Views
3 months ago

Volume 30 Issue 3 | December 2024 & January 2025

  • Text
  • Thewholenotecom
  • Concerto
  • Conductor
  • Choir
  • Arts
  • Festival
  • January
  • December
  • Orchestra
  • Theatre
  • Toronto
Our 30th annual "turning of the year" December/January issue, Janus-like looking back and ahead at a world on edge: think of every listing in this magazine as a potential crumb of consolation – the opportunity to congregate for any and all reasons from the sacred to the just plain silly. Find some peace however you can. And thanks for reading. Viva la musica.

Trees.ListenSharlene

Trees.ListenSharlene Wallace; Frank HorvatI Am Who I Am Records (frankhorvat.com)! Canadian musicians/composers/educators FrankHorvat (fixedelectronics) andSharlene Wallace(Celtic leverharps) collaboratedon this nine-movementexploration of the wonder of trees. It isinspired by medical biochemist/botanist Dr.Diana Beresford-Kroeger’s book To Speak forthe Trees.Each “tree track” is based on a letter fromthe ancient Celtic Ogham script, a medievalalphabet that named each letter for a type oftree. One musical note from A B C D E F Gand H (B-flat) was chosen to be predominantin each movement. A five-phase process wasthen used to create the music – phase oneharp improvised samples, phase two creationof electronic bed tracks, phase three live harpparts over electronics tracks, phase four finetuningand phase five making final albumwith producer Jean Martin.Opening Ailm – Pine features the noteA throughout the harp strums, single pluckednotes and softer repeated electronic grooves.Repeated lower harp and electronics addunexpected depth to this walk througha pine forest! Eabha – Aspen opens withelectronic held sounds which then alternatewith ascending harp strums and lines.Vibrating low held electronic notes under themore tonal harp parts make for an orchestralE sounding work exploring the wonderof trees! Fearn – Alder, with a F note focus,is very easy to listen to, tonal music with ahappy colourful harp solo and electronicdrumkit hits with detached harp notes fortree dancing!Horvat and Wallace perform their storytellingtree music with spontaneity andvirtuosity.Tiina KiikJeremy Gignoux – Odd StillnessJeremy Gignoux; Various ArtistsIndependent n/a (jeremygignoux.bandcamp.com)! When listeningto such bebopprogenitors as BudPowell and, most ofall, Charlie Parker,an identifiable senseof forward motion isconveyed musically.The French musicologistand critic André Hodeir, commentingon this propulsive quality and how themusic from this era seemed to push listenerstowards frequent moments of climatic resolution,described it as jazz’s “vital drive.” Thisvirtuosic sound, often characterized as teleological(goal directed) and synchronouswith the ideas of American Modernism, seta high-water mark for excellence in music(regardless of genre) influencing much thatcame after it.As the Calgary-based violinist JeremyGignoux explores on his fine 2024recording Odd Stillness, there are otherequally important modalities in musicthat include tranquility, harmonic stillnessand an auditory acceptance of dissonancewithout resolution that can be equallyengaging, musically compelling and ultimatelysatisfying for listeners. As the Frenchbornbandleader and musical creative writesin the album’s liner notes, “Looking awayfrom harmonic progression and instrumentalvirtuosity, this recording embraces stagnation,inviting the listener to contemplate theserenity or tension within the moment.”It is, I suppose, an experiment of sortsto release a recording designed around theaesthetic of musical lethargy and inactivity,but in the capable hands of Gignouxand a terrific ensemble that includes theunorthodox instrumentation of bass flute,contrabass, trombone, trumpet, drums, voiceand bass clarinet, this hauntingly beautifulmusic nudges listeners towards a highlypersonal relationship with a sound canvasthat eschews as many genre labels as it doesdescriptive adjectives.Andrew ScottMark Haney – Placentia Bay: Summer of1941Meaghan Williams; Various Artists (plusstring quartet, string orchestra and vocalensemble)Independent (markhaney.bandcamp.com)! Concept albums,historically morethe domain of rockand pop than terrificallyperformedand recordedsymphonic musicwith a storytellingnarrative, and aCanadian historicalfocus, can be somewhat polarizingcreations. Not only does one have to like themusic, but there is also the issue of the narrativethat needs to be compelling enoughto thread throughout an entire recording,hueing thematic coherence to all the soundscontained within. Add to the mix the factthat, as it was in my case, you are jumping inat the final installment of a storytelling trilogythat began with 2010’s Aim for The Roses andis ending here with Placentia Bay: Summerof 1941, exploring the secret meeting betweenWinston Churchill and Franklin D. Rooseveltoff the coast of Newfoundland that resulted inthe “Atlantic Charter,” one might be forgivenfor thinking this to be a difficult entry point.But not so when you are in the skilledmusical hands of composer, creativecommunity builder, and interdisciplinaryartist Mark Haney, with excellent contributionsby the Vancouver double bassist MeaganWilliams, a small orchestra of first-rate westcoast musicians and the vocal ensemblemusica intima. The recording stands on itsown as a satisfying musical achievementand fine symphonic musical artefact.Shouldyou be inspired (as I was) to go back to thebeginning of the trilogy, a musical coherenceemerges, despite the differences of theme andsubject matter, that only adds luster to thisrecording and its creative brain trust.Andrew ScottMagnus Lindberg – Viola Concerto,Absence, SerenadesLawrence Power; Finnish Radio SymphonyOrchestra; Nicholas Collon;Ondine ODE 1436-2 (ondine.net/index.php?lid=en&cid=2.2&oid=7270)! If “tradition”was ever aprison for MagnusLindberg, then hehas broken free byscaling its innerdynamic with thisremarkable ViolaConcerto. He hascast the instrument, often presumed to be in“no-man’s land… between the dazzle of theviolin and the warm sonority of the cello”(from the booklet notes) to become an almostnew instrument, increasing the scope of itsauthentic sonority with new malleability intone textures.Just as Lindberg’s Viola Concerto delightsin testing the soloist’s virtuosity to the limit –a challenge that Lawrence Power successfullynegotiates with aplomb, the two other workson this disc – Absence and Serenades – testthe Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra bymanipulating rhythmic intricacies and denseharmonies, also mining a vein of lyricism thatopens up unexpected possibilities for somethingakin to melody.Absence characterizes the orchestra as onemassive voice with myriad individual protagonistseach with its own particular character.This generates the work’s momentum.Serenades puts the ensemble at the centreof gravity of Lindberg’s sense of light, shade,energy and lyricism. With Nicholas Collonat the helm the Finnish Radio SymphonyOrchestra appears to have lived this – and therest of this music – for decades.Raul da Gama54 | December 2024 & January 2025 thewholenote.com

