Volume 28, No. 1 March ’12 - May ’12

a quarterly bulletin of the

Toronto Early Music CentreDistributed free to TEMC members - Cost to non-members is $2.00

Toronto Early Music

News

Contents of Vol. 28 no. 1Calendar of Forthcoming Events

March . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2April . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4May . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6June . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

News ItemsSpeak Up! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Toronto Early Music Centre’s Telephone # 416-464-7610 . . . . . . . . . . . 9E-mail News And Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Have You Been Wondering If Your TEMC Membership Has Expired? . . . . 9Medieval & Renaissance Reference Website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10The TEMC Vocal Circle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Prima la musica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11CanadaCD .ca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11TEMC Newsletter Online Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Make A Donation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Antique And Rare Musical Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Instrument Rentrals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Harpsichord For Sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Your Help Is Needed! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14TEMC Endorses TAC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Tafelmusik Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Book Reviews

Le Grand Trianon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18William Christie et Les Arts Florissants, 30 années en images . . . . . . . . 19

DVD ReviewsRencontres Musicales À Versailles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Atys, Armide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Le Tombeau de Charpentier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

CD ReviewsBellérophon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Ferveur & Extase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Il Diluvio Universale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26A Journey Through Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Das Wohltemperierte Klavier – Teil II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Concerts royaux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Ou l’art d’orner le “beau chant” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Chansons Et Danses De La Renaissance Française . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Contributors: Frank Nakashima; Luisa Trisi, publicist for Tafelmusik, Paul-James Dwyer

Editor: Frank Nakashima Graphic Designer: Karen Harkness

Toronto Early Music Newsis a quarterly bulletin of the Toronto Early Music Centre (TEMC) . Opinions expressed in it are those of the authors and may not be endorsed by the Toronto Early Music Centre .

Unsolicited manuscripts, letters, etc . are welcome, as is any information about early music concerts, events, recordings and copies of recordings for review . The deadline for the the next issue (June ’12–August ’12) is May 25, 2012 .

Subscription is free with membership to the Toronto Early Music Centre . For rates and other membership benefits, please call 416-464-7610, send e-mail to temc@interlog.com or write to us at the Toronto Early Music Centre (TEMC), P.O. Box 714, Station P, Toronto, ON M5S 2Y4 . Web site: http://www.interlog.com/~temc .

Toronto Early Music Centre Board of Directors

Frank Nakashima, President Michael Lerner, SecretaryKathy Edwards, Treasurer

John Edwards Jenni Hayman Paul Jenkins Michael Lipowski Sheila McCoy Janos A . Ungvary

The TEMC gratefully acknowledges the support of the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council, St . David’s (Donlands) Anglican Church, Montgomery’s Inn, and its own members and the following generous donors:

• $10-$49 •Regina Bendig, Fred & Ursula Franklin, Katalin Gallyas, Patricia Hanley, Alison Healing,

Marion Jewell, Barbara J. Kaye, David Keenleyside, Krystina Lewicki, Peter Newton,

Jean Nichols, D.L. Parker, Scott Paterson, Paulette Popp, Helmut Rentschler, Stephen Ripley

• $50-$99 •Janet & Roger Beck, Jim & Rachael Boles, Linda Deshman, Simone Desilets,

Margaret Huggett, Alison Melville, Dr. Mary Sidgwick, Irene & Sidney Smith, Robert

Temkin, Elaine Waddington

• $100+ •Joyce Allen, Tamara Bernstein, Sara Blake, Sonja Dass, Bruce Ferreira-Wells, John

Ferth, John Gillies & Anne-Marie Prendiville, Ron Greaves, Roger Greenwald,

Christine Haggarty, Mary Enid Haines, Balfour Halevy, Jenni Hayman Patricia

Hiemstra, Gregory Kirczenow, David Klausner, Miep Koenig, Hirotaka Kogure, Anie

Lafrance, Michael Lerner, Michael Lipowski, Blair MacKenzie, Susan Middleton,

Rodoljub. Milankov, Tim Moody, Frank Nakashima, Frank Nevelo, John Newton,

Christopher Palin, Greg Pastic, Bruno Ramirez, Stuart C. Rogers, J.L. Schachner, Merrilea

Shields, Walter & Caryl Sinclair, Peter Solomon, Karen Waisglass, Shaunie Young

2 Toronto Early Music News Volume 28, No. 1 Volume 28, No. 1 Toronto Early Music News �

Calendar of Forthcoming Events

• March

3 Saturday 8:00 Toronto Chamber Choir concert – Gibbons: Canticles & Cries – Echoing cathedral music combines with raucous street cries in a fascinating variety of sounds . The Cries of London and Magnificat by Orlando Gibbons, Glenn Gould’s favourite composer, illustrate our secular/sacred theme . With organ, lute and the viols of the Cardinal Consort, we will perform Renaissance canticles, anthems, madrigals, and vendors’ cries by Gibbons, Byrd and others . Opening Notes at 7:00 pm . Christ Church Deer Park, 1570 Yonge Street (at Heath Street, north of St . Clair), 416-763-1695, www .torontochamberchoir .ca

4 Sunday 1:30-4:00 Toronto Early Music Players Organization workshop at Armour Heights Community Centre, 2140 Avenue Road, Toronto . $20 . 416-245-3413 . Bring your recorders, viols, early instruments and stand; music available at the door . Coach Dexter Roberts . “Birds and the Bees” – Dexter Roberts will take you through a number of pieces that honour our feathered, otherwise-flighted and perhaps even a few footed friends . Keep your clothes on as he takes you through this garden of delights! Dexter is organist at St . Bartholomew’s Anglican Church as well as a graduate of the University of Tours (France) in musicology .

11 Sunday 3:00 Nota Bene Baroque “An English Messiah” – Vocal music by Henry Purcell based on the same texts as Handel’s Messiah. Special guests: TACTUS Vocal Ensemble and Stephen Marvin . A programme designed by guest leader and violinist Stephen Marvin . The Registry Theatre, 122 Frederick St ., Kitchener, N2H 2L9 . For more information about the Classics at The Registry series: www .registrytheatre .com . For more information about Nota Bene Baroque: www .notabenebaroque .ca or find them on Facebook .

17 Saturday 8:00 Musicians in Ordinary Sero sed Serio – The last concert of the season takes as its title the motto (Late but in Earnest) of Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury, who died in 400 years ago this spring . As Elizabeth and then James’s leading minister, Cecil had his finger in every pie, including the musical one . Tickets, available at the door, are $25, $20 for students and seniors . Visit the website: www .musiciansinordinary .ca, by e-mailing musinord@sympatico .ca or by calling 416-535-9956 . Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton Avenue (Bay subway) .

23 Friday 8:00 A Musical Bestiary – Just in time for the first day of spring and the return of the birds and the bees, the Toronto Consort’s own recorder virtuosa Alison Melville curates a program of music to celebrate the creatures of earth, sea and sky, and some magnificent mythical beasts . Well-known to Toronto audiences for her ongoing Bird Project, Alison brings her verve and élan to this program of music from Renaissance Europe, including The Ape, the Monkey, and Baboon, The Counterpoint of the Animals, Le chant des oyseaux and much more! www .torontoconsort .org, tickets 416-964-6337, Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor Street West (just west of Spadina)

24 Saturday 8:00 A Musical Bestiary – see details above

25 Sunday 2:30 Musically Speaking, a one-hour program of historical performance now at a new location: St. David’s Anglican Church, 49 Donlands Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M4J 3N5, conveniently located across from the Donland subway station . Today’s program features principal oboist John Abberger of Tafelmusik with harpsichordist Sara-Anne Churchill .

