Back in the dark days of the pandemic, when concerts were little more than memories, I spoke with composer Cecilia Livingston for the December 2020-January 2021 issue of The WholeNote about Garden of Vanished Pleasures, a project she was involved with at the time. Originally presented as a livestream production by Soundstreams in early 2021, the piece went on to become a finalist in Opera America’s Awards for Excellence in Digital Opera. Now, it is set to receive a fully staged live performance by Soundstreams.
As a refresher, Garden of Vanished Pleasures was conceived by Canadian/UK theatre director Tim Albery, who took existing works by Canadian composer Cecilia Livingston and UK-based composer Donna McKevitt and curated them into a sonic tapestry reflecting on the life and work of filmmaker and queer rights activist Derek Jarman. While McKevitt’s music was not originally composed for this production, it draws heavily onTranslucence, a song cycle by McKevitt set to Jarman’s poetry.
Seven of Livingston’s compositions were then selected to be part of the Vanished Pleasures production, requiring Livingston to rescore some of them to match the instrumentation of two sopranos, mezzo, countertenor, viola, cello and piano – the instrumentation McKevitt used in Translucence.
Hyejin Kwon
In the spirit of revisiting past stories shared with WholeNote readers, I thought it fitting to bring us up to speed on this latest iteration, which will run for four performances, April 25-27, at Canadian Stage, so I reached out to the project’s music director and pianist, Hyejin Kwon.
As Kwon explained, this April performance is largely a remount, with only a few changes – two new singers and Kwon herself stepping in as pianist. Except that this time – the biggest change – it will be experienced live.
I asked her about her impressions of the video production, which makes extensive use of projections, both text and images. “I noticed that the lighting was quite dark, which seemed to really capture the essence of loss, emptiness and isolation,” she says, commenting that it took her back to the early days of the pandemic. “The countertenor character, played by Daniel Cabena wears a minimal costume—just a long robe—and sings primarily the words of Derek Jarman in pieces that appeared in McKevitt’s Translucence,” she says. “I view him as the main narrator, the voice of Jarman.”
The only music written by Livingston that the countertenor sings comes at the end. “The other three singers weave in and out, each having solo moments. They could be seen as parts of Jarman’s inner psyche, but the only time the countertenor and the female voices join together with the instruments is at the end, when they perform Livingston’s Kiss Goodnight.” She sees this moment as the beginning of a resolution or a climactic shift in the story. “I will be having that conversation with Tim once rehearsals begin,” she says.
“The more I’ve worked on the score, I definitely sense a spirit of resilience. Even in the dark emotional places—through loss of loved ones and health—what I take away is human resilience. That understanding may shift in the next few weeks, as I haven’t yet had a chance to get into the mind of Tim Albery to understand where he’s coming from.”
Part of Kwon’s role as music director will be to coach the singers. When I asked about her approach, she emphasized the importance of staying true to the score at the beginning, “especially when the composers are still alive and available for discussion”. Interestingly, one of Livingston’s compositions in the production, Calypso, is a piece Kwon previously coached with singers from the University of Toronto. (Originally composed as a stand-alone song for singer and piano, it may require a different interpretation to fit into the overall narrative.)
Kwon has also had the pleasure of working with Albery before. Back in 2014, at the end of her first year in opera school at U of T, she worked with him on Last Days, a staged production commemorating the 100th anniversary of World War I. That piece, a staging of songs and texts, led audiences from the gaiety of pre-war Europe to the devastating impact of the war on both those caught up in it and those at home. The selected music included works by Schoenberg, Berg, Ives, Ravel and Poulenc.
So when she was invited to be the music director for Garden of Vanished Pleasures and saw that Albery was part of the team she jumped at the opportunity. “I really loved the way Tim worked,” Kwon said. “He has his principles and ideas, and I really respect him for that. It was the most rewarding experience I could have had as a student.”
Currently Kwon is pursuing her doctorate in collaborative piano at U of T, specializing in the vocal stream, which focuses on coaching opera singers. For her dissertation she is researching Korean art songs written by June-Hee Lim (b.1958), creating an interpretation guide to Korean art songs for non-Korean singers and vocal coaches. In her coaching practice, she emphasizes the importance of vocal health, with her number one priority being that singing should never cause harm to the voice.
