Kanatha/Canada: First Collection of Traditional Songs of the Encounters
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February 3 & 4, 2017 2016-2017 Season Sponsor Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St. West salutes Ann H. Atkinson for her generous support of this production salutes The Pluralism Fund for their generous support of this production Under 35? Do you love music? Are you 16-35 or a full-time student? Join Club Consort and pay only $15 for the best available seats. Sign up online, then call or visit the box office! Planting the tree of peace Honour Song George Paul Migizi Honour Song Coming by canoe Lintuwakon ciw Oqiton (Song of the Canoe) Dans les prisons de Nantes La belle a pris l’épée Le Prince Eugène A meeting of nations All Nation Song Kondiaronk le chef huron Georges Sioui Death of a leader Lintuwakon ciw Mehcinut (Death Chant) Renaud Ornate aras Moving onward Lintuwakon ciw Esuwonikahattitit (Trading Song) Niigaaniin (Moving Forward) Etsondénon ni Atakwen Georges Sioui INTERMISSION Please join us for refreshments and the CD Boutique in the Gymnasium. Wendake/Huronia John Beckwith 1. Raquettes (Snowshoes) 2. Champlain 3. Le Canotage (Canoeing) 4. La Grande Fête des Âmes (The Festival of Souls) 5. Lamentation, 1642 6. À l’avenir (To the future) TONIGHT’S PERFORMERS ARE: STAFF & ADMINISTRATION David Fallis, Artistic Director Michele DeBoer, soprano Michelle Knight, Managing Director Adam Thomas Smith, David Fallis, tenor, conductor Marketing Director Nellie Austin, Bookkeeper Ben Grossman, hurdy-gurdy, percussion Kiran Hacker, Graphic Designer Katherine Hill, soprano, viola da gamba Yara Jakymiw, Season Brochure Graphic Designer Paul Jenkins, tenor, chamber organ Martin Reis, Derek Haukenfreres Terry McKenna, lute, mandolin, guitar & Ruth Denton, Box Office Peter Smurlick, Database Consultant Alison Melville, flute, recorder Gordon Baker, Stage Manager Cecilia Booth, Front of House John Pepper, bass & Volunteer Coordinator Laura Pudwell, mezzo-soprano Gordon Peck, Technical Director Sam Elliott, Intermissions & Receptions Margaret Matian, WITH SPECIAL GUESTS CD Sales and Event Assistant Heather Engli, Touring Georges Sioui, narrator, singer BOARD OF DIRECTORS Jeremy Dutcher, vocal artist Heather Turnbull, President Ann Posen, Past President Marilyn George, singer, drummer John Ison, Treasurer Shirley Hay, singer, drummer Kim Condon, Secretary Harry Deeg Toronto Chamber Choir, Trini Mitra Lucas Harris, Artistic Director Sara Morgan Tiffany Grace Tobias Members of the Brookside Music Association, John French, Artistic Director FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK! 427 Bloor Street West AND Toronto ON M5S 1X7 Box Office 416-964-6337 Admin 416-966-1045 Alex Eddington, projectionist [email protected] Jason LaPrade, sound engineer TorontoConsort.org ABOUT US Top Row: David Fallis, Alison Melville, Michele DeBoer, John Pepper, Paul Jenkins Bottom Row: Katherine Hill, Terry McKenna, Laura Pudwell, Ben Grossman Photo Credit: Paul Orenstein Since its founding in 1972, The Toronto The Toronto Consort has made recordings for Consort has become internationally recognized the CBC Collection, Berandol, SRI, Dorian, for its excellence in the performance of and currently Marquis Classics, with 10 CDs to medieval, renaissance and early baroque music. its credit, two of which have been nominated Led by Artistic Director David Fallis, nine of for Juno awards. The most recent recording Canada’s leading early music specialists have (Navidad) was released in 2012; in 2014, come together to form The Toronto Consort, the group re-released its popular Christmas whose members include both singers and recording The Little Barley-Corne. instrumentalists (lute, recorder, guitar, flute, early keyboards and percussion). Recently, the ensemble has been called upon to produce music for historical-drama TV Each year The Toronto Consort offers a series, including The Tudors, The Borgias and subscription series in Toronto, presented in the The Vikings, all produced by the cable network beautiful acoustic of the recently-renovated 700- Showtime. The Toronto Consort recorded the seat Jeanne Lamon Hall, at the Trinity-St. Paul’s soundtrack for Atom Egoyan’s award-winning Centre in downtown Toronto. The ensemble filmThe Sweet Hereafter. also tours regularly, having been to Europe and Great Britain four times, and frequently across Canada and into the US. PROGRAM NOTES Welcome to Kanatha/Canada: First collection of traditional songs of the Encounters. This evening, an unusual one Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet people). After for the Toronto Consort, has had a long visiting the Museum of Canadian History period of gestation. It began in 2014 when in Gatineau, listening to old wax cylinder the Consort was asked to participate in recordings of songs and stories from some the world premieres of John Beckwith’s of his Wolastoq ancestors, and with the help Wendake/Huronia in the summer of 2015. of modern speakers, he clothes these songs This piece forms the second part of our in new colours. As he explains, “My project