Volume 29 Issue 5 | April & May 2024

Toronto Children’s

Toronto Children’s Chorus “The Toronto Children’s Chorus consists of seven choirs: four Training Choirs ages 6-12 and three Main Choirs ages 12-18. Through exceptional choral training and performance experiences, we inspire growth, teamwork, and artistic excellence in our choristers. We foster collaboration, peer leadership, self-discipline, creativity and a lifelong passion for music.” torontochildrenschorus.com Toronto Choral Society “The Toronto Choral Society embraces the history and diversity of our city through our concerts. We present 3 or 4 concerts a year.” torontochoralsociety.org Toronto Classical Singers “With its exuberant approach, TCS celebrates the choral tradition with the complex sonority of large choir with professional orchestra.” torontoclassicalsingers.ca Toronto Mendelssohn Choir “Marking its 130th anniversary, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir stands as one of Canada’s most celebrated choral groups.” tmchoir.org Toronto Welsh Male Voice Choir “Fun, tours, camaraderie... Come & Join our choir, we are seeking new members to enhance the choir!!” torontowelshchoir.com Univox Choir “Univox Choir is a mixed-voice non-auditioned community choir for young adults.” voxchoirs.com Upper Canada Choristers “Excellence, community service, diversity, fun - these are our touchstones.” uppercanadachoristers.org Vesnivka Choir “We are a friendly inclusive community choir that performs Ukrainian classical, sacred and traditional folk repertoire. Join us for a unique singing experience!” vesnivka.com VIVA Singers Toronto “VIVA Singers Toronto is a not-for-profit family of choirs with a mandate to give members, ages four through adult, the opportunity to achieve artistic excellence in a singer-centred, collaborative choral community.” vivasingerstoronto.com VOCA Chorus of Toronto “VOCA is a dynamic, auditioned ensemble which performs a wide range of repertoire in collaboration with superb guest artists.” vocachorus.ca Voices Chamber Choir “Unique programming that inspires and nourishes our hearts and minds.” voiceschoir.com The Wayne Gilpin SINGERS “Beautiful melodies, rocking sax solos, inspired new jazz arrangements of Handel’s Messiah, gospel, show tunes, spirituals - if any of this appeals to you, check us out.” waynegilpinsingers.com West Toronto Community Choir “Our vibe is fun and social, with a focus on community engagement and shared music-making. We have a mix of seasoned choristers and novices, and there are no auditions.” westtorontocommunitychoir.com Windsor Classic Chorale “Founded in 1977 by director emeritus Richard Householder, the Windsor Classic Chorale has become a core component of the local arts community, dedicated to achieving artistic excellence by maintaining a high level of musicianship with a rich palette of ambitious choral works. The “WCC” considers it a privilege to perform in the Windsor-Essex County community. Their love for choral music is what brings them together.” windsorclassicchorale.org Yorkminstrels Show Choir “A warm, fun-loving and welcoming group, bringing the music of Broadway, oldies, contemporary and seasonal songs into the community.” theyorkminstrelsshowchoir.weebly.com THE WHOLENOTE SUMMER MUSIC EDUCATION DIRECTORY Our 23rd annual directory of summer music education is now available online, for readers interested in summer music education, and for summer music education programs wanting to reach interested readers. The directory accepts profiles for summer music music educational opportunities at all levels of skill, from day camps to extended residential programs, across Ontario and beyond. We will continue to add programs to the directory up till the end of June. Interested readers will need to go online (thewholenote.com/summered) for detailed profiles, but we’ve provided some “teaser” information below to get you interested. People or organisations offering programs should contact Karen Ages at karen@thewholenote.com for information on how to join the directory. CAMMAC Music Centre “Pair your summer vacation fun with a unique musical experience in the heart of the Laurentians. Eight one-week immersive programs feature a wide variety of classes & activities for amateur musicians of all ages and levels.” cammac.ca/en/summer-music-retreats