Sofia Gubaidulina: Triple Concerto forViolin, Cello and Bayan; Rejoice! Sonata forViolin and CelloBaiba Skride; Harriet Krijgh; ElsbethMoser; NDR Radiophilharmonie; AndrewManzeOrfeo C230121 (orfeomusic.de/CatalogueDetail/?id=C230121)! SofiaGubaidulina hasdescribed herselfas “the place whereEast meets West,”which is as accuratea categorizationas any. Her Tartar-Slavic backgroundand the influence of Eastern philosophies isclear in many of her attitudes towards spiritualityand its expression. Whether writing forsmall ensembles, large orchestras or even soloinstruments her work explores a wide rangeof sonorities in order to create music that isextraordinarily still and serene, leaving thelistener with a sense of timelessness rare inWestern music.Among her most radiantly contemplativechamber works are Rejoice! and TripleConcerto for Violin, Cello and Bayan. Theformer work features a hauntingly beautifulsetting in which Gubaidulina offsets her vastlandscape with spare, orchestral writing thatsoars with mystical impressionism.In her Triple Concerto Gubaidulina createsan unusual, yet enthrallingly beautiful soundworldusing all the resources of the threefeatured instruments – violin, cello and atraditional Russian bayan or button accordion– embedded in a symphonic orchestra.Here the solo instruments play beautifullamenting melodies and strange, agitated,wheezing sounds over chant-like passagesfrom the ensemble.In this repertoire both Rejoice! andthe Triple Concerto stand out for theirradiant beauty. This rapturous performanceby Harriet Krijgh, Elsbeth Moser andBaiba Skride and the North German RadioPhilharmonic Orchestra conducted byAndrew Manze is consistently sensitive to theworks’ intricate subtleties.Raul da GamaCrossroadsKsenija Sidorova; Sinfonietta Riga;Normunds ŠnēALPHA 1090 (outhere-music.com/en/albums/crossroads)! Latvian accordionistKsenijaSidorova’sCrossroads featuresarrangements J.S.Bach’s music andlater works bycomposers influencedby thatmaster. She plays both solo and in ensemblewith Sinfonietta Riga under conductorNormunds Šnē. Her accordion pictures showa right-hand piano keyboard. The left-handbutton side appears to have a switch activatedtraditional chord stradella bass, and free bassmulti octave single note bass buttons.Bach’s famous three movement Concerto inD Minor, BWV1052 opens. Bach’s first 1720’sversion featured solo organ and 1730’s versionsolo harpsichord, both with orchestra. Futurearrangements by others include solo piano,violin, recorder and heavy metal guitar!Sidorova’s accordion arrangement has widepitchedcontrapuntal lines for both hands,colourful blending with orchestra, and tightaccordion and orchestra contrasts in alternatingsections.Composer Sergei Akhunov’s solo accordionSketch III has lyrical broken chordsand single note lines. His Bach-inspired fivemovement Concerto Chaconne Bach has SOmuch to listen to from an opening mysteriouslow orchestral feel, high-pitched held accordionnotes “squealing” above repeated orchestralchords, modernizing percussion hits andreflective calms. Dobrinka Tabakov’s virtuosicBaroque style The Quest: Horizons forsolo accordion and orchestra features widerangingvolumes with touches of contemporarysounds. Solo works Beyond Bach byGabriela Montero, arranged by George Mortonand Sidorova, and Sidorova’s arrangementof her childhood favourite Bach’s Ich RufZu Dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 639, highlightSidorova’s impressive musicianship andbreathing bellows control.This is accordion and orchestra at their verybest. A