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Volume 12 - Issue 10 - July/August 2007

  • Text
  • Festival
  • Chart
  • Jazz
  • August
  • Toronto
  • Musical
  • Theatre
  • September
  • Concerts
  • Choir

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WholeNote MarketPlaceServicesProfessional & HealthProofPOSITIVE ServicesCarol Anne LynchEditing and desktop publishingfor the arts,concert programme design & layoutph. 416-652-2077 • calynch@sympatico.caRelease pain.Relax. Breathe. Move.'-Or. Katarina Bulat BSc DC (& ~1 u s1c 1A N 1Chiropractor 416-461-1906Private practice. Coxwell & Danforth area.ServicesProfessional & HealthtAlexander Techniquewith Verna JohnsoJLCertified Alexander Teacher-22 years' teaching experience..•www.lauraadlers.comLAURA ADLERSthe business of the artsl (416) 4670634laura@lauraadlers.comDIGITAL•MISTER'SMASTERINGHOUSEServicesRecordingEDITINGCD MASTERINGLIVE RECORDING0PtN REEL. &CASSETTE TRANSFERS96/24 C APABILITYCO NTACT: KARL MACHAT416 503 3060 OR 64 7 227 KARLMISTERS.MASTE RS@SYMPATICO CAGOLD RECORDS JUNO AWARDSRecording & Mastering.Great live room in old movie theatre.Yamaha Grand Piano. Hammond M3& Leslie Milestone Drums. per hour 416.467.9597www.studio92canada.comCall for a coffee and tourRestaurantsCommensal Vegetarian Restaurant655 Bay St. entrance on Elm St.416-596-9364 www.commensal.caLive Jazz Fri. & Sat. evenings. Validated parking after 6 pmVenues for Hire2Specializing'$ ? ._:,NEED HELP WITH YOUR TAXES?in personal, business,partnership, and corporate tax returnsincluding prior years and adjustments.Call Norm Pulker905-830-2985npulker@rogers.comfax: 905-830-9810• free consultation• accurate work• pickup & deliveryarrangedENTERTAINERS NEEDED!We are now accepting new ArtistsSend your media package toEntertainment TorontoLtdEmail: Artists@EntertainmentT oronto.CAWebsite: www .EntertainmentToronto.CARecording Engineerwww.timothyminthorn.comA specialist in high qualityclassical recording.Get a world-class sound.on-site or in my studio416.461.0635The space has a 6' Bostongrand piano, an upright pianoand seats 30 - 40 people.Contact the North Toronto Institute More MarketPlace on page 51of Music at 416-488-2588 for information.-HOLD YOUR NEXT RECITALbeliconian ballA beautiful restored Carpenter's Gothic board and batten church54building in the heart of Yorkville can be rented at reasonablerates for musical events. Steinway Grand piano included.A high, vaulted ceiling provides excellent concert-hall acoustics.Capacity up to 120. Tel: 416-922-3618 Fax: 416-922-2431www.heliconianclub.orgrentals@heliconianclub.org'"Recording• Mixing!)• Mastering • YarnahaGrand • Hammond83 • 5 Isolated RoomsGreatSummer ,,Ra~.;! im=_m~i. rii_ mail

