It’s time to pack your knapsack, your suitcase or your picnic basket and head out of town in search of different impressions. For the early music aficionado this doesn’t necessarily mean abandoning the music you’re fond of, just that you’ll have lots of chances to experience it in new places.

Bach Music Festival of Canada

First I must tell you about a new summer festival emerging in South Huron, that area situated on Lake Huron which includes several small communities such as Exeter and Zurich. The Bach Music Festival of Canada takes place from July 11 to 17, and is actually an interesting mix of Bach, contemporary and other music, culminating in a performance of Bach’s B Minor Mass with soloists, orchestra and over one hundred singers. At its helm is artistic director Gerald Fagan, known nationally and internationally as a choral conductor and pioneer.

The week is packed with concerts, workshops and master classes. Trio Alla Grande, an extremely musical and sensitive guitar trio, opens the festival with a concert of contemporary and original music, and gives an interactive discussion and workshop. Violinist Lara St. John, known as a passionate exponent of Bach, performs a recital and offers a masterclass. Renowned basso Thomas Paul, now in his 70s, shares his expertise on the singing of Bach arias in intensive workshops, with a resulting concert, “The Art of the Aria.” The Harvestehuder Chamber Choir from Germany performs with London’s Gerald Fagan Singers in a concert of Bach, Canadian and German choral repertoire.

All this, combined with participation of locally-based choristers, make this Festival an ambitious project indeed, and a wonderful gift of music to the area.

Other summer festivals:

At the Ottawa Chamberfest there’s too much to mention here, but they have a website to guide your hunt through medieval, renaissance, baroque and other categories (www.ottawachamberfest.com). I’ll point out just two performances: on July 25, Ensemble Caprice presents “Et In Terra Pax” featuring vocal and instrumental works by Vivaldi and Zelenka; on August 4, “La Poésie noble du violon sous Louis XIV” features Lully, Jacquet de la Guerre, Clérambault and others — all with brilliant performers involved.

July 19 at the Hamilton Organ Festival, you can hear organ music by Bach, Byrd and Buxtehude played by organist Matthew Coons; and during Stratford Summer Music’s “Organ Week,” music by Gibbons, Purcell and Handel will be performed on July 29, and some of the most glorious of Bach’s organ music on July 30, by Robert Quinney from Westminster Abbey. The organ in collaboration is highlighted on July 26 at Parry Sound’s Festival of the Sound: organist William McArton is joined by flutist Suzanne Shulman and trumpeter Guy Few in works by Handel, Viviani and Rameau.

Other early music can be found here too, such as a concert of solo Bach works for flute, cello and keyboard on July 27. This is one of three July concerts I’ve noticed which feature Bach solo cello suites. At Festival of the Sound it’s the first suite, played by cellist Marc Johnson. On July 2, cellist Rachel Mercer will perform suites nos. 2, 3 and 6 in Waterloo — not in a “summer” venue but in the ongoing series of the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society. And on July 5 yet another performance, this time at Campbellford’s Westben — Concerts at the Barn, with Brian Manker, principal cellist of the Montreal Symphony Orchestr, playing suites nos. 2, 4, and 6.

At the Elora Festival, on July 16, there’s a most interesting concert of Telemann sacred cantatas — he completed several cycles of these for the church year —performed by tenor Kevin Skelton (more about him in a moment), along with recorder, harpsichord and gamba.

15_earlymusic_kevin_skeltonAt Stratford Summer Music, there’s a lovely touch of the early, “a delicious combination of musicianship and cuisine,” as lutenist/guitarist Terry McKenna performs short concerts (each showcasing a particular aspect of renaissance/early baroque music) at Rundles Restaurant, every Saturday and Sunday throughout the festival.

