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Volume 11 Issue 4 - December 2005

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  • Toronto
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EARLY Music by Frank

EARLY Music by Frank Nakashima So where are the women? Women musicians of the 16'11, 17'" and 18'" centuries are conspicuously underrepresented in today's concert programs, recording and catalogues. Yet, though they were banned from the church and theatre stage, and somewhat ignored in the general musical milieu, women of the time were highly accomplished in music, dance and other arts. Now, in our efforts to right (at least some of) the wrongs of the past, many involved in historical performance in particular are doing their best to acknowledge the talents of musical women. You should note the music publications of ClarNan Editions, named after pianist/composer Clara Wieck Schumann and the distinguished keyboard builder Nanette Streicher, the daughter of Johannes Stein who revolutionized the keyboard (fortepiano) in the 18'" century. Their catalog includes over 40 publications (well, hey, that's a start!) of historic music by women - relatively familiar names like Barbara Strozzi and Maria Theresia von Paradis, alongside new discoveries like Isabella Leonarda (composer of masses and religious motets) and Camilla de Rossi (composer of oratorio). - ClarNan Editions, 235 Baxter Lane, Fayetteville, AR 72701 -2104, fax : 479-443-3856, e-mail: clarnan@ipa.net, phone 479-442- 7414, website: http://clarnan.com. Viol Virtuosity You'll be hard pressed to find a connection with "women in music" in either the rock band Violent Femmes or Scaramella's Dec 8 program Viol n' Femmes - except that the latter features four very accomplished women viol players (Joanna Blendulf, Julie Jeffrey, Joelle Morton and Annalisa Pappano) as well as the very accomplished Liam Byrne, in consort music by Purcell, Lawes, Holborne and Bach, and a few contemporary gems. The bowed string instrument known as the viola da gamba has long been a favourite of performers of Renaissance music, both men and women. In capable hands, it draws in the listener by virtue of its musical allure. This concert is especially interesting because it will be a chance to hear some rarely played instruments: the Hart House Viols, a chest of six viols purchased ca 1930 by the Massey Foundation and the Arts and Letters Club. The viols became the sole property of Hart House in 1935, and their use has been restricted to "experienced string musicians for rendering music appropriate to them" . www. scaramel la. ca Sounds of Vespers and Angels, Shoes and Stockings As the evening service of divine office, Vespers has long had a central place in the daily worship of women's religious orders as well as men' s. Usually featuring hymns, psalms and antiphons, this bit of Catholic liturgy, as distinct from the Mass, offered inspiration to several composers who wrote beautiful music for this purpose. The Tallis Choir celebrates the 500'" anniversary of the birth of their namesake with a reconstruction of a 16'"-century vespers service (December 3) which will culminate in a performance of the incomparable 40- pa rt motet, Spem in Alium. www.tallischoir.com. And with recorders, violins, cornetti, theorbos, keyboards and voices, the Toronto Consort recreates the celebration of Christmas vespers from the Church of San Marco in 17'"-century Venice (December 9, 10), with music by the also-incomparable Claudio Monteverdi. With works from his 1641 collection of sacred music, I'd have to say "It's beginning to sound a lot like Christmas." www.torontoconsort.org Speaking of women, as we are about to enter the season of Advent, we are reminded of the appearance of the angels unto the Virgin Mary. Sine Nomine The Tallis Choir, shown here in 2003 performing at St. James Cathedral, celebrates the 500th anniversary of Tallis' birth on December 3. presents a program of sacred and secular medieval music for this season which is one of expectation in many senses - the natural world braces itself for winter and, in the sacred world, everything looks forward to the Nativity (December 16). www .pims.ca/sinenomine Maybe I'm carrying this "women in early music" thing too far, but another thing that reminds me of women is shoes. The Musicians In Ordinary (soprano Hallie Fishel and lutenist John Edwards) are giving a concert relating to objects from the Bata collection, including the 17'" century courtesan's platform shoes and the newly-acquired stockings of Charles I at the Bata Shoe Museum (January 20) - in addition to their own series at Baroque Dance (~lasses I ec:11·11 t.) dance the minuets, c;a abanoes and other court da lCE. of the 18th century. No cxpet·ience neecledl Winter 2006 Term Jan 9 - Feb 27 /06 Ir c;t; ,illo . Dc1111E C,:ir!,'PY D r(c' ot of La Re/le. Oc1nse WWW. TH EWHO LENOTE.COM D ECE MBER 1 2005 - F EBRUARY 7 2006