27 Tuesday 8:00 Tafelmusik Choral Anniversary: Celebrating 30 Years – Directed by Ivars Taurins, Celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir with this concert of favourites – baroque and beyond – specially selected by Choir Director Ivars Taurins . Composers include Bach, Charpentier, Purcell, Rameau, Handel, Poulenc and Saint-Saëns, as well as Canadian James Rolfe, who is composing a new piece for this special occasion . George Weston Recital Hall. 416 .964 .6337 www .tafelmusik .org

� Toronto Early Music News Volume 28, No. 1 Volume 28, No. 1 Toronto Early Music News �

29 Thursday 8:00 Tafelmusik Choral Anniversary: Celebrating 30 Years – Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre – see details on page 3

30 Friday 8:00 Tafelmusik Choral Anniversary: Celebrating 30 Years – Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre – see details on page 3

31 Saturday 8:00 Tafelmusik Choral Anniversary: Celebrating 30 Years – Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre – see details on page 3

26 Monday 7:15 TEMC Vocal Circle – Recreational reading of early choral music . Ability to read music is desirable, but not essential . 96 Barker Avenue, Toronto M4C 2N6 . For more information, call 416-464-7610 .

28 Wednesday 8:00 Academy Concert Series “Schubert’s Final Journey” – String Quartet D . 810, String Quintet D . 956, featuring the Lumiere Quartet; David Stewart, violin; Paule Prefontaine, violin; Stephen Marvin, viola, Christina Mahler, cello joined by Kerri McGonigle, cello and Vanessa Avruskin, actor . Eastminster United Church

• April

1 Sunday 3:30 Tafelmusik Choral Anniversary: Celebrating 30 Years – Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre – see details on page 3

7 Saturday 8:00 Scaramella presents “Imagine” – Just Imagine: While My Guitar Gently Weeps we’ll Get Back to a songbook of Yesterday’s favourites from the Fairest Isle of Isles Excelling by Henry Purcell and The Beatles . We’ll give you Music for a While and explore how Man is for the Woman Made (especially if her name is Michelle), even when Help, I See, She Flies Me . Paulo Mestre – countertenor, Joëlle Morton – bass viol, Silvana Scarinci – theorbo, Admission (at the door) $30 adults, $25 seniors, $20 students (children 14 and under, free) . Victoria College Chapel. www .scaramella .ca

11 Wednesday 8:00 Anonymous 4 – Koerner Hall (Telus Centre) 273 Bloor Street West, www .rcmusic .ca, 416-408-0208

13 Friday 8:00 I FURIOSI’s Family Jewels – Special Guests: Jed Wentz, flauto traverso; Olivier Fortin, harpsichord . Families . You can’t live with them, you can’t legally have them all sent to an island in the middle of the ocean . The Baroque era saw many families of composers and musicians who tolerated

each other – or didn’t . Jed Wentz and Olivier Fortin come for the I FURIOSI dysfunctional family reunion . Further information: www .ifuriosi .com (416) 536-2943 ifuriosi@ifuriosi .com Calvin Presbyterian Church, 26 Delisle Avenue, Toronto . Admission: $20 regular, $10 students/seniors/underemployed . Tickets ONLY AT THE DOOR

15 Sunday 2:30 Musically Speaking, a one-hour program of historical performance now at a new location: St. David’s Anglican Church, 49 Donlands Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M4J 3N5, conveniently located across from the Donland subway station . Today’s presentation features The Musicians in Ordinary (singer Hallie Fishel and lutenist John Edwards) . Admission by donation .

15 Sunday 1:30-4:00 Toronto Early Music Players Organization workshop at Armour Heights Community Centre, 2140 Avenue Road, Toronto . $20 . 416-245-3413 . Bring your recorders, viols, early instruments and stand; music available at the door . Coach Elin Soderstrom . Elin is based in Montreal and specializes in improvisation and ornamentation . She performs with Les Voix Humaines Consort of Viols .

22 Sunday 3:00 Paul Pulford & Boyd McDonald – Two Masters play Two Masters: Sonatas by Beethoven and Brahms for cello & fortepiano . Paul Pulford, cello; Boyd McDonald, fortepiano . The Registry Theatre, 122 Frederick St ., Kitchener, N2H 2L9 . For more information about the Classics at The Registry series: www .registrytheatre .com

27 Friday 8:00 The Original Carmina Burana – Discovered in a amonastery in Austria, the original Carmina Burana is one of the most beautiful collections of medieval song, dating from the 13th and 14th centuries . Songs of love, songs of springtime, drinking songs, spiritual songs and lively dance tunes all grace this anthology, attributed to the wandering scholars of the day . The Toronto Consort brings alive these fabulous glimpses of an earlier era, with voices, hurdy-gury, fiddle, recorder, lute and harp . www .torontoconsort .org, tickets 416-964-6337, Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor Street West (just west of Spadina)

� Toronto Early Music News Volume 28, No. 1 Volume 28, No. 1 Toronto Early Music News �

28 Saturday 8:00 The Original Carmina Burana – see details on page 529 Sunday 3:30 The Original Carmina Burana – see details on page 5

30 Monday 7:15 Vocal Circle – Recreational reading of early choral music . Ability to read music is desirable, but not essential . 96 Barker Avenue, Toronto M4C 2N6 . For more information, call 416-464-7610 .

• May

2 Wednesday 7:00 Tafelmusik “Bach and Friends” – We welcome the brilliant British violinist Rachel Podger in her Tafelmusik debut as both director and soloist in Bach’s Violin Concerto in E Major, Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, Vivaldi’s Concerto for Violin from La Cetra, and Telemann’s Concerto for 3 Violins in F Major. Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre. 416 .964 .6337 www .tafelmusik .org

3 Thursday 8:00 Tafelmusik “Bach and Friends” – see details above4 Friday 8:00 Tafelmusik “Bach and Friends” – see details above5 Saturday 8:00 Tafelmusik “Bach and Friends” – see details above

6 Sunday 1:30-4:00 Toronto Early Music Players Organization workshop with Marie-Laurence Primeau, recorder and viola da gamba player and baroque dancer; she is a member of ensemble Flûte Alors! and has worked with Les Voix Humaines, Ensemble Masques, Les Idées Heureuses, Early Music Studio of Montreal, and Toronto Masque Theatre . Armour Heights Community Centre, 2140 Avenue Road, Toronto . $20 . 416-245-3413 . Bring your recorders, viols, early instruments and stand; music available at the door .

6 Sunday 2:30 Musically Speaking, a one-hour program of historical performance now at a new location: St. David’s Anglican Church, 49 Donlands Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M4J 3N5, conveniently located across from the Donland subway station . Today’s presentation features baroque violinist Elena Spanu . Admission by donation .

6 Sunday 3:30 Tafelmusik “Bach and Friends” – see details on page 6

9 Wednesday 7:30 Handel: Semele – Semele, a princess and mistress of the god Jupiter, wishes for her lover to grant her immortality, but

Semele’s ambition and vanity ultimately lead to her undoing . This Canadian Opera Company premiere is conducted by Rinaldo Alessandrini, directed by Zhang Huan . Jane Archibald (Semele), Allyson McHardy (Juno/Ino), William Burden (Jupiter), Katherine Whyte (Iris), Steven Humes (Cadmus/Somnus), Anthony Roth Costanzo (Athamus) . Four Seasons Centre, 145 Queen Street West (at University Avenue) www .coc .ca 1-800-250-4653 or 416-363-8231 – tickets range approximately from $30 to $300 in price .

11 Friday 7:30 Handel: Semele – see details above13 Sunday 2:00 Handel: Semele – see details above

13 Sunday 3:00 Toronto Chamber Choir KAFFEEMUSIK – Bach Cantata Break your bread for the hungry – To close this year’s series, we return to the master who is a TCC mainstay: J .S . Bach . His sacred cantata #39 Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot, features soprano, alto and bass soloists and the choir accompanied by winds, strings and organ . In the spirit of the cantata’s reflections on the transformative power of charity, we encourage you to contribute to our food drive for the needy who live in our richly blessed city . Christ Church Deer Park, 1570 Yonge Street (at Heath Street, north of St . Clair), 416-763-1695, www .torontochamberchoir .ca

13 Sunday 3:00 Nota Bene Baroque “Bach Meets Frederick The Great” – Bach’s Musical Offering was inspired by his meeting with Frederick the Great . Music by Bach, Frederick and Frederick’s court composers . Special guest: Alison Melville ~ baroque flute . The Registry Theatre, 122 Frederick St ., Kitchener, N2H 2L9 . For more information about the Classics at The Registry series: www .registrytheatre .com . For more information about Nota Bene Baroque: www .notabenebaroque .ca or find us on Facebook .