Whereas urban-based artists and audiences tend to migrate to out-of-town summer venues, some will also arrive in town from elsewhere. Kevin Skelton, who lives abroad, is a Canadian tenor of great accomplishment as performer, director, founder of several ensembles, contemporary dancer and published scholar who holds degrees in voice, conducting and musicology. In addition to the above-mentioned performance at the Elora Festival on July 16, he’ll be appearing at the Toronto Music Garden on July 17 with other wonderful musicians in a presentation entitled “With Joy and Light Encircled.” And, (too late to make The WholeNote’s print deadline; you’ll find it on the website at “Listings: Just In”), on July 30, Toronto’s Church of St. Mary Magdalene will resound with Gregorian chant as Schola Gregoriana Aurea Luce, a choir of men’s and women’s voices from Venice, Italy, perform.

I’ll leave it to you, the early music seeker, to find out more: The WholeNote’s summer listings, and individual websites, have all the details. The opportunity to design your own summer early music festival awaits!

Simone Desilets is a long-time contributor to The WholeNote in several capacities who plays the viola da gamba. She can be contacted at earlymusic@thewholenote.com.

TAFELMUSIK BAROQUE SUMMER INSTITUTE

What makes a musician a “baroque” musician? The answer to this question has evolved dramatically over the years, as consideration of how baroque music should be played moves from presenting it from a completely modern standpoint, to awareness of a sound more “informed” by the stylistic elements present in baroque times.

One of the world’s premiere baroque music training programmes is right in our midst: The Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute, which takes place every June in Toronto, is about to begin its tenth season. As TBSI music director, Jeanne Lamon, writes on the website, the Institute is dedicated to developing the period performers of the future. With an impressively comprehensive programme of study and first-rate teachers, it attracts student participants from all over the world.

p13_tafelmusik1There’s a component for instrumentalists, with in-depth study of their instrument in a variety of solo, chamber and orchestral settings, and for players new to period instruments, an introduction to baroque instruments, their technique and repertoire. There is even a number of baroque flutes, oboes, bassoons, stringed instruments and bows available for loan.

There’s a component for singers, offering study in solo, choral, ensemble and operatic repertoire; Opera Atelier’s Marshall Pynkoski leads workshops in scenes from baroque operas, focusing on gesture and deportment and their relation to music and text in the 17th and 18th centuries.

There’s a component for conductors and directors, too – a self-directed study for the most part – during which participants are encouraged to audit vocal and instrumental masterclasses, sit in on orchestra, choir and chamber ensemble rehearsals and attend opera workshops, lectures, demonstrations and concerts.

There are classes in baroque dance, led by Opera Atelier’s Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg; continuo classes for keyboard players and lutenists/guitarists; classes for conductors and directors with Tafelmusik librarian, Charlotte Nediger, on sources and editions. There are private lessons, lectures and workshops on a range of topics. There is even an international exchange programme with Jeune Orchestre Atlantique, a European training orchestra specializing in classical and romantic repertoire on period instruments and directed by Philippe Herreweghe.

But wait! Why not let the voices of some who have studied at the Institute speak for themselves? Those I asked came back with a flood of enthusiastic stories, from which I’ve distilled just a little here:

p14tafelmusik2_option_1Roseen Giles, baroque flutist, relates how TBSI teachers guided her in moving from the modern to the baroque flute, and says: “Eventually it became clear that the best way to learn how to play a period instrument is through immersion in baroque playing and style, which is exactly what TBSI provides. Two weeks of having nothing but well-played early music in my ears was exactly what I needed to help me understand that baroque music was not dry and academic like I’d previously been taught, but vibrant and alive. After TBSI, I traded my silver for wood, my keys for pure intervals, and never looked back since!”

Elizabeth Loewen Andrews, baroque violinist, tells of the journey that led her through TBSI and Jeune Orchestre Atlantique to professional work with Aradia Ensemble, the Windermere String Quartet and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra as an extra, and concludes: “So, how has TBSI impacted my musical and professional life? Pretty much in every way! It started me on the road to a much more diverse performance career, opened my mind and ears to a different world of sound, and has helped open so many doors to me in the first five years of my career. My life today would certainly not be the same without that summer!”

