EARLY MusicCONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PACEGabrieli, and du Caurroy.They also perform some ofthis program, plus solo organworks by Bach, forfree (December14) at RoyThomson Hall.www.studiosixteen.caRecovering from ahangover? Drink somewater, and take a hit ofjava before finding yourway to A New Year'sDay Concert (January 1)featuring intoxicating op'\Elin Soderstrom, Melisande Corriveau &Olivier Fortin of Montreal-based L'ensembleMASQUES join Toronto counterpart, IFuriosi Baroque Ensemble, in A Plague onBoth your Houses (January 13)era excerpts, dances andcantatas from 17th-century Vienna,music of Sances, Cesti, Monteverdiand others. The Musiciansin Ordinary (soprano HallieFishel and lutenist John Edwards)are joined by guest violinists ChristopherVerrette and Cristina Zacharias,and Laura Jones, bassviol.www. musiciansinordinary. caSome of the finest English choralworks were written by WilliamByrd, Orlando Gibbons, ThomasTallis, and Thomas Weelkeswho lived during the reigns of theTudor monarchs in the 15th and16th centuries. This music representeda most sophisticated integrationof word and melody. The EloraFestival Singers' program TheMusic of Tudor England (Jan 20 inToronto, Jan 21 in Elora) will highlightthe importance of music in boththe secular and sacred life of Tudortimes. www.elorafestival.comMontreal and Toronto's musiccommunities tend to exist in splendidisolation from one another.Well, the "two solitudes" are undersiege, thanks to youthful energyin the early music community.Expect the unexpected (d'India,Francesca Caccini, T romboncino...) when Elin Soderstrom,Melisande Corriveau and OlivierFortin of Montreal-basedL'ensemble MASQUES vie withtheir Toronto counterpart, I FuriosiBaroque Ensemble, in APlague on Both your Houses (January13) featuring music of thed'Este and the Medici families.www.ifuriosi .com and www.masques.orgIn a multi-media event, Bach andthe Muses: Music, Poetry and Art(January 18 - 21) three Tafelmusikmusicians perform Bach's soloworks for violin (Aisslinn Nosky),cello (Christina Mahler), and harpsichord(Charlotte Nediger), whilethree Canadian poets (Loma Crozier,Anne Michaels a nd JanZwicky) and three visual artistscreateworks inspired by Bach!www.tafelmusik.orgSimilarly, the Toronto MasqueTheatre presents a new masque,Through the Eyes of a Child, ofmusic and remembrance, poetryand dance, with the diverse musicof Du fay, Bach, Mozart, Berlioz,Berlin, and Bruce Cockburn (February7). Performers are Mary LouFallis, soprano; Larry Beckwith,tenor/violin; Marie-Nathalie Lacoursiere,dancer; Avery MacLean,recorder; Terry McKenna, lute;Cavell Wood, singer/dancer.www.torontomasquetheatre.caIn She ain't heavy she's my sister,chamber music celebratingwomen as performers, composers,patrons, pioneers and muses (January27), Scaramella compares oldand new music. Performers includeRachel Begley, Alison Melville, recorders;Joelle Morton, bass viol/double bass; Borys Medicky, harpsichord.www.scaramella.ca.Here's a curious program of contemporarymusic inspired by oldmusic at U of T - Wind & BandSeries: Old Music in New Clothing.The program includes Marshall:L'homme Arme Variations;Tull: Sketches on a Tudor Psalm;works by Grainger & VaughanWilliams, conducted by GillianMacKay (December 2).The Toronto Early Music Centrepresents Orpheus and the Angel-Music for a Sun King's Paradise,featuring works for the violada gamba by Marin Marais andSte. Colombe, performed by JoelleMorton and Laura Jones (January14).Frank T. Nakashimajranknak@interlog.com) is thePresident of the Toronto EarlyMusic Centre, which promotes theappreciation of historicallyinformedpeiformances