16 Wednesday 7:30 Handel: Semele – see details above19 Saturday 7:30 Handel: Semele – see details above22 Tuesday 7:30 Handel: Semele – see details above24 Thursday 7:30 Handel: Semele – see details above26 Saturday 4:30 Handel: Semele – see details above

8 Toronto Early Music News Volume 28, No. 1 Volume 28, No. 1 Toronto Early Music News �

24 Thursday 8:00 Tafelmusik – Beethoven’s Eroica – Our great friend Bruno Weil returns to direct Tafelmusik in Beethoven’s landmark Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, the “Eroica” – a heroic and monumental symphony originally dedicated to Napoleon . We pair the Beethoven with Mendelssohn’s sunny Symphony No. 4 in 30 A Major, the “Italian” . At Koerner Hall. 416 .964 .6337 www .tafelmusik .org

25 Friday 8:00 Tafelmusik – Beethoven’s Eroica – see details above26 Saturday 8:00 Tafelmusik – Beethoven’s Eroica – see details above27 Sunday 3:30 Tafelmusik – Beethoven’s Eroica – see details above

28 Monday 7:15 TEMC Vocal Circle – Recreational reading of early choral music . Ability to read music is desirable, but not essential . 96 Barker Avenue, Toronto M4C 2N6 . For more information, call 416-464-7610 .

• June

3 Sunday 2:30-5:00 Toronto Early Music Players Organization Fundraising Tea - T .E .M .P .O . members will perform throughout the afternoon while guests may purchase musical instruments, books, and recordings, and bid on silent auction items while eating fine foods and beverages . $15 suggested donation . 416-245-3413 . Bring your chequebook .

News Items

• Speak Up!The Toronto Early Music NEWS welcomes your commentary! Please include your name, city of residence, e-mail address, and phone number with all correspondence . Send to: Toronto Early Music Centre, P.O. Box 714, Station P, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2Y4; e-mail: frank.nakashima@gmail.com .

The Toronto Early Music NEWS reserves the right to edit letters for clarity, style, and length.

• Toronto Early Music Centre’s Telephone # 416-464-7610Please note, if you haven’t already, that the telephone number for the Toronto Early Music Centre is 416-464-7610 . Looks familiar? It’s my telephone number . The plan is to save some money for the organization . Feel free to call me anytime! ~ Frank Nakashima

• E-mail News And UpdatesIf you would like to be notified of upcoming concerts, early music news, and updates, by e-mail, just let me know by contacting me at my NEW address – frank.nakashima@gmail.com – and I’ll add you to my list . Try it . Just make sure that my e-mail address is included in your list of “contacts” so that the junk mail filters don’t block me out . Keep up to date with this special service . If you don’t like it, or if there’s more than you can handle, don’t worry . It’s just as easy to cancel .

• Have You Been Wondering If Your TEMC Membership Has Expired?

If you can’t remember, or if you’ve lost your membership card, just give me a call 416-464-7610 and leave a message, or send me an email: frank.nakashima@gmail.com – I’ll check your membership status and then let you know . If your membership has expired, and you would like to renew, please fill out the form at the back of this newsletter and mail it to: Box 714, Station P, Toronto ON M5S 2Y4 – making sure to include your cheque or credit card number . We now accept American Express . If you would like to make a payment by telephone (using any credit card – Visa, MasterCard, or American Express), please call me, Frank Nakashima, at 416-464-7610, leave a message to tell me the best time to call you back . Thank you very much!

10 Toronto Early Music News Volume 28, No. 1 Volume 28, No. 1 Toronto Early Music News 11

• Medieval & Renessance Reference Websitehttp://www.medieval.org

The web’s largest reference for European Medieval and Renaissance music since 1994 offers the answers to many diverse questions relating to early music, complete lyrics of Guillaume de Machaut; explanations of Pythagorean tuning and hexachords; listings of scores, sources, instrument builders; CD reviews and some performer and composer discographies, not to mention a discussion forum . Wow!

• The TEMC Vocal CircleThe Toronto Early Music Centre’s “Vocal Circle” usually takes place on the last Monday of the month, at 7:30 p .m .

NEW Location: 96 Barker Avenue, Toronto, M4C 2N6

2 blocks N of Mortimer, 1 block W of Woodbine .

Admission to this circle is FREE to members of the TEMC . Otherwise, the cost is $5.00 per session for non-members .

In this season, the Vocal Circle read through quite an assortment of mostly Renaissance music, both sacred and secular – French chansons, Italian frottole, English madrigals from The Triumphs of Oriana, and partsongs; the music of Palestrina, Josquin, Gibbons, Gabrielli, Morley, Weelkes, Monteverdi, Jannequin, to name a few .

Theoretically, the Vocal Circle was meant to be a symposium or forum for historical choral/vocal performance but, in actuality, it is a non-performing, recreational reading group . This is intended to be a certified stress-free, musically-friendly environment . While musical training and vocal ability is helpful, anyone who has an interest in this fascinating, little-known, and rarely-performed repertoire to drop in and try singing, or even just listen!

If you have any questions, please feel free to call me, Frank Nakashima, anytime at 416-464-7610 . Also, please try to keep me informed as to your voice type and your intentions to attend (or not) so that I can conscientiously plan the evening’s singing .

Please note these dates:March 26, April 30, May 28, June 25 .

Please note that this is a scent-free environment. Please refrain from wearing cologne, perfume, aftershave, or scented products. Thank you.

• Prima la musicaPlease allow me to quickly introduce you to a fantastic new catalogue of “urtext” performing editions of Renaissance (soon to include music by de la Rue, Josquin, Clemens non Papa and Gombert), Baroque (17th-century Italian church music) and early Classical music – the company is “Prima la musica” (Brian Clark & Carlos Munoz Cutino) and the website is: http://www.primalamusica.com .

Reasonably-priced and faithfully computer-set, these editions are an excellent source of beautiful early music . Please visit the website . Look at the catalogue . Order directly from the publisher, or from me .

“There are many fine musicologists and editors out there, but only a few of them have a gift for finding the pieces that really live in a concert; Brian has got that.” – Simon Carrington, former King’s Singer, founder and director of the Yale Schola Cantorum .

Frank T. Nakashima 416-464-7610 frank.nakashima@gmail.com distributor for: Theodore Presser Co. – www .presser .com Anne Fuzeau Productions – www .annefuzeau .com Studio Per Edizioni Scelte – www .spes-editore .com Prima la musica – www .primalamusica .com John Walker Tuning Forks – www .granton .co .uk Paraclete Press – www .paracletepress .com Broude Brothers Ltd “Performers Facsimiles” can be viewed on the Sheet Music Plus website: http://www .sheetmusicplus .com/publishers/Broude-Brothers/6?se=1827

• CanadaCD.ca - Attention Serious Music Lovers And Collectors Of Fine Recordings!

Since 1980 SRI Canada has been supplying the retail trade with the finest independent imported and Canadian labels . Labels like Hyperion, Harmonia Mundi, Chandos, BIS, Channel Classics, ATMA Canada, Gimell, Alpha and Ricercar, and dozens more .

Finally, a music website for audiophiles and serious collectors! No ads, no pop-ups, no banners, no bull! Now all of these great recordings are available direct from our secure consumer website at www.CanadaCD.ca

Our specialty is Classical music, but we have a great selection of jazz and World music too . Over 20,000 titles from the world’s premier labels – in stock! New Releases listed every month before they hit the street .

Browse through our main categories: ‘New Releases’ – ‘Award Winning Recordings’ – ‘May we recommend…’ – ‘Collector’s Corner’ containing out-of-print, rare, and hard-to-find recordings at amazing prices – and ‘Music for Christmas’ .

12 Toronto Early Music News Volume 28, No. 1 Volume 28, No. 1 Toronto Early Music News 1�

Or, enter an artist’s or composer’s name ( e .g . Manze, Hewitt, Hamelin, Herreweghe, Rameau, Beethoven) or an instrument (e .g . lute, piano, gamba, sitar, trumpet) in our ‘FIND’ box and browse hundreds of new titles and back catalogue recordings . And coming soon … browse by genre: medieval, renaissance, baroque, classical, romantic, 20th century, etc .

