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Volume 13 - Issue 4 - December 2007

WholeNote

WholeNote MarketPlaceEducationTHE TORONTO SINGINGSTUDIOMusic for all with Linda EymanPrivate singing lessonsGroup classes • Adult choirsAnnex and Midtown locationsCall 416-455-9238The Art of the FluteOne step at a time guidance toplaying the flute and the recorder.Studios near Yonge& St. Clair and RoyalYork & Bloor West.Allan Pulker 416-926-1578Upcoming performances:Dec. 9, 3 pm, Gallery 345, 345 Sorauren Ave.~ 1' All Ages 1' All Levels J'i All Stylesff" 1' Motivating Beginners' Groupsfa: J\ Private LessonsPIANO KEYBOARD GUITAR VIOLIN FLUTE SAX CLARINET DRUMSMuJi~,i~toL 416-224-5590Ql YAMAHAwww.yamahamusicschool.caNORTH TORONTO INSTITUTE or MUSICPrivate instruction and exam ~preparation by qualified teachersin the heart of Toronto.• Piano • Voice • Guitar • Strings• Woodwinds • Percussion • Theory• Music Theatre • Pre-school550 Eglinton Avenue East416-488-2588 www.nlimusic.com"'""~ University Settlement~ Music & Arts SchoolEst. 192123 Grange RoaclTmonto. ONTeL 416 598 344462\V\"W. UStC.C:lCentrJlly loc;ited 111 ciowntown Toronto!J Piano I Strings I Guitar f Voicef Woodwinds I Accordion J PercussionI Choirs I Chamber MusicJ Kid's Dance ft Orama f Much More!Education/?ona/d /?. /?andTeacher of Voice production forSpeaking and Classical 5inging27+ R.o:;lal York R.d. +16-255-5982CLAIM YOUR VOICEOrganic and functional vocal training togain access to your full range, resonanceand vocal freedom. For singers, publicspeakers, teachers, clergy, or if you justwant to enjoy using your voice.Sue Crowe ConnollyHamilton Studio Toronto Studio905-5441302 416-523-1154MARJORIE SPARKS VOICE STUDIOMarjorie Sparks B. Mus .. B. Ed.Private voice lessons, instructionsfor university auditions. RCM exams.competitions. and professional performances.Frequent Studio Recitals.STUDIO LOCATION416-944-3343 550 Eglinton Ave. E., Torontowww.marjoriesparksvoicestudio.com mheitshu @sympatico.ca/~ Love To Sing?•All styles •All Levels • Beginners\..__and Children welcome • Excellentfor public speakers, actors, etc.Breathe new life into your voice with a unique andsensible kinesthetic approach to vocal pedagogy.Call Pattie Kelly for private lessons: 905-271-6896info@vocalsense.ca www.vocalsense.ca ~d(i;j-PIANO LESSONS• Over 40 years in business,all levels.• Extremely effective, low-costpreparation for RCM exams,. competitions, concerts, etc.'--.I • From for Y, hour.FI· Immediate results, or you don't pay!Vladimir Dounin 416-321-5627bethebestinmusic@yahoo.comChernik Music SchoolDevelop and explore your creativitybothin performance and composition!• Piano • Theory and Composition• Strings • Voice • WoodwindsRCM examinations. Festivals and Recitals.Professional teachers. Individual approach.Unique teaching methods and interesting programs.Continued from page 10vocal works from two and a half decades includingBeckwith 's most recent settings, ThreeSongs to poems by Miriam Waddington sungby soprano Kathryn Demoney. This project wasconceived by pianist William Aide, a long timecollaborator of Beckwith , who has accompaniedseveral generations of this country's finest singersin his works ( and incidentally has Beckwith 's pianoconcerto well in hand if you happen to knowof an orchestra looking for a Canadian showpiece). On this album we also hear baritoneDouglas McNaughton in Six Songs to poems bye.e.cummings, the monodrama Stacey drawnfrom Margaret Laurence's The Fire Dwellersperfonned by soprano Teri Dunn and the titletrack Avowals on a text by bpNichol featuringtenor Benjamin Butterfield. The disc concludeswith the tenor and sopranos taking turns in Arrangementsfrom Canadian song traditions. Itis here that Beckwith 's knowledge ofCanadianareally shines, but it is in the poetic works wherehis craft is at its peak. In his introductory noteAide concludes by saying "John