of earlymusic. www. interlog. com! - temcCHORAL Sceneby Larry BeckwithThousands of voices singingChildren's choirs are busy this month. Pictured here: choristersfrom the St. Michael's Children's Choir School, who will perform"On Christmas Night" December 15"' at Massey Hall.December is the month of singing in Southern Ontario. It is staggering tolook at the listings in this magazine of dozens upon dozens of choralconcerts, multiply those by the average choir membership (let's say 35-40), take into consideration all the school and church events that aren'tlisted here and muse on the thousands of singers we have in our midst andwhat a positive thing it is that their voices are singing out so forcefully thismonth. Young and old, professional and amateur, large and small, ourcommunity's choirs are serving up carols, Messiahs, winter songs, moreMozart, Bach, new works, rarities and old favourites: in short, somethingfor everyone. What follows is a by-no-means-exhaustive tour of whatpromise to be some of the highlights of the month's offerings.Children's, Youth and Universitychoir concerts abound this month.On December 1, The CanadianChildren's Opera Chorus offers "ADickens of a Christmas", ErrolGay and Michael Albano's take onthe Christmas Carol story. T heGuelph Youth Singers and HamiltonChildren's Choir are presentingseparate Christmas concerts onDecember 2.The Hamilton choir recently wona prestigious award at the InternationalChoral Competition in Tolosa,Spain. Their conductor, Zemfira Poloz, came to Toronto fromEastern Europe ten years ago, andhas contributed greatly to the developmentof the area's young voices,through her work with theToronto Children's Chorus and theHigh Park Girls Choir.The Oakville Children's Chorus,directed by Glenda Crawford, givestheir audience a tour of the world'sChristmas traditions on Dec. 8 andthe following day Thomas Bell'sMississauga C hildren's Choirteams up with a Celtic dance troupefor "A Celtic Christmas". The RiverdaleYouth Singers have taken abit of a different tack by programmingPergolesi's "Stabat Mater" onDecember 11 , a marvelous pieceto be sure, but not exactly seasonal(but then the same can be saidof Handel's Messiah - but moreabout that later!).Later in month we hear from thePeterborough Children's Chorus,Toronto Children's Chorus, AmabileYouth Singers a nd St.Michael's Choir School, all withvariations on a theme: fresh-facedyoungsters singing their hearts outabout peace on earth and goodwilltowards humankind. I'm well intomy forties now, but it's a combinationthat still stirs my soul.Earlier in the month, universitiesin Guelph, Toronto, Waterlooand London all give choral concertsof one kind or another, featuringeverything from early music(Western) and advent treats(Waterloo) to Gospel (York).18 WWW.THEWHOLENOTE. COM D ECE MBER 1 2006 - FE BRUARY 7 2007
Potpourri programs abound, filledwith carols and shorter Christmasworks, or excerpts from largercrowd-pleasers. Look for programsof this variety from the FanshaweChorus in London (Dec. 1), TorontoPhilharmonia Orchestra withthe Toronto Children's Chorus (Dec.3), Toronto Mendelssohn Choir(Dec. 6), Grand Philharmonic Choirin Kitchener (Dec. 6), VocalPoint(Dec. 10), John Laing Singers inHamilton (Dec. 16), All the King'sVoices (Dec. 16) Elora FestivalSingers (Dec. 21) and the Elmer IselerSingers with the Canadian Brass(Dec. 23).Great Christmas repertoire is highlightedthis month as well, includinga few performances of the famousGloria setting by Vivaldi (SerenataChoir of Midland - Dec. 2, PeelChoral Society- Dec. 3, Grand PhilharmonicYouth Choir - Dec. 10,Toronto Choral Society - Dec. 13),a couple