program; more detailed notes about it hopes to make these traditional Wolastoq follow. songs a part of our communities again.” The experience of working on a piece which For the first half of the program we wanted included native singers Marilyn George to find a way to respectfully and genuinely and Shirley Hay, and included settings of combine the songs and voices of all the text by the Wendat scholar and tradition artists. The “Great Peace” of Montreal carrier Georges Sioui, was a moving one proved to be an interesting take-off point. for all of us, and we resolved to present The historian Gilles Havard, in his book the “choral documentary” on a series Montreal, 1701: Planting the Tree of Peace, concert in Toronto. The sesquicentennial of gives an introduction to this remarkable Confederation allowed a certain rightness event in Canadian history: to having the concert in 2017, while at the same time highlighting the idea that In the heat of the summer of 1701, Canada is much older than 150 years. (It hundreds of Native people paddled their was Jacques Cartier, in the report on his birchbark canoes down the Ottawa second voyage in 1535/36, who first wrote River, through the vast forests of the the word “Canada” to describe an area Laurentian basin. Shooting the rapids, near the Saguenay on the north shore of avoiding the rocks, they made their way the St. Lawrence, saying later, in a brief but towards Montreal, towards the rising fascinating list of native words, that canada sun. The impressive flotilla was made means town.) up of delegations from many nations of the Great Lakes region. They came We met Jeremy Dutcher in another musical from Michilimackinac (Odawas, Huron- encounter, and not only loved his singing, Petuns), Green Bay (Potawatamis, Sauks, but learned about his fascinating project Menominees, Winnebagos), the area called Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa, a south of Lake Michigan (Mascoutens, Miamis) and the shores of Lake Superior intended to restore the grieving Wendats. (Crees, Ojibwas). Converging on The funeral procession arranged by the Montreal from other directions were French was led by 60 troops, followed by ambassadors of the Iroquois League, Huron warriors wearing long beaver pelts, an Abenaki delegation from Acadia, their faces blackened in mourning. Then and delegates from the mission villages came members of the clergy, followed by within the French colony. In total, about six war chiefs carrying the coffin. Next 1,300 Native delegates, representing came the family (Kandiaronk’s brother and 39 nations, would gather in the little children), followed by numerous Huron colonial town. Their purpose was to and Odawa leaders. Finally came the wife participate in a general peace conference of the French intendant, and the governor – or, to use one of their metaphors, to of Montreal. Following a Catholic service, “bury the hatchet deep in the earth” – in Kandiaronk was buried in Notre Dame order to put to an end decades of warfare Church in Montreal. Some scholars have between the Five Nations Iroquois on suggested that the death of Kandiaronk one side and the French and their Native contributed to reconciliation between the allies on the other. various sides, and helped lead to the signing of the peace treaty. One of the most important native delegates was a Wendat named Kandiaronk. Born Shortly afterwards, the peace treaty was in Wendake (Huronia) just before the signed by all the leading delegates, followed dispersal of the Wendat at the hands of the by general feasting, celebration, and further Iroquois, renowned for his intellect, wit and time to engage in trade (a constant feature eloquence, he became a critical ally of the of any such gathering at the time). French in arranging for so many delegates to come to Montreal, and was a respected The music in the first half has been arranged and eloquent promoter of the peace. In the and inspired by this meeting of nations middle of the conference, he caught a violent which took place in Canada so many fever (probably the same disease which had years ago: honour songs to welcome and already killed many Natives) and died. The greet; canoeing songs from both native conference came to a halt, and he was given and voyageur traditions; music to ease the funeral rites by both Natives and the French. passing of a leader, including a piece found French and Iroquois attended the hut of in the collections of 17th-century sacred the Huron chief, and Native orators spoke music in the Ursuline convent in Quebec; at length about the deceased, followed by songs of trading and walking together. the condolence ceremony – the drying of tears, the opening of the ears, the opening – David Fallis of the throat to pour in “a sweet medicine” COMPOSER NOTES on Wendake/Huronia Late in 2013, John French, founder and 2. Champlain. Champlain’s published artistic director of the Brookside Music account of his travels (1619) includes Association in Midland, conceived the in its second edition (1632) a poetic idea of commissioning a special work to epigraph written by a fan, Pierre Trichet.