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Volume 13 - Issue 8 - May 2008

Includes the 2008 Canary Pages

OJfcentrc• . . ·

OJfcentrc• . . · I),lf!•fl'S, t ,,Jti2008/2009 a season of many firstsI 4th Season!Glenn Gould Studio250 Front Street WestJoin us in 2008/2009 and become a member ofOff Centre Music Salon's extended family!All concerts take place on Sunday a~emoons at 2 p.m.Early Bird Subscriptions now on SALE!Subscribe by June I Sth, 2008 and receive2 complimentary tickets to the conc~rt of your choice.*. .. . * StJbject to a\'ailabiHty.Aduits 0:Seniors/Students 0', _., .•. ;:' ... ·~ ... ·. ·.. " .·., .September28,}008 .· ·•Toronto Salon: Streetcar 501 Stops at Off CentreWe hope the TTC won't mind Streetcar 501 's detour as it leaves QueenStreet and makes a stop at Off Centre's home in Glenn Gould Studio.Artists include soprano Shannon Mercer, mezzo Krisztina Szabo,baritone Olivier Laquerre, violinist Jacques lsraelievitch, Michaellsraelievitch on marimba, accordionist Joseph Macerollo, and theZarankins (including Young Artist soprano Ilana Zarankin).November23,2008 .Our 14th Annual Schubertiad: WinterreiseThe inhabitants of Toronto are going to hate us: bass baritonePeter McGillivray and pianist Boris Zarankin bring in the Winterearly - with Schubert's immortal vocal cycle, Die Winterreise. But not toworry, we promise a taste of the Spanish Costa de/ Sol too. As always,lnna Perkis and Boris Zarankin will delight us with their four handpiano duo. SPONSORED BY THE SPANISH CONSULATE GENERAL.January 25, 2009 :~Italian Salon: Rossini's La Petite Messe SolennelleOur Italian Salon marks the Torontonian premiere of Rossini's LaPetite Messe So/ennel/e for four singers (direct from Italy!) sopranoSerena Farnocchia, mezzo Francesca Provvisionato, tenorAntonio Poli, bass Paolo Pecchioli, two pianos - lnna Perkis andBoris Zarankin, harmonium - Joseph Macerollo and chorus. Enjoythe Petite Messe as it was originally performed in a I 9'h Century Parisiansalon! CO-SPONSORED BY THE ITALIAN CULTURAL INSTITUTE &THE ITALIAN CONSULATE GENERAL.March 1, 2Q09 , · · i":RussianD Hungarian SalonWhat unites Hungarians and Russians? No emotional inhibitions and ashared appreciation for gypsy melodies. Artists include mezzo KrisztinaSzabo, sopranos Allison Angelo and Joni Henson, baritone GilesTomkins, violinist Marie Berard, double bassist Joel Quarrington,cellist Winona Zelenka, and the Zarankin Family.SPONSORED BY ANNA AND LESLIE DAN.The Romantic Spirit: The nightingale's flight from South to NorthWho's spirit is the most Romantic? The nightingale sings his sorrowfulsong in Spain as he does in Germany. From Granados to Brahms, baritoneRussell Braun, sopranos Monica Whicher and Lucia Cesaronijoin us in celebration. CO-SPONSORED BY THE GERMAN AND SPANISHCONSULATE GENERALS.EARLY Musicby Frank NakashimaGrounds - for CelebrationLucas Harris and Borys Medicky are the founders and directors ofthe Toronto Continuo Collective (www.continuo.ca) , a group ofprofessionals and amateurs who study the art of accompaniment ontheir respective historical instruments. Their concert this month (May16, 17) shows their initiative, chutzpah, and ambition, with morethan 20 performers assembled on stage to bring you the music ofMonteverdi. I had the pleasure of speaking with Lucas recently.I see that most of the music on your program is from ClaudioMonteverdi's Book Vlll of madrigals. He certainly transformedmadrigals into a brilliant expressive idiom for voices andinstruments. It must be exciting to peiform these rarely-heardworks. Why don't we hear this music more often?Monteverdi's stile concertato is a very special geme in terms ofwhat forces are required. One needs more than just a good madrigalgroup. For instance, the Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda isessentially a recitative, not like you hear in a Handel opera, but veryoften short and, basically, a few lines of formulaic libretto withsome bass notes underneath. The text, by Tasso, the most famousof Italian poets, next to Dante, is carefully set by Monteverdi usingnew expressive and rhetorical techniques of the seconda prattica... . And everyone must be familiar with these techniques, right?Definitely. In order to pull this kind of music off, the entire continuogroup needs to have a strong sense of those techniques and how toaccompany them. No one can escape the reality that a non-rhetoricalperformance of recitative becomes boring after about thirty secondsor less.These are also vocally and technically demanding works, not reallyintended for a choir, but rather an ensemble of virtuoso solosingers.For starters, one needs at least five to six good singers with both"choral" and "solo" skills, not to mention a comfortable two-octaverange and fluency in the Italian language. In other words, goodexpressive instincts, but also the ability to tune and blend with othersingers and ensemble without a conductor.Where do you find such singers?I'm thrilled with the singers that we have found for this project.Katherine Hill, our first soprano, is so passionate about digging intothe text of every piece she performs. Our other singers are CatherineMarchant, Vicki St. Pierre, Cory Knight, Bud Roach, and NeilAronoff. They're all great.What instruments accompany this music?In addition to the continuo group, several pieces have the addition oftwo violins . For the Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda ourviolin team, Valerie Sylvester and Sheila Smyth, are joined by a violaand a cello (Eric Paetkau and Mary-Katherine Finch) .Ge~o ;& Co. LimitedCONSERVATORS & PURVEYORStickets@offcentremusic.com · www.offcentremusic.comPh. 416.466.1870 · Fax. 416.466.0610968 Logan Avenue, Toronto, ON M4K JES20 I Cbun.:h St.. Toronto. ON. MSB I Y7Tel: 416-.363-0093 • fas: 4 16-16.1-00SJEmail: ghcl@idirccl.comwww. georgeheinl.comCanada•s foremost violin experts.Proud of our heritage. Exc ited about the fu ture18 WWW. THEWHOLENOTE,COM MAY 1 - JUNE 7 2008