of readings of the Messede Minuit of Marc-Antoine Charpentier(Toronto Mendelssohn YouthChoir - Dec. 9, Toronto ChamberChoir - Dec. 20) and three performancesof the Magnificat by J.S. Bach(Voices - Dec. 9, Mississauga ChoralSociety - Dec.10, and OrchestraLondon - Dec. 20).For the fans of Christmas throughthe 20th century British pastoral lens,you can hear Gerald Finzi's evocativeIn Terra Pax (Lyrica Choir ofBarrie - Dec. 9), Ben Britten's Ceremonyof Carols (East York Choir- Dec. 16) and Vaughan Williams'Rodie (Pax Christi Chorale - Dec.16).Looking for some challengingfare? The Exultate Chamber Singerstackle Schoenberg's Friede auf Erdenon Dec. 8, and the OrpheusChoir gives the Canadian premiereof the young Latvian composerRihards Dubra's "Cantata In NativitateDomini" on Dec. 19.There is plenty of early Christmasmusic offered this month, aswell, from the Tallis Choir (MonteverdiMidnight Mass - Dec. 2),Toronto Consort (Praetorius ChristmasVespers - Dec. 8 & 9) andStudio Sixteen (Renaissance masterworksfor Christmas - Dec. 14 &16).And then there's Messiah! I trulythink this is a record year for performancesof Handel's exceptionalwide-ranging oratorio. Even thoughthe textual references to this time ofyear in the piece are few, audiencesflock to hear it. Significant large-scaleperformances are offered by the CellarSingers in Orillia (Dec. 1), theKingston Symphony (Dec. 6 and 7),D ECEMBER 1 2006 - F EB RUARY 7 2007Chorus Niagara (Dec. 8 & 9), theToronto Classical Singers (Dec. 10)and the Grand Philharmonic Choirin Kitchener (Dec. 15 & 16). TheToronto Mendelssohn Choir does anumber of shows with the TorontoSymphony Orchestra beginning Dec.16, but be forewarned that this isthe Mozart arrangement ("the FrenchHorn shall sound").For those wanting slightly moreintimate experiences of the piece witha smaller choir, you can try TactusVocal Ensemble in Guelph (Dec. 1),the Elmer Iseler Singers (Dec. 1),the Elora Festival Singers (Dec. 9& 10), Tafelmusik Chamber Choir(Dec. 13-16) or the Guelph ChamberChoir (Dec. 23).Or if you would simply like tohear a gospel rock version of theHallelujah Chorus, you need to bein the audience for the Achill ChoralSociety's Glorious Sounds of Christmason Dec. 3.(Our annual "Messiah QuickPicks" are on page 66, along withthe conclusion of this column.)If you're still hankering for someMozart as the celebratory year is waning,the Bell' Arte Singers eschew thetraditional Christmas fare for a latebirthday bash for Wolfgang on Dec.2, featuring excerpts from the Massin C Minor, Vespers and Requiem.There are a few secular seasonalofferings to recommend as well, includinga fascinating double-bill onDec. 10. In the afternoon, you canattend the Penthelia Singers "CelticSolstice" concert, highlighted byGaelic songs accompanied by Celticpipes, harp and percussion. You canthen make your way downtown fora program from the Echo Women'sChoir entitled Winter Love Songs. Iwas particularly drawn to this showas its centrepiece is a new work byCHORALSCENE CONTINUES ON PAGE66BOSLEYREAL ESTATEllOSlEY ~EA L ESTATE LT[• •. i:EALTOP.Sales Representative416-322-8000pmahon@tre bnet. comwww.petermahon.comSMALL W~RLD MUSICand theChurch of the Holy TrinitypresentT1RIO KA \fKASIASaturday January 13 1 2007 8 p.m.in concert atThe Church of the Holy Trinity(in the square just west of the Eaton Centre)Advance tickets / Call: 416-598-4521 1 ex 223Door tickets /www.smallworldmusic.comMAPALE LATIN BANDFeaturing Carlos BastidasFRI, FEB 9, 8 PMRCM Concert Hall, The Royal Conservatory of Music90 Croatia StreetAdults , Students & Seniors , Family 416.408.2824, ext. 321www.rcmusic.ca/concertsWWW.THEWHOLENOTE. COM 19
