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Volume 13 - Issue 9 - June 2008

EARLY Musicby Frank

EARLY Musicby Frank NakashimaThe Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir, with sopranoAnn Monoyios and tenor Rufus Millier (June 2) , strut theirstuff as they mark the beginning of their two-week Summer Institutefor the study of baroque music. A casual noon-hour program ofbaroque chamber music featuring members of Tafelmusik (June 7)precedes one by the students' orchestra and choir (June 11) directedby Jeanne Lamon and Ivars Taurins. The Grand Finale concert(June 14) combines the forces of Tafelmusik and the students in abaroque extravaganza. All these programs above are free!www.tafelmusik.orgThe Toronto Early Music Centre presents "Musically Speaking,"a one-hour enlightening program of historical performance, introducingthe young violinist Elena Spanu who, with Thomas Georgi,performs Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber's music for violin and violad'amore (June 8).Not too far away, in the beautiful rural setting of Cambridge andAyr, in Ontario, is the Grand River Baroque Festival (June 13 to15) which offers four concerts of orchestral, chamber and choralmusic. The "Five Nations" program presents works from the fourmusically-dominant nations of the 17th and 18th centuries - Germany(Telemann' s Don Quixote), Italy (Albinoni's Oboe Concerto) ,England (Matthew Locke's music for Shakespeare's Tempest), andFrance (Lully 's suite from Acis et Galatee). The fifth nation is representedby modern-day Estonian composer Arvo Part's work, Fratres.Meet for a pre-concert picnic at the Buehlow Barn, then enjoy the"Bach meets Buxtehude" program performed by Cristina Zacharias(violin), Teresa Van der Hoeven (soprano), Elin Soderstrom (violada gamba) and Hank Knox (harpsichord/organ) . Afterward, if you'restill hungry, a wonderful three-course meal is available at HobsonRestaurant, within walking distance of the evening 's concert, Gloria,featuring Vivaldi 's jubilant work of the same name. www.grbf.caFrom June 20 to 23, the Montreal Baroque Festival takes place.The complete book of Rameau's Pieces de clavecin en concerts willbe performed by Ensemble Masques. Oh, by the way, did youknow that Rameau was one of the most popular composers amongstthe French colonists in Haiti during the 18th century? One of Montreal'snewest groups, La Cigale, performs 18th century Irish musicin a concert titled Planxty O 'Carolan (June 23); world renownedvirtuoso tabla and sarangi players, Pandit Sharda Sahai and RameshMishra respectively, give a recital (June 22); Ensembles Caprice andDiolkidi, plus several others, present an Afro-French cultural historyof Haiti through the music and dances of the Chevalier de St.George, Rousseau, Rameau, and Gretry (June 23).tfie §£!!.!!!f postViolins, violas, cellos, and bowsComplete line of strings and accessoriesExpert repairs and rehairsCanada's largest stock of string musicFast mail order serviceEnsemble Caprice and others present an Afro-French cultural history ofHaiti on June 23 at the Montreal Baroque Festival.In a tribute to Glenn Gould, soprano Monika Mauch and countertenorDaniel Taylor offer a concert of Bach cantatas with The BandeMontreal Baroque directed by Eric Milnes (June 22). A program oflove songs from l 7th century France and China (June 20) will premiereKun Opera which was banned during the Cultural Revolution.It is interesting to note that Chinese decorative arts became the ragein Europe during the 17th century and Chinoiserie was the decor ofchoice for harpsichords! More 18th century music in a concert oftraditional Scottish and Quebecois music featuring soprano MeredithHall, fiddler David Greenberg, fiddler Lisa Ornstein, La Nef andLes Charbonniers de l'Enfer (June 20). Les Boreades de Montrealand Les Voix Humaines' Consort team up to play Venetian 17thcentury music by Bassano, Rossi, Cima and Fontana.www .montrealbaroque.comThe Oregon Bach Festival (June 27 to July 13) was founded byHelmuth Rilling in 1970 when he first arrived in Eugene, Oregon,to organize a series of workshops followed by an informal concert.Today, it is one of America's most important events devoted toBach's music, with master classes along with lecture-concerts welcomingmore than 3,000 visitors each year.www.oregonbachfestival.comSince its inauguration in 1990, the Berkeley Festival & Exhibitionhas been regarded as one of the premier events of its kind, as earlymusic performers, scholars, instrument makers, publishers. andenthusiasts gather for a week of concerts, lectures, and master classeson and around the University of California, Berkeley campus.This year it takes place from June 3 to 8, and, as usual, is absolutelypacked with fun and excitement. For example, the Americanpremiere of the 16th-century Mass by Alessandro Striggio for 40and 60 voices which was recently rediscovered in France by DavittMoroney. And from Paris comes the world premiere performancesof Le Poeme Harmonique's Venezia delle strade ai Palazzi, with themusic of Claudio Monteverdi and Francesco Manelli, costumed andstaged to capture the atmosphere of l 7th-century Venice.There is also an assortment of self-produced "fringe" concertsand events scheduled and organized by San Francisco Early MusicSociety (www.sfems.org/fringe2008.htm), the American Bach SoloistsInternational Young Artists Competition for Baroque Violin;Early Music America's annual conference and the Exhibition andMusic Marketplace of instruments, music, accessories, recordings,publications, and "mini-concert" demonstrations of instruments·performances by Piffaro, The Renaissance Band, The Concord' Ensemble,and the Philharmonia Chamber Players; and a number ofconcurrent events- Historical Harp Society's 25th Annual Workshop& Conference, American Recorder Society, Western Early KeyboardAssociation, and Viola da Gamba Society. See the website:www.bfx.berkeley.edu - and also the Cal Performances website atwww . calperformances. org.Frank T. Nakashima (franknak@interlog.com) is the President ofthe Toronto Early Music Centre, a non-profit charitable organizationwhich promotes the appreciation of historically-iriformed performancesof early music.24 WWW. THEWHOLENOTE.COM ) UNE 1 - ) ULY 7 2008

