Vocal and Choral

Remember
Guelph Chamber Choir; Gerald Neufeld
Independent GCC2011-6
www.guelphchamberchoir.ca

In this fifth recording by the Guelph Chamber Choir, we are invited to remember loved ones and pay homage to our country and the roots of those who built it through choral arrangements of favorite folk songs, spirituals and art songs. As director Gerald Neufeld writes in the informative and well-researched liner notes, “Music is a potent medium for remembering our past, our joys and sorrows, and those we love. Songs marry poetry to music’s passion, thus conjuring a strong potion that takes us back in time to where we feel the thoughts of a bygone era.”

The title track is delivered by the choir with all the heartfelt sentiment and sensitivity Christina Rossetti’s famous verse and Steven Chatman’s setting deserves. Similarly, Kurt Besner’s Prayer of the Children is deeply moving in its portrayal of war’s innocent victims. A Canadian landscape is evoked beautifully through Eleanor Daly’s Paradise (Song of Georgian Bay) and we experience all the thrilling sounds of the railway in Jeff Smallman’s setting of E. Pauline Johnson’s Prairie Greyhounds. Ian Tyson’s Four Strong Winds and James Gordon’s Frobisher Bay work especially well in choral arrangement.

The men’s chorus demonstrates its a cappella strength and range admirably in Stan Rogers’ Northwest Passage. A nod to the underground railroad is given with the inclusion of escape song Wade in the Water followed by Worthy to be Praised which (though some of the syncopations and hemiolas could benefit from a more natural delivery) provides a rousing finale to a well-crafted program.

Karl Jenkins – The Peacemakers
Various Artists
EMI Classics 0 84378 2

While this disc was recorded in studio, it is of note that over 300 musicians and a full house gathered this past January at Carnegie Hall to participate in the live premiere of The Peacemakers by Karl Jenkins, offered as part of Martin Luther King Day celebrations.

The 17-movement work includes texts by Shelley, Gandhi, the Dalai Lama, Terry Waite, Mother Teresa, Albert Schweitzer, St. Francis of Assisi, Sir Thomas Malory, Rumi, Nelson Mandela, Bahá’u’lláh and Anne Frank. As witnessed in previous works (Adiemus comes to mind), Jenkins has always proved masterful at enhancing the western orchestra/chorus with ethnic instrumentation. In many movements of this work, birthplaces of these messengers of peace are evoked by use of, for example, the bansuri and tabla for Gandhi, shakuhachi and temple bells with the Dalai Lama, African percussion in the Mandela and a jazzy blues accompaniment to Martin Luther King. Uilleann pipes and bodhrán drums complete “A Celtic prayer.”

While a profound sense of devotion and meditative reverence is felt throughout the musical settings, this is offset by moments of playful lightness (somewhat like the “In paradisum” movement of Jenkins’ Requiem). Jenkins’ music is full of hope, reminding and inspiring the listener to once again, against all odds, embrace the spirit of peace.

Concert Note: On April 28 the Oakham House Choir of Ryerson University and Toronto Sinfonietta present “Better Is Peace Than Always War” which includes Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man – A Mass for Peace and works by Penderecki, Bacewicz, Zielinski and Zebrowski.

Marie-Josée Lord
Marie-Josée Lord; Orchestre Métropolitain; Giuseppe Pietraroia
ATMA ACD2 2649