From soprano Johane Ansell: “The major impact that TBSI has made on my musical life: not only did it assist my solo performance skills but it also encouraged and facilitated the development of my ensemble singing, which is a useful skill to have and is applicable in all facets of vocal singing, not limited to early music singing. It is also one of the few programs that emphasize the study of the different styles of early/renaissance music: French baroque, Italian, etc., as well as the styles of different composers such as Bach, Lully and Handel. There is a reason people return to TBSI to participate more than once: it is a unique program with a LOT to offer and you get to work with the best in the business.”

Baroque violinist Alice Culin-Ellison says: “This will be my third summer attending the Institute. The first summer (at) TBSI was the first time I ever played on gut strings and learned the period performance techniques of how to hold the instrument (chin off with no chin or shoulder rest). I have nothing but fantastic things to say about TBSI. It led me to be in the process of getting my masters in early music (violin) and I have recommended it to many, many people, at least three of whom are attending this summer due to my recommendation.”

Even if you aren’t planning to participate as a student in TBSI, you can participate as an auditor of individual classes, full days or the events of the entire institute. There are also four public concerts featuring faculty and/or student performers, on June 3, 8, 12 and 15 – find details in The WholeNote’s festival listings or at www.tafelmusik.org/tbsi.

OTHERS

Just north of Newmarket lies a building of exquisite proportions, a National Historic Site known as Sharon Temple. Its interior space, with beautiful acoustical ambiance, is a natural venue for music (and was intended so by the Children of Peace, who built it). For several years now it’s been the home of a summer concert series, and this year co-artistic directors Larry Beckwith and Rick Phillips planned five Sunday afternoon concerts. The first one took place on May 29 and the other four run throughout June. Early music is featured in two of these. On June 5, celebrated countertenor Daniel Taylor brings his Theatre of Early Music to perform arias and duets by Handel. On June 26, the Toronto Consort presents their programme “Shakespeare’s Songbook”, featuring songs and dances from the plays of the immortal bard. A lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon, I’d say.

The Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Toronto is famous as the place where composer Healey Willan focused much of his musical life, directing and composing for the choir and adding his musical voice to the Anglican liturgy for over 45 years. A new Friday evening concert series entitled, “Concerts Spirituels,” is beginning at the church which, as artistic director Stephanie Martin says, hopes to keep Willan’s dream alive by continuing the tradition of singing and playing wonderful music. Three concerts are planned – June 3, 10 and 17 – each featuring an a cappella renaissance mass (Victoria, Guerrero and Palestrina), a baroque chamber ensemble and organ music played on the three manual Healey Willan Memorial Organ.

FOILED

Isn’t it just the luck! You write enthusiastically about the pending appearance of a special artist, then an injury prevents the concert – the whole North American tour! – from happening! The concert by Jordi Savall, Hespèrion XXI and La Capella Reial de Catalunya, that was discussed in last month’s column, and was supposed to have taken place at Koerner Hall, was cancelled, as you probably all know. But all being well, it will happen on March 1 of next year, and be enthusiastically heralded again in this column.

She can be contacted at earlymusic@thewholenote.com.

If I were looking for a theme for this month’s column, I might find it in the idea of music as the bringer of gifts.

Giving was certainly the intent when, in 1992, bassist Tim Dawson and his two friends, baritone Gord MacLeod and soprano Monica Whicher, performed a fundraising concert for adults with disabilities. Dawson told me a remarkable story of how this first event of The Bach Consort blossomed into a twice-yearly series which has raised significant funds for local charities over the last 19 years:

“Monica and Gord had been presenting annual fundraising recitals on behalf of adults with disabilities. I had always been interested in the music of Bach; so we simply put the two ideas together. We connected with some wonderful local charities that inspired us by their dedication and love. One of the main ones for us was Camphill Village Ontario – the local chapter of a worldwide group of rural communities for adults with disabilities. Literally dozens of other groups connected with the Bach Consort from this point and the group has raised over $400,000 for charity since its inception.”

