Not that the summer was completely devoid of interesting and inspiring choral events. In late June, armed with a somewhat defenseless VISA card with a far-too-high spending limit, I embarked on a two-week cruise (first timer) of the Baltic Sea, aboard a Holland America liner. No, no choral music on the boat (unless we loosely refer to the productions in the theatre, but I won't go there), but the trip did bring with it some interesting brushes with choral history. The first was Copenhagen, our departure port, where a year earlier many choral professionals had gathered for the IFCM's World Symposium on Choral Music. Spending a few more days in that glorious city (getting over jetlag before embarking on the cruise) brought back many wonderful memories of the fabulous concerts and very special friendships renewed. Then, on the cruise, our third port of call was at Tallin, Estonia, a city in which political and choral histories have meshed in such an inspiring fashion over centuries, but in particular during the last several decades. As I walked the wonderful cobblestone streets of the upper and lower towns, I was reminded of my last visit to this city, in 1990, as part of the Stockholm World Symposium event, which had included optional visits to Helsinki and Tallin. At that time, Estonia was still under Soviet rule. Vivid recollections of the glorious music we heard there, including a recreation of the legendary Song and Dance Festivals held there every five years, and a concert of the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and other choirs, at which the Minister of Culture made a speech that encapsulated the resolve of these people to find their freedom from foreign rule and oppression, made this day all the more memorable. As many will know, this was the summer for the Festival to occur, but unfortunately I was there a week early so could not attend.
The cruise also took us to the main Scandinavian ports, and although there was not time to scout out and attend any concerts, having opportunities to reconnect with these amazing centres of musical and choral culture was inspiring in itself. After disembarking in Dover, we took a train into London and spent two days there before flying back to Canada. As in past trips, I took advantage of my sojourn in London to hear two Evensongs, at St. Paul's and at the Abbey, and was lucky to hear these two amazing choirs before their summer breaks. An extra treat was enjoying the Abbey choir's Mag and Nunc during what turned out to be a major thunderstorm with lots of hail. The Abbey reverberated with the sounds of hail pelting the vaults and windows, and nearly drowned out the choir at times!!
When in London, expect that you will find at least a half dozen interesting musical events a night to choose from, even in early July. So it was that, checking out the listings in Time Out, the city's most reliable events calendar, I found two choral events to attend. The first was a concert at the Barbican, featuring performances of Fauré's Requiem and A Sea Symphony by Vaughan Williams by a choir I had not heard of before, the Crouch End Festival Chorus, accompanied by what must have been a freelance pick-up ensemble, the London Orchestra da Camera. As it turns out, this chorus of 100+ singers has a very fine reputation, and hearing them I could see why - impeccable intonation, diction and vocal power where needed. The conductor David Temple led with complete assurance, bringing out all the lyricism and drama in both of these beautiful works.
The following evening found me searching for (and eventually finding) St. Andrew, Holborn, to hear one of James MacMillan's more extended choral works, Seven Last Words from the Cross, in an incredible performance by the Scottish Ensemble, the instrumental ensemble that had premiered this BBC commission in 1994, and the choir Tenebrae, all under Jonathan Morton's direction. MacMillan's ability to capture the raw power of Christ's final utterances was highlighted by these forces - once again I was simply awestruck both by the sheer vocal power one usually hears from the British professional choir circuit. This concert, presented as part of the City of London Festival, also featured a commission by Nigel Osborne: Seven words, seven icons, seven cities.
The following morning we found our way to the Russell Square tube station for the ride to Heathrow, and I felt quite gratified to have heard these wonderful performances and services in the space of two days. Quintessential London! And the Proms had not even begun yet...
Shortly after arriving back in Edmonton, I received a series of not so subtle emails from a former student who was singing at the Carmel Bach Festival in California, suggesting I should come down to Carmel for the final week of their concerts. I had considered going earlier, as they were performing Haydn's Die Schöpfung as the Festival's celebration of the Haydn year, and our university forces would be mounting a performance this coming November. So, with little advance planning, I scouted for possibilities of points travel and car rental, and was off to this idyllic location on California's Monterey Peninsula. Naturally, the opportunity to see (and possibly play) some of the great golf courses in the area was an added attraction!
The Haydn was beautifully performed, under Bruno Weil's informed direction, with outstanding soloists and a razor sharp orchestra and chorus. The most pleasant surprise of this trip though was hearing two recitals that involved the student mentioned above, tenor Timothy Shantz, in a concert of Monteverdi, and another former student, soprano Jolaine Kerley (who now teaches voice in our music department at U of Alberta), performing cantatas for soprano and trumpet with strings by Melani and Scarlatti. I must admit to some fairly strong emotions and no small amount of pride, hearing these two outstanding singers at this high-profile festival - I thought to myself, there is no better singing to be heard anywhere. Well done, Tim and Jolaine, and all the others of course.
Returning to Edmonton on August 1, I suddenly realized that I had but a month left before the end of my sabbatical, and much still to do! After a week of family visiting in and around Vancouver (during which I was able to take in a very interesting collaborative concert of the Vancouver Chamber Choir and the touring Taipei Philharmonic Chamber Choir), I found myself more than rested and prepared to get back to full time teaching.
Now, two weeks into the term, all auditions have been completed and choral personnel are in place. There will be more concerts to attend, but it is exciting to again be part of the teaching and learning and, ultimately, performing experience that is so satisfying to those of us lucky enough to be doing this. Having received in full measure, it's time to dole it out and give back in at least equal measure!
Good to see you blogging again, Len!
ReplyDeleteIt was lovely reading what you were up to this past summer1
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