“A star is born” should be the headline in The WholeNote on the occasion of the announcement of the 2012 JUNO nominees. I speak in particular of one contender for Classical Record of the Year, Vocal and Choral Category, the self-titled Marie-Josée Lord. Alas, it takes a long time to become an overnight success. Lord has been charming Quebec audiences with her magnificent voice since her debut in the fall of 2003. Be it Liu, Mimi, Nedda, Suor Angelica or Carmen – passionate, dispossessed or heartbroken heroines are her royal domain. But there is also Gershwin’s Bess and Marie-Jeanne of Plamondon’s super-hit Starmania. Each of these roles gets transformed by Lord’s smoky, fascinating voice. Soft and velvety in the lower registers, it has a lovely, robust and crystalline quality in the upper range. To call her “a soprano” is like describing Mozart as “a composer.” Her voice has the power to send shivers down your spine, make you grip the armrest and lean forward in your seat. This artist is all her own, not emulating anybody else’s style, rendering her instantly recognizable and unforgettable. With all this attention on the vocals, one barely notices the competent, if sometimes ham-fisted playing by the Orchestre Métropolitain under Giuseppe Pietraroia.

These selections are well known, but you have never heard them sung like this. I have yet to see Lord sing on stage, but if this recording is anything to go by, it will be a memorable occasion.

Fauré - Requiem; Cantique de Jean Racine
Philippe Jaroussky; Matthias Goerne; Choeur et Orchestre de Paris; Paavo Järvi
Virgin Classics 50999 070921 2

Fauré once described his requiem mass as “gentle in temperament, as I am myself.” He believed that a funeral service should provide comfort and solace to those in mourning, and therefore chose the liturgical texts “which are prayer-like, which plead for something and which look towards the heavens rather than towards hell.” For example, Fauré abandoned the fiery “Dies Irae” except for a fleeting appearance in the “Libera me” and conductor Paavo Järvi, despite large forces at his disposal, respects Fauré’s intention, bringing forth the transcendent beauty of the piece by using a light touch throughout. At the start, the orchestra and chorus are barely perceptible with the subsequent crescendo sublimely subtle and gradual. It is within the harmonic framework that the composer imbues this work with emotion and Järvi ensures a warm and lush delivery through the subtle metamorphoses. Warm, rich and deep tones from baritone Matthias Goerne mirror the orchestration perfectly, while a delightfully unconventional twist is provided by engaging the pure, yet mature timbre of countertenor Philippe Jaroussky for the “Pie Jesu.”

The other choral works included on this CD are the deeply inspirational and gorgeously performed Cantique de Jean Racine, the playfully quirky Pavane and the recording debut of a youthful (and hence more volatile) work, Super flumina Babylonis (By the rivers of Babylon). There is one instrumental work, the magnificent Elégie for cello and orchestra, featuring Orchestre de Paris’ superb principal, Eric Picard.

Concert Notes: The Hart House Singers present Fauré’s Requiem and Tavener’s Three Songs with soloists and orchestra under David Arnot-Johnston, in the Great Hall, Hart House, on March 24. The Choir of the Church of St. Nicholas Birchcliffe features Fauré’s Requiem and Messe Bass in a programme of music for Lent on March 30 at 7:30pm. The Amadeus Choir will perform Fauré’s Requiem at All Saints Kingsway Anglican Church at 4pm on April 1.

Ponchielli - La Gioconda
Deborah Voigt; Elisabeth Fiorillo; Ewa Podles; Richard Margison; Carlo Guelli; Carlo Colmbara; Gran Teatre del Liceu; Daniele Callegari
ArtHaus Musik 107 291

This latest video production of La Gioconda from 2005 is most notable for its staging and sets by architect and theatre designer Pier Luigi Pizzi. The stylized set of interconnecting stairways and a colour scheme dominated by greys with accents of deep blue, scarlet and orange creates an all-pervasive sense of approaching death in decaying Venice during the terror of the dreaded Council of Ten. The effect is so dazzling that one is reminded of frescoes of the 16th century Paolo Veronese.