15Remarkable too is the stature of the artists who, it seems, have clamoured to be included: among others, singers Russell Braun, Michael Schade and Kevin McMillan; conductors Nicholas McGegan, Ivars Taurins, Dame Jane Glover and – a special point of pride – Yannick Nézet-Séguin, now one of the most sought-after conductors in the world today, and who has worked with the Bach Consort five times to perform five of Bach’s major choral works. Says Dawson: “In those days it seemed that every concert with the Bach Consort celebrated another step in his rocketing career. All along the way he was generous, modest and open-hearted. Bach is a passion for Yannick and we were blessed to share those times with him.”

And throughout, all musicians and conductors have performed gratis, donating their fee to charity.

Dawson (“Head Dreamer”) concludes: “Bach’s music is so full of humanity – it seems fitting that we can enjoy and share these incredible riches while at the same time lending a helping hand to deserving groups in our community.”

On May 13, renowned Handel scholar Harry Bicket (in town to conduct Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice with the COC), will moonlight with the Bach Consort, leading from the harpsichord a performance of Handel’s cantata Silete Venti, with soprano Monica Whicher as soloist. The rest of the programme is Bach, and other featured soloists are flutist Julie Ranti and baritone Phillip Addis. This concert’s recipients are Eva’s Initiatives and the TSO Adopt a Player Programme – two charities which benefit the lives of young people in Toronto.

Jordi Savall

16As a viol player, I can’t help being excited about the upcoming concert of a master of the viol and its music, Jordi Savall. As well as a wonderful gambist, he’s a conductor, teacher, scholar and musical philosopher; his work has had wide-ranging impact in practically all aspects of early music performance over the past several decades. He speaks of “restoring musical memory,” in the sense of awakening our awareness of cultural roots – not only Western cultures, but all co-existing ones – in order that music can proceed into the future. (“A people with no memory has no future,” he says.) To this end, his research, recording and performing are geared to recreating authentic early musical environments, always with great artistry.

On May 8, with this philosophy in mind, he’ll bring to Toronto’s Koerner Hall his own two groups – Hespèrion XXI and La Capella Reial de Catalunya – along with his wife, soprano Montserrat Figueras and the Mexican chamber group Tembembe Ensamble Continuo, to present The Route of the New World: Spain – Mexico. The concert is described as a musical dialogue, featuring works by the foremost composers from Old Spain, the Mexican Baroque, and the living Huasteca and Jarocho traditions. It has been praised for its “exuberant and spontaneous creative energy,” with a presentation that is “lavish and scholarly.”

Savall says, “When you sing or play something, you touch somebody; the performer is in the process of mastering the art, and the listener becomes a kind of pupil who learns according to his or her sensitivity and abilities. The most important thing is that music is a dialogue. A musician doesn’t exist unless there is someone there with whom he or she is communicating. And the more sensitive this someone is, the more the musician can communicate. A truly living relationship is established between the two.”

A live appearance by Savall and his ensembles doesn’t happen in these parts very often, so don’t miss receiving its riches!

Others, Briefly

• May 3 to 8: An explosion of Handel, as Classical Music Consort presents Handelfest 2011, their second annual springtime Handel festival – six concerts over six days featuring some of the composer’s lesser-known music, plus a Handel Singing Competition.

• May 8: In Kitchener, Nota Bene Period Orchestra presents “Harmony in Chaos,” a programme of musical representations of disasters, both natural and man-made (nonetheless including beautiful music by composers such as Telemann, Vivaldi, Falconieri and Tomkins).

