10 wholenote DECEMBER 1, 2001 - JANUARY 31, 2002 CONCERT NOTES ·:· Ovrn VIEW illuminating words with the sound and glow of her voice," and a -· reviewer for the New York Times Magazine wrote, "I revere Upsl:iaw ... because of her voice's thought-charged clarity and its resemblance to the light of ordinary days." Perhaps iQ this last comment is the nub of why this pair of ' concerts jumped out at me. In December we celebrate the extraordinary; in January we return to the ordinary, carrying with us a desire to infuse the ' usual with something more. I Spotlight on Song THE ALDEBURGH CONNECTION Two Toronto musicians who seem to rise above the ordinary on a regular basis are Stephen Ralls and Bruce Ubukata, whose extraordinary "Aldeburgh Connection" recital series will celebrate its twentieth anniversary in' January with three events. The first, January 11, will be a recital by baritone, Gerald Finley, of settings by the great song composers of English poetry; the second, a Jan 13 "Birthday . Salon," will ·bring together a Who's Whp ofCan,adian singers, , all of whom have been nurtured by the Aldeburgh Connection, including Russell Braun, Kathleen Brett, Norine Burgess, Benjamin Butterfield, Michael Colvin, Mary Lou Fallis, Gerald Finley, Anita Krause, Rosemarie Landry, Mark Pedrotti, Catherine Robbin, Michael Schade and Monica Whicher. ALDEBURGH CONNECTION TURNS 20 IN STYLE Back: left to right Franz Schubert (Jay Lambie), Michael Colvin, Monica Whicher, Norine Burgess Front: Stephen Ralls Bruce Ubukata MANY OF THE SINGERS in this list were spotted while still on the rise by Ralls and Ubukata. "It's not hard to spot talent," Ubukata told us, "but we do take pride in the fact that, by virtue of being in the right place at the right time, we have helped along people who have gone on to great things." The third, "The Great Song Marathon," will begin at 10:30 am and end at 9:30pm on Saturday, January 19. Twenty singers, including both Aldeburgh Connection alumni/ae and younger singers whom Ralls and Ubukata "have spotted" will perform in this "day-long hit- . parade of art song" to raise funds for two scholarships at the University of Toronto named after two·illustrious. honorary Aldeburgh Connection patrons, Lois Marshall and Greta Kraus. The program of approximately 100 songs will, in Ubukata' s words, be "artfully arranged" into three programs. Ubukata also assured us that the three concerts, being well after the holiday season, "will contain no turkeys or chestnuts!" and Tryptych. One of the·oldest (and best) choirs in the city, St • .Michael's Choir School, gives its Christmas concerts Dec 14 & 15 at Massey Hall; and one of the newest and best, the Victoria Scholars, with guests, Robert Pomakov and James Westman, will fill the beautiful St. Anne's Church with their exquisite music-making Dec 23 . A CONCERT EASY TO OVERLOOK. among all the Messiahs and December brass, will be the Tokyo String EARLY BIRD Quartet, playing one contempo- Sixty-one of tl1e 440 concerts listed rary Work and the first two of in this issue ofWholeNote occur Johannes Brahms' three string . in the first four days of December, • quartets as part of Music so a careful read-through the Dec Toronto's season, Dec 20. 1-4 listings should be rewarded Brahms is reported to have said with something for every musical that he wrote twenty string taste and budget. Have a look and quartets before writing one he get out and be part of the scene! considered good enough to publish, so this will be an DECEMBER 5 TO 24 opportunity to hear "la creme de offers a veritable feast of music, la creme" so to speak, played by both seasonal and secular. a string quartet that has risen to Dec 15 the Amadeus Choir the top and stayed there.- and the Hannaford Street Silver Band program· includes Daniel · IN THE VERY QUIET PERIOD Pinkham's festive and exuberant· between Chfistmas and the first Christmas Cantata and compositions by Canadians Eleanor Daley Operetta Theatre takes over the weekend in January, Toronto and Mark Sirett. Jane Mallett Theatre with Dec 9, Concertsingers perform, under their new music · operetta of love and heartbreak, Sigmund Romberg's immortal director, Lenard Whiting, 'wellknown to WholeNote readers as Stuart Howe, in the title role. The Student Prince, with tenor, a tenor soloist (he will, for Winner of the Metropolitan example, be the tenor soloist in Opera Competition in 1999 Howe the Sacred Music Society's 500- is also singing in Opera in voice Messiah) and as one of the Concert's production of In forces behind Opera Anonymous Straniera on December 2. Builders of historical keyboard iQstruments Harpsichords Cla".ichords FortePianos Sales & Rentals Services & Tuning CLAVIERS BAROQUES Canada's foremost Violin Specialists 201 Church Street Toronto, On. MSB 1Y7 email GHCL@idirect.com www.georgeheinl.com We are Agents for The Paris Workshop Instruments for builders (416) 538-3062 (416) 538-3376 FAX Email: mail@claviersbaroques.co:n:i http://www.claviersbaroques.com/