Create your own account on CanadaCD! You can use our ‘basket’ feature to create as many ‘baskets’ as you like, save them and name them for future reference . For example, create baskets called ‘CDs I must have’ or ‘gift ideas’ and save them for later reference, purchase, or deletion .

Our staff of music experts are always here to help you find that elusive recording or offer advice on what to buy . We accept VISA and MasterCard, and our site maintains the highest levels of security possible .

Visit us today at www.CanadaCD.ca

• TEMC Newsletter OnlineGo to the website www .interlog .com/~temc ; then, select “Publications”; at the bottom of the page, under “TEMC News Electronic Issues” you will be instructed to “Please <click here> to access the members only web page for TEMC News issues .” Poke that <click here> button .

This message will pop up “The members-only page is password protected . Do you want to continue?” You are given a choice of “OK” and “cancel” . If I were you, I’d choose “OK .” You will then be asked to enter a password, and that password is “temcnews .”

“Thank you, please enter” Click on “OK”Choose, from the list, the issue that you would like to read .For some users, after choosing OK, another pop up message will say “Sorry,

that password is incorrect . You will now be returned to the Publications page .”I have been advised that by using Mozilla Firefox (rather than Internet

Explorer) you may find it easier to access the newsletter . If you have Mozilla Firefox, and are still having difficulty, go to the top of your screen and select “Tools,” then “Options,” then “Security,” then “Exceptions,” then type http://www .interlog .com in the box “Address of web site” and click “Allow .” Then “Close .” That should do it .

If you have the Internet Explorer browser, try doing the following: Go to “Tools” in the drop-down menu at the top of your screen . Then select “Internet Options,” to “Security,” to “Trusted Sites” and then “Sites .” In the box, “Add this website to the zone,” type in http://www .interlog .com

If you are totally confused, and none of these things above seem to help, just contact me and I’ll send you The Secret Link by e-mail (provided that you’re a TEMC member in good standing) . Okay?

• Make A Donation?Did you know that you could make a donation to the Toronto Early Music Centre while online at the website: www.canadahelps.org

• Antique And Rare Musical InstrumentsIn what might be regarded as an obvious new direction – the sale and acquisition of Genuine Antique and Rare Instruments – The Early Music Shop is pleased to announce the opening of a new department dedicated to such instruments . For the past two years we have actively sourced as many playable early instruments as possible covering most early (18th century and beyond) woodwind, flutes, oboes etc . but particularly specialising in baroque violins which were either still equipped with their original neck, bass bar or had escaped modification into post baroque set up .

The collection now stands at over 100 instruments and includes instruments from the collections of the late Hermann Moeck and the bassoonist Bill Waterhouse as well as an original 1793 Kirckman Single Manual harpsichord . Each instrument has been catalogued, measured and photographed and many of the stringed instruments have been professionally restored by Colin Nichols (ex W Hill) .

The instruments all appear listed by category on our web site with full descriptions and high definition photographs which are easily zoomed into for better focus .

• Instrument RentalsThe Toronto Early Music Players Organization (TEMPO) owns three (3) violas da gamba, a cittern, and a seven-course lute that may be rented at reasonable rates . If you are interested in a rental, please contact: Sara Blake at 416-932-8167, sara .blake@ontario .ca

• Harpsichord For SaleFlemish-style, single-manual harpsichord built by Matthew Redsell in the early 1980s . Light gray with gold trim . Excellent condition . Asking $6,500 . Contact Rod Goodman at 416 - 694 - 8105 .

Flemish (Ruckers) style single-manual harpsichord disposed 1x8’, 1x4’, buff, range of GG-eee . Casework is of solid butternut, naturally finished . The keyboard has boxwood naturals and black wood sharps . Quarter-sawn Sitka spruce soundboard . IWS jacks, voiced in Delrin . The instrument has an oak trestle stand, music desk and a prop stick . Comes with a padded carrying case . Valued at $17,800 . Contact Francine Geraci at fgeraci@sympatico .ca or (416) 599-5993

1� Toronto Early Music News Volume 28, No. 1 Volume 28, No. 1 Toronto Early Music News 1�

• Your Help Is Needed! We are asking everyone to keep their eyes and ears open for some missing instruments . Some of Tafelmusik’s instruments have gone missing from their offices and have possibly been stolen . Please let them know if you have seen them or had anyone trying to sell them to you .

The missing instruments include:

A Haide baroque violin, made 2009

A Johannes Georgius Thir baroque viola, made 1776 – description: the two-piece back of mostly plain wood with some enhanced and/or simulated figure with the ribs and scroll of similar wood; the two-piece table of very fine grain; the varnish of an opaque, dark brown colour

A baroque viola bow, made 2006 by Stephen Marvin – description: with screw, snakewood, English or Stradivari model

These instruments are obviously of great value to Tafelmusik . If you find any of these instruments, please call Emily Wall at Tafelmusik – tel: 416-964-9562 extension 241 or you can e-mail her at: ewall@tafelmusik .org

Thank you for keeping your eyes open and hopefully these instruments will soon find their way back to their proper home and owners .

• TEMC Endorses TACThe Toronto Early Music Centre heartily endorses and supports the priorities set forth by the Toronto Arts Council and Foundation’s AdvocacyCommittee: that the City of Toronto should be leading the country in per-capita cultural investment; that Toronto needs commitment and new investments to position itself as a cultural centre; and that the arts, as a catalyst in economic development, tourism and civic participation, should be at the centre of all Toronto’s strategies and planning

It is extremely important that these priorities be given due consideration and financial support in order to inspire our culture and community, and provide for the vibrancy of the arts in our future .

~ Frank T Nakashima

�

�

�

Tafelmusik MediaTafelmusik Looks To The Future,

Launches New Record Label

by Luisa Trisi, Big Picture Communications – Media Relations Manager for Tafelmusik

Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir is thrilled to announce the launch of its own new record label called Tafelmusik Media . The announcement was made following a performance of

Handel’s Hercules in celebration of Jeanne Lamon’s 30th anniversary as Music Director . Tafelmusik is recognized as “one of the world’s top baroque orchestras” (Gramophone), and the launch of its own label is an international initiative that will sow seeds for the organization’s future growth in recording and broadcasting, as well as build audiences around the world in the years to come .

Visit www.tafelmusik.org to watch a short video about Tafelmusik Media . Tafelmusik Media releases will include new digital, live performance, studio CD

and DVD recordings, and re-releases of previous Tafelmusik recordings from SONY Classical and CBC Records . The new Watch and Listen site was also launched today as the precursor for Tafelmusik’s future digital concert hall, which will feature live concert broadcasts and podcasts via social media and on internet television .

Beginning March 27, 2012 Tafelmusik Media will release a total of nine recordings over its initial three-month period . The first of these include CD and DVD recordings of Tafelmusik’s globe-trotting multi-media phenomenon The Galileo Project created by Alison Mackay, which has been seen in Asia, Mexico, the U .S . and Canada, and which will be experienced by audiences in Australia and New Zealand this spring when Tafelmusik makes its debut Down Under . March re-releases include the JUNO Award-winning Bach Brandenburg Concertos (2-CD package), and Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, which garnered the prestigious Penguin Guide Rosette — both originally recorded for SONY Classical .

Subsequent releases include the live concert version of Sing-Along Messiah on DVD, conducted by Tafelmusik Chamber Choir director Ivars Taurins as ‘Herr Handel’, filmed at Koerner Hall by 90th Parallel Productions and seen by viewers across Canada on Bravo! Re-releases comprise a wide range of baroque and classical repertoire including Vivaldi’s Concertos for Strings (Gramophone Critic’s Choice); Purcell’s Ayres for the Theatre (JUNO Award nominee); Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks (JUNO Award winner); Rameau’s Dardanus/Le Temple de la Gloire— which garnered a JUNO Award and a Grammy Award nomination — and a 2-CD set of Haydn’s Paris Symphonies (Cannes Classical Music Award winner) .

1� Toronto Early Music News Volume 28, No. 1 Volume 28, No. 1 Toronto Early Music News 1�

Projects recorded this season for future release on the Tafelmusik Media label include live performance recordings of Handel’s Messiah conducted by Ivars Taurins, featuring internationally acclaimed soloists Karina Gauvin, Robin Blaze, Rufus Müller and Brett Polegato, and Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony—the next offering in Tafelmusik’s cycle of Beethoven symphony recordings—conducted by Bruno Weil .

