Choral Scene

October is a busy time for choirs. A brief perusal of the listings sections of this magazine reveals a wide range of choral performances, from small, intimate works to big choral warhorses. But if you look past the sheer variety of it all, a few trends emerge.

Early music seems to be especially well represented this month, with several choirs presenting entire programmes of pre-1800 repertoire. Toronto’s Cantemus Singers are singing English music, with an October 3 concert of Purcell, Tallis, Gibbons and Byrd. In Orillia, on October 24, the Cellar Singers open their season with Bach’s Mass in B Minor. On the same night, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir will perform Handel’s Israel in Egypt (the first big choral concert in the Royal Conservatory’s new Koerner Hall). And on November 1, the Toronto Chamber Choir will present a programme of Renaissance works by Byrd, Lasso, Weelkes and Sheppard.

This sort of concert, when done well, has the happy effect of transporting its audience into a remote time, to explore the artistic ideals of a historical era. But it’s also nice to see a more varied and integrated approach to early-music programming. On October 4 Toronto’s Elmer Iseler Singers  and the Nathaniel Dett Chorale will team up to present a concert that mixes Byrd, Tallis, et al. with African-American gospel repertoire. In a similar vein, Waterloo’s Renaissance Singers will sing a concert on October 17 (repeated the following day in Cambridge) that combines 16th- and 17th-century English choral works with Rutter’s The Sprig of Thyme, composed in the late 20th century.

At first glance, the Renaissance Singers’ approach makes a little more sense: Rutter is English, and there are strong historical references in his style that connect his music to the English Renaissance. But that’s not to say that the Iseler-Dett collaboration is a non-starter. On the contrary, some of the most fascinating artistic experiences originate in the conjoining of ideas that don’t seem to have much in common.

Contemporary music is a sometimes a scary proposition – for choirs and audiences alike. But there are three concerts of new works coming up that no one should shy away from.

On October 8, Toronto composer Christos Hatzis’ From the Song of Songs will be performed in a programme presented by the Royal Ontario Museum. The 18-minute work will be performed by the musicians who originally commissioned it: Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Choir. As well, the culturally adventurous piece also features Arabic vocalist Maryem Hassan-Tollar as soloist.

On October 24, the University of Toronto’s MacMillan Singers perform a programme called “Music of the North,” which will hopefully find an appreciative audience. The chosen composers – Rautavaara, Hyökki and Tormis – are from Finland and Estonia: two countries with strong choral traditions and composers who have attracted the world’s attention.

And the following day, Toronto’s Pax Christi Chorale will sing an entire programme of premieres. Billed as a “Fanfare for Canadian Hymns,” the concert will feature the winning compositions in the choir’s inaugural Great Canadian Hymn Competition. Back in the summer, composers across the country were invited to submit entries for unison or SATB choir (accompanied or unaccompanied) – and now the winners will be heard for the first time.

“We wanted to highlight the fact that there are so many fantastic hymns by Canadians,” notes Pax Christi conductor Stephanie Martin. “We don’t tend to celebrate our achievements, like the Americans and British do. So we thought it would be fun to sponsor a contest.”

According to Martin, the competition attracted hymns from almost every Canadian province, with an impressive total of 68 entries. “We have a real rainbow of different styles,” she says. “What people consider a hymn, in different traditions, can vary widely. We have hymns from the Anglican tradition, hymns from the Mennonite tradition, and some more fashioned like folk-songs.”

As well, three cash awards will be announced at the concert. “The choir is voting on who gets the prizes,” Martin explains. “We wanted to sing the hymns through for several weeks, and get to know them before deciding. One of the qualities of a great hymn is that it grows on you.”

What else does the month have to offer? The Mendelssohn bicentennial that has led to many performances of the composer’s works this year still has some steam left in it. On October 23, the Exultate Chamber Singers give an all-Mendelssohn programme; and on November 1 the Mississauga Choral Society will also devote an entire programme to the brilliant composer who lived for just 38 years.

And there’s a lot more. For further information about any of the concerts mentioned above, see the GTA and Beyond the GTA listings in this magazine.

Colin Eatock is a composer, writer, and the managing editor of The WholeNote. He can be contacted at: editorial@thewholenote.com.

It doesn’t seem to matter how long I’ve been out of school – I always think of September as the beginning of the new year. This is certainly true for choirs across the province where choristers from Thunder Bay to Windsor are eagerly anticipating a new season of choral delights. While most of us have been enjoying a break, conductors and choral administrators everywhere have been busy planning the year and preparing for rehearsals. Repertoire has been selected, guest artists engaged, venues secured, contracts finalized, promotional materials created – and this is just part of it!

It seems fitting that on August 30, at the Toronto concert of the Ontario Youth Choir, Choirs Ontario presented the 2009 President’s Leadership Award to Jessie Iseler for her remarkable career with the Elmer Iseler Singers. Established in 2001 to commemorate Choirs Ontario’s 30th anniversary, the President’s Leadership Award recognizes choral musicians and supporters who have made an exceptional contribution to the promotion and advancement of choral music in their communities. There’s little doubt that Jessie is deserving of this honour.

Having dedicated most of her professional life to the choir as its manager, Jessie Iseler has been the driving administrative force behind its tremendous success. With their strong national and international artistic presence, an impressive list of television and radio appearances, and over 50 recordings to their credit, the Elmer Iseler Singers are widely regarded as one of Canada’s finest choral ensembles. This reputation is in no small part due to the dedication and sheer hard work of Jessie Iseler.

Through Jessie, and husband Elmer Iseler’s combined efforts, the choir set a model of performing, recording, commissioning and touring that inspired conductors throughout North America. Jessie’s dedication to the choir and to Canadian choral music inspired her to press for levels of funding for touring, commissioning and recording that were hitherto unknown by professional choirs in Canada. Together with artistic director Lydia Adams, the Elmer Iseler Singers continue to demonstrate artistic excellence while pursuing creative innovation. The choir recently completed a tour of Northern Ontario with several performances of the ground-breaking Cree opera Pimooteewin, by Tomson Highway and Melissa Hui.

The choir also has an impressive record of choral-educational initiatives. For over a decade, Jessie helped to administer the ensemble’s position as the professional Choir-In-Residence at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music, through the Elmer Iseler Chair in Conducting.  The current success of the Get Music! project that sponsors numerous symposia and workshops linking youth and the industry of sound recording is another example of their visionary arts education. Over the years the choir has engaged countless young Canadian vocal professionals, and launched many successful vocal careers.

Jessie’s passionate advocacy for choral music, and profound commitment to the Elmer Iseler Singers, continues to be a source of inspiration to Canada’s choral community. Congratulations, Jessie!

The Elmer Iseler Singers have a concert on October 4: a programme called “Gibbons to Gospel,” with the Nathaniel Dett Chorale, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church. These two professional groups are off to an early start; for amateur choirs, it usually takes a little longer to get going. But as the fall progresses, the hard work and preparations of September will bear fruit, as many other Ontario choirs present their season-opening concerts. It won’t be long before voices in chorus are heard, in a wide variety of musical styles, throughout the province.