leipzig

It was challenging for Ton. The concurence was considerable, with Gardiner and Suzuki around the very same days. But we did extremely well. Not only Bach Kantates, but also, on request of the Leipziger Bach Tage renaissance motets from the repertoire of the Thomas Schule. I prepared it in the best possible renaissance way, but of course, Ton insisted on 18th century habits in it. Food for thought. You think it's wrong, for the repertoire, but in this local historical perspective and setting … what is truth?
By the way; on the picture we see the alto section of ABC with Ton on the Thomas Kirche choir balcony: Jonathan De Ceuster, Clotilde Cantau, Marleene Goldstein and me.​

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