Tafelmusik Media recordings will be distributed by Naxos USA throughout the Americas, and by Naxos Global Logistics in the rest of the world, as well as through iTunes, Amazon and other digital retail outlets . Tafelmusik has also created high-definition performance films in anticipation of the movement towards internet television . These films are also available on the newly-launched interactive Watch & Listen site, along with audio materials and samples of all of Tafelmusik’s new releases .

Watch & Listen will feature film excerpts from Alison Mackay’s House of Dreams, a new multidisciplinary co-production with The Banff Centre . The live House of Dreams concert presentation will have its world premiere in Banff just prior to its Toronto engagement February 8 to 12, 2012 . The American premiere of House of Dreams takes place during Tafelmusik’s March 2013 U .S . tour, which culminates with an engagement on the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s series at the Walt Disney Concert Hall .

“The launch of Tafelmusik Media is such an exciting moment in our 34-year history because recording has always been an extremely important part of Tafelmusik’s activities,” says Music Director Jeanne Lamon . “Recordings are important artistically, as they bring focus and depth to our understanding of the repertoire. There is nothing like a recording studio to expose every last detail of a performance. This meticulous attention to detail and the opportunity to capture the true spirit of the music is carried forward in our concerts. Recordings are simultaneously a permanent legacy of Tafelmusik’s music-making, and our most current calling card for future touring and recording engagements. Aside from the obvious international exposure it offers, recording on our own label gives us the chance to assume complete artistic control and make a lasting artistic statement. Our audiences will have 24/7 access to Tafelmusik, and our music will be broadcast to millions of people all over the world, creating Tafelmusik-aware audiences even before we arrive in their cities on our national and international tours,” stated Lamon .

“We’re thrilled to be on the cutting edge of the classical online recording revolution,” remarked Tafelmusik’s Managing Director Tricia Baldwin . “There are no limits to the breadth and scope of what we can offer on Tafelmusik Media, and the international potential for these recordings is extremely exciting. We look forward to the development of a virtual audience over the next few years, one that lives around the globe but has access to our Toronto concerts through podcasts and webcasts. We are very proud of our past recordings and are grateful for our partnerships with SONY Classical,

Analekta and CBC Records. Now it is time for us to stand on our own feet to ensure we are the owners of our own creative product. Tafelmusik will be fully in sync with the movement towards digital recordings and internet television, while ensuring that physical products – which are still in the highest demand by the classical music-lover – are available and distributed worldwide.”

“We are extremely grateful to our international consulting partners in Canada and Germany, especially Randy Barnard (former General Manager of Canada’s CBC Records) and Stefan Piendl and Myriam Rohleder (of Germany’s Arion Arts), who have collaborated with us to launch Tafelmusik Media. I’d also like to thank Robert Zimmerman and Christoph Franke of Berlin Philharmonic Media for their guidance based on their experience launching the Berlin Philharmonic’s Digital Concert Hall,” says Baldwin .

Tafelmusik collaborated with Art Director Nikolaus Boddin (of boddin graphikdesign in Berlin), known for his work with Deutsche Grammophon, to create a distinct design and eco-friendly package that portrays the passion of Tafelmusik’s musicians inspired by the music, history, art and architecture of the baroque and classical eras .

The Tafelmusik Media label builds on the solid foundation of Tafelmusik’s existing 78-CD discography . These award-winning recordings have become international calling cards for Tafelmusik, paving the way for regular invitations to tour from prestigious presenters around the world . Former Tafelmusik Managing Director Ottie Lockey signed the contract with Sony Classical in 1990, marking the beginning of an incredibly active recording career for Tafelmusik, whose oeuvre has included recording and film projects for Analekta, CBC Records, Rhombus Media, Media Headquarters, and 90th Parallel Productions as well as self-produced films distributed via social media .

Upcoming Tafelmusik Media Releases:

March 27, 2012 The Galileo Project DVD and CD Bach Brandenburg Concertos (2 CD set) Vivaldi The Four Seasons

April 24, 2012 Sing-Along Messiah DVD Vivaldi Concertos for Strings Purcell Ayres for the Theatre

May 29, 2012 Handel Music for the Royal Fireworks Rameau Dardanus and Le temple de la Gloire Haydn Paris Symphonies (2 CD set)

�

�

�

18 Toronto Early Music News Volume 28, No. 1 Volume 28, No. 1 Toronto Early Music News 1�

Book Reviewsby Paul-James Dwyer

Le Grand TrianonJérémie Benoît Éditions du Gui Price 69€, Pages 272 www.editions-du-gui.fr

“A tiny palace in rose marble and porphyry with delicious gardens” is how the king’s architect Mansart described Le Grand Trianon, a succinct and charming summation of the domain . The public’s interest has followed

Marie-Antoinette’s legend and her private domain Le Petite Trianon, since the 1789 Revolution . Petite Trianon has garnered the lion’s share of the attention given to the two palaces, which are both tucked away in the vast gardens of Versailles . Grand Trianon is Louis XIV’s penultimate architectural masterpiece at Versailles, built just before the Chapelle Royale . It represents a private side of Louis’ personality and has long been undervalued as a principle model for Western European classicism, down to our own day, in architecture and interior decoration . Its simple but elegant interior white walls and marble columns set the fashion, in a stripped-down elegance that has endured three centuries of changing taste . The ornateness and visual extravagance he championed at Versailles were replaced at Grand Trianon with a personal vision of calm and simplified classicism that still appeals to many today who would find Versailles an impossible place to live in, let alone relax in . Grand Trianon was a semi-private home where Louis, his family, and personally chosen intimates (court nobles favoured enough to receive a coveted invitation to visit), relaxed from court etiquette, sharing an intimacy with the king, not possible in the 24/7 publicly-accessible Versailles . It was also possible to have fewer servants, keeping the intimacy intact .

The same applies today . The palace, its gardens and the marvelous views of the Grand Canal offer the visitor a little slice of paradise . Late in the afternoon when the sun starts to sink over the waters of the canal, looking back at the garden side of the palace, with its rosey-coloured marble catching the last rays of the golden orb, is a memory treasured by generations of visitors . A vision that is at once accessible, within human scale, and filled with order, majesty, beauty and serenity .

The author is the Conservateur en chef (Executive Curator) at Versailles in charge of both Grand and Petite Trianon . Benoît has published numerous books and curated various exhibitions on subjects ranging from Malmaison (Joséphine’s chateau), Napoléon and the Battle of Marengo, the 1789 Revolution,

to Versailles and is considered one of the greatest experts on Grand Trianon and its history . Benoît treats his subject like a biography, chronologically, from the initial building project Louis XIV started in 1670, the Trianon de porcelain, an amazing petite palais, built as a love nest for his mistress Madame de Montespan, to the evolution of the present structures and gardens, following the story down to our own era when General de Gaulle decided in 1959 to restore the palace and use part of it (Trianon-sous-Bois) for a residence for himself as a country retreat .

The volume contains 160 colour photographs and reproduced paintings (most full-page) and 15 period prints of the site . The quality of the reproductions is of the highest bibliophile standards and reflects the publisher who concentrates on rare and collectable tomes exclusively . This limited edition (1,500 copies) monograph on Le Grand Trianon has been long overdue and is a reflection of the treasure that this UNESCO world heritage (since 1979) site represents .

William Christie et Les Arts Florissants, 30 années en imagesImages En Manœuvres Éditions 27 x 25 cm, 176 pages 80 Colour Illustrations ISBN : 9782849951927 45€ or $58.30 CAD www.iemeditions.com

Les Arts Florissants has re-written the place of French Baroque music in the early music world, and Christie is responsible for reviving, in a major way, this legacy of French heritage . The 1789 Revolution

disavowed the Ancien Régime completely and with the Napoleonic era it was totally buried . The old music was associated inextricably with the French kings and was deprecated as being anachronistic anathema . It wasn’t until the end of the 19th century that composers began to look again at these musical treasures, and still the French public were ambivalent when the works started to reappear in performance practise .

