David RokebyMoving up to NN on the intensity scale, a number of presentersthis month provide main portions of new music in well rounded programmes.Saturday November 5, Vesnivka Choir/Toronto UkrainianMale Chamber Choir present a concert titled 120th Anniversary ofUkrainians in Canada. Their guests will be Het Lysenko Koor (TheLysenko Choir) from Utrecht, a choir that focuses on Ukrainian folkand Byzantine sacred repertoire. The concert features two Canadiancomposers with strong Ukrainian ties — Laryssa Kuzmenko andRoman Hurko. Kuzmenko’s newest work Behold the Light helped tokick off both the 2011 TSO and Toronto Children’s Chorus seasons.And one of Hurko’s works, Panachyda/Requiem for the Victims ofChornobyl was performed in concert at Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hallon April 9, 2006, by the combined Elmer Iseler Singers, OrpheusChoir, Amadeus Choir, Vesnivka, and the Ukrainian Male ChamberChoir. It was then rebroadcast on CBC Radio 2 on April 26 that year(the 20th anniversary of the disaster).There’s more: Friday November 18, Sinfonia Toronto gets intothe NN act with Gems Old and New, including two premieres:Rob Teehan’s Zephyr (Toronto premiere) and a world premiereby Christos Hatzis, titled Extreme Unction (In Memoriam GustavCiamaga); Thursday November 24 the Royal Conservatory’sDiscovery Series presents Véronique Mathieu, violin, in works byDonatoni, Dufour-Laperrière and Boulez; also on November 24 isa recital titled Fallen Realm by pianist/composer Adam Sherkin,that will include works by Brahms, Rihm,Froberger and Sherkin himself; and onFriday November 25, Alliance Français deToronto, who seem to be getting into musicprogramming in a serious way, present aprogramme with the self-explanatory titleMaurice Ravel, Omar Daniel: One Century,One Ocean.Also steadily climbing the ladder interms of a commitment to new music programming are the COC’sregular lobby concerts in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre.Tuesday November 8 Array Ensemble present a programme titledThree. T(w)o. One, featuring music by Komorous, Kondo, Riley andArray director Rick Sacks himself. (And this is by no means the lastyou’ll hear of Array this month: they also have a concert at the MusicGallery, Saturday November 19, followed by an “improv concert,” intheir own Atlantic Avenue space on Saturday November 26.)But returning to the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre for a moment:make sure also to check out Thursday November 17, What toDo ’Til the Power Comes On, featuring the TorQ Percussion Quartetin works by Lansky, Ligeti, Southam and Morphy (premiere).Top of the NNN ladder: the good news for true new musicaficionados is that the higher up the ladder we go, the more crowdedit gets. Friday November 4, York University Department of Musicpresents Improv Soiree. Thursday November 10, Music Gallery/Goethe Institut Toronto/Istituto Italiano di Cultura presents PopAvant Series: Whitetree. Saturday November 12 Hannaford StreetSilver Band/Amadeus Choir present The Armed Man: A Mass forPeace. Tuesday and Wednesday November 15 and 16, the TaliskerPlayers Chamber Music Series has an intriguing programme calledRumours of Peace. And Tuesday November 29 and WednesdayNovember 30, Soundstreams and Esprit Orchestra respectively areback for the second concerts of what promise to be thoroughlycompelling seasons.To conclude, two NNN concerts that nicely bookendthe month: Sunday November 6, at the MusicGallery, Continuum Contemporary Music kicks offtheir season with a programme titled Fuzzy Logic,which is also the name of one of the works, by AlexEddington, premiered on the programme. “Howwould you make music that sounds like a sheep?Eve Egoyan.And more importantly, why?” It’s a cheeky start towhat looks like a delightfully eclectic programme.And last, Friday December 2 brings an eagerly awaitedEarwitness Productions/Eve Egoyan CD release concert. The discis called Returnings and consists of works by Ann Southam forsolo piano, including