you’re at all interestedin Renaissancevocal music or Italianmusic, or just enjoychoral music in alovely intimate venue,this is definitely theconcert for you.Capella Intima’sDido: If you’re inthe mood for a vocalconcert that takesyou further from Italyand closer to (say)England, CapellaIntima has just theconcert you’ve been looking for. They’re touring a version of Purcell’sDido and Aeneas based on its first ever public concert performancein 1780, almost a century after the work was first debuted at a girls’school in 1688. Warming to the occasion, Intima has come up with“An Evening of Antient Music” – namely, what musicians and concertgoersof previous centuries, exhibiting both more than a little historicalchauvinism and a fanaticism for new music, called a performanceof any piece that was more than a half-century old. Capella Intimais touring their Dido around Southern Ontario, including performancesin Hamilton and St. Catharines, and will be taking the show toToronto for a special evening of music making. They will be joined bySheila Dietrich, soprano; Jenny Enns Modolo, alto; Bud Roach, tenor;and David Roth, baritone, for the Purcell as well as some rounds, a fewcatches (like a round, but with dirtier lyrics), and airs. You can catchthis at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, on March 6 at 7:30 pm.Out of the Ordinary: If you’re a fan of English poetry as well asEnglish song, check out the Musicians in Ordinary’s concert devotedto the poetry of John Donne. Donne’s intricate poems include someof the most sensual and the most spiritual in English literature. Toassist in evoking the poet’s craft, the Musicians in Ordinary haveinvited Seth Lerer, a scholar of Renaissance literature from theUniversityof California at San Diego, to read some of his work as part ofthe concert.Donne’s contemporary, the Renaissance composer ThomasCampion, was also a Donne fan and expressed his appreciation bysetting a few of Donne’s poems to music. Soprano Hallie Fishel willbe singing these with some accompaniment from John Edwardson lute at Heliconian Hall on March 7 at 8pm. This concert will bea musical tribute to a seminal figure in English literature. But beJohn Donne (left) and Seth Lerer (right)prepared! While muchof Donne’s writing isfull of light and grace,his Nocturnal UponSt. Lucy’s Day, whichis on the program, isbleakness personified.According toSt. John: Tafelmusikis helping to escortus through Lent thismonth with an appropriatelypious concert.Johann SebastianBach’s St. MatthewPassion’s reputationas the composer’s magnum opus seems completely unshakeable savefor his underappreciated Passion According to St. John, and it’s thelatter that the orchestra will be bringing to Trinity-St Paul’s Centreon March 19 to 22. From the opening chorus, “Herr, unser Herrscher”to the closing chorale “Ach Herr, lass dein lieb Engelein,” the St. JohnPassion is some of the finest vocal music of the 18th century. IvarsTaurins will conduct the Tafelmusik orchestra and chorus; soloistsJulia Doyle, Daniel Taylor, Charles Daniels and Peter Harvey will beon hand to deliver some spectacular arias. Whether or not you’ve everheard a performance of the St. John Passion or any other of Bach’svocal music, this concert is definitely a must-see.Finally, the hardworking Musicians in Ordinary will be performinga second time this month – this time as part of their series as theensemble-in-residence at St. Michael’s College. They will be playingSt. Basil’s Church on March 16 at 7:30 pm, as part of a free tributeto that most famous of saints (and alleged inventor of whiskey)St. Patrick. The concert repertoire itself isn’t particularly Irish, butinstead features some large-scale works by some 17th-century Italians:Monteverdi, Fontana, Marini and the like. With the Saint Michael’sSchola Cantorum choir joining the group along with harpsichordistBoris Medicky and violinists Christopher Verrette and Patricia Ahearn,this looks to be a concert well worth checking out – as well as being achance to hear some of the top players in the city free of charge.David Podgorski is a Toronto-based harpsichordist, musicteacher and a founding member of Rezonance. He canbe contacted at earlymusic@thewholenote.com.Robert Cooper, CM, Artistic DirectorEdward Moroney, AccompanistGreg Rainville, Assistant ConductorTickets:; senior; studentwww.orpheuschoirtoronto.com416 530 4428BMOFinancial GroupFinancial GroupOrpheus Choir’s season sponsorBMO Financial Groupan Ontario government agencyun organisme du gouvernement de l’OntarioThe Soul’s JourneyMarch 7, 2015 7:30 p.m.Eglinton St. George’s United Church, 35 Lytton Blvd.Contemplate the meaning of life and death insoul-searching works by two of Britain’s foremostcomposers: James MacMillan’s deeply feltSeven Last Words from the Cross andJohn Rutter’s unmistakably optimistic Requiem.Talisker Players24 | March 1 - April 7, 2015 thewholenote.com
Sacred Musicfor a Sacred SpaceGOOD FRIDAY,APRIL 3, 2015 | 7:30 PMST. PAUL’S BASILICA83 POWER STREETExperience stunning choral music in thebeautiful space and acoustics of St. Paul’s.• Spem in alium, Thomas Tallis’ 40-part motet• Works by John Tavener• Fauré’s RequiemTICKETS – VOX TIX$20FOR 30AND UNDERTMC BOX OFFICE416-598-0422 x221tmchoir.org/boxofficethewholenote.com March 1 - April 7, 2015 | 25
