
Q1: The opening work?
Our upcoming concert, The Love Affair, illustrates how an entire program can be a carefully constructed arc, guiding the audience through different aspects of love, all tied together by the theme of dance.
We begin with Brahms’ Liebeslieder Walzer, which sets a light, joyful tone with its charming waltzes. This serves as the “beginning” of the concert’s emotional journey, evoking the simplicity of romantic love. Brahms’ Drei Quartette then deepens the narrative, moving into more contemplative and introspective territory, adding complexity to the emotional arc.
After the intermission, the program shifts with Aaron Manswell’s Poverty. This piece stands in stark contrast to the romanticism of Brahms, introducing a modern, socially conscious reflection on different forms of poverty—spiritual, social, mental, health, and economic. Opening with a reference to Matthew 11:28, the piece uses double entendres to explore how poverty manifests in more abstract ways, like loneliness and feelings of inadequacy. Musically, Poverty draws from Romantic Classical, Gospel and R&B influences, and its slow, unhurried tempo invites the audience to sit with its emotional and social message.
Finally, the program culminates with Martín Palmeri’s Misa a Buenos Aires (Misatango), where the sacred meets the secular in a fusion of liturgical music and tango. The use of the bandoneon in this work adds a uniquely passionate and sensuous texture, bringing the intensity of the tango to life. This final piece serves as the emotional climax of the evening, merging love, faith and dance in a powerful conclusion.
Overall, The Love Affair as a concert creates its own arc, taking the audience on a journey from light-hearted romance to deeper, more complex reflections on love, before reaching an explosive and moving finale with the tango-infused Misatango.
Q2: The concert as a whole?
For The Love Affair, several pragmatic factors influenced the programming. The first half features the TMSingers, our professional chamber choir, accompanied by piano, which allows us to focus on more intimate, lighter works like Brahms’ Liebeslieder Walzer and Drei Quartette. These pieces don’t require a large ensemble, making them perfect for our chamber forces and easier to rehearse efficiently.
In contrast, the second half brings in the full power of the 160 voices of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, accompanied by a chamber orchestra. This shift is both thematic and practical: it allows for the performance of Martín Palmeri’s Misatango, a larger, more demanding work that requires the depth and intensity of a full choir and instrumental ensemble. This progression from smaller forces to full choir also gives the concert a natural build in energy and impact.
Q3: Shaping the season?
Similar to the concert I just discussed, the idea of Dare to Discover permeates the entire 2024-2025 season, encouraging audiences to experience both the familiar and the new. Visionaries: Vivaldi & Da Vinci blends music and multimedia to explore genius across disciplines, while Festival of Carols offers a fresh take on holiday traditions with surprising musical selections this year. The season balances innovation with timeless works, inviting both performers and audiences to explore bold interpretations and premieres, like those by Aaron Manswell.
Each concert, much like *The Love Affair,* is a carefully curated journey, blending discovery with tradition. The season itself forms an arc, with Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis at its centre. That concert is not only a tribute to the choir’s storied past but also a bold, forward-looking statement in choral artistry. Revisiting this monumental work, first performed in Canada by TMChoir nearly a century ago, honours our history while showcasing our ongoing commitment to artistic excellence and innovation. It reflects the culmination of our anniversary season and our dedication to pushing choral boundaries into the future.
Jean-Sébastien Vallée is Artistic Director of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. The Love Affair takes place at Koerner Hall, Royal Conservatory of Music at 3pm, November 3.