October/November 2024 containing our 30th annual presenter directory (25th under the Blue Pages name) is now available for viewing. Also first four instalments of ART OF THE ARC -- a concert curators' Q & A, with more to follow online and in print throughout the fall. Also View from Up Here parses the difference between a two lane highway and a two-way street; Choral Scene digs into singing and health; Music Theatre taps joy-fuelled offerings at London's Grand Theatre and elsewhere; In with the New looks at Letters to God; Classical and Beyond tackles a 212-listing 68 days; thirteen new recordings in our listening room and more.
IN WITH THE NEW
IN WITH THE NEW IMMERSIVE JOURNEYS in stories and sound WENDALYN BARTLEY Alice Ping Yee Ho CATHY ORD Alice Ping Yee Ho’s Dark Tales On November 9, right after you thought all the pumpkins, goblins and spider webs had been put away for another season, Toronto composer Alice Ping Yee Ho and New Music Concerts will present an innovative evening of ghost stories, with a new work entitled Dark Tales: An Immersive Journey into Music, Light and Legend. During a recent conversation, Ho described this new work, commissioned by Duo Concertante, as a music drama in five movements based on five stories from Tom Dawe’s book An Old Man’s Winter Night. Tom Dawe’s An Old Man’s Winter Night illustrated by Veselina Tomova Dawe, one of Newfoundland and Labrador’s most distinguished writers, collected these stories, which are accompanied by woodcut illustrations created by Veselina Tomova, from various local communities. The opening story in Ho’s composition, which shares the title of the book, evokes spirits in animal form and explores how hunters can be pursued by the animals they’ve killed. The second movement, Landwash Spirits, shifts the scene to a cliff by the sea, evoking the images of a flying woman searching for her fingers, an improperly buried dog and a ghost ship looming out on the water. The final movement, The House in the Dark, draws from local tales about a haunted house built on a fairy ring. It also incorporates quotations from old folk tunes, referencing the spirits who play in a ghostly band. Duncan Major has animated the book’s illustrations for the performance, which will be projected onto the wall to create an immersive environment. The composition allows the music and visuals to evoke the narrative, leaving the story to unfold through sound and imagery. Ho reflected on how ghost stories preserve traditions and can even serve as moral lessons to keep people’s behaviour in check. “The stories are about desire, grief, love and longing” she explained, touching on themes of regret and the hardworking lives many have led. Ghost stories also harken back to her own childhood in Hong Kong, and the tales her grandmother told her when she was young. The piece will be performed by Duo Concertante (violinist Nancy Dahn and pianist Timothy Steeves), who premiered the work in January 2024 at the Arts and Culture Centre in St. John’s. This marks the third collaboration between Ho and the Duo, following their 2018 Juno-nominated piece Cœur à Cœur. This new work, Ho told me, can also be performed as a concert piece without the visuals, though experiencing it with the images adds a more evocative and spinetingling dimension. Preceding the concert will be a performance of Ho’s Dark Waters for wind quintet and string quartet performed by members of the Glenn Gould School. This piece offers a menacing interpretation of the power of water, making it a perfect prelude to the main event that follows. Duo Concertante’s teaser video for Dark Tales 14 | October & November2024 thewholenote.com
KATE SMITH Earlier in the fall on October 5, New Music Concerts brings together the work of American composer Julius Eastman and Architek Percussion. Eastman’s Gay Guerrilla, originally composed for four pianos in 1980, was one of his bold statements on race and sexual orientation. Unfortunately, these efforts were not well received at the time, and he struggled to maintain his creative career. The October performance will be a version for four percussionists and two pianos, part of a program that includes works by composers Julia Wolfe and Philippe Leroux. Esprit Orchestra Esprit Orchestra is structuring their upcoming season in an intriguing way. Two Prelude Concerts are programmed for November and February, laying the groundwork for their Edge of Your Seat International Festival that will take place in March. More on that in the new year, but for now, the November 27 concert titled F(X)=; will feature works for three different composers from diverse continents. The composition by American composer Gabriella Smith poses the question: “What would f(x)=sin2x-1/x sound like?” If you draw a blank, you’re not alone. I had to approach the internet intelligences to help me understand the significance of the formula. In very simple language, these mathematical elements combine a wave or oscillating motion with a sudden sharp turn, all leading towards an understanding of change over time or distance. That’s the concept, but imagining the sound of such behaviour is what Smith’s piece will shed light upon. Composer Gabriella Smith Accordionist Michael Bridge Danish composer Bent Sørensen’s piece, titled It is pain flowing down slowly on a white wall, is inspired by the same words penned by an unknown Hungarian poet. After listening to one of Sørensen’s works, an audience member wrote those words on a piece of paper and handed it to him. The piece will be brought to life by the renowned accordionist Michael Bridge. Completing the concert will be a 1989 work by Japan’s Maki Ishii entitled Fu-Shi (Shape of the Wind). Ishii incorporates the Japanese principle of jo-ha-kyū, a three-part structure that features a smooth preparation, a dynamic and varied development, and a fast rushing finale – a form inspired by Noh theatre. The Fujii Family Percussion Ensemble: Haruka Fujii, Rika Fujii, Mutsuko Fujii MICHAEL BRIDGE Three from Soundstreams Soundstreams is hosting two notable parallel events for October exploring ideas and beliefs about God. The main concert takes place on October 24 and will feature a performance of Japanese composer Akira Miyoshi’s Letters to God composed in 1985. Miyoshi was inspired by the well-known 1975 children’s book of the same name by Eric Marshall and Stuart Hample which is a collection of short letters to God written by children from hospitals, orphanages, camps and Sunday schools throughout the USA. Back in 2013, Soundstreams recorded a performance of the work featuring the Toronto Children’s Chorus, Chorale and percussionist Riika Fujii. The October2024 concert reunites some of the original performers, expanding to include Japan’s “First Family” of percussion: Riika Fujii, her mother Mutsuko and her sister Haruki. The program also includes performances of R. Murray Schafer’s 17 Haiku, Toru Takemitsu’s Seasons, Melody McKiver’s river woman and Claude Vivier’s Pulau Dewata. As a prelude to this concert, a special event on October 15 will feature a Soundstreams commission by composer Chris Pruden entitled P.S I (don’t) believe in you. This piece is based on answers to the question: “If you had a direct line to god, mother nature, your ancestors, the universe, – your something bigger – what would you say?” The anonymously submitted letters reflect the diverse ways people approach their beliefs about a higher power. In addition, audience members will have the opportunity to submit their own answers which will be improvised upon live during the concert by performers Ky Brooks and Tara Kannangara. This interactive element adds a spontaneous dimension to the performance, allowing the audience to engage directly with the themes of belief and connection. Finally, on December 5, Soundstreams will partner with Music Toronto to present a concert centred on the theme of Invocation, exploring it as both a call for help and a plea for inspiration and guidance. The concert includes a performance of the Israeli-born composer Avner Dorman’s Nigunim which won the 2018 Azrieli Prize for Jewish Music, alongside the world premiere of James Rolfe’s Narrow Bridge. Performers for the evening include the Gryphon Trio, violinist Lara St. John and singer Aviva Chernick. New Adventures in Sound Art (NAISA) This fall marks the 23rd edition of NAISA’s SOUNDplay festival which explores the intersection of sound and new media. This year’s theme, Reimagine, calls on participating artists to reinterpret places, actions and objects. A festival highlight is a 48-hour weekend intensive where participants create sound art miniatures based on the Reimagine theme in the idyllic setting of Warbler’s Roost, a 14-acre forested and lake-side property in the Almaguin Highlands. The festival also features a screening of Canadian videos by diverse artists, blending sound, image and language, as well as a new audiovisual version of the Wetland Project by Brady Marks and Mark Timmings. This piece will be the centrepiece of a 12 hour event titled Water (Deshkan Ziibi) taking place at the artLAB Gallery in London, Ontario and streamed on YouTube. Wendalyn Bartley is a Toronto-based composer and electro-vocal sound artist. sounddreaming@gmail.com SMQC Dark Tales: An Immersive Journey into Music, Light, and Legend Nov. 9th, 2024 | Meridian Arts Centre newmusicconcerts.com thewholenote.com October & November2024| 15