• May 11 to 14, 17: Virtuoso violinist and conductor Stefano Montanari returns to Tafelmusik, for a programme of exuberant Italian symphonies and concertos. (Note: Due to injury, Stefano Montanari will only be conducting.)

• May 13: In Kingston, the Melos Ensemble and Chamber Orchestra present “Recorders, Viols and Voices” – music from the Renaissance including a mass by Victoria, Elizabethan and Italian madrigals and instrumental music on period instruments.

• May 14: Aradia Ensemble. Bach + 1. Bach plus a singer, Bach plus a dancer and Bach plus an artist.
• May 15: Toronto Chamber Choir explores Bach’s fascination with numbers, in “Kaffeemusik: Bach and Numerology,” uncovering numerological secrets to be found hidden in the St. Matthew Passion, the B Minor Mass, and the cantata Christ lag in Todesbanden.

• May 23 and 24: Toronto Continuo Collective, the Cardinal Consort of Viols and guests present “Joyne Hands!: Chamber Music from Seventeenth-Century London,” which includes Lanier’s dramatic lament for Hero and Leander (considered the first piece of English recitative), and the sublime Royal Consorts by Lawes for four viols and two theorbos.

• June 5: Toronto Early Music Centre’s” Musically Speaking” series presents baroque music by women composers, in the Church of the Holy Trinity’s lovely acoustic.

If all this isn’t enough, don’t forget other compelling concerts mentioned in last month’s column: Toronto Masque Theatre’s “Masques of Orpheus” (May 5 and 6); Toronto Consort’s “Songs of the Celestial Sirens” (May 6 to 8); I Furiosi’s “Baroqueback Mountain” (May 7); Tallis Choir’s “Handel: Coronation Anthems” (May 7); Cantemus Singers’ Saints and Sinners (May 7 and 8).

Simone Desilets is a long-time contributor to The WholeNote in several capacities who plays the viola da gamba. She can be contacted at earlymusic@thewholenote.com.


17_early_torontomasque_muse6Last season, I attended an absolutely beguiling production of a double bill: two Molière comedies, Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme and Le Malade Imaginaire, performed as masques, with acting, dance, and their respective music by Lully and Charpentier played by a period instrument orchestra. Though presented in 21st century Toronto, these pieces had all the charm, wit, inventiveness and sparkle that one could imagine in 17th century French comedy. The presenting company, Toronto Masque Theatre, has another pair of masques upcoming: the story of Orpheus and Euridice as told in the 17th century by M.A. Charpentier and in the 21st century by James Rolfe (music) and André Alexis (text).

I posed a number of questions to TMT artistic director Larry Beckwith. Here’s a little of what he told me:

So what is a masque?Our wide-ranging definition of a masque is: music theatre that involves some combination of the performing arts – music, dance, poetry – and pieces that explore a common theme or story from different points of view.”

Your three artistic directors (Beckwith, Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière and Derek Boyes) are a goldmine of complementary talents! How did you find each other and get together to produce masques?I’ve known Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière for close to 15 years now and think she’s an absolute genius. She was in the great Elaine Biagi-Turner’s network of dancers and we worked together a few times, back when I played with Arbor Oak (baroque trio). In addition to being a meticulous dancer, she has a deep knowledge of music and theatre, a terrific sense of humour and fun, and when she’s working she really goes for it. I met Derek Boyes on an Opera Atelier tour to Singapore about 12 years ago and we hit it off. He’s a very special actor. There’s a powerful humanity to all of his work. We work very well together. I feel tremendously lucky to be working with them on a regular basis!”

Any thoughts on how masque is, and is not, related to opera? “I think masque is very closely related to what opera was in its beginnings. Thinking of Monteverdi’s Orfeo (another amazing version of the story) of 1607, you have a strong literary base, lots of room for dancing and an intimate and charming setting. Of course, most people now think of opera as being very grand and larger than life, which also relates to one of the goals of masque, which is to take the audience out of their own lives for a little while and beguile them with a combination of art forms.”

