Koor Vagantes Morborum, Brugge.

A serious Spring clean is underwayI havenow been living in Brugge long enough to attend an annual event forthe second time, so I must be becoming quite a seasoned observer! In spite ofBrexit and incipient old age, I hope to see many more such annualre-visits to many events.Saturday2 nd July saw the return of Taptoe which is a celebrationof marching bands; I cannot think of another way to describe it. Itisn't a competition but there is a succession of brass bands which donot simply play with great dexterity and musicality, as in the UK they also march while never missing a note,weaving patterns and creating waves and ripples of movement,astonishingly intricate often, and always aesthetically pleasing towatch. The bandsmen wear uniforms, military in inspiration; indeedthe whole concept must come from a military background.

It would beinteresting to discover the pedigree of the marching bands movementbut its foundation must surely be in the military.Not any of the bands to which I have referred; this onehad the smartest, possibly slightly Ruritanian, uniform to addto the gaiety of nations.Thisyear there were fewer bands; only four, and one boasted a sort ofchorus line of girls, none of whom played instruments. They didvarious routines often involving very large flag-waving orbaton-flourishing; they were dressed in bright, non-military stylecostumes, mercifully body-covering, but even so, there was a whiff ofold-fashioned gender roles in that the female non-musicians seemedto appear solely for decoration or distraction. It didn't quite workfor me; I prefer the traditional bands chiefly male but notentirely in their decorative but militarily-based uniforms. All fourbands were very good indeed but the fourth one was outstanding, witha fearsome Sergeant-Major-type leader who could no doubt, curdle milkat forty paces. The drill-like precision of his troops was exemplaryand the standard of musicianship, high! But hearts were touched bythe first band which had a majority of adolescents and quite tinychildren among the marching musicians.

They were incredibly accomplished which seemed even more miraculous given that severalplayers looked to be under ten years of age.. Mycompanion and I had decided against sitting in the open, in thetiered gallery out on the Burg itself and chose instead to situpstairs in Tom Pouce, the only restaurant actually on the Burg, in seatswhich afforded a marvellous view of the moving panorama below. Therewe had a super meal with warmth and comfort to enrich the viewingexperience. And from that vantage point I noticed that there were three flags flying from the Stadhuis opposite; one for Belgium, one for Flanders and one for Brugge.

The Belgians do love their flags! Koor Vagantes Morborum led byBart SnauwaertAndtoday, the music continued; left at coffee time for the beautiful premises of BNP ParibasFortis on Vlamingstraat nearby.

Paribas is my bank; I wrote lastyear of its architectural beauty and I love the place, so that it wasan additional pleasure to go there this morning Sunday to listen tothe Koor Vagantes Morborum. The huge main hall was almost full whenwe arrived for the Aperitief Concert at 11.00; entitled Cesur, VivaLa Musica, it offered a wide and interesting range of songs, mainly twentieth century though with An die Musik by Franz Schubertand Viva La Musica by Michael Praetorius 1571-1621. Bart Snauwaertwas conducting in the absence of the regular choirmaster, KorneelBernolet, who has kept the choir to an amazingly high standard. It was a real pleasure to attend. I later discovered that Vagantes Morborum celebrated its Golden Jubilee lastyear after its origins in 1965 as a student choir which sang mainlyto the patients in Bruges hospitals. There are two other developments of note, chez Clayton; one is that the entire building in which I live, is being re-painted outside. We have been corralled by enormous scaffolding see picture above for about two weeks now, with no end in sight. One day, however, we will emerge from the spiky chrysalis, dazzling in our new-found, all-white beauty!

The second, more personal, is that I have bought a gorgeous painting by Sigrid Tanghe; it is haunting, mysterious, ethereal as it hangs near my computer desk. It is the last splash of expenditure, post-Brexit, for some considerable time as sterling cowers before the dollar, and, more relevantly for my everyday life, the euro. I grieve for the comparative poverty coming, even as I worship at the feet of the new goddess nearby!.

Timișoara, Romania

Nicolae Belean - conductor

Competition Section

“Melos” was created in 2011, and is formed by members of the ex-choir “Tibiscus”, of the Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Timisoara. The members are eager to carry on the tradition and share their love of music.

Led by the renowned conductor Nicolae Belean, the choir “Melos” was invited to numerous prestigious events (2012, guest star in the contest of sacred music from Orastie) and abroad (2012, representative of Romania in the Arboretum Days “Arbofolia”, Parc National des Barres, France).

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Nicolae Belean (born in 1946) is a conductor, musicologist, composer, teacher, and priest. While studying at the Theological Seminary and the Faculty of Theology in Sibiu he attended singing and choral conducting courses. After graduation he worked as a professor at the Theological Seminary of Caransebeş (1972-1995), where he served as a director the last five years. Since 1995 he works at the religious and ritual music department of the Faculty of Theology (The West University, Timisoara). In 2001, he obtained a doctorate in the specialty of “religious music history” from the Department of Musicology of the Romanian Academy in Bucharest. Music has always been a passion for Nicolae Belean. With his choirs he has created artistic performances at the highest level, especially with male choral band “Orpheus” Caransebeş Theological Seminary, with which he participated in many festivals and competitions in the country and abroad. Nicolae is the author of books for students and teachers.

Timisoara is the capital city of Timiș County, in western Romania. One of the largest Romanian cities (the third most populous city in the country) Timișoara is the main social, economic and cultural center in the western part of Romania.

JM