Music in the Castle of Heaven
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Music in the Castle of Heaven Daniel Taylor, conductor with Charles Daniels, tenor Rebecca Genge, soprano Peter Harvey, baritone Ryan McDonald, countertenor and the University of Toronto Schola Cantorum Friday, January 24, 2020 7:30 pm Trinity College Chapel, 6 Hoskin Avenue The Historical Performance area concerts are made possible in part by a generous gift from Ethel Harris. We wish to acknowledge this land on which the University of Toronto operates. For thousands of years it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land. PROGRAM BWV 140 “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme” J. S. Bach (1685-1750) Intermission Concerto for Recorder and Flute “TWV52:e1” G.F. Telemann Largo-Allegro (1681-1787) Concerto “Op. 9 No. 2” Charles Avison Largo-Allegro Spiritoso-Leutement-Aria Cantabile (1709-1770) BWV 7 “Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam” J. S. Bach ARTISTS Daniel Taylor, conductor SCHOLA Altos: MEMBERS OF CANTORUM James Dyck THE CHOIR OF Yelena Gavrilova THE THEATRE OF Sopranos: Peter Koniers EARLY MUSIC Frances Beg Nikki Puchkov Saige Carlson Ryan McDonald Soprano: Anna-Julia David Danielle Nicholson Teresa Mahon Alexandra Delle Donne Elisabeth Ritthaler Maria Deng Karis Tees Altos: Jane Fingler Shane Hanson Rebecca Genge Tenors: Jessica Wright Loren Graziano Nathan Gritter Salena Harriman Arieh Sacke Tenor: Roanna Kitchen Jacob Thomas Valdis Jevtetevs Clara Krause Nick Veltmeyer Camille Labonte David Walsh Baritones: Grace Liang Adam Kuiack Michaela O’Connor Basses: David Roth Kayla Ruiz Wesley Hui Erica Simone Matthew Tissi Amanda Singh Emily Zixin Wang Sierra Ward-Bond Jennifer Wilson PROGRAM NOTES BWV 140 Wachet auf, ruft uns telescoped: an ageless appeal for die Stimme watchfulness as ‘the Bridegroom comes’, an evocation of the For Whittaker it represents the historic Jerusalem, with the night- ‘glorious ripeness of Bach’s watchmen doing their rounds, and maturity’…it is a cantata without the contemporary framework of weakness, without a dull bar, Bach’s Leipzig. technically, emotionally and spiritually of the highest order’. The mood returns in the other Once again the autograph score two chorale settings ‘Zion hört is missing, though thankfully a die Wächter singen’ (No. 4), with full set of Bach’s manuscript it’s beguiling violin/viola obbligato performing parts has survived. and the plain but gorgeously Judging by the number of satisfying finale chorale, ‘Gloria sei manuscript copies of the score dir gesungen’. Flanked by these made in the half century after public, pilar-like outbursts are Bach’s death, this cantata bucked two fine recitatives, one secco for the trend and held its place in the tenor, the other accompagnato repertoire, as well as being among for bass, and two intimate duets the first to appear in print, in 1847. for soprano and baritone drawing The festive, expectant mood that heavily on references to The Song he creates in his opening chorus of Solomon. The first of these is a is based on exploiting the inherent slow siciliano in which the flickering textural antiphony between his lamps ‘lit with burning oil’ find two ‘choirs’ of strings and double perfect illustration in the arabesques reeds and on extrapolating of the violin solo. The second duet the full majesty of the French (No. 6), with its oboe obliggato, has overture style, double-dotted in a jauntier air. triple rhythm. From this a rising syncopated figure emerges, taken At this crucial turning point in the up later on by the altos as they Church year, there seems to be lead off with their ‘alleluia’ figure pagan mythology lying behind and adopted by all the other these mid-winter celebrations, of singers. With its Gregorian origins, which Bach shows that he was Philipp Nicolai’s popular tune and aware. This is the darkest time of poem (1599) form the bedrock of the year when the autumn-sown Bach’s invention. As in a number cereals lie dormant in appropriate of other cantatas, you sense that state of what plan pathologists call several time-frames are here being ‘vernalization’. BWV 7 Christ unser Herr zum and baptism of the heathen. Jordan kam This leads to an unusual, terse aria (No. 6) for alto (with the two It is a monumental piece, oboes d’amore doubling the especially its opening choral violins) exhorting mankind to be fantasia, a stirring setting of cleansed by faith and baptism and Luther’s baptismal hymn with the not to ‘perish in the pit of hell’. melody in the tenors over a French That seems to be a theological overture for two oboes d’amore, kernel of what is otherwise a rather solo violin and strings, replete with depressing doctrinal dismissal of grandiloquent baroque gestures the benefits of good works and a to suggest both the processional blameless life. Johann Walther’s entrance of Jesus and the powerful tune, heard in the opening chorale flooding of the River Jordan. fantasia, then returns with Luther’s Getting the tempo right is just one baptismal words about faith alone of the interpretive challenges - one being capable of understanding that can accommodate the natural ‘the power of the blood of Christ.’ momentum for the violin barriolage representing the surging of the © John Eliot Gardiner 2004 river, yet remain spacious enough for the rhetorical gestures to make From a journal written in the course maximum impact. of the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage In No 2, an aria for bass and Charles Daniels, Peter Harvey continuo (‘Mark and hear, ye and Daniel Taylor were soloists on children of men’), Bach does recording for DG Archiv and SDG the preacher’s job for him to capturing live performances of the perfection, with varied inflection, Bach Cantata Pilgrimage lengths and stresses - and a dash of humour (was there a particular Leipzig cleric whose mannerisms and delivery were being parodied here?). A tenor recitative (No. 3) prepares us for Christ’s teaching, in an aria (No. 4) which describes, through its pair of soaring violins, the circling flight of the Holy Spirit as a dove. The bass returns with an accompagnato (No. 5) to remind the listener that Christ’s passion and resurrection were the inspiration behind the conversion BIOGRAPHIES Quartet, Lambert airs with Fred Jacobs. Recent concert appearances include Lawes songs with Les Voix Humaines in Utrecht, St Matthew Passion semi-staged in the York Early Music Festival, Handel Chandos Anthems in their original setting of the Canons Estate church, domestic music of Bach for the Nederlandse Bach Vereniging, previously Photo credit: Annelies van der Vegt unheard Vivaldi in Venice with La Serenissima and the Academy Charles Daniels of Ancient Music’s radical look at The tenor Charles Daniels is Purcell King Arthur. best known as an interpreter of Baroque music, but his narrative He is delighted to collaborate gifts have been praised for music frequently with Canadian musicians as diverse as Machaut Virelais from and besides these concerts, the 1360s and Graham Treacher’s future projects include the St Divine Madness (2016). He was Matthew Passion in Halifax N.S. born in Salisbury and studied at and a tour of an ornithologically King’s College Cambridge and themed programme with Les Voix under Edward Brooks at the Royal Humaines. College of Music. Charles’ completion of Purcell’s His extensive discography includes Ode Arise my Muse was Bach’s Matthäus-Passion with the performed in Montreal in 2009 and Bach-Stiftung, Monteverdi L’Orfeo his reconstructions of Gesualdo’s with Andrew Parrott, Handel Sacrae Cantiones à6 have been Messiah and Schütz’ Christmas performed in Amsterdam’s Story with the Gabrieli Consort, Muziekgebouw. He is married Wojciech Kilar’s Missa Pro Pace with two daughters and is an avid with the Warsaw Philharmonic, cyclist. much Purcell and Bach, and more intimate discs such as Senfl Tenorlied with Fretwork, Heracleitus with the Bridge Photo credit: Kim Hardy Rebecca Genge Peter Harvey Rebecca Genge is a Toronto-based Peter Harvey arrived at Magdalen soprano, originally from Victoria, College, Oxford to study French BC. She performs frequently in and German, and though he both cities, with ensembles such as soon afterwards changed course Theatre of Early Music, the Trinity to music, his love of languages Choir, University of Toronto’s Schola has always remained at the heart Cantorum, the Elora Singers, the of his singing. He went on to Pacific Baroque Orchestra and study at the Guildhall School of the Victoria Baroque Players. In Music, where he won prizes in a 2017 she made her operatic debut number of international singing as Papagena in The Magic Flute competitions. He has made with Pacific Opera Victoria and well over a hundred recordings returned to the company as Jano in in repertoire spanning eight Janacek’s Jenufa in October. As an centuries, with an emphasis on avid choral singer, she has been a music from the High Baroque. He part of several recordings including works regularly with the English Trinity Choir’s Four Thousand Baroque Soloists and Monteverdi Winter for SONY, on which she Choir, directed by John Eliot is a featured soloist. Upcoming Gardiner, Gabrieli Consort and engagements include her debut Paul McCreesh, King’s Consort, with the Grand Philharmonic Netherlands Bach Society, Purcell Choir. Rebecca studies with Mary Quartet and London Baroque, as Morrison and Daniel Taylor and well as appearing with The Sixteen is currently pursuing a Doctorate and Harry Christophers, Orchestra in Historical Performance at the of the Age of Enlightenment, University of Toronto. BBC National Orchestra of Wales and BBC Symphony.