Beckwith is acomposer who knows his poetry so well he wantsto sing it." l think Mr. Beckwith will forgive mefor saying thankfully we are spared that, but thesingers included on the wonderful disc give wingsto his songs. Photographer Andre Leduc capturedMcNaughton, Beckwith and Aide in a moment ofcomic exuberance for the hilarious cover shot.The other disc is by singer-songwriter IanTamblyn, whose tales of northern Canada havehaunted me since first hearing them more thanthirty years ago. Tamblyn has matured but lostnone of his edge or commitment in the interveningyears and 27 album releases. Superior: Spiritand Light (North Track Records NT-27,www.tamblyn.com) brings together old and newsongs in a beautiful andmoving package intendedto "bring attentionto the plight ofLake Superior and itssurrounding communities... It seems to memany of the townsalong Superior's north. ,•&~-...----""t~,- -shore wil I soon be ghost towns. It makes me sadand angry to bear witness to these events." JanTamblyn is a poetic and compelling story-tellerwhose message never overshadows the artfulnessof the telling and I find myself spellbound.l would not nonnally mention a straight-aheadpop recording but lam quite taken with localsinger-songwriter Brock Simpson's "Polymythical"(www.myspace.com/brocksimpson).With vocals reminiscent of Billy Joel, ElvisCostello and Rufus Wainwright, witty lyrics, cleverarrangements and great production values, it'sa CD I keep returning too.Please send CD submissions and commentsto: The WholeNote, 503 - 720 Bathurst St.Toronto ON M5S 2R4.David Olds, DlSCoveries Editordiscoveries@thewholenote.comDECEMB ER 1 2007 - FEBR UA RY 7 2008

VOCALHere let my life - Music by Purcelland MauteJames Bowman; Daniel Taylor;Theatre of Early MusicAnalekta AN 2 9948The Best of Daniel TaylorDaniel TaylorATMA ACD2 3001Upon hearing Daniel Taylor and James Bowmansinging in unison, one is astonished. Not becausethere is more than a generation gap between thetwo - Taylor was not even born when Bowmanmade his celebrated London debut in 1967 at theinvitation ofnone otherthan Benjamin Britten.The source of astonishment is not their mutualadmiration of music by Purcell - after all, whatbetter music is there to highlight the unique rangeof the countertenor voice. Nor should the astonishmentsuggest that some studio trickel)' wasused in this great Espace Musique ofRadio­Canada recording released by Analekta. Havingheard Mr. Bowman live at the Saint-Germain desPres in Paris this past summer, I can vouch forhis flawless delivel)' some 40 years on. No, thetrue reason for the surprise is how different thesetwo countertenors are. Both transcend the threesub-categories of the countertenor voice (falsetto,male alto and haute-contre tenor) but there thesimilarities end. Bowman is a countertenor asinterpreter: one feels eve!)' emotional nuance ofthe music performed by him; one seeminglyunderstands eve!)' word, even if sung in a foreigntongue. Taylor, possibly because ofhis interest ininstrumental period performance (he is the founderand artistic director of the Theatre of EarlyMusic), is a creator of beautiful sounds -eve!)'note, eve!)' vowel has just one purpose- purebeauty. Whether the difference is a result ofyears of experience or fundamentally differentapproaches to singing- this remains to be seen.One thing is sure - the combination of these twovoices renders one unable to resist the charms ofPurcell.An added attraction of this album is aperiod perforniance ofacontemporal)' work:Concerto on the Death of Hemy Purcell byDECEMBERl 2007 - FEBR UARY 7 2008Matthias Maute, flautist and member of theTheatre of Early Music.The disc of excerpts from Daniel Taylor'sseven complete CDs with music of Bach, Buxtehude,Handel, Bennett, Hoffmann, Dowland andagain, Purcell, all from the ATMA catalogue,presents the versatility of the young musician. Heis incredibly prolific (some 