Initially, foreign musicologists were more interested in researching French early music than the French scholars . This happened even though the primary source materials were readily available and properly conserved in former royal or aristocratic collections which had been seized and moved to state and municipal libraries during the Revolution . English and American singers, harpsichordists and conductors spearheaded the French revival in the late 1960’s, working in Paris, and back home . Christie was drawn to move to France in 1970, by 1979 he had established Les Arts Florissants and was reputed as one of the top harpsichord virtuosos in Europe, with numerous critically acclaimed recordings of the French harpsichord school .

^

20 Toronto Early Music News Volume 28, No. 1 Volume 28, No. 1 Toronto Early Music News 21

DVD Reviewsby Paul-James Dwyer

Rencontres Musicales A VersaillesDirector, Olivier Simonnet ARMIDE, A Camera Lucida Production, 6 DVD Box Set

This staggeringly beautiful set is a collector’s dream of French music from the Versailles “Golden Era” 1660-1789 . Previously released separately, each film stands alone as a major project, but taken

altogether, the set constitutes a lexicon of major musical masterpieces from Lully to Grétry . Director Simonnet allows the music, palaces and their glories to speak for themselves, concentrating on the latest generation of artists who have ignited the complex with new life and vigour . The national museum drops its formality, massive proportions, and overpowering grandeur to speak directly to us now, making it again a totally human environment . Locations include the Royal Chapel, State Apartments, Royal Opera House, Theatre of the Petite Trianon, the Grand Ecurie (royal stables renovated into a concert hall), courtyards, backrooms, corridors, sundry rehearsal and dress-rooms .

DVD1 Versailles Opéra De Lully À Rameau (Lully: Atys, Persée, Proserpine, Rameau: Hippolyte et Aricie)

DVD2 M .-A . Charpentier Te Deum Et Psalmes Des TénèbresDVD3 M .-A . Charpentier Médée (2 DVDs)DVD4 M .-A . Charpentier, Un Automne Musicale À Versailles

(Corelli, Rossi, Landi, Charpentier)DVD5 La Petite Musique De Marie-Antoinette (Gossec & Grétry)

The conductors and groups include L’Académie Baroque Européenne d’Ambronay with Christophe Rousset, Les Agrémens with Guy van Waas, L’Arpeggiata with Christina Pluhar, Les Chantres du Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles, Le Concert des Nations with Jordi Savall, Le Concert Spirituel with Hervé Niquet, L’Europa Galante with Fabio Biondi, Les Folies Françoises with Patrick Cohën-Akénine, La Maitrise de Bretagne with Jean-Michel Noel, Le Parliament de Musique with Martin Gester, and Il Seminario Musicale with Gérard Lesne . Singers include Anna Maria Panzarella, Stéphanie d’Ostrac and Véronique Gens the étoile sopranos of our generation, along with a myriad other vocal artists that also shine .

The collection is moderately priced, with subtitles in English, German, Spanish, French and a collective running time of 8 hr 55 min . The best way to acquire the collection is either from www.amazon.fr or the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles site – www.cmbv.fr

�

���

�

30 years of images of the group chronicle their myriad accomplishments and establish a musical place of honour for Christie and his team . Countless singers, instrumentalists, dancers, designers, directors and musicologists have worked with them since their formation; the list is a Who’s Who of the European early music-theatre-dance world . In 1989, the group released a 10-year retrospective of their recordings, but this is the first visual documentation of the group . Don’t let the fact that this book is written in French put you off purchasing it . This is mainly a picture book whose text is thoroughly researched, precise and lyrical, just like the French musical art itself . The distinguished author/musicologist Catherine Massip and Gérard Khoury do a lengthy interview with Christie, in the first part of the book, while the main section is a year by year feature on the main production of each season from 1979-2009 . Thorough would be the word, for the singers, production team, history and musicology of the work are discussed along with the full-page photos of spectacular performances . Since the book covers 30 years only, the epic 2011 revival of Atys is not represented, but this book is enchanting in its scope and focus . There are some evocative photos of Christie’s private garden at his country home in Thiré, Vendée, very revealing about the private man, along with an essay on his garden by Henri-Claude Cousseau . Christie is a complex man who is much feared by the artists who work under him and much respected by the French cultural elite . Les Arts Florissants is a continuing work of genius .

After 30 years at The Royal Conservatory, Scott Paterson has opened his own studio .

All ages; private lessons and ensembles . Central location . Mus . Bac . Perf . (U of T), ARCT, member ORMTA .

Contact: Scott Paterson

416-759-6342; or cell: 416-268-1474

wspaterson@gmail.com

Making Music With The Recorder

call 416-759-6342

`

22 Toronto Early Music News Volume 28, No. 1 Volume 28, No. 1 Toronto Early Music News 2�

Atys, Armide J.-B. Lully Les Arts Florissants, William Christie, Direction Atys: FRA Productions Distribution Musica Blu-ray FRA506 or DVD FRA006 Armide: FRA Productions Distribution Musica Blu-ray FRA505 or DVD FRA005 www.fraprod.com

Atys: Opéra-Comique, Paris, 2011 production, Bernard Richter (Atys), Stéphanie d’Oustrac (Cybèle), Jean-Marie Villégier (Director)

Atys is Christie and Les Arts Florissants’ greatest triumph . They recorded it in 1987 and toured it initially until 1994 to NYC (x2), France, Austria, Italy . It was only filmed for TV in the premiere

production and that tape has been floating around the internet and privately ever since . This new production went straight to DVD and the clarity is spectacular . The sets have been altered slightly . They are still as arresting visually, powerfully concentrated in their stylistic distillation . The singers are young artists starting out in their careers, as in the initial production which makes for a completely fresh look . Only Christie could pull that one off . No other opera house in the world would entrust a multi-million dollar production to young singers just starting out . It is what makes Christie the cultural Svengali he is, like a Diaghilev, one who can make instant stars . The new cast of Atys are all assured of careers that will develop instantaneously . The Prologue alone is one of the greatest pieces of theatre this writer has ever experienced . The costumes overwhelm in their magnificence . The dancing represents the masterwork of the late Francine Lancelot .

Armide Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris 2008 production, Stéphanie d’Oustrac (Armide), Paul Agnew (Renaud), Nathan Berg (Hidraot), Laurent Naouri (La Haine), Robert Carsen (Director)

This production is a confusing mix of ideas with a Prologue that has humour and élan, French history, modern dancing that is infectious with its youth, vigour and openness, all wrapped up in a visit to

Versailles package tour . The Prologue follows Quinault’s libretto as a homage to Louis XIV . Act I opens to some heavy handed stage movements as chorus and dancers enter, with everyone except Armide dressed in steel grey coloured silk suits that are military in design and stripped of any ornament, embroidery or buttons . Canadian Director, Robert Carsen seems to be obsessed with fascistic stylized staging . Armide follows his Les Boréades (Rameau) production with Les Arts Florissants, which struck the same shrill note with its ubiquitous

black/white costumes and quasi-fascistic staging . This time he goes for grey for the complete chorus and all secondary roles . Armide’s attendants look like concentration camp matrons with 18th c . paniers . Dancers break-into frenetic demoniac dancing that is riveting in an early scene with Canadian, Nathan Berg as Hidraot and Armide . Next Paul Agnew as Renaud enters in the next scene dressed like a modern man on a holiday, disconcerting in its total disconnect with the previous scene .

Armide commands the stage in a modern styled blood-red negligee backed-up by a formal 17th century state bed which she sprawls around on like a Hollywood starlet, while Nathan Berg, with severe hair pasted back on his head, looks like a thug . But wait for it… then the chorus (male and female) and the hirsute bass, Laurent Naouri, as La Haine all appear dressed exactly like Armide in the red negligees as a cross-dress-transfixed scene from hell . It comes off as ludicrous and laughable instead of threatening . Carsen’s staging may be au courant but it is just too schizophrenic . Fabricating Lully’s last operatic masterpiece Armide as a pan-sexual nazi nightmare makes for a theatrical pastiche, notwithstanding the wonderful job Les Arts Florissants and the singers (soli & choeur) makes of the score .

