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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.

interjected at points

interjected at points underlining or challengingTaylor’s presto pianism or the reedy orbrassy pitches created by organ ranks. Asthese wave form shakes and stops vary thetimbre, pitch and volume of the sounds, theequivalent of strings, reeds and brass instrumentalsuggestions are heard. At approximatelythe one-third mark a lyrical pianointerlude outlines a new theme, which too istoughened with bell-pealing, mallet-like plops and a combinationcarillon-organ drone. The buzz hangs in the air even as keyboardmotifs ranging from elevated clips to pedal point patterns arise andstretch the sequence still further. A crescendo of merged organ stopsadvance a string section-like sweep that in tandem with mellotronlikeasides and measured piano chording put into bolder relief theimprovised nature of the evolving sounds. Besides removing ecclesiasticalmemories from the carillon and organ, processing highlightselectrified keyboard and acoustic piano riffs which introduce a finalsequence. Crucially though, metallic carillon reverberations, shrillelectronic buzzes and bell-like shakes replicate the Interlude’s introductorysequence.Another variation on these transformationsmutates keyboard impulses to suchan extent that they almost negate expectedpiano-like tones. Instead, output becomesthat of an isolated modulation source. That’swhat Montreal’s Karoline LeBlanc does onEdge Once Fractured (Arito-afeito 013 karolineleblanc.bandcamp.com/album/edgedonce-fractured)as she extracts improvisedtimbres from a piano, pipe organ and harpsichord. These sonoritiesare blended with other pulses she sources from wood rattles,a seashell horn, a bulbul tarang (14-string Indian banjo) and taalor miniature clash cymbals. When further melded with anomaloustones from Paulo J Ferreira Lopes’ gongs, tin plates, springs, cymbalsand bells, the result is a sound collage, which makes up the single32-minute track of this session. Although the only identifiable pianopattern is audible in the penultimate minutes before knife-like stringechoes and spring whammies conclude the piece, occasional tremolopipe organ resonations and the noises of metal objects quivering oninner keyboard strings are more common. Emphasising string strumsand key-stopping, her brighter contributions, and an occasional silentinterlude, set up contrapuntal challenges to Lopes’ timed vibrations.Consisting in equal parts of tin plate reverberations, gong and bellpealing, spring ricochets and serrated metal tones plus an occasionalhorn blast or sharp whistle, the subsequent echoing tones create anidiosyncratic narrative that taken as a whole is as flexible as it’s fluid.What we're listening to this month:81 Hello! How Are You?*Caity Gyorgy44 AlikenessMark Fewer, Aiyun Huang,Deantha Edmunds, and NewfoundlandSymphony Orchestra Sinfonia45 Break of Day, Songs For ColinSandy Bell45 DialoguesNoémie Raymond and ZhenniLi-Cohen49 Where Waters MeetSherryl Sewepagaham+ Canadian Chamber Choir53 Envols - Canadian Works forEnglish HornMelanie Harel55 Plucked & StruckPercussia56 MetalofonicoJon Nelson56 Usual SuspectsNo Codes57 MOSAICTerry Clarke, Stefan Bauer, MatthewHalpin & Matthias Akeo Nowak60 Crazy TalkHoward Gladstone61 Confluence of Raga GuitarsJoel Veena & Matthew Grasso* in Volume 30 Issue 2thewholenote.com/listeningAmerican keyboardist Thollem performs asimilar keyboard reconstitution on Worldsin a Life 2 (ESP 5071 espdisk.com/thollem).But he does so during nine tracks using hisWavestate or sequencing synthesizer tomutate recorded samples of music he madeon piano and organ alongside PaulineOliveros’ MIDI accordion, Nels Cline’s guitarand effects, William Parker’s double bass,Michael Wimberly’s drums and Terry Riley’s vocals. The resultingshuffled and reconstructed timbral palette masks individual contributions.But the crucial development is how synthesizer and keyboardsmulch, meld and modify textures into a comprehensive whole.Orchestrating instrumental motifs with a steady hand, Thollem negotiatesunexpected amalgamation by juxtaposing congruent soundpaths that ordinarily wouldn’t be followed. Simultaneouslyprogrammed electronics create a palimpsest of layered instrumentaloutput that constantly judders. Visions Cells is a descriptive instanceof this as the looped enhanced strings plink and twang as if part of agiant mechanized zither. Vibrating below are asides ranging frommarimba-like resonations to pedal point piano pressure. Prestissimopitches created from accordion samples seep all over ConversationsOn The Way’s introduction. Yet metallic cymbal stings create acadenced response, with the mid section reconfiguration into a nearacousticduet of drum paradiddles and methodical piano cascades.Additionally, vocal interpolations on tracks like Tongues We Think Inand Chagudah don’t operate in isolation. During the second piece,yodeling timbral gymnastics and Donald Duck-like cries are flangedand submerged beneath watery gurgles. As for Tongues We Think In,the hocketed syllables and melisma are looped into a multi-voice choiras synthesized oscillations and percussion shuffles evolve beside it.In spite of these modern advances anothermethod to create a unique keyboardprogram is to go back to the future. That’sexactly what UK musician Matthew Bournehas done on Harpsichords (DISCUS 175 CDdiscusmusic.bandcamp.com/album/harpsichords-175cd-2024).Given three harpsichordsin serious disrepair by the LeedsConservatory he used the disintegratingfacilities of this piano ancestor to generate idiosyncratic improvisations.On one disc of this two-CD set he, Glen Leach and Nika Ticciatiform a sonic group grope playing simultaneously on all three decayingharpsichords. Elsewhere Bourne improvises alone on a single harpsichord.Adding the future to the past, his creative keyboard excursionsare matched with live electronics and processing from MatthewSlater and Adam Martin. The fascination of the first disc is hearinghow these experienced keyboardists push their disintegrating instrumentsaway from overriding cacophony to reveal melodic interludesat high and low pitches. Making the best use of the decaying mechanismechoing, percussion-like crashes and string glissandi are highlights.On his own, Bourne deals with variations of this concept,but takes advantage of live processing to extend his initial timbresfurther in tempo and pitch and also provides an oscillating landscapeof distended and fragmented tones. Capable of producing a pitchperfectso-called classical harpsichord sequence as he demonstratesa couple of times, Bourne uses the instrument’s corrosion to spawnjangling patterns and pitches, then on tracks such as John and BrownBins triggers the plectrum on the strings to nearly replicate whatwould be expected from a 12-string guitar. With forearm smashes andkeyboard rebounds on Red Brick he evokes doorstopper-like strumsas well. However, the electronic additions mean that on tracks likethat one and others, processing projects a secondary keyboard soundin tandem with his live playing, Establishing the versatility of even acrumbling instrument like this one, Bourne confirms the keyboard’straditional sound as well as its potential for distinct experimentation.In the right hands – or is it fingers? – keyboard solos can follow allsorts of unexpected avenues of which these are just a few.62 | December 2024 & January 2025 thewholenote.com

