the TorontoConsort andthe TafelmusikBaroqueOrchestra.Harris, likeFallis, is one of themost knowledgeableand accomplishedearlymusic specialistsin the country(full disclosure –Harris is a friendLucas Harrisand colleaguefrom whom Ipurchased myfirst lute). Though relatively new to conducting, he is a very goodfit for the TCC, whose artistic mandate is music of the baroque andearlier eras.Harris writes about the process of becoming a conductor: “I gotinterested in conducting because there is a special satisfaction abouttaking the responsibility for a project at every stage, from the initialidea to the concert itself. After spending two and a half years hangingout with singers, singing alongside them in choir, taking classes withthem, I can say that singing requires way more intelligence and skillthan I knew.“In the renaissance and early baroque the ideal was that instrumentsshould imitate the perfection of the human voice. One thingthat I’d wish for in the early music scene is to establish a more definablepath for young singers who want to become my favourite type ofsinger: one that is interested in a subtle, dynamically nuanced styleof phrasing which is intimately connected to the text. I’m trying todo my part to help encourage singers who are tending this way bycreating the new Toronto Chamber Consort, which is the TCC’s newsection lead program.”Harris’ inaugural program with the TCC, “Air, Fire, Earth & Water:The Renaissance Sense of Humour(s),” takes place on the afternoonof November 2. R.H. Thomson, one of Canada’s finest actors, collaborateswith the choir in a musical investigation of the the word humour,which had a different meaning in renaissance times than it does now.Back in the day, humour was actually a medical term. According toHarris, humourism was the idea that “our temperaments and moods[were] determined by the balance of four bodily liquids” that correspondedto emotional states, or humours. Blood equalled sanguine– playful, carefree; yellow bile equalledcholeric – restless, volatile; black bileequalled melancholic – introspective,melancholy; phlegm equalled phlegmatic– calm, thoughtful. Each of thefour humours also had a related naturalelement as well as a correspondingcolour, season, planet and time of day.Thomson’s script will investigate ourattempts to rationalize the mysteries ofhuman nature through science, questioningif our modern systems of classificationare any closer to the truth than themethods of our ancestors.What we think of as humour theseR.H. Thomsondays was often termed “comedy” backthen, and renaissance folk enjoyed agood (and frequently, dirty) joke just as much as we do now. The TCC’sprogram has examples of music that investigates bawdy, bodily andspiritual humour(s), from diverse renaissance sources: Italian andFlemish madrigals, English lute songs and French chansons. I wouldcertainly recommend this program to concertgoers as a chance to bea part of the beginning of an exciting new chapter in the life of thisToronto choir.Elora Festival Singers: Spirituals and gospel songs from the African-American tradition are often conflated. While there is plenty ofoverlap, they are not the same thing. Spirituals are an older body ofrepertoire that can be traced back as far as the early 19th century, andlikely existed much earlier. On October 19 the Elora Festival Singersperform “Spirituals and Folksongs” in Elora with guest vocalist JackieRichardson. Richardson is an engaging, generous performer, at homewith gospel, spirituals and pretty much everything else.TMC’s 120th!: On October 15 a very special occasion in Toronto’schoral life takes place – a celebration of the Toronto MendelssohnChoir’s 120th anniversary. The TMC was founded by 1894 by AugustusStephen Vogt and William Henry Hewlett, the sons of European immigrantswho helped foster the European concert music tradition at atime when Toronto was still practically a small town. The torch wascarried by Sir Ernest MacMillan, probably Canada’s first real musicalsuperstar, who conducted the choir from 1942 to 1957.The dynamic and mercurial “dean of Canadian conductors,” ElmerIsler, conducted the TMC from 1964 to 1997. The Elora Festival Singers’Noel Edison has led the ensemble up to the current day, continuingto marshall the forces necessary for a grand style of music making(the choir is over 100 voices strong) that continues to speak strongly28 | October 1 - November 7, 2014 thewholenote.com
LYDIA ADAMS, Conductor & Artistic DirectorElmer Iseler SingersLydia AdamsArtistic Director and ConductorOctober 5, 2014 at 4:00 pmEglinton St. George’s United Church35 Lytton Blvd.The Spirit SingsProgram includes;Song of God Mass – James WhitbournLux Aeterna – Morten LauridsenA Hymn to St. Cecilia – Herbert HowellsAlleluia – Eric WhitacreFeaturing Robert Carli, saxophoneand Shawn Grenke, keyboard2014 • 2015ToronTo ConCErT SErIESJoy of Singing:The Magic of Song!40GueSt HoSt – Mary Lou Fallis C.M.Great Choral SoundsSun. Oct. 19, 2014 • 4:00 pmEglinton St. George’s United Church• 35 Lytton Blvd, TorontoGueSt HoSt – Jean Ashworth Bartle, C.M., o.ont.Amadeus Choir Honorary PatronSure on this Shining NightSat. Dec. 13, 2014 • 7:30 pmYorkminster Park Baptist Church • 1585 Yonge St, TorontoAmadeus Choir Honorary PatronCeLeBrAtiNG tHe toroNto ArtS CouNCiL’S40tH ANNiverSAryof Heart And tide:the Gift of WaterSat. Apr. 11, 2015 • 7:30 pmTrinity-St. Paul’s Centre, Jeanne Lamon Hall • 427 Bloor St W, TorontoSPeCiAL GueSt – Dr. roberta Bondar C.M., o.ont.earth Songs, Love SongsSun. May 24, 2015 • 4:00 pmGeorge Weston Recital Hall, Toronto Centre for the Arts5040 Yonge St, TorontoGueSt HoSt – Ben Heppner, C.C.,Amadeus Choir Honorary Patronan Ontario government agencyun organisme du gouvernement de l’OntarioConcert SponsorSandra ParsonsSeries Sponsor416-217-0537 www.elmeriselersingers.comFor tickets and information call 416-466-0188or visit our website: www.amadeuschoir.comthewholenote.com October 1 - November 7, 2014 | 29