Canadian Opera Company Summer Music Camps “Create, Compose, Design, Perform! Explore music and the performing arts through our innovative and engaging Summer Music Camps held at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts!” coc.ca/learn/summercamps Eastman School of Music Summer@Eastman “The Eastman School of Music Summer at Eastman program offers students and the community an individualized and worldclass music education experience.” summer.esm.rochester.edu Guitar Workshop Plus “GWP is much more than just a guitar camp or summer music camp. You’ve seen the rest … Now come learn from the best! Tuition options include day and overnight options.” guitarworkshopplus.com Interprovincial Music Camp “IMC - the highlight of a young musician’s summer!” campimc.ca JazzWorks Annual Composers’ Symposium & Jazz Camp “Join JazzWorks’ residential summer Jazz Camp and take your musicianship to the next level!” jazzworkscanada.com Kodály Certification Program Levels I & II “Participants will strengthen their personal musicianship and pedagogical skills, with content grounded in a contemporary understanding of the philosophy inspired by Zoltán Kodály.” music.uwo.ca/outreach/music-education/ kodaly-certification-program.html Lake Field Music “A music camp for adults to play, sing, and be inspired in a collegial environment. Stay on campus and immerse yourself in workshops, ensembles, choirs, and performances.” lakefieldmusic.ca Music at Port Milford “Joyful focused chamber music study on the shores of Lake Ontario.” musicatportmilford.org Stratford Summer Music’s Jazz Academy “Calling all budding jazz cats! Join us for Stratford Summer Music’s Jazz Academy to hone your skills alongside some of the leading jazz musicians in the country.” stratfordsummermusic.ca/education/ the-stratford-summer-jazz-academy Stratford Summer Music’s Vocal Academy “Exciting news for singers everywhere! Stratford Summer Music’s Vocal Academy is an opportunity for singers to work through repertoire with professionals at the top of their game.” stratfordsummermusic.ca/education/ vocal-academy JOIN US IN JULY FOR MUSIC CAMPS! coc.ca/Camps SummerStage: The Magic Flute “An exciting line-up of summer opera by No Strings Theatre and Opera by Request featuring Mozart’s The Magic Flute at the Farm plus other opera excerpts!” nostringstheatre.com Summer Vocal Intensive “3-Day Vocal Intensive for High School Singers at Western University’s Don Wright Faculty of Music featuring workshops, tours, lessons, training seminars and masterclasses! Culminating with a Finale Concert, the program introduces students to the Don Wright Faculty of Music, faculty members, facilities, resources, library and campus at large.” music.uwo.ca/outreach/ vocal-intensive.html 56 | April & May 2024 thewholenote.com

DISCOVERIES | RECORDINGS REVIEWED DAVID OLDS Although you will not be reading this until April, or even May, as I write it is not yet March. While I try to keep on top of the many, many releases that have come in for consideration since our last issue, I am also having to consider a number of discs that we overlooked in the past year. While we will not know the results of the Juno Awards before we go to press, the nominations have been recently announced and although we have covered most of discs in the categories most relevant to The WholeNote, there are a few we overlooked. You’ll find a couple of these – Caity Gyorgy/Marc Limacher and Nick Maclean Quartet featuring Brownman Ali – in our Jazz and Improvised section, and two from the Classical Album of the Year (soloist) category right here. Matt Haimowitz is the soloist in the digitalonly release Thomas de Hartmann – Cello Concerto Op.57 (Pentatone PTC 5187159 pentatonemusic.com/product/de-hartmann-cello-concerto). Dennis Russell Davies conducts the MDR Leipzig RSO in the first commercial recording of this work by one of the significant Ukrainian composers of the first half of the 20th century. De Hartmann (1885-1956) was an important compositional voice during his lifetime, but since then his colourful and compelling music has been largely ignored. This recording is part of a larger undertaking aimed to remedy that situation, and Haimowitz’s stunning performance bodes well for the success of the venture (thomasdehartmannproject.com). The concerto, which