It is an extremely difficult and expensive opera to produce mainly for its demand of top singers, six in all, in all vocal ranges. In today’s world there are no more Callases, Tebaldis, Bergonzis and Pavarottis (even Domingo is now a baritone), the great stars of the late 20th century who brought their glory to this formidably demanding opera. Today we have Deborah Voigt, one of the few remaining dramatic sopranos with stamina and power to cope with the gruelling title role. Her voice and characterization have what it takes and it’s a great thrill to hear her carry over the top of the choruses and the orchestra. In terms of power Canadian tenor Richard Margison surely belts out the murderous high notes, but the Italianate inflection and charm of the likes of a Pavarotti is unfortunately missing. Still … the beautiful aria “Cielo e il mar” is very successful and warmly applauded. Another great credit to the performance is Ewa Podles, familiar to Toronto audiences, whose sympathetic portrayal and mellifluous alto voice of the abused blind mother is simply heartbreaking. Neither Carlo Guelfi as the evil Barnaba nor Elisabetta Fiorillo as Laura measures up to the historic legends in these major roles, but the conducting of Daniele Callegari is outstanding especially in the exquisitely choreographed, beautifully executed “Dance of the Hours.”

Mahler - Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen; Kindertotenlieder
Julie Boulianne; Ensemble Orford; Jean-Francois Rivest
ATMA ACD2 2665

The emerging Canadian mezzo-soprano Julie Boulianne makes her debut solo recording on the ATMA label with an exquisitely sung pair of orchestral song cycles by Gustav Mahler, in relatively unfamiliar chamber versions, along with five lieder by Mahler’s wife/muse and notorious Viennese femme-fatale Alma Schindler-Mahler-Gropius-Werfel.

The arrangement of the first of the song cycles, the formative Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer, 1884-5), was prepared by Arnold Schoenberg in 1920 for his short-lived concert series, the ultra-exclusive Society for Private Musical Performances. Though the glowing canvas of the symphonic original has been reduced to a monochrome ensemble of ten instruments (including the rarely-heard harmonium, uncharacteristically perfectly in tune and unobtrusive in this recording) the integrity of the composition still shines through. The same can be said for conductor Reinbert de Leeuw’s masterful reduction for Amsterdam’s Schoenberg Ensemble of the Kindertotenlieder cycle (1901-4), Mahler’s settings of the elegies poet Friedrich Rückert wrote commemorating the tragic deaths of his two children.

Boulianne’s voice, precise and well balanced with a voluptuous lower register, is ideally suited for this repertoire. Jean-François Rivest conducts a well-balanced though emotionally reticent ensemble. The album closes with five very attractive songs by Alma Mahler which her husband, upon the advice of Sigmund Freud, edited and arranged to have published in 1910 as recompense for his ill-considered ban on her own composing career upon their marriage in 1902. Accompanied by pianist Marc Bourdeau, Boulianne brings to life the captivating charm of these scarce remnants of Alma’s youthful dreams.

Weill - Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
Measha Brueggergosman; Jane Henschel; Michael König; Willard White; Teatro Real Madrid; Pablo Heras-Casado
BelAir BAC067

Kurt Weill’s music stands alone and needs no visuals to covey its brilliant, contemporary and relevant meaning. That said, his stage works always assault the senses when produced well – especially when accompanied by the words of his most famous collaborator, Bertold Brecht. Mahagonny, immortalized by the countless renditions of the “Alabama Song,” is so much more than the simple morality play that many perceive it as. It is a work, which especially in this brilliant production satirizes, troubles and challenges the viewer. In these years of market crashes and the disenfranchised “99%” its resonance is as fresh as it must have been in the Weimar Republic. The stunning sets, including a verdant golf course – surely as much of a power centre as one can imagine – create the backdrop to the all too human struggle with that “crime of crimes” – not having money in the materialistic world. Jane Henschel as the widow Begbick and Canada’s own Measha Brueggergosman as Jenny Smith form a powerful female axis of the performance, with Brueggergosman taking refreshing risks with the score. Michael König (Jim MacIntyre) and Willard White (Trinity Moses) in the meantime, complete the play’s – and music’s – symmetry. The orchestra delivers the score beautifully, with a strangely appropriate Spanish verve. This is truly an “edge of your seat” opera experience, even without the original German rhythms of speech. Bravo.