How have Toronto audiences responded to your productions? I am amazed and delighted at the extent to which Toronto has embraced TMT. Our audience continues to grow and we offer gentle educational talks and material to give them a context for what they are seeing. At the end of our seventh season, we look back and are very proud of what we’ve accomplished so far, and look forward to building on our strengths as we move forward. Touring is definitely in the plans!”

Masques of Orpheus takes place on May 5 and 6 (there’s a student matinee on May 4), with what Beckwith calls an “amazing cast”: Lawrence Wiliford, Shannon Mercer, Teri Dunn, Peter McGillivray, Alex Dobson; the whole production is directed by Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière. You won’t be disappointed if you go.

Feast of Bach

Bach wrote some of his greatest works for the Christian feast days of Good Friday and Easter Sunday which are approaching.

You can hear the Mass in B Minor twice this month: On April 3, the Elora Festival Singers, conducted by Noel Edison, presents it in Guelph; on April 10, the Georgetown Bach Chorale with music director Ron Greidanus, gives a period performance of the work in Georgetown. The St. Matthew Passion (for me the most profoundly touching of all Bach’s music), will be performed on April 15, 16 and 17 in Oakville, with Masterworks of Oakville Chorus and Orchestra and their conductor Charles Demuynck. The St. John Passion can be heard on April 22, with the Grand Philharmonic Choir under director Mark Vuorinen in Kitchener.

On April 3 in the Royal Conxervatory’s Koerner Hall, revered pianist Leon Fleisher presents Bach from the standpoint of his own long life as an artist. He’ll play “Sheep May Safely Graze” from Cantata No. 208; Capriccio in B-flat Major, “On the Departure of a Most Beloved Brother”; and “Chaconne for the Left Hand” from the Violin Partita in D Minor, among other works.

Some Others, In Brief

• April 8: One of the world’s premier male voice choirs, currently touring, makes one Canadian stop at Toronto’s Grace Church on-the-Hill. Christ Church Cathedral Choir of Oxford England presents English sacred music by Taverner (Christ Church’s first music
director), Tallis, Gibbons, Bach, Purcell and Handel.

• April 10: Toronto Early Music Centre’s Musically Speaking series presents A Modern Troubadour. Benjamin Stein sings and plays on lute and theorbo: baroque and renaissance songs from France, England and Italy, and his own theorbo transcription of a Bach
cello suite.

• April 15: Vesuvius Ensemble presents I canti a Maria: Music for the Madonna, celebrating (with voice, baroque and renaissance guitars, chitarrone, hurdy-gurdy, percussion and rustic Neopolitan instruments) a rich folk heritage: ancient dances, rhythms, feasts, processions and pilgrimages which recall seasonal traditions repeated today.

• April 16: Grace, passion and elegance characterize The Musicians In Ordinary’s À Sa Lyre: musical settings of 16th century French poetry and dances for lute from the country that would invent ballet.

• April 29: “Greenness” is the overriding theme of Sine Nomine Ensemble’s final concert of the season. O viriditas! The greenness of life’s rising is celebrated with music from medieval times.

• May 6, 7 and 8: The Toronto Consort has among its members a contingent of wonderful female singers. Their beautiful sound and virtuosity are displayed in Songs of the Celestial Sirens, a program of music by and for women from 17th century Italy.

• May 7: Never a group to be left behind in the dust, I Furiosi Baroque Ensemble presents Baroqueback Mountain. With music by Handel, Geminiani and Rosenmueller, they urge you to “Park your horses outside, remove your Stetsons, sit back and enjoy the view.”

• May 7: Handel composed his four magnificent Coronation Anthems for the coronation of King George II and Queen Caroline in 1727. Their power to enthrall has never waned, nor has their popularity; you can hear them performed by The Tallis Choir under its director Peter Mahon, with guest artists The Talisker Players.

