Sunday
Afternoon Series 2008/09
In
the Sunday Series, each program is set around a theme — literary,
musical or historical — weaving the musical selections around
interesting readings from letters, diaries, newspaper clippings,
poetry.
All concerts take place at 2:30 pm in Walter Hall in the Edward Johnson
Building, Faculty of Music, University of Toronto, 80 Queen's Park
Circle, Toronto. Complimentary tea is served at intermission.
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The Enchanted Garden
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Sunday,
October 26
Nathalie
Paulin soprano
Allyson McHardy mezzo
Philip Carmichael baritone
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| Beside
the orchestral and piano music for which he is best
remembered, Maurice Ravel left a major collection of
songs. They sometimes mirror, sometimes mask the personality
of a unique and intensely private man, one who inspired
loyalty and devotion in his friends. Childhood, magic
and a yearning for the 18th century world were recurring
themes for this intriguing musician, who will never
cease to engage and beguile us. |
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Parnassus
on Elm Street
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Sunday, November 30
Monica
Whicher soprano
Lauren Segal mezzo
Colin Ainsworth tenor
Giles Tomkins baritone
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hundred years ago, the Toronto writer and critic, Augustus
Bridle, called a meeting of Toronto’s most creative
young men which inaugurated the Arts & Letters Club. Settling
eventually in the historic St George’s Hall on Elm St.,
the Club has been both oasis and crucible. Its effect on Canadian
culture is exemplified by its emblem: “The Viking ship
with the sails full spread before the rising sun, to remind
us of the open sea and the great adventure.”
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Sunday, February 1
Gillian
Keith soprano
Elizabeth Turnbull mezzo
Lawrence Wiliford tenor
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Although he left
us over a hundred solo songs, duets and partsongs, Mendelssohn
(like Ravel) is known today for other aspects of his work, for
his symphonies, concertos, oratorios and chamber music. In our
celebration of the composer’s 200th birthday, we examine
his rarely-heard vocal repertoire in the context of a fascinating
life story, that of a Wunderkind whose mature years were rich
in friendships, travel and achievement but, alas, were all too
brief.
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A
James Joyce Songbook
Sunday, March 15
Katherine
Whyte soprano
Lynne McMurtry mezzo
Michael Colvin tenor
Peter Barrett baritone
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James
Joyce and music had a very close relationship. The writer was
an accomplished tenor whose singing, as a young man in Dublin,
frequently helped to keep the wolf from the door. His knowledge
of music, rivalling that of literature, included grand opera,
bawdy street ballads and everything in between. Throughout his
works, allusions to song are lavishly sprinkled; these form
the basis of our programme, together with very varied settings
of his poetry.
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Thé
chantant
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Sunday, April 26
with
artists including
Allison Angelo soprano
Jason Nedecky baritone
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As
all of you know, the cup that cheers but not inebriates is one
constant feature of our Sunday concerts. We discovered, surprisingly,
that many songs focus on the theme of tea and, as a result,
we have been able to create an anthology which also includes
references to other events of the afternoon and to the eastern
homelands of the tea-bush. Musical sources range widely, from
Roussel and Debussy to Donald Swann and Vincent Youmans.
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