SoME THING Newby Richard MarsellaSound Art at its FinestDutch artistRicardo Huisman's Super SonicSoundscape Shoesallows the publicto hear and feelthe sounds undertheir feet andtraveling throughtheir body. Theinstallation runsfrom June 2- 8 atthe Music Gallery(noon to 5 pm).Friendly readers, I write you this month after having recentlytraveled to the utopian Festival du Musique Actuelle de Victoriavillein Quebec. Seeing a city come to life with experimental music was ahuge inspiration to me. The tourism opportunities this festival hasprovided Victoriaville are a model for cities in Ontario. It certainlyshowed me that a small few creative minds can implement change intheir respective cities.Speaking of creative minds, this month I had the chance to speakwith composer and sound artist Darren Copeland. Darren and hisorganization New Adventures in Sound Art are in the midst of deliveringtheir seventh program of the Deep Wireless Festival in the Cityof Toronto.I recall an early incarnation of the Deep Wireless Festival. Walkinginto the Rivali several years ago, to a sold-out audience listeningto quadraphonic mixes of radio art, I remember thinking to myselfhow special that event was, as it toasted the history of radio, whileplunging forward using surround sound and the limitless options itprovides.The Deep Wireless Festival attracts one third of its annual audiencefrom outside of Canada. The unique festival once again marksToronto as a leader in cultural distinction. Since 2002, the festivaland conference has expanded to include sculptural work that engageswith various aspects of radio. This year, Gallery 1313 features amultimedia work called I T U (Intensive Treatment Unit) that originatedas a radio piece by Tim Wainwright. Artist John Wynne hasnow added visuals to heighten the experience. This piece runs fromMay 25 to June 8 and it is free to attend (Sunday to Wednesday 1- 6pm).Darren Copeland's inspiration to start Deep Wireless with hisrespective organization New Adventures in Sound Art(www.naisa.ca) was drawn from a need to showcase all of the diverseradiophonic work in sound art in large-scale form. For electroacousticcomposers, this medium is the equivalent of writing anopera, as the works are all very language-based.The Deep Wireless Festival engages in other modes of communicationrather than just music, and sound. Darren Copeland' s ownworks , from his experience, are better experienced in the concert hallrather than on radio, so the festival was essentially born, like allgood festivals, out of necessity. Although Deep Wireless partnerswith radio (CBC Radio One' s Outfront) , the celebration of this genrein the concert hall is really necessary to experience live, using a12-speaker mix.Copeland seemed very excited about the Outfront pieces that havebeen broadcast for radio throughout May, and will be featured in alive concert on May 30 and 31 at the Ryerson Student Centre. Thelive performance aspect is exciting, as it takes the radio art piecesand expands them into 12 . Also running in the month of June is aninstallation at Le Labo in the Distillery District called Le vivant bruitSunday June 1 • soundaXisCONCRETETORONTO MUSICfeat. Carla Huhtanen &Wallace Halladay (ErikRoss commission),Knurl, Sandro Perri & TonyDekker, Smith & Wiernik2-5prn @ Ontario Scie nce Ce ntreTicke t includes bus ride from MG!Friday June 27EVAN PARKER TRIOfeat. Barry Guy + Paul Lytton8prn • Ticke ts -Saturday June 28FEUERMUSIK+ NEPTUNEwith guest Marilyn Lerner8prn • Tickets $ 10/$ 15Join us June 27-28 for ourSummer BBQ, hosted bySt. George the Martyr.the Music Gallery• 197 John St., Toronto ON, MST lXG416-204-1080 • www.musicgallery.org~ =-·~• ~~'-" ~~!.~~~!.'!!!!:.~.~~~ ~ ~~:\~'~ 1 !:~t:t: 1 0,iru,c l+I ~:;1:'~~n ~=~:=~SOt,e.clJ UN E 1 - J ULY 7 2008 WWW. TH EWHOLENOTE.COM 25

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