• May 7 and 8: Saints and Sinners mingle in this pair of concerts by Cantemus Singers, with some saucy English, French and German songs from the 16th century, balanced by Palestrina’s Missa Papae Marcelli and motets by Byrd, Hassler and Clemens non Papa.

• May 3 to 8: Classical Music Consort’s second annual Springtime Handel Festival brings to light some of Handel’s rarely performed works in six concerts at Trinity and Victoria College Chapels. n

Simone Desilets is a long-time contributor to The WholeNote in several capacities, who plays the viola da gamba. She can be contacted at earlymusic@thewholenote.com.

Locations might be taken as a theme that loosely ties this month’s events together, in an oblique sort of way. To start with, Toronto is the lucky location of several appearances by visiting artists I’d like to tell you about.

12_barbara_furtuna_photo_3On March 12, The King’s Singers appear at the Royal Conservatory’s Koerner Hall. This six-voice male ensemble from England hardly needs an introduction; their unique blend of impeccable intonation, flawless articulation, incisive timing and British humour have ensured their fame around the world for over 40 years. I myself fondly remember a performance of theirs at U of T Faculty of Music in November 1973 – I unearthed the program (this is true), which reveals that they did Renaissance motets by Victoria, Jacob Handl and Byrd, Italian madrigals and French chansons from the 16th and 17th centuries, 20th century works and some lighter fare too. Of course, no one in that early group still remains in the present incarnation some 37 years later; but it’s sure that the versatility and aplomb which have always characterized their performances have remained constant through all the changes in personnel. At Koerner Hall their artistry and expertise in early music will be evident in works by Bennet, Tomkins, Palestrina and Striggio; more contemporary works are on the programme as well.

A concert not strictly of early music but of a world premiere inspired by the music of 12th century musician and mystic Hildegard von Bingen takes place at St. Anne’s Church on March 23. It brings to Toronto an extraordinary women’s vocal trio from Norway, Trio Mediæval, who, with The Toronto Consort, will perform James Rolfe’s new commissioned work Breathe. This presentation of Soundstreams offers an added bonus on March 21: a free “Salon” at the Gardiner Museum, at which you can hear Trio Mediæval perform excerpts and talk about Rolfe’s composition.

The pure and expressive voice of Daniel Taylor, one of the world’s most sought-after countertenors, will grace the Tafelmusik stage in performances from March 24 to 27 (Trinity-St. Paul’s Church) and again on March 29 (Toronto Centre for the Arts). His is an amazingly busy life – his website tells us “Professor of Voice at the Conservatoire de musique in Montreal and at the University of Ottawa, Adjunct Professor at McGill, visiting scholar at the University of Victoria, Artist-in-Residence at the Banff Centre, Artistic Director and Conductor of the Theatre of Early Music, which performs over 30 concerts every year all over the world” – and this description doesn’t even mention his many appearances as recording artist and performer in opera, oratorio and concerts. In Toronto he’ll be singing Bach (the ravishing solo Cantata 170 Vergnügte RuhContented Rest) as well as virtuosic Italian arias. Definitely a desirable place to be on one of those dates!

Each season, The Toronto Consort introduces a guest ensemble to its audiences. But this April, it brings two: the richly-flavoured Montreal-based Constantinople, an instrumental ensemble inspired by musical traditions of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Mediterranean and the Middle East; and Barbara Furtuna, a remarkable male vocal quartet from Corsica that specializes in the centuries-old traditions of polyphonic Coriscan singing. To listen to Constantinople is to travel back to ancient places and times when Eastern and Western cultures blended and influenced each other’s arts and philosophy; to listen to Barbara Furtuna (the name means “cruel fate”) is to hear stories of the long, troubled and impassioned history of their island. Together, they’ll take the audience on a voyage from the heart of the Mediterranean where lies the island of Corsica, to ancient Persia and medieval Europe. “Canti di a terra” is presented on April 1 and 2 at Trinity-St. Paul’s Church.