EDITOR'S CORNER- GONE FISHIN'!With "Music and the Great Outdoors" as thetheme of the current issue our CD Editor hasdecided to get a jump on the season, packedup his tiny "travel" guitar (a Washburn Rover),hopped on his trusty steed (a 21-gearhybrid bicycle) and headed for the hills. DavidOlds will return in September with a summer'sworth of new CD and DVD releases. In theinterim we welcome your input via our website:www.thewholenote.com.VOCALBrahms - Ein Deutsches RequiemDorothea Riischmann; Thomas Quasthoff;Rundfunk Chor Berlin; Berliner Philharmoniker;Simon RattleEMI Classics 3 65393 2In the days of Furtwanglerand von Karajan,the Berlin Philharmonichad a soundso distinctive youcould recognize it anywhere.But it was thesame sound for all music,no matter when orwhere it was written. Today, under their currentchief conductor, Simon Rattle, versatility hasbecome the hallmark.This performance of Brahms' choral masterpiecewas recorded live last fall. It shows how,under Rattle, the orchestra can combine thetransparency ofa more historically attuned stylewith the sweeping grandeur of Furtwangler andvon Karajan.Brahms wrote the German Requiem just afterthe deaths of both his mother and his mentorRobert Schumann. The baritone sets the tone ofloss, longing and consolation when he sings, ' Behold,I will show you a mystery'. This is not atraditional mass for the dead. For one thing, it'sin German, not Latin. And instead of followingthe Christian liturgy, Brahms used Biblical extractsto fashion what often amounts to dialoguesamong the voices and orchestra. Even in the mostsubdued passages, Rattle gets a full, expressivesound.German soprano Dorothea Roschmann is luminoushere, her glowing, ethereal presence contrastingwith German baritone ThomasQuasthoff's resonant intensity. But it's the choirthat has most of the singing. The Rundfunk ChorBerlin is splendid here - fiery, tender and nuanced.The sound engineering is superb, allowingus to make out the words clearly.Pam Marg/esHumperdinck - Hansel und GretelSachsische Staatskapelle Dresden;Michael Hofstetter; Katharina ThalbachEuroArts 2055888 DVDThis is certainly a newand different look atHumperdinck's 1893 fairytale opera that R. Straussregarded as a 'masterworkof the first rank'.Noted German film directorand actress,Katharina Thalbach anddesigner Enzo Toffulutti'sartistic vision is entirely'.. , .... ;.-.. ,~ .. ~.-HaNseL 11.u ereret.. ........ ................• l(M•I< ~Cl'!llllO, • " ! ,.., .,1u•iu r u1u 1~focused on children of the 21st century, kids whoare growing up with television and cannot betrusted sitting still during long, boring orchestralovertures and interludes. The whole productionis a multi-media presentation with singers, ballet,film, puppetry and backlit shadowy figures, notto mention a multitude of Grimm fairy tale characterson hand and even a giant turtle. But it'sall rather delightful and the toddlers in the audienceare enthralled.Nor are we short-changed musically. Talentedyoung conductor, Michael Hofstetter leads thelarge Wagnerian orchestra with dedication andgreat love for the score. The two sibling principalsare beautifully sung by up-and-comers mezzoAntigone Papoulkas and soprano Anna Gabler,both German born, who differentiate their differentgenders, overact suitably for the kids' benefit,and harmonize beautifully. One can be remindedof Wagner's mermaids in Rheingold orParsifal's flower maidens when listening to theblending of voices.The Witch, a masterstroke of the composer,is played to the hilt with inspired comedy by. IrisVermilion, world famous opera star and recitalist.The director, in treating the roles of the Fatherand the Mother (Hans-Joachim Ketelsen andIrmgard Vilsmeier), again breaks with traditionby making them appear ridiculous, thereby underliningtheir children's disrespect for them.All in all a visual knockout and great entertainmentfor children ofall ages.Janos GardonyiConcert Note: Opera by Request presents aconcert performance with piano accompanime~tof Humperdinck's Hansel und Gretel at HehconianHall on July 7.Schoenberg - Moses und AronFranz Grundheber; Thomas Moser; ViennaState Opera; Slovak Philharmonic Chorus;Daniele Gatti; Reto NicklerArtHaus Musik 101 259 DVDThis outstanding DVD of Schoenberg's metaphysicalmasterwork Moses and Aaron is atreasure to cherish. Baritone Franz Grundheber,singing throughout in the half-sung, half sp.okendelivery known as sprechstimme, compellmglyportrays a Moses tormented by his own inadequacyto convey God's inconceivable nature tohis people without the intercession of his stlvertonguedbrother Aaron, eloquently interpreted bythe lyric tenor of Thomas Moser.Reto Nickler's stagingdispenses with many ofthe spectacular effectsSchoenberg scenariocalls for. There's no literalburning bush, GoldenCalf, bloody entrails ornaked virgins to be foundhere. Instead, the gravenimage is the Self - theword !CH(!), the false idol - while an imposingtower of television monitors provides the gruesomedetails. The stage is mobbed by the combinedforces of The Vienna Opera choir, augmentedby the proficient Slovak PhilharmonicChorus, in a tremendous, deeply impressive performanceof the most difficult choral writing inthe entire operatic repertoire. Only the climacticthird scene of the second act disappoints. Likelydue to the unwieldy numbers of singers on stageconductor Daniele Gati is obliged to take a somewhatunder-tempo orgy scene, and even at thispace the orchestra sounds a bit scrambled. .Recorded live at the Vienna State Opera m2006 by the Austrian ORF television network,the I IO minute performance includes an interviewwith the principal cast members and thetext of the uncompleted third act. The indispensableEnglish subtitles are idiomatically translatedand essential for an appreciation of Schoenberg'sidiosyncratic, self-authored discourse.Daniel FoleyEARLY MUSIC ANDPERIOD PERFORMANCEBuxtehude: Membra Jesu NostriLes Voix BaroquesATMA Classique ACD2 2563Buxtehude: Membra Jesu NostriSchola Cantorum Basiliensis, ReneJacobsHarmonia Mundi HMO 9909006 DVDIn 1680, while organistof the Marienkirchein Lubeck,Buxtehude wroteMembra Jesu Nastripatientis sanctissimawhich literallytranslates as TheVery Holy BodyParts of our Suffering Lord Jesus. This uniquecycle of seven cantatas comprises.a rather ii:iaginativecontemplation of the suffermgs ofChnstfrom head, or face (Ad faciem), to toe (Adpedes) - by way of the knees (Ad genua), thehands (Ad manus ), the side (Ad Latus), the breast(Ad pectus), and the heart (Ad car). .On this ATMA recording, these young smgersare so wonderfully matched, vocally andmusically - Suzie Le Blanc (soprano), CatherineWebster (soprano), Matthew White (alto), PascalCharbonneau (tenor), Thomas Meglioranza(bass) - and although all are accomplished soloists,their strength here is in their seamless ensemblework. Throughout, their singing is infusedJ ULY 1 - SEPTEMBER 7 2007Back to Ad IndexWWW .THEWHOLENOTE. COM55

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