January Handel's Messiah Thirty to choose from Apart from Salute to Vienna on New Year's Day, first concert of IT WAS JUST 2002 will be "Shanti: Festival of SLIGHTLY Music for Peace on Earth" more than two hundred featuring sitar player Shambhu and sixty Das, now a Toronto resident, years ago that who in the 1960s was George George Harrison's sitar teacher. Frideric And here are a few other Janu- Handel, the ary offerings that caught my eye. musician son Jan 13 Trinity-St. Paul's of a barber- Vocal Concert Series presents surgeon from "Theatrical Masterpieces" with Halle in Lower Saxony, comsoprano Patricia O'Callaghan, posed the Oratorio, Messiah, mezzo Vilma Vitols, and an which has stirred innumerable orchestra conducted by Gary audiences since its first perform- Kulesha in a progran1 ineluding ance in Dublin in April, 1742. Arnold Schoenberg's master- . Composed in a mere three piece, Pierrot Lunaire. weeks, it is described in the ' The RCM has a trio of Oxford Dictionary Qf Music as interesting chamber concerts: The "something of an oddity in Niagary Brass Jan' 13, th'e Glenn Handel's work since he was not a Gould Faculty Wincl Quintet religious composer in the Jan 18 and, Jan 20, ~'Landscapes accepted sense.'' The article goes of Memory -- Music inspired by on to say that " .. .its power, the poetry and art. of Christopher lyricism, sincerity, and profundity make it ... an outstanding Pratt." example of devotional art." Just two days later, Jan 22, Originally intended for Music Toronto presents the performance at Good Friday and wonderful young Canadian piano Easter, its message of hope and virtuoso and Deutsche affirmation has made Messiah Grarnmophon recording artist, phenomenally popular with Naida Cole. Christmas audiences. , Finally, if you've not yet reserved tickets for the first collaboration ever of Nexus and the performances of Messiah, many THIS YEAR WE LIST THIRTY Kronos Quartet, do so before it complete, in and near Toronto. is too late. This concert, at the They encompass an enormous range of choirs, most with Glenn Gould Studio Jan 31, was orchestra, joined.by what the brainchild of CBC producer, amounts cumulatively to a whole Barbara MacKenzie Mahler. choir of t9P flight soloists, some Could this be the beginning of a of whom will be in two coinbeautiful friendship? Kudos,Ms. pletely different performances. MacKenzie Mahler! ~~ tlie sound post Canada's String Shop violins, violas, cellos & bows expert repairs & rehairs strings & accessories at guaranteed lowest prices Canada's largest stock of string music fast mail order service all prices in CDN $..,_Not a US$ price in the store! 93 Grenville St., Toronto M5S 1B4 tel 416 ... 971-6990 · fax 416-597-9923 The "Messiah season" voices ill all - at Convocation begins with two relatively small Hall on December 13. and highly professional choirs: · The World Youth Day the first, on December 7, Choir is an interesting story in its by the.Elmer Iseler own right. Specially formed this Singers with orchestra year to perform at a gala concert at St. James' Cathe- to be attended by the Pope and dral, the second on 400 Cardinals at World Youth December 8 by La Day in Toronto on July 25, 2002, Chapelle de Quebec, this will be the Choir's first Les Violons du Roy public performance. and soloists, Isabel • Other larger Messiahs will Bayrakdarian, ·Daniel be the Mississauga Choral Taylor, Benjamin Society's on December 16 at Butterfield and Peter Harnmerson Hall and the Brott Harvey, conducted by Bernard Autumn Music Festival, in Labadie at Massey Hall. The Hamilton on December 17 and at third performance in Toronto the Weston Recital Hall on with a small, professional level December 21. choir will be Tafelmusik's at Also of interest will be the Trinity-St. Paul's December 20, Nathaniel Dett Chorale's per- 21 and 22. formance of excerpts from Outside Toronto we will be Messiah in two concerts with jazz able to hear the Elora Festival pianist Joe Sealy: in Guelph on . Singers, another small profes- December 14 and in Toronto on sional level choir, in Elora on December 19. December 8, La Chapelle de Several soloists are in more Quebec/Les Violons du Roy in than one performance: counter- Port Hope on December 9 and tenor, Daniel Taylor, for the Elmer Iseler Singers in instance, is with Violons du Roy Markham on December 10. Other twice, and with Brott twice. performances by smaller choirs Mark DuBois will also be in the include three performances by the Brott performances as well as Arcady Choir and String#l, The with the Iselers. And there are Toronto Classical Singers on several others. December 9 and the Calvin One last thought - Messiah is Presbyterian Church Choir on probably one of the most December 16. accessible pieces of "classical" music in the repertoire. Most of THERE ARE ALSO SEVERAL notable us have a memorable Messiah performances using considerably somewhere on our persqnal larger forces. These include, of musical path. So why not take a course, .the Toronto Mendels-· young person to one of these sohn Ch!>ir with the Toronto many performances? If it turns Symphony Orchestra on out to be memorable for him/her, December 15, 18, 20 and 23, and it will be doubly so for you! the Sacred Music Society and QUICK GUIDE World Youth Day Choir - 500 TO MESSIAH PERFORMANCES, NEXT PAGE DAVID JENSEN Harpsichord Maker CUSTOM MADE HARPSICHORDS, VIRGINALS & CLAVICHORDS Repairs, R'estorations, T~ning ~nd Regulation since 1976 (905) 973-1314 & (905) 529-2527 www.harpsichord-man.com harpsichordm1m@hotmail.com DECEMBER 1, 2001 - JANUARY 31, 2002 wholeno.te 11
