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Volume 20 Issue 3 - November 2014

  • Text
  • November
  • Toronto
  • December
  • Jazz
  • Theatre
  • Arts
  • Musical
  • Bloor
  • Orchestra
  • Choir

an Ontario government

an Ontario government agencyun organisme du gouvernement de l’OntarioBeat by Beat | Early MusicA Bunch ofKey ConcertsDAVID PODGORSKIIf you’re looking for something to do on a weekend in November,you might be obliged to make a few tough decisions. As I write this,there are all of ten early music concerts going on in Toronto thismonth, no two even remotely similar to one another. It’s obviously asign we live in a fun city with lots to do on any given weekend, but thepossibility always exists that one can miss out on something fantastic,or at least something you won’t get a chance to hear ever again. I don’thave enough space to adequately discuss absolutely every early musicconcert going on this month (you’ll have to check the listings for that),but here are a few highlights and must-sees.Solo harpsichord: It’s been a while since Toronto audiences havehad a chance to hear a solo harpsichord concert, but audiences willget a chance to hear the instrument shine this month. Admittedly,Toronto hasn’t been graced with a superabundance of solo harpsichordconcerts since Colin Tilney retired, but up-and-coming Torontomusician Philippe Fournier will entertain the public with a mixedprogram that will include François Couperin, J. S. Bach and JohnBull. Fournier makes his home at Holy Family Church and plays withthe Musicians in Ordinary from time to time. It will be well worthit to see what he’s been up to as a solo artist. Check out this concertNovember 8 at the Yoga Village at 8pm.Daniel TaylorSchola, TEM: Ifyou’re more in themood for a choralconcert, you mightprefer hearing insteadthe Schola Cantorumand the Theatre ofEarly Music concertsthe same weekend.They’re technicallystudent concerts givenby performers studyingat the University ofToronto Faculty ofMusic’s fledgling earlymusic program, butthe program is directedby Daniel Taylor, whois probably the closestthing to a householdname on the Canadianearly music scene, andwho brings in top-tier professional musicians for these concerts.The Schola Cantorum will be singing some fairly standard renaissancefare (Palestrina, Tallis, Taverner) and it’s very likely that thesewill be fine concerts of serene sounds. Also, they’re at the beautifulTrinity College chapel on November 8 and 9 at 7:30pm. If you haven’tvisited the Trinity College chapel yet, it’s one of the finest acousticspaces in Toronto for choral music, so it would be worth it just to goand hear what a choral concert is supposed to sound like.Paris in the Fall: If neither of these concerts are enticing enoughto get you out of the house that weekend, keep in mind The TorontoConsort will be performing their own concert of renaissance music onNovember 7 and 8 at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre. The Consort is callingthis one “Paris Confidential,” and it’s a social and musical explorationof the city of Paris in the 16th century, when the city was leavingbehind its reputation as a muddy medieval military camp and quicklybecoming a European cosmopolis. The great Alison MacKay, a giftedand insightful curator of musical and cultural history, is presenting amusical program of the city of Paris as seen through the eyes of oneGeorge Buchanan, a 16th-century scholar who left behind a legacyof rich descriptions of the city in which he lived. His letters, writtento describe to his non-Parisian friends what life in the city was like,are the centrepiece of MacKay’s multimedia program, which includesanecdotes by other authors, contemporary paintings, drawings, mapsand illuminations. Oh right, and there’s music, too. The TorontoConsort will be playing a program of renaissance French music, ararity in this city. The composers on the program are hardly obscure,though, and include Clement Jannequin, Claude LeJeune, Claude deSermisy and Jehan Chardavoine.Honestly, if there’s one early music concert you have to see thismonth, this is probably it. Alison MacKay has developed a reputationfor putting together thoughtful, engaging, and informative concertsfor Tafelmusik and the Consort. If you’re familiar with renaissancemusic and names like Palestrina, Josquin, and Byrd already meansomething to you, this concert will give you a bigger picture of whatrenaissance music is all about. Sixteenth-century French music isstill composed in the same style as Palestrina and the like, but Frenchcomposers of the period took the same rules of composition in somevery creative directions. If renaissance music isn’t your thing, ParisConfidential will still be worth going to out of sheer curiosity – theconcert promises to be an interesting in-depth look at what it was liketo live in a major city and cultural hub of activity in the 16th century.Think of it as tourism for time travellers.(Personal) Rezonance: For a fun instrumental concert later in themonth, you might want to check out a chamber concert being givenby my own group, Rezonance, a chamber ensemble whose coremembers include myself on harpsichord and violinist Rezan Onen-Lapointe. We’ll be joined this month by the fabulous Montreal-basedflute player Joanna Marsden for a concert of 18th-century Italianand German music on November 30 at Artscape Youngplace at 3pm.Telemann, Handel and Vivaldi are on the bill, but we’ll also feature2014-2015 SEASONCelebrating MusicalTriumphs from theFirst World WarNovember 15, 8pmACS commemorates the 100thanniversary of the outbreak ofWorld War One with two Canadianworks: Ernst MacMillan’s StringQuartet in c minor (1917), writtenwhile he was interned in a civiliandetention camp in Germany, and“The Battle of Vimy Ridge” (2014)by Toronto-born composer, MarkRichards. Also featured are Debussy’sCello and Piano Sonata (1915) andElgar’s Piano Quintet (1918).and don’t miss…Eastminster United Church, 310 Danforth Avenue(West of Chester) All 3 concerts begin at 8pmPrelude to a FantasyJanuary 17, 2015, 8pmwith Marco Cera,Anna Marsh, Emily Eng,and Kerri McGonigle,Musical Jousting inthe Courts of Haydnand BoccheriniApril 18, 2015, 8pmwith Jeanne Lamon,Edwin Huizinga, Emily Eng,Christina Mahlerand Kerri McGonigleRegulaR tickets: $20 or for 3, student/senioR tickets: or for 3academyconcertseries.com 416.629.371628 | November 1 - December 7, 2014 thewholenote.com

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