Stéphanie d’Oustrac is riveting as Armide and holds the attention of the viewer, especially as the rest of the action around her is fractured, visually intense but unsettling with its weird disparate feel . She embodies the passion, ambivalence, and intensity of the title role and carries the opera almost alone, notwithstanding the strong voices of Berg, Agnew and Naouri .

Le Tombeau de Charpentier M.-A. CHARPENTIER Il Seminario Musicale, Gérard Lesne, Direction ARMIDE, A Camera Lucida Production ARM005 $30.50 CAD

Lesne, one of the top French counter-tenors of the last 30 years, started out his career working with Les Arts Florissants on many ground-breaking Charpentier projects (both theatrical and

liturgical) back in 1980 . He appeared here in Toronto with the group as part of a Tafelmusik season, later with his own group as guest artists of University of Toronto . After forming Il Seminario Musicale, his commitment to Charpentier’s liturgical music continued unabated . This DVD by film director Olivier Simonnet, who has become internationally known for his numerous films based on Versailles, the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles and many French early music scene personalities, is superlative . Shot at the Chapelle Royale de Versailles in 2005, Lesne and his group are in top form .

2� Toronto Early Music News Volume 28, No. 1 Volume 28, No. 1 Toronto Early Music News 2�

Charpentier is the one of the last composers in France to believe that art is inseparable from religion . With the advent of rationalism in the 1680’s, many intellectuals, writers, philosophers, Jesuits and members of the Sorbonne started to promulgate the idea that mysticism was dead and miracles needed to be consigned to fairy-tale status . Charpentier’s liturgical music is filled with the transcendental and Lesne has fully realized and internalized this aspect of his art . This mystical reality infuses this filmed performance with a limpid sensitivity, a perfume of lyricism and spirituality that is capacious and palpable . The repertoire contains nine works (H .173, 237, 252, 266, 270, 332, 403, 423, 474 including the masterpiece Mors Saülis et Jonathae, with 2 violins, 2 recorders, therobo, cello and organ . The singers are Kaoli Isshiki - a revelation, Chantal Santon (sopranos), Gérard Lesne, Magid El-Bushra (counter-tenors), Jean-François Novelli (tenor) and Alain Buet (bass) . For his age, Lesne’s voice is amazingly strong, with the same beautiful tone he is well known for . Subtitles are in French, English & German . This DVD is an extremely important document of a great artist and Il Seminario Musicale and Charpentier .

CD ReviewsBy Paul-James Dwyer

BellerophonJ.B. Lully Les Talens Lyrique, Christophe Rousset Choeur de Chambre de Namur APARTE AP015, 2 CDs www.littletribeca.com www.lestalenslyriques.com

World premiere live recording of Bellérophon (1679, Libretto: Thomas Corneille) recorded in December, 2010 at the Cité de la musique, Paris . Bellérophon was the first Lully opera to be published by Ballard .

That it is the last opera to be revived only proves that the Lully revival is still, a work in progress . In the previous 20 years, Rousset and his group have focused on Lully’s work repeatedly forging along with Hugo Reyne (La Simphonie du Marais), a higher profile for Le Florentin . He and his group have recorded Roland, Persée (modern edition by Frank Nakashima), and Acis & Galatée. Les Talens Lyriques have also concertized and staged many other Lully operas/works .

The story of Bellérophon (based on the Iliad) may have some part in the reason it has only recently come down off the shelf . It is complicated and somewhat obtuse, but our hero is recognized in the end as a son of Neptune, and having killed the Chimera, is united in marriage with his love triumphant . In the March 1679 Le Mercure gallant, a critic wrote: “…particularly pleasing in this work was the continuity in the action, so that every scene is linked to the previous one, with the result that there is not a dull moment.”

Rousset has proven himself to be a connoisseur par excellence of singers, in the same league as William Christie . He uses them like a painter’s palette . Young singers now vie for his vocal pedagogy . His love of the vocal art of Lully is obvious in this recording . Two singers who stand out, both tenors are the honey-toned French haute-contre Cyril Auvity (Bellérophon, Un berger) and the American, Robert Getchell (Bacchus, La Pythie) . The Choeur de Chambre de Namur is also excellent, now considered one of the big names in Europe . (Their regular director Leonardo Garcia Alarcón is quickly making a name for himself as one of the best conductors in Europe’s early music scene .)

The intensity of Rousset has never abated over the years . There is a driven quality to his work that sometimes has a hint of the relentless . His attention to rhythm, detail, composers’ intentions, the sound quality is always the highest, the precision and depth of research he does is staggering as he develops his ongoing projects . Still there is something missing – a touch of serenity, or pause perhaps, or reflection on his part . Whatever it is, exhaustion is a real threat for his listeners, by the end of a work . I have also heard it said that this generation doesn’t have the attention span for Lully, with his 5 Act + Prologue Operas . Be that as it may, the end of this opera contains one of Lully finest compositions with marvelous trumpets, the Second Air-Fanfare, finishing off with a choral gem, Les plaisirs nous préparent leurs charmes.

Ferveur & ExtaseAmarillis, Hélöise Gaillard & Violaine Cochard, Direction Stéphanie D’Oustrac, Soprano AMBRONAY AMY027 www.ambronay.org

The repertoire of this recording mirrors the passion, intensity, and stellar qualities of D’Oustrac, who is the reigning queen of French baroque opera in Paris . The early Italian baroque composers utilized

emotion as a force of nature to expound on human tragedy, amore, the foibles of the gods/goddesses of the ancients and the yearning, searching, and surging movement that lived in this period . The music of Cavalli, Rossi, A . Scarlatti, Faggioli, Falconieri, Strozzi, Marini, and Monteverdi is a perfect vehicle for the vocal volcano D’Oustrac .

´

2� Toronto Early Music News Volume 28, No. 1 Volume 28, No. 1 Toronto Early Music News 2�

Amarillis, founded in 1994 and directed by Hélöise Gaillard (flûtes à bec) and Violaine Cochard (harpsichord, positive organ), has quietly become a formidable musical force . For this recording there are eight musicians: 2 violins, viola, violone, violoncelle, archlute, flutes and keyboards . This writer witnessed a concert they gave with the French baroque dance group L’Eventail, in 2007 at Versailles that was rock solid in all its refined precision .

Il Diluvio UniversaleMichaelangelo Falvetti (1642-1692) Cappella Mediterranea & Choeur de Chambre de Namur Leonardo Garcia Alarcón, Direction AMBRONAY AMY026 www.ambronay.org

This CD came as a total shock . First, the composer was completely unknown to me . Second, this piece strikes me as something completely modern, even though musically Italian and obviously

baroque . The dynamism and drive of the realization by the Argentinian wunderkind, Alarcón, is absolutely enthralling . The recording is dynamite . A lost masterpiece, this major work by Falvetti, covers the Old Testament story of the flood . The nine roles/soloists include two members of Alarcón’s highly-regarded Choeur de Chambre de Namur (20 singers) .

The work is divided into four parts: In Heaven, On Earth, The Flood, In Noah’s Ark. Lead role is Noah (tenor), his wife Rad (soprano) with the other parts being God (bass), Divine Justice, (contralto), Earth, (bass), Water, (soprano), Fire, (tenor), Human Nature (soprano) and Death, (countertenor), in what the composer designated as a Dialogue . The work was premiered in Messina in 1682, the same year the composer, a native of Palermo, was appointed maestro di cappella of the cathedral . The libretto, sung in Italian, by Vincenzo Giattini (1630-1697), was discovered in a Venice library, while the score was conserved in a Messina library . Scored for five parts, careful research revealed details of the instrumental forces shown in the cathedral musician’s records: 4 violins, 4 violas, archlute, trombone and 4 organs .

The composer lavished special attention on the chorus of this work, using homophony, counterpoint and sections of duos and trios followed by the tutti to obtain special effects of timbre . A choral piece in Part III has dissonances worthy of an early 20th composition . Although Il Diluvio Universale appears to be neither real oratorio nor classical sacred drama, it displays an originality that is unparalleled in the history of Italian baroque music . Il Diluvio Universale is truly a musical treasure reborn .