An accomplished pianist, Kwon will also perform in Garden of Vanished Pleasures. Rather than serving as a conductor from the keyboard, she sees her role as part of a collaborative chamber ensemble, offering occasional cues. The only pieces that involve piano are those composed by Livingston, giving Kwon the opportunity to assist the performers with balance and other musical aspects—essentially providing an additional set of ears within the ensemble.
Esprit Orchestra
During April, Esprit Orchestra will present the final concerts of their five-concert Edge of Your Seat International Festival, which began on March 4 – a concert I had the pleasure of attending. The evening was charged with energy and spirit, opening with an explosive and masterful performance by Esprit orchestra member Ryan Scott on solo marimba in Keiko Abe’s The Wave. Scored for soloist and four percussionists, the piece filled the room with ricocheting sounds – not just from the instruments, but also from the rhythmic claps, stomps and shouts of the other percussionists, creating an electrifying atmosphere. These body percussion elements enhance the rhythmic intensity of the marimba soloist’s performance. The evening concluded with the premiere of Vito Žuraj’s work Anemoi, sustaining the same high energy and dynamic spirit that had opened the concert.
I wrote about concerts two and three of the festival in my column in the February-March WholeNote. Concerts four and five take place on April 6 and 17. Both concerts will feature world premieres of Esprit commissions: a new work by Quinn Jacobs on April 6, and on April 17 works by composers Nicholas Ma and James O’Callaghan. The April 17 concert will also include a performance of Claude Vivier’s Lonely Child, sung by American soprano Sophia Burgos – aligning with the festival’s mission to showcase outstanding international performers. Burgos, one of the leading interpreters of Vivier’s vocal works, promises to bring a fresh perspective to this beloved piece.
New Music Concerts
New Music Concerts has an intriguing event planned for May 2, co-presented with Arraymusic, called MAKEWAY. At its core, this is a composer training program designed to support each participant’s vision, providing the necessary instrumentation to bring each composer’s ideas to life. The May 2 concert will showcase the newly created works, with the composers sharing insights into their pieces.
Building on the program’s 2023 launch, this year’s edition features works by Tsz Long, Alex Matterson, Anju Singh, and Steven Webb. The diverse instrumentation highlights the program’s commitment to supporting individual artistic expression—Long’s piece, Fish, is scored for erhu and electronics, while the other works feature a variety of instrumental combinations, with Webb’s composition also incorporating electronics. With a record number of submissions, it’s clear this initiative is meeting a need. The next cohort of composers will be selected in 2027.
In With the New - Roundup
May 3, 8PM. 21C Music Festival with Bruce Hornsby & yMusic. The final event of this year’s festival presents BrhyM, a collaboration between American singer-songwriter and pianist Bruce Hornsby and the yMusic ensemble who specialize in performing music from a variety of genres. They were involved in a tour in early 2020 before having to stop their travels due to the pandemic, but they decided to keep the musical exchange going remotely. The piece BrhyM arose from their musical conversations, and they have released their debut album Deep Sea Vents.
May 16, 7:30PM. Grace Church on-the-Hill. Venezuela Viva. Cantemos and the Upper Canada Choristers present an evening of music by Venezuelan composer and choral conductor César Alejandro Carrillo. Carrillo will conduct two works the Cantemos ensemble commissioned from him: El Pajaro que espero (The Bird I Await), set to a poem by his wife Morales Balza commemorating the son they lost at an early age; and La Rosa de los vientos (The Wind Rose), with words by the choir’s own Jacinto Salcedo written at a time of profound nostalgia and loneliness. Cantemos specializes in music from Latin America, singing repertoire primarily in Spanish, Portuguese and Latin, in a variety of styles including folk, classical, contemporary, and dance.
May 25 4PM. Ensemble U. As part of Estonian Music Week that runs from May 22-25, this contemporary music ensemble will offer an “enhanced cosmic journey” set to the music of Canadian-Estonian composer Udo Kasemets. Kasemets was an important figure in Toronto’s new music community, teaching sound at OCAD and being a voice for the pioneering work of John Cage. He had a close relationship with composer James Tenney and influenced many younger composers living in Toronto. Venue TBA, stayed tuned!
Wendalyn Bartley is a Toronto-based composer and electro-vocal sound artist. sounddreaming@gmail.com
