An agency of the
An agency of the Government of Ontario Un organisme du gouvernement de l’Ontario SIAN RICHARDS Cristina Zacharias Created for Marie Antoinette and the most discriminating audience in Europe. GLUCK’S ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE Oct 26 to Nov 1 ELGIN THEATRE my career – thrilling moments in concert halls all over the world where the magic of live performance blended with a sense of discovery and a particularly unified performance energy. “Those ground-breaking recordings of the Beethoven symphonies set an artistic standard that we continue to measure ourselves against. The mix of musical passion and dedication between Bruno and Tafelmusik, characterized especially in our Beethoven cycle, has become a benchmark for all of Tafelmusik’s artistic endeavours. Almost 20 years later, in planning for Tafelmusik’s 45th anniversary season as an Artistic Co-Director, an invitation to Bruno felt like a natural choice – the best way to remind us where Tafelmusik came from, and to propel us toward our future. None of our passion for this music has faded, and I am so eager to bring it to our home audience for this celebration.” Dominic Teresi, Tafelmusik Principal Bassoon and Artistic Co-Director, offered this: “One of my earliest performances with Tafelmusik was Beethoven’s 5th at Klang und Raum with Bruno conducting. It was an incredibly profound and joyous experience with my new Tafelmusik family that I will never forget. Bruno brings an uncommon breadth of knowledge and emotional depth to Beethoven and I can say that performing and recording all nine of Beethoven’s symphonies with him has been one of the most formative experiences of my musical career. I am overjoyed to be opening our 45th season with Bruno and these two monumental works.” Bruno Weil SIAN RICHARDS Dominic Teresi Colin Ainsworth / Orpheus Mireille Asselin / Eurydice Artists of Atelier Ballet Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra SEASON PRESENTING SPONSOR Photo: Colin Ainsworth and Jennifer Such by Bruce Zinger OPERAATELIER.COM And a postscript: “It is an honour to return to the stage with Tafelmusik almost 20 years since our first recordings of Beethoven symphonies,” says Bruno Weil. “The musicians of Tafelmusik continue to bring such intensity, honesty and absolute delight to the music. There are few joys greater than bringing the idealism and passion of Beethoven’s music to life with my dear friends.” The details: Tafelmusik’s 45th anniversary season kicks off with an all-Beethoven blockbuster on Sept 22 at 8pm, Sept 23 at 8pm & Sept 24 at 3pm at Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning. MJ Buell is a long time member of The WholeNote team, and an occasional writer. 16 | September 2023 thewholenote.com
Q & A Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s Jan 11-15 concert, conducted by Michael Francis. The first half closed with the Toronto Mendelssohn Singers in Gregorio Allegri’s Miserere Mei, Deus. Art uplifted when dance & music intersect DAVID PERLMAN Let’s start by looking back — to a Toronto Symphony concert in January this year. Second half of the concert was the Mozart Requiem, with the full Mendelssohn Choir (TMChoir) doing the vocal honours. But what made the evening special was how the first half set the scene. The concert opened with the sopranos and altos of the Toronto Mendelssohn Singers (TMSingers) entering in darkness, singing, a cappella, Hildegard’s haunting O Virtus Sapientiae. Two orchestral pieces followed (Mozart’s Masonic Overture and an arrangement of Beethoven’s Grosse Fugue.) And the half closed with the TMSingers’ full chamber contingentturn again, divided up, antiphonally, into two choirs, in Gregorio Allegri’s Miserere mei, Deus. The evening felt like an artistic whole. As such, it spoke to the wisdom of the TMChoir’s decision to formalize the choir’s professional core as a chamber ensemble. The chamber choir offers an intimacy that is the emotional flip-side of the main choir’s power. As such it offers the potential for exploring edgier repertoire, new venues, and inspiring creative partnerships. September 22 & 23 is a case in point. Titled “In Time: at the Intersection of Music & Dance”, the concert renews a creative partnership formed during the darkest days of the pandemic, with choreographer/dancer Laurence Lemieux’s Citadel + Compagnie. Performances take place in Jeanne Lamon Hall, at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, – unfamiliar territory for both ensembles. The repertoire, on the other hand (Handel’s Dixit Dominus and Bach’s Christ lag in Todesbanden), is part of the musical DNA of a venue that, as home to the Tafelmusik Baroque Ensemble for decades, wears Period music like a coat of paint! and for me the experience of singing in a large choir satisfies so many musical needs. I love the camaraderie, and I love the feeling of letting my voice soar within this group. I I love feeling how my voice blends into the group around me and how we all complement and amplify each other’s voices. The physical sensation of this type of singing is incredibly cathartic and I’ve often found myself swept up emotionally. I reached out to Lesley Emma Bouza, a long-standing member of the TMChoir’s professional core, for her thoughts on the TMSingers revival. WN: Let’s start with what makes singing in the big choir special. LESLEY BOUZA: I love singing in big choirs. My first choir experience was in a big symphonic choir, at the University of Guelph under conductor Dr. Marta McCarthy. I fell in love with the feeling of having my voice be a part of a massive sound machine that can achieve anything from pianissimo to triple forte and beyond. I’ve been an instrumentalist and a singer in every size, shape and type of ensemble thewholenote.com September 2023 | 17