Other locations – Sweden, Leipzig, restoration London, coffeehouses, ladies’ boudoirs – are also within reach, and once again there’s too much to do justice to:

Meeting friends for coffee is always an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours. You can do this in the 18th century European way on March 4, as Baroque Music Beside the Grange invites you to Heliconian Hall for “The Coffeehouse Collective,” music by Telemann, Bach and others, played in an informal but attentive atmosphere with an array of instrumental colours, and served with coffee and cider. An hour-long version of this concert will be presented on March 6 in the lovely acoustic of Church of the Holy Trinity, the latest in Toronto Early Music Centre’s “Musically Speaking” series.

As lutenist/guitarist John Edwards explains, pre-Revolution France was an era “where men like the encyclopaedist Diderot, liberal thinkers like Rousseau and even a pre-imperial Napoleon would gather, literally, at the foot of the bed of great ladies. After they finished describing their hard work or how the plotting of the Revolution was progressing, chamber music would have offered a perfect diversion.” Music that might well be heard then is performed on March 12 by The Musicians In Ordinary in a concert called “Rococo!” with soprano Hallie Fishel, baroque guitarist John Edwards and guest violinist Christopher Verrette.

Also on March 12, you can hear a touch of Sweden at Victoria College Chapel, in Scaramella’s “Fiddle Me This,” as three bowed instruments are showcased – the Swedish nyckelharpa, the hurdy gurdy and the viola da gamba. There’ll be a mix of folk-inspired music and music coming from the high art tradition, especially pieces associated with the 17 th century Swedish Queen Kristina. Of special interest: a newly-composed piece for these three featured instruments, by hurdy gurdy and percussion player Ben Grossman.

Church of Our Lady Immaculate in Guelph is the location of Tactus Vocal Ensemble’s concert “Il Mio Sole” on March 12. With organist Christian Teeuwsen, this eight-voice ensemble will perform works by Allegri, Marenzio, Monteverdi, Palestrina and Sanders.

In Kitchener on March 13, Nota Bene Period Orchestra takes you back to “Bach’s Leipzig,” presenting music by Bach and his contemporaries including Telemann, Kuhnau and Rosenmüller. The trip is further enhanced with a slide show of Leipzig’s historic beauty and maybe even a little strudel.

With music ranging from restoration London to 21st century Toronto, Music at Metropolitan presents “Shakespeare in the City” on March 26 – a cross-cultural jam session on the lyrics of Shakespeare featuring singers, dancers and instrumentalists including composer/saxophonist Daniel Rubinoff and composer/theorbist (and The WholeNote’s choral columnist) Benjamin Stein.

On March 27, there’s a unique opportunity to celebrate the Age of the Enlightenment and its legacy with music, talks and readings of inspiring historical texts. Amnesty International and the Windermere String Quartet present “The Age of Enlightenment and Human Rights.” String quartets by Mozart and Beethoven will be performed on period instruments, and the location is First Unitarian Congregation.

THIS JUST IN: In the wake of the exciting news reported last month, of Aisslinn Nosky’s appointment as concertmaster of the prestigious Handel and Haydn Society in Boston, a solo violin recital arises. Nosky will perform three works: Bach’s Partita No. 3 in E Major (a very famous and joyful work); Ysaÿe’s second solo sonata ”Obsession” (a work “obsessed” with both the above Partita and the Dies Irae); and the world premiere of Stand Still, a new commissioned work by Michael Oesterle. Presented by I Furiosi, “The Good, The Baroque and The Ugly” takes place on April 2 at Church of St. Mary Magdalene. A recital “not for the faint of heart,” Nosky says, and this is certain; but I think it must also be a celebration of hope and joy in the prospect of a bright future.

Simone Desilets is a long-time contributor to The WholeNote in several capacities, who plays the viola da gamba. She can be contacted at earlymusic@thewholenote.com.

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