A Journey Through LiteratureG.P. Telemann Les Esprits Animaux AMBRONAY AMY302 www.ambronay.org

Les Esprits Animaux is a young European ensemble founded in 2009, but they play like they have been working together for many years, such is the level of intensity and polished performances . The seven members

include 2 violins, viola, flûtes à bec, flute traverso, violoncelle, and harpsichord .The pieces explored are a Burlesque de Quixotte TWV55G:10, a seven

movement mini-drama, Gulliver Suite, Suite in D major 1728-29 TWV40:10, another mini-drama in five movements, and finally the Introduzzione à tres (in Der Getreue Musik-Meister), 1728-29 TWV42:C1, an exploration of five heroines (Xanthippe, Lucretia, Corinna, Clelia, and Dido) . Three other works on the CD are two concertos (TWV52:a2 & TWV52:e1) and an extract from Musique de Table (TWV50:10) .

These young virtuosi have diligently deciphered the specific rhetoric of each piece in an effort to uncover the intentions of the composer . What more can one do with a score but be true to the heart of a work? Les Esprits Animaux is off to a great start . It is also a pleasure to hear these little known gems from the prolific pen of Telemann .

Das Wohltemperierte Klavier - Teil IIJ.S. Bach Sébastien Guillot, Harpsichord SAPHIR Productions LVC1136, 2 CDs www.saphirproductions.net

The recording is the world premiere of the British Library, London, original autograph manuscript (Ms . 35021, Version A), of Bach . The sound of the harpsichord (after 1733 F . Blanchet), used on this CD,

made by the prestigious Italian maker Olivier Fadini (1993 Milan), is ravishing to put it mildly, such is its beautiful sound . Before your hackles are raised at the thought of a French harpsichord utilized for Bach, take a listen for yourself .

Guillot views and plays these works in a transcendental manner, his internalization of these seminal masterpieces belies his youth . The results he has accomplished would make any seasoned harpsichord virtuoso take serious notice . Guillot’s teachers have included Huguette Dreyfus, Christophe Rousset, Bob van Asperen, Max von Egmond (vocal accompaniment) and the Kuijken brothers (chamber music) . His previous recordings include Vivaldi Organ Concertos, Bach The Art of The Fugue, Purcell Songs and Forqueray Pièces de viole avec le basse continue . Guillot is definitely an artist to watch for in the future .

28 Toronto Early Music News Volume 28, No. 1 Volume 28, No. 1 Toronto Early Music News 2�

Concerts royauxF. Couperin A Bruce Haynes Souvenir Bruce Haynes, Oboe, Susie Napper, Viola Da Gamba Arthur Haas, Harpsichord ATMA Classique ACD22168 www.atmaclassique.com

This CD is a re-release of a 1999 recording to commemorate the passing of American oboe virtuoso Bruce Haynes 1942-2011 . The included essay The Speaking Hautboy was penned by Haynes . A better title is the

translation into the French, Le hautbois éloquent, as Haynes doesn’t just speak, his oboe sings . One of the instruments he plays on the CD is a 17th century masterpiece made by Pierre Naust, circa 1700 . Its unique sound and musical qualities are only heightened by the fact that it is the only one of the surviving instruments by Naust that is still playable . Only with the help of a little wax to seal the cracks, can it be played for short periods . Matching the beauty of the Naust is Haynes art, his sound is totally unique . He gives the Couperin masterpieces a new life . What was his secret? Not to forget Haas and Napper . They are both in the same league for sure . The repertoire includes the following: 7e Concert en Sol Mineur, 11e Concert en Do Mineur, 3e Concert en La Majeur and harpsichord solos from L’Art De Toucher Le Clavecin and Extracts from the 15 Ordre . This recording is truly unique!

Ou l’art d’orner le “beau chant”Bertrand de Bacilly (1621-1690) Ensemble A Deux Violes Esgales SAPHIR Productions LVC1126 www.saphirproductions.net

This world premiere recording is an important revelation that alters any ideas of French profane vocal music in a major manner . The recently discovered small original manuscript (Edition: Pierre Dyens 2010)

was copied by some unidentified hand, probably between 1680 and 1700 . Still in its original binding it preserves 161 one, two, or three-part songs in various vocal combinations . The manuscript, currently in private hands, bears witness to an urban musical genre (serious and drinking songs) that followed the fashion of air de cour or courtly songs that had themselves supplanted the polyphonic song in the secular musical landscape . Even though all the songs are anonymous, study of similarities with extant musical and poetic works, printed or in manuscript, all point to Bertrand de Bacilly, one of the principle composers, teachers and singers, during Louis XIV’s long reign . The compositions are generally of simple structure

(usually) in 2 parts and strophic: all the couplets of the poems, for the most part are gallant or rustic in inspiration .

Born in 1621 in Lolif, Normandy, Bacilly studied in the early 1650’s (the era of Louis XIII) with famous singers Pierre de Nyert along with fellow student Michel Lambert in Paris . He was able to meet the greatest poets of the day through a connection with Nicolas Fouquet, the Superintendent of Court Finances . He quickly made a name for himself as a teacher and singer in literary circles and salons . Bacilly was a prolific composer of literary, spiritual, drinking and dancing songs, many of which have been sadly lost . This accounts for his being not widely known especially outside French early music circles . He was first published in 1658 anonymously . He was an avid collector of songs and published his own and others prodigiously in Le Mercure gallant.

An excellent essay by CMBV musicologist Thomas Leconte is included, along with the song texts in French and English . CD contains 20 selections with a time of 64:30 .

Soprano Monique Zanetti, one of William Christie’s stars back in the late 80’s, sings with a power and maturity that is totally enthralling . Paris based, English singer Paul Willenbrock, bass, with viola da gamba (soprano & bass), lute, therobo and archlute fill out the instrumentation on this amazing CD .

Chansons Et Danses De La Renaissance FrancaisePolyphonia Antiqua, Yves Esquieu, Direction Pierre Verany PV709011 www.arion-music.com

Polyphonia Antiqua is an eight-member group that includes the following instrumentation on this strongly realized CD: recorders, cromhornes, violin, vielle bow, positive organ, drums, bagpipe,

psaltery, lute, viola da gamba, bombarde, chalem, mezzo, baritones, countertenor . The composers and repertoire includes: Jacques Moderne (1495-1562) La

Bataille, Tielman Susato (1500-1562) Suite de Danses, Claude De Sermisy (1490-1562) Joyssance vous donneray, Clément Janequin (1485-1558) Martin menait son pourceau au marché, Fyez vous-y, Adrien Le Roy (1520-1598) Paduane, Guillaume Costeley (1531-1606) Allons gay gay bergère, Barthélémy Aneau (1505-1561) Doulce mémoire, Anonymous Ductia, Primus ex Apostolis, Ahi amours, com dure departie, Blanche De Castille (1188-1252) Amour où trop tard me suis pris, Alfonso El Sabio (1221-1284) De gra’a Santa Maria, Aymeric Picaud (12th c .) Ad honorem Regis summi.

There are also celebrated songs of the Renaissance and extracts from various French cathedral books, a veritable cornucopia of material, all served up deliciously . There is no bio of the group on the CD but each piece has been given a paragraph of context, meaning and history in English and French .

¸

Notes

Toronto Early Music CentreMembership Application/Renewal

P.O. Box 714, Station P, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2Y4

416-464-7610

q New­­­­­­­­­­­­­ q Renew­­­­­­­­­­­­­al (expiry date) (Membership lasts a full 12 months from the date that you join.)

Name

Address

City: Province: Postal Code:

Phone (day) (eve.)

E-mail

Category of Membership:

q Organization–$40 (receive new­­­­­­­­­­­­­sletters and reduced advertising rates, only)

q Family–$35 (please list names)

q Individual–$25 q Student/Senior/Unw­­­­­­­­­­­­­aged–$15

q I include a donation $ TEMC is a Registered Charity #11926 6401 RR0001. A tax receipt w­­­­­­­­­­­­­ill be issued.

Total enclosed: $

Payment Method:

q Cheque q Visa q Mastercard q American Express

Card # Exp. date /

Signature

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |mm/yy

Dawn Lyons and Den Ciul 109 Fuller Avenue Toronto, Ontario M6R 2C4 Web site: www .claviersbaroques .com