Today is the eve of the preliminary round of the competition, during which 4 out of the 10 competing ensembles will be selected to go on. We’ll be playing a cantata by Alessandro Scarlatti and two movements of a Handel recorder sonata. If we are chosen . . . Ahem . . . WHEN we are chosen as finalists, we’ll go on to play concerts on Saturday and Sunday. Wish us luck!

We had a very productive day, making it all the way through the music for both rounds. Afterwards, we went to register for the competition at the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, a very modern concert hall built on one of Holland’s many famous “manufactured” islands. We were all impressed by the size of the building. We’re excited to play in such a magnificent space, which seats 720 people. But we’re a bit disappointed that we won’t get to play in the hall – or on the harpsichord that we’ll be using – until the competition itself. We’ll be in a rehearsal room tomorrow for about an hour before we go on.

Art and chickens. That seemed to be the theme of an art installation currently at the Muziekgebouw. We couldn’t quite figure out why there are chickens in the foyer of a music hall, but we know one thing for certain: although we may be a bit nervous, we are not chickens! Well, maybe Jonathan is.

After a morning of individual practice for Jennifer, Rebekah, and Jonathan, the last of the Graces finally arrived. Annette came from Freiburg on the train, arriving tired but raring to play some graceful music. So, we made our way to Ton’s place and rehearsed the preliminary round: a cantata by Scarlatti and two movements of Handel’s furious recorder sonata in A minor.

We worked up quite an appetite after all that rehearsing, so we headed out to the grocery store, and got a quick overview of Ton’s neighborhood. We are very fortunate that Ton’s place is located in one of Amsterdam’s most beautiful neighborhoods: the Jordaan. A Baroque tidbit: the Jordaan was known to Huguenot residents in the seventeenth century as “Le jardin,” which (as Ton told us) may have been the source of the Dutch name “Jordaan.”

The Dutch are not blind to the beauty of their surroundings, either. The poem on the sign in the photo below comes from lyrics by Holland’s Johnny Jordaan, a popular singer. They read, “Oh Amsterdam, how beautiful are you!”

Jonathan and Jennifer arrived safely to join Rebekah, who’d been in Holland since last Tuesday. Both J&J were really tired, especially Jennifer, whose plane was delayed by three hours. But they were refreshed by the sight of the lovely apartment that your generous donations have afforded us. It’s a simple two-bedroom affair facing Amsterdam’s central train station and a beautiful gracht. (That’s “canal” for you English speakers.)

The view from our window. What a find!

After a nice nap, Jonathan went to explore our practice space, kindly provided by Ton Amir, proprietor of Klinkhamer harpsichords. The space is cozy, in Ton’s former apartment, and houses a lovely Flemish double manual harpsichord for us to use. The instrument held up really well to Jonathan’s bashing around on Bernardo Storace’s virtuoso Ciacona for the better part of two hours. Since Jonathan had trouble fitting his harpsichord in his carry-on luggage, we’re very grateful to Ton for providing for us so generously.