60 recordings) andeclectic in his choices. Currently, great things arehaprening for Daniel Taylor on the operatic stage,as his presence and acting ability, combined witha beautiful voice, draw the invitations from RomeStuttgart, San Francisco, Berlin and New York 'City like a magnet. Luckily for us, the fans, hecan also be heard in concerts, recitals, oratoriosand masses. lfyou have never experienced himlive, believe me, you owe yourself that favour.Robert TomasConcert Note: Daniel Taylor is one of the featuredsoloists in Tafelmusik's presentation of Bach'sChristmas Oratorio and Magnificat December 1&2.SurpriseMeasha Brueggergosman;William Bolcom; BBC SymphonyOrchestra; David RobertsonDeutsche Grammophon 4776589"Surprise" really wasa surprise for me.There is no doubt thatCanadian sopranoMeasha Brueggergosman's career is ona rapid skyward trajectol)'since herdramatic title role inCanadian composerJames Rolfe's 1998 opera Beatrice Chancey.She is a world class singer with charisma, poise, abeautiful voice and unforgettable stage presence.Her choice of recording cabaret songs composedby William Bolcom,Amold Schoenberg and ErikSatie on her Deutsche Grammophon de but wasquestionable. But from the first word "surprise"on the first and also title track, she had this listenertotally entranced.Cabaret songs are a little like songs frommusicals in that their lyrics are far fetched andtheir melodies overly melodramatic. But it needsto be noted that Bolcom, Schoenberg and Satieare first and foremost "classical" composers, andare using these sensibilities to have a bit of fun itseems. William Bolcom arranged the orchestralaccompaniment of his songs for Brueggergosman.The BBC Symphony Orchestra under thedirection of David Robertson provides electrifyingsupport to the fabulous performance by the soprano(as does William Bolcom in his piano accompanimenton three Satie tracks). Don't beturned away by the idea that Schoenberg's songsmay be musically difficult - these are dark yetaccessible works that sound like they were composedespecially for Brueggergosman. The Satiesongs are more melodic in nature. With the closingtrack of the Satie's rambunctious Lehar-likewaltz, Je te veu.x, Brueggergosman confirmswhy she is such a world class soprano - she issimply a great singer.WWW. TH EWHOLENOTE. COMLooking for a gift for yourself or a loved one?"Surprise" should continue to surprise and astonishfor years to come!Tiina KiikEARLY MUSIC ANDPERIOD PERFORMANCEVivaldi - L'Estro ArmonicoElizabeth Wallfisch; Tafelmusik BaroqueOrchestra; Jeanne LamonAnalekta AN 2 9835l 'estro armonico,Vivaldi 's first set ofinstrumental concertos,was published in1711 , and manymusic historiansconsider it to be themost influentialcollection of instrumentalmusic toappear in print in the whole of the l 8th centul)'. Itcertainly secured an international reputation forVivaldi both as a virtuoso violinist and an innovativecomposer.Eight of the twelve Op.3 concertos are includedon this latest CD from the Tafelmusik BaroqueOrchestra, recorded at Toronto's HumbersideUnited Church this past May. Tafelmusikperforms them with the ease and assurance thatwe have come to expect of them, with bright,crisp tempi and a warm sonority full ofa sense ofspace and light.Guest violinist Elizabeth Wallfisch is featuredin the three solo violin concertos and also in twoof the four concertos featuring two violins; theremaining solo work is spread between directorJeanne Lamon and members of the Tafelmusikgroup. All perform admirably, with excellentbalance, unanimity of style and interpretation, andtrue ensemble playing throughout.Making this an even more attractive andcompelling buy is the bonus DVD "The Four-------ANALEKTA-------~ ... in brightand r1rdemvoiceHI11e Gazet1eCh ristmas at Notre-DameA hisforica{ rm::ording!C..,mla ~ ~ :,; analekta.com63

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