BACK STORYRememberingNormaBeecroft(1934-2024)Norma Beecroft in the University of Toronto Electronic Music Studio (1967)JOHN REEVESBEECROFT, NORMA MARIAN: It is with deep sadness that weannounce the passing of Norma Marian Beecroft in her 91styear, peacefully on Saturday, October 19, 2024. … A belovedCanadian composer, electronic music pioneer, and trailblazer in theworld of modern music. Norma’s legacy will continue to resonatethrough her groundbreaking compositions, the artists she inspired,and the profound impact she had on Canadian music. Norma hadan unwavering commitment to supporting young composers andmusicians, many of whom cite her as a mentor and inspiration. Acelebration of life will be held on Saturday, November 16, 2024 …In lieu of flowers, donations to the Canadian Music Centre, (CMC)in memory of Norma Beecroft, would be especially appreciated bythe family.obituaries.thestar.com‘We can’t think about contemporary music in Canada withoutthinking of Norma Beecroft. With her passing this week at 90, we’rereminded how, in these moments, an artist becomes the sum of everychapter they’ve written. Norma was a true force in adventurous music…. She knew that detailed, artful compositions – lovingly craftedand meticulously performed – could unlock entirely new worlds forany audience.Her innovative spirit continues to inspire, most especially in herpioneering work with electronic music, which she began exploringin the 1960s. There are captivating photos of her in her early 30s inthe University of Toronto Electronic Music Studio surrounded bythe seemingly magical equipment of the time, an exciting maze ofbuttons, knobs, and tangled wires. In 1967, this was cutting-edgetechnology—large machines that allowed composers to manipulatesound in ways never heard before, and a stark contrast to the sleek,digital tools we use today.… She also made waves as a broadcaster and producer, particularlythrough her work with CBC Radio, where she became a passionateadvocate for contemporary Canadian composers. Her dedication toadventurous music extended to her leadership at New Music Concerts,which she co-founded in 1971 with Robert Aitken … help[ing] shapeNMC into the risk-taking, innovative organization it remains today.At NMC, we are reminded daily how much of our identity stems fromNorma. Her electronic innovations, broadcasts, compositions, andleadership all flowed from a deep passion for pushing music forward.For that, we are forever grateful and in her debt.”Brian Current, Artistic Director, NMC“I too see Norma’s life,” as Brian Current says, as “the sum of everychapter they’ve written,” but right in this moment one chapter standsout for me – the concert season of 1978-79 when Norma was my bossat NMC. As the organization’s concert manager, it was my first realmusic, non-gigging, job out of music school (York U.). Norma wasNMC’s determined and efficient President and Bob Aitken its drivenArtistic Director, flutist and conductor.NMC was on-the-job-training for me. Nail-biting cold calls to AFofM musicians, booking them for dates, alternated with occasionallymore glamorous tasks such as locating American composer LouHarrison who had been commissioned to deliver a new multi-movementwork to the Orford String Quartet, and were anxiously waitingfor the piece. (I eventually tracked him down to a California monasterywhere silence was the order of the day – which made for acomplicated phone call!)Along with her family and friends, on November 16 I attendedNorma’s Celebration of Life, spoke to many of them and flippedthrough photo albums in the reception room: photos evoking herbrief mid-century career as a glamorous fashion model in Toronto’sgarment district (she never forgot how to pose when called upon!);her composition studies and friendship with John (and Helen)Weinzweig; her multiyear, sometimes long-distance romance withanother outstanding Toronto composer, Harry Somers; her fruitful,productive three-year composition sojourn in Rome. Many chaptersindeed!Andrew Timar, composer and co-founder of Evergreen ClubContemporary GamelanIn her own words (as quoted by David Jaeger): “[I was] the second offive offspring of a father who was an inventor, Julian Beecroft (1907–2007), and one of his main interests was acoustics and sound, whichhe began investigating when he was very young. … It was inevitablethat I would join those questioning the present and futurevalue of this new technology to music, this fascinating interactionbetween the fields of science and the humanities. And so, in 1977, Ibegan my investigations into exploring music’s relationship to technologythrough the voices of some of the world’s foremost creativemusical minds.”Compiled and edited by David Perlmanthewholenote.com December 2024 & January 2025 | 63

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)