reflects the anxiety of the times, was composed in 1935 and first performed three years later by Paul Tortelier and the Boston Symphony under Serge Koussevitzky. Although not himself a Jew, de Hartmann was troubled by the acute antisemitism of the rising Nazi regime in Germany and the work incorporates Jewish musical folklore and other Eastern European folk traditions. Indeed the playful third movement, with its moto-perpetuo cello line, opens with a (presumably Hungarian) theme that Bartók would use in sketches for a viola concerto a decade later. The at times cinematic, 36-minute concerto is an excellent introduction to this often-overlooked composer, and with the current horrific situation in Ukraine its rediscovery is a timely reminder of the glorious musical heritage of that nation. James Ehnes is the soloist for Carl Nielsen – Violin Concerto with the Bergen Philharmonic under Edward Gardner (Chandos CHSA 5311 chandos.net/products/ catalogue/CHSA%205311). An extended slow introduction – likened by Paul Griffiths in the excellent booklet notes to a folk fiddler playing with “classical elegance,” gently fades away before an abrupt orchestral explosion into the Allegro cavallerésco, a “chivalric” episode evoking knights on horseback. The Poco Adagio begins gently with winds before morphing into a contemplative violin solo. The final movement is also gentle but quite mischievous where, in Griffiths’ words “comedy is overplayed […] making riot of its ebullience. [But] the cadenza goes another way, back to a moment of drone-accompanied melody, as if this had all been the dream of a wandering fiddler.” Nielsen began the work in Norway and Norwegian violinist Vilde Frang has said “I think every violinist should play this concerto, because you get challenged not only technically, but also structure-wise. You have to take a bird’s eye view of this concerto, you need this kind of perspective.” Ehnes seems to have had no problem attaining this vantage point. He rises to all the challenges and there are passages that shine like jewels. It’s easy to see why this performance was short-listed for a Juno. Gardner also leads the orchestra in a magnificent performance of Nielsen’s Symphony No.4 “The Inextinguishable” recreating the same pairing of works that Nielsen conducted in a program in London in 1923, 100 years before this recording was made. Another one that slipped through the cracks last year is a fabulous new recording of Ravel – Daphnis et Chloé complete ballet (Chandos CHSA 5327 chandos.net/products/catalogue/CHAN 5327) featuring the Sinfonia of London Chorus and Sinfonia of London. Director John Wilson used the COVID-19 lockdown period to prepare a new performing edition of the ballet that we are more familiar with from the two suites that the composer extracted from the near-hourlong original. It was conceived in 1909, the year Serge Diaghilev brought his Ballet Russe to Paris, as a collaboration between Ravel, Diaghilev and dancer/choreographer Michel Folkine. Although there were myriad complications and disagreements along the way, the project was eventually brought to fruition culminating in, much to Ravel’s chagrin, only two performances at the end of the 1912 season. Although Diaghilev did mount three more performances at the end of the following year, he never thereafter presented it in Paris. This new recording is accompanied by extensive notes by Wilson detailing the history of the ballet’s creation and his own challenges in recreating what he feels is an authentic version of the historic ballet. There is also a detailed libretto/mis en scene by Folkine, making a very impressive booklet in three languages totaling 42 pages. The performance is stunning and the recording itself is immaculate, with a dynamic range that has to be heard to be believed. thewholenote.com/listening Monteverdi Vespers of 1610 The Thirteen, Children’s Chorus of Washington, Dark Horse Consort Recorded in the sumptuous acoustic of the Franciscan Monastery in Washington DC, this album evokes the sun setting on the lagoon by St Mark's, Venice. La sposa dei cantici Ars Lyrica Houston A soprano and three countertenors (including John Holiday) mix the heavenly with the playful in Alessandro Scarlatti's divine romp in the Italian vocal style. thewholenote.com April & May 2024 | 57