The Toronto Continuo CollectiveFrom left to right: Julia Seager-Scott, tripleharp; Warner Fehn, harpsichord; Borys Medicky, co-director, harpsichord(organ); Linda Deshman, bass viol; Andrew Donaldson, lute; Lucas Harris,co-director, theorbo (lute, Baroque guitar); Benjamin Stein, theorbo; RobertTemkin, theorbo; David Lenson, theorbo. In absentia: MagdalenaTomsinska, lute; Benjamin Kissell, theorbo.What part does the Toronto Continuo Collective play in this?The book VIII madrigals need a solid continua foundation which isour job. Shaping the details of our accompaniment as well asdeveloping our ensemble skills are discussed almost constantly inour rehearsals and classes.How many pluckers are in your band?At the moment, the Collective numbers eleven people includingmyself and my co-director Borys Medicky - two lutes, fourtheorbos, Baroque harp, Baroque guitar, viola da gamba, twoharpsichord/organ players. Somewhat more than necessary, but aslong as there is enough space on stage ... it's loads of fun!You 're staging this too?Yes indeed. Our stage director Guillaume Bernardi also happens tobe an expert in early Italian poetry. He's a fantastic asset to thisproduction.Sounds amazing (and expensive)!The whole project involves something like 23 people, nearly all ofwhom are professionals volunteering for the fun of working on suchamazing material.Also on this month:The fabulous soprano Measha Brueggergosman is making herMozart opera debut in Opera Atelier's production of ldomeneo (May1- 3). Described as "one of those works that even a genius of thehighest rank, like Mozart, could write only once in his life," thisproduction also features the extraordinary American male sopranoMichael Maniaci in the role of Idamante, with Artists of AtelierBallet and Tafelmusik Orchestra, conducted by David Fallis.Mozart's last work, the Requiem, will be performed by theTafelmusik Chamber Choir and Orchestra under the direction ofIvars Taurins (May 7- 11). Shrouded in mystery, even in themovies, this dramatic work creates a powerfully emotionalexperience. The program also includes Haydn's stunning St. CeciliaMass, with soloists Shannon Mercer (soprano), Margaret Bragle(mezzo-soprano), Colin Ainsworth (tenor) and Nathaniel Watson(baritone). www.tafelmusik.orgThe Musicians in Ordinary bring us a contest of poetry and song fromShakespeare's time (May 17) - Thomas Campion vs Samuel Daniel.While Campion composed his own music, Samuel's poems were setto music by his brother John. www .musiciansinordinary .eaSpeaking of "rarely-performed," when was the last time you heardHandel's Joshua? Well, the Orpheus Choir of Toronto is pleased toinvite you to their performance (May 11) of this magnificentoratorio. The Sidgwick Scholars, taking on the solo roles, are joinedby The Talisker Players, Edward Moroney, continua, under thedirection of Robert Cooper.Nota Bene Period Orchestra, under the direction of Borys Medickyand Linda Melsted, presents Bang! Quack! Tweet! Boom!, MusicalMimicry from the Baroque, a fascinating program which includesBiber's Battalia with its battle sounds, and Farina's CapriccioStravagante with various animal sounds, as well as some equallyimitative works by Marais, Walther and Kusser (May 23 and 24).www. nbpo. netOne of Canada's leading Baroque ensembles, I Furiosi, is joined byOlivier Fortin and Matthew Jennejohn to present "X", a concertbased on themes of religious ecstatics. Their program on thisoccasion includes music by Bach, Biber, Marais, and Pergolesi(May 31). www.ifuriosi.comTry to imagine what one might have heard on Louis XIV's iPod, ifhe had one. Why, trio sonatas by Hotteterre, Darnel, Marais and thelike, of course. Join baroque flutists Alison Melville & EmmaElkinson, with Justin Haynes, viola da gamba, and Borys Medicky,harpsichord, at their Musically Speaking presentation (May 18).Frank T. Nakashima (franknak@interlog.com) is the President of theToronto Early Music Centre, a non-profit charitable organizationwhich promotes the appreciation of historically-informedpeiformances of early music. www.interlog.com/-temcENJOY THREE DAYS OF MAGNIFICENT BAROQUEMUSIC, JUST ONE HOUR WEST OF TORONTOGRAND RIVERBAROQ_UEFE ST I VALKEVINMALLON ,JUNE 13, 14 &15TICKETS 519- 578-1570OR l-800-265-8977The Centre in theSquare Box Officewww. centre-square. cornARTISTIC D I R ECTORIn the continuing Joan and Geoffrey Riggs Bach Cantata series,conductor David Fallis offers an insightful analysis of the melodiesand meaning of Bach's gorgeous cantata, Liebster Gott, wann werdich sterben? followed by the Toronto Chamber Choir's fullperformance with orchestra and soloists (May 3).www . torontochamberchoir. eaM AY 1 - J UNE 7 2008 WWW.THEWHOLENOTE.COM 19

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