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Volume 10 Issue 5 - February 2005

  • Text
  • Toronto
  • February
  • Jazz
  • Theatre
  • Arts
  • Symphony
  • Orchestra
  • Musical
  • Ensemble
  • Baroque

Rssi, Feb 2-6; Toronto

Rssi, Feb 2-6; Toronto Children's Chorus, Shalom Aleichem Feb 27· Royal Ontario Museum, ' Torom Jewish Chamber Choir. Mar 6. Don't miss the Soweto Gospel Choir from South Africa, at the Hummingbird Centre Feb 17. Proceeds will benefit children of Soweto and victims of HIV/Aids. And Toronto's Nathaniel Dett Chorale will explore the choral traditions of the African Diaspora Feb 23 at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. This program will also include special guests Master Drummer Kwasi Dunyo and Kekeli Drum and Dance Ensemble (with yours truly in the percussion section). They will collaborate with the Chorale in songs and dances from Ghana: Gahu, a lively ceremonial dance, and Atsiagbekor, an energetic highly stylized war dance. These dances may be familiar to Torontonians who have had the privilege of working with Kwasi over the years as instructor in Ghanaian music at U of T. York University, the RCM, Worlds of Music, and countless workshops across North America. Other African "quick pick:s": ightwood Theatre, Cast Iron, Feb 12-Mar 13; OanceWor, COBA: Bodika-Sessions, Feb 23-26, Harbourfront. The aforementioned CanAsian Dance Festival takes place at Harbourfront Feb 23-27 (see website at WHY IS IT THAT THE "period inwww .canasiandancefestival.com) and one of the highlights is a new dandan (which means grooming or personal embellishment/dress up) features celebrated Indonesian artist Didik Nini Thowok who specializes are more and more often commisin cross-gender dance roles. The od music ensembles, and these envided by Gamelan Toronto, playing both traditional Javanese court mu- SoME THING New strument" movement and the world of new music seem to be becoming work by Dora award-winning dancmore connected? One would think er/choreographer Peter Chin. Berthat being at such far ends of the classical music spectrum there would be nothing in common between these two camps. Yet, living composers sioned to write new works . for perimusical accompaniment will be pro- sembles are gladly performing them. So, what's the catch? sic as well as newly composed mu- Well, it's no secret that every gen­ eration of composers looks back to sic by Peter Chin. Berdandan is also their predecessors for [aspiration, a feature of the Metamorphosis Fes- whether it is through imitation, emtival. ula There are more world music _t ion or quotation of musical maevents this month but I'm out of· tenals and forms. Palestrina borroom, so please check the daily list- rowed ancient ch r h chant f ? r his masses, Mozart m1m1cked the fugues ings, and don't forget to check our of Bach, Ravel's Tombeau de "Beyond the GTA" section for Couperin imitates Bai;oque passages, Prokofiev has his Classical events outside of Toronto. Sym­ Karen Ages is a freelance oboist who has also been a member of several world music ensembles. She can be reached at 416-323-2232 or worldmusic@thewholenote.com. Discover new m 1si'Q::,"1nd1lt; srdt,t,f in. [Qroi1Jql ListMe is a unique mailing list servicing Toronto's New Music organizations. t is for everyone who wants to be kept informed about the many New Music events and concerts in town. Check every month for promotions at www.listme.ca. ggt on thg List at ListmG.ca funding partners '· Z 2- _.. ... ,, ·= ,;: ·- C0t1wllck1AtU du CM\MI• PERKINS MAILING LIST SERVICES . \;;;;:tt/H( phony, and two centuries of Western music history make up the postmodem pastiche ofBerio's Sinfonia. Closer to home, there are a great number of Canadian ex-amples in works by composers from Murray Adaskin to Owen Underhill. If you visit the Canadian Music Centre's (CMC) website at www.musiccentre.ca and type in "baroque" or "medieval" as a keyword when searching for music, you'll find pages of results. But this still doesn't explain the recent and rising fascination with writing new compositions for period ensembles, or why early music performers would want to commission and perform these works. I have a few theories. WWW.THEWHOLENOTE.COM First, many contemporary composers are occupied with discovering new timbres and tones that will accurately express their artistic voice. The previously lost technologies of period instruments, and the recent interest in period perfonnance practice, offer composers some of this sonic material. When corresponding with composer Linda Catlin Smith on the topic she wrote "I love the sound of Baroque instruments. The Baroqe flute has a beautiful tone and is capable of beautiful nuance. I find Baroque string bowing very detailed and articulate. The harpsichord brings a percussive delicacy and gives a certain shine to the whole. I love the transparency of texture and sense of intimacy of sound." This desire for a form of sonic by Jason van Eyk di SCOVe;ryeXte=ndSbeyOndJjUStthe :.____ Western early music traditions to other non-Western traditional ensembles, like gamelan and Chinese ensembles. Second, early music performers desire two things that are missing from their regular practice: a taste for compositional collaboration and a chance for unusual challenges in performance. Working with a living composer changes the focus from the intellectualization of faithfully capturing how early music composers must have heard their works to how it must have felt to collaborate directly with the composer of a living music, like in Bach's day. As well, works· composed by living composers expressly for a performer or ensemble provide new technical and artistic challenges, not to mention a break from what can become a ghettoization in early music. Banging out tone clusters can provide welcome release from filigree. Third, both worlds have much in common by the virtue that they operate on the fringes of what we know as the more common practice of Western classical music. Both have a tendency to focus on smaller musical forces. Both are intent on developing new perspectives and exploring new sound worlds. Both emphasize inquiry and exploration balanced with integrity. Although they inhabit different ends of the spectrum, their similarities loop the musical continuum back around to rub up against itself. Are there any examples of the above at work in the Toronto's new music community? There are a few that come to mind this month and early in the next. On February 6th at 2pm at the ROM, composer Chan Ka Nin presents a CMC New Music in New Places event. Titled Chinese Music Old and New, Canadian composers Alice Ho, Tony Leung, and Elma Miller offer new music for George Gao (erhu soloist) and the Dunhuang Traditional Chinese Ensemble. In Mr. Chan's words "This event will be an excellent opportunity for a cross-cultural experience. The composers have been challenged to write for a new and sonorous medium which can be inspiring technically and philosophically." It should be similarly inspiring for the musicians and audience as well. C ONTINU ES PAGE24 FEBR UARY 1 - MARCH 7 2005

Sacred+ Secular Part's spiritual masterwork paired with a dramatic new oratorio by Omar Danie l and Anne Mic haels "the human voice is the most perfect instrument of all" Saturday, March 5 at 8pm St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church 73 Simcoe St. (corner of King and Simcoe Streets) Tickets adult/ senior/.50 student Sl. awrence Centre Box Office 27 Front Sl. East CALL 416.366.7723 or 1.800. 708.6 754 www.stlc.com Miserere, Arvo Part (Estonia) The Passion of Lavinia Andronicus, Omar Daniel (Canada) with libretto by Anne Michaels (Canada) WORLD PREMIERE Hilliard Ensemble {U.K.} lvars Taurins, conductor Tafelmusik Chamber Choir Chamber orchestra FEBRUARY 1 - Monday February 28 I Bpm ;s·,.;lfg';\ a:;Dt!n.n ,o,ukt·Sudip Patricia Green, mezzo-soprano Robert Aitken, solo Aute and conductor New Music Concerts Ensemble Landmark scores by +Garant, +Morel, +Aitken, +Mather and +Tremblay ::··''\"'"' · · Tuesday March 29 I Bpm ·aane Mallett Theatre ·--'",;·

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