SounZSCApes: From Our Lands
Toronto Children’s Chorus; Elise Bradley
Marquis MAR 439
Following in the footsteps of Jean Ashworth Bartle (who founded the Toronto Children’s Chorus and shaped its sound for 29 years), Elise Bradley emigrated from New Zealand in 2007 to take the helm. This recording honours her journey with a collection of songs from both New Zealand and Canada, including Maori chants alongside compositions celebrating the traditions of Canadian First Nations peoples. Other Canadian favourites such as Song of the Mira and songs by Eleanor Daley and Srul Irving Glick, are paired with New Zealander Dorothy Buchanan’s Peace Song as well as many other compositions, sacred and secular, from both countries.
One continues to be struck by the disciplined care that goes into shaping the sound of young voices in this choir as well as the juxtaposition of seasoned musicians recruited to accompany, teaching excellent musicality to the choristers by example. In this recording the children perform with (amongst others) organist Christopher Dawes, TSO principal oboe Sarah Jeffrey and clarinettist Joaquin Valdepeñas. Elise Bradley hopes to share this music by taking the choir to her native country in the near future; I’m sure they will enjoy the partnership (and the chorus) just as much as we do here.
