For me, THE concert of the year 2024 was the one we did october 6th with Les chanteurs d'Arbonne in the abbey of Pontigny. It was not only a an absolute pleasure to work on Gregorian chant with seven wonderful ladies, it was also very satisfactory to experience that the conceptual program Paul Parsons and I had made worked magnificently in that miraculous, impressive and famous Cistercian monument.
|
|
Another highlight of the year was an other concert with Les chanteurs d'Arbonne (five women this time), in summer, in Champvallon (Yonne, France), where we brought to life some antiphons from a rare, sixteenth century antiphonaire which is preserved in that very village.
Of the four 2024 projects of the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir the concert with Bach cantatas in the Prague Festival and the series of concert with Händel's oriatorium Esther were the most special. On purpose I sing less and less, it's about time to give room for younger generations and I really don't feel the urge anymore to sing, sing, sing.
In Prague I was very happy to sing the alto part in the ABC, probably for the last time in this constellation, with a dreamteam colleagues Iris Bouman, Hebe de Champeaux and Jonathan de Ceuster.
In Prague I was very happy to sing the alto part in the ABC, probably for the last time in this constellation, with a dreamteam colleagues Iris Bouman, Hebe de Champeaux and Jonathan de Ceuster.
In october 2024 all the preparational work Ton Koopman and I had undertaken since may 2022 came to a great and festive apotheosis: Georg Friedrich Händel's Esther. I had persuaded our dear maestro to celebrate his 80th birthday not with Bach, as everybody was expecting, but with the first three oratorios by Händel. Much to my surprise he said yes, and we had a fruitful and amical time creating a new score for Esther. The crown jewell of the production was Julia Lezhneva singing the title role. The real 'crown' on the production was the presence of HM Queen Maxima and HM Princess Beatrix at the Utrecht premiere.