Returnings II: A Meditation (world premiere).Count on this CD to add to a burgeoning appreciation of Southamas a composer, and to Egoyan’s reputation as a wholly truthful andcompelling interpreter, not only of Southam’s work, but of newmusic in general.TMPIANO TEACHERS,STUDENTS & LEISURISTS,COME VISIT US INNOVEMBER!MENTION THIS AD & JOINOUR MAILING LIST TO CLAIM20% OFF ALL PIANO MUSICPURCHASES INCLUDING ALLRCM PIANO & THEORYPUBLICATIONS!ALSO INCLUDINGCHRISTMAS, POP & PVGCOLLECTIONS!STEVE’S MUSIC TORONTO -WHERE THERE’S MORE TOPLAY AND LESS TO PAY!OFFER EXPIRES NOVEMBER 30, 2011415 Queen Street West, Torontostore: (416) 593-8888www.stevesmusic.comeducational@stevesmusic.com20 thewholenote.comNovember 1 – December 7, 2011
Kathleen FinlayThe Old Made NewSIMONE DESILETSWhat does Elvis Presley’s Can’t Help Falling in Love have incommon with a song by 18th century composer Jean PaulMartini? Or the musical Kismet with Alexander Borodin? OrSchubert’s Ave Maria with Bach? If you know the answers, you’vealready tapped into a musical phenomenon that stretches in a longcontinuum back to ancient times: out of existing music emerges newmusic — which is to say that throughout musical history, composershave seized upon a good tune when they’ve heard one and knownhow to capitalize on it in ways appropriate to their time and purpose.This is one of November’s themes.Scaramella: Scaramella’supcoming concert “Hitand Run” is built upon thiswell-known and widespreadpractice, taking some ofthe baroque era’s “goodtunes,” beloved and popularin their day, and revealinghow 16th century composershave transformed them intonew pieces. Artistic directorJoëlle Morton explains: “Insome rare instances, the newpieces were spoofs — makingfun of the original tunes. Butin most situations, the newScaramella’s clown, Diana Kolpak.composers referenced the older pieces in a respectful way by quotingthe text, resetting an old melody or bass line with completely newparts, composing additional lines that could be added to the olderwork or creating elaborate virtuosic showpieces out of one or moreof the original lines.”Thus you’ll be able to hear Diego Ortiz’s gamba-inspired flightsof invention on the melancholy song Doulce Memoire, by earliercomposer Pierre Sandrin, as well as how a ciacona (or chaconne)has been treated in three ways: the first two in 15th and 16th centurysettings, the third by contemporary composer (and recorder virtuoso)Matthias Maute — a recently completed tribute to the late wifeof a dearly-respected man.Running concurrently with the musical presentation is anotherdelight: a clown, who will dramatize the texts involved, in the mannerof the commedia dell’arte movement, which was so popular atthe time.“Hit and Run” takes place on November 26 at Scaramella’s usualgracious venue, Victoria College Chapel.Ensemble Chaconne: A related theme, seen in several concertsthis month, is that of the interrelationships between music, wordsand drama. In Shakespeare’s England these were well and flourishing,as popular tunes, both their melodies and text, were so familiarthat musicians used them as the basis for sets of variations; also,poets set new verses to known tunes, often based on news of theday. The Bard himself assiduously incorporated well known songsinto his plays and wrote poems for new songs. And many composersfrom Shakespeare’s own time — Thomas Morley, for example — andfrom every era since, have contributed music for specific use inhis plays.A group which is perhaps not well known to Southern Ontarioaudiences brings a colourful programme entitled “Measure forMeasure — the Music of Shakespeare’s Plays” to our area this month.Ensemble Chaconne is dedicated to vivid, historically informedperformance of renaissance and baroque music on period instruments.Based in the Boston area, it has a 25 year history and hasconcertized widely. Its core ensemble is a trio, whose distinguishedNovember 1 – December 7, 2011 thewholenote.com 21
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