Heliconian Hall, and their appearance in the Toronto Early Music Centre' s "Musically Speaking" series (January 8) . www. batashoemuseum. ca More Early Music Concerts The "Renaissance voices" of Studio Sixteen, a choir directed by Kevin Komisaruk, performs a free noon hour concert in Roy Thomson Hall's "Choir & Organ" series (December 13). Komisaruk, a specialist in early organ repertoire will perform works from Flanders and Amsterdam on the hall's magnificent Gabriel Kney instrument. In their own series, Studio Sixteen performs early English Renaissance sacred polyphony such as John Taverner's Missa Gloria Tibi Trinitas plus motets by Sheppard, Parsons and Tallis (December 10). www .studiosixteen.ca The recent appearances of Les Violons du Roy, led by their founder Bernard Labadie, have been a special treat for Toronto early music fans. This ensemble from Quebec City performs a program of J.S. Bach's beloved cantatas for Christmas and the New Year (Nos. 63, 110, 151, 171) with superb soloists Karina Gauvin, Christophe Dumaux, Christoph Pregardien, and Brett Polegato (December 16). www .roythomson.com 18'h·century Dresden was an influential and bustling metropolis, in fact, often compared to Florence, due to its artistic and architectural achievements. The extraordinary music of Zelenka, Pasch, and other prominent Dresden musicians reflects this cosmopolitan energy (January 15). Baroque Music Beside the Grange has invited players from various cultural centres - Montreal , Toronto and Bloomington (Indiana) - to participate in this program: Washington McClain & Kathryn Montoya (oboes), Dominic Teresi (bassoon), Joelle Morton (bass), and Avi Stein (harpsichord). Frank T. Nakashima (franknak@interlog .com) is the President of the Toronto Early Music Centre, a non-profit charitable organization which promotes the appreciation of historically-informed performances of early music www.interlog.com/ -temc Amadeo: Mozart in Italy Featuri1;9 Michael Maniaci, male Joprano Fri & Sat, Feb 3 & 4 at 8pm Sun Feb 5 at 3:3opm Wed Feb 8 at 7pm Thurs Feb 9 at 8pm Trinity-St. Paul's Centre (ALL 416.964.6337 Join us for a free pre-concert lecture one hour before this concert at Trinity-St. Paul's Centre. Thurs - Sat Jan 19 - 21 at Spm Sun Jan 22 at 3:3opm Trinity-St. Paul's Centre (ALL 416.964.6337 Warm up your January, and explore the rich and passionate tradition of chamber music from Austria and Germany - the soulful music of Buxtehude, Biber, Telemann and Bach. Features the intimate tones of the viola da gamba, viola d'amore, recorder, flute, lute, harpsichord and baroque strings. FEB 4 & 9 SPONSORED BY Deloitte. Tues Feb 7 at 8pm George Weston Recital Hall in the Toronto Centre for the Arts (ALL 416.872.1111 Join us for a rollicking journey to Italy with the young Wolfgang and his father Leopold. It was here that Mozart wrote his first operas, early symphonies, and his hugely popular Exsultate, jubilate. Hear Exsultate as it would have sounded in Mozart's day, sung by natural male soprano Michael Maniaci. This concert features actors who bring Wolfgang and Leopold to life! FEB 7 SPONSORED BY MARGARET AND ]IM FLECK 2005/2006 SEASON PRESENTING SPONSOR ,.,"'··. Sun~/ Life Financial D EC EMBER 1 2005 - F EBRUARY 7 2006 WWW, THEWHOLENOTE,COM 23

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