standing ovation for all!Tiina KiikVijay Iyer – TroubleJennifer Koh; Boston Modern OrchestraProject; Gil RoseBMOP Sound 1099 (bmop.org/audiorecordings/vijay-iyer-trouble)! I like it when acomposer admitsthey have troublefinding their way towhat they eventuallywrite. While theproduct in no waybetrays difficulty, ifthe search is somewhatsuccessful, it’s there anyway, because nodoubt what provoked them to write the pieceis indeed troubling. Such is the case withVijay Iyer’s new release (in italics this time),Trouble. He approaches the role of orchestralcomposer as something of an outsider, butone who brings vital new material inside.Asunder (2017) opens the disc with worrisomemomentum (the first movement iscalled Agitated), a pulsing major third thatpasses from voice to voice. I grew more andmore anxious as his ideas provoked me tosee the worst outcomes, to fear the thingsto come. But I also just enjoy hearing histextures play out, an urgent though mindlessrace, all the voices like commuters on thesame narrow path. Written for and premieredby the Orpheus Ensemble, it travels quite away from its opening unease through subsequentmovements Patient & Mysterious, Calm& Precise and Lush. Iyer found inspiration inthe collaborative non-hierarchic ensemble’sworking method; Asunder evolves.Once more for everyone in the back, theBoston Modern Orchestra Project led by GilRose is fantastic. As is the violinist soloistJennifer Koh in the title work, an alien voicewithin a landed chorus. Guiding Iyer towardsrethinking the genre (he admits to havinghad doubts about writing a typical concertoform), Koh shared her experience of beingan “artist of color in the U.S… nearly a year inthe making, Trouble (2017) remains, for me,one of my most layered... intense works,” thecomposer writes in his liner notes.Crisis Modes (2018), a work for stringsand percussion, closes the disc. It’s simplygorgeous, while still infused with the uneasethat colours the whole disc. Iyer wrote allthree works in the years of Trump’s firstadministration, as an American of Colouraware of the suddenness with which thingscan turn. It’s no surprise that the themes areof dysphoria and doubt.Max ChristiePlucked & StruckPercussiaNeuma 197 (neumarecords.org/home/ols/products/percussia-plucked--struck)! Anythingrecorded can goastray, especially ifthe music purportsto be from a group“… a mash-up ofclassical, modern,popular, and globalmusic styles….”This excellent album plucked & struck, forinstance, might easily be construed as anelegant railway system linking all of the aforementioned(styles) as chamber music comingfrom an ensemble born of a 21st century postserialistconservatoire. Of course, to describethe ensemble Percussia as such would givethe impression of overcooking when, in fact,the whole project is a masterpiece of subtlety.The duo’s take on things plucked andstruck – Ingrid Gordon’s Orff xylophone andother small percussion and Susan Jollies’Celtic harp – summon magical sounds fromnotes that whirl and twirl, and dance ingraceful arcs and leaping parabolas that floatbenignly around each other. Each note addsa rich and not entirely predictable foundationto this music, as does Melissa Fogarty’sluminous soprano to the lyrics of Cuando ElRey Nimrod ai Compo Salia.The surprises, when they come, areeffective, but discreet: gamelan-like riffs arethewholenote.com December 2024 & January 2025 | 55

Volumes 26-30 (2020- )

Volumes 21-25 (2015-2020)

Volumes 16-20 (2010-2015)

Volumes 11-15 (2004-2010)

Volumes 6 - 10 (2000 - 2006)

Volumes 1-5 (1994-2000)