Volume 9 Issue 10 - July/August 2004

has for children's choral music.
Ms. Henderson also serves as
music director at Kingsway-Lambton
United Church and her treatment
of religious texts such as the
Gloria, Cantata Domino, Come
Holy Spirit. and Psalm 150 display
'her depth of passion for liturgical
music. And who better to record
this music than the Elmer lseler
Singers who deliver a flawless performance
under the direction of
Lydia Adams . After all, Ms.
Henderson also served as accompanist
for Iseler's Festi.val Singers .
Dia1111e Wells
The Passing of the Year
University of Alberta Madrigal
Singers
Arktos 200477
The University of Alberta Madrigal
Singers began, as their name
would suggest, as a 12-voice early
music ensemble. When the choir's
ranks swelled to their current
membership of forty-four, they
expanded their range of repertoire
to include many periods and styles.
Their newest recording, "The
Passing of the Year", is named for
one of the more modern compositions
on the disc, by Jona.than Dove,
who weaves his eight-part textures
around a variety of lyrics on seasonal
themes by poets Thomas
Nash, George Peele, William
Blake, Alfred Lord Tennyson and
Emily, Dickinson. Another doublechoir
setting, Hail Gladdening light
by Charles Wood features a meditative
middle section framed by
actively textured beginning and
endings. Another deeply textured
work is Felix Mendelssohn's Ave
Maria, beginning with solo tenor,
moving to eight-part chorus, with
a final section in sixteen-part counterpoint.
The choir handles this
rather well , and seems at ease with
the complex demands of this repertoire.
It's easy to understand why'
at the recent CBC Competition for
Amateur Choirs, they took top honours
in the Mixed Choirs (University-based
Adult) category and taking
first prize in the 2004 CBC competition's
College choir division.
Dia1111e Wells
Live In Concert
Lachan, The Toronto Jewish
Chamber Choir
Independent
Created I 0 years ago by Cantor
Benjamin Maissner, Lachan
(which means melody in Hebrew)
is dedicated to the performance of
Jewish or Jewish:influenced music
from a variety of traditions and
eras. The 25 member auditioned
volunteer choir has performed in.
Canada, the US and Europe, and
represented Canada at "Sounds of
Healing", an international gathering
of Jewish choirs in 2000, in
Nuremberg, Germany.
Their first CD presents spirited
renditions of works based' mostly
on liturgical or biblical texts, by
Canadian composers Srul Irving
Glick, Sid Robinovitch and Ben
Steinberg, Israelis Tzvi A vni, Paul
Ben-Haim and Yeheskel Braun,
Italian Renaissance composer Salomone
Rossi, and others. The
works, sung a cappella or with accompaniment,
are in Hebrew and
English, and there is one delightful
piece in Yiddish. A highlight is
Glick's four movement Sing Umo
the Lord a New Song, with exquisite
harp accompaniment by Jacqueline
Goring.
As the subtitle implies, most of
the selections were recorded live,
so there is some coughing and other
extraneous noise from the audience,
and in a couple of instances the
sound is a little muddied making
the text difficult to discern (it's hard
to say whether the fault is with
acoustics, diction or engineering),
but thankfully this is the exception
rather than the rule. Although the
liner notes give bios of the choir,
Cantor Maissner and piano accom-
. panist Nadya Adler, there is sadly
no information on the composers
or compositions. Overall however,
the choir's enthusiasm, love of
the music and shear joy of singing
is what shines in this recording.
Visit www.lachan.org to order,
Karen Ages
EARLY MUSIC
Alessandro Scarlatti: Colpa,
Pentimento e Grazia
Maria Espada, Lola Casariego,
Martin Oro
Orquestra Barroca de Sevilla
Eduardo Lopez Banzo, director
Harmonia Mundi HMI
987045.46
Sicilian Alessandro Scarlatti, who
lived mostly in Naples and Rome,
wrote hundreds of innovative oratorios,
cantatas and operas, while
'his son Domenico, who was born
the same year as Handel and Bach
and spent much of his career in
Spain, is best known for his highly
original keyboard sonatas. This
oratorio by Alessandro is at first
glance somewhat, austere. It was
written in 1708 for Holy Week.
There is no chorus or keyboard
continua, and orchestral passages
are kept to a minimum. It really
amounts to an extended series of
recitatives, arias and ensembles
for the three singers . But they carry
the emotional weight of the texts
with such heart-wrenching passion
that austerity gives way to sublime
beauty.
Spanish conductor Eduardo
Lopez Banzo and his outstanding
musicians, with their splendid
trumpets and stringed instrume'nts
from the period, reflect the best
elements of baroque performance
today. Although they readi ly
achieve vivid dramatic momentum,
they spurn hurried tempos, exaggerated
accents, excessive ornamentation,
and obtrusive continua
in favour of a naturally flowing
style.
Soprano Marfa Espada has an
uncommon mastery of shading, giving
her role as Grazia (Grace)
many facets. Mezzo Lola Casariego
shapes the forceful phrases of
Colpa (Sin) with thrilling expressive
power. The gorgeous voice
of countertenor Martin Oro as Pentimento
(Repentance) effectively
combines purity with robustness.
The detailed booklet notes justifiably
call this work a masterpiece.
It was recorded live, with realistic
immediacy, at what must have been
an enthralling concert.
PamMargles
John Dowland - Ayres
Gerard Lesne, alto
Ensemble Orlando Gibbons
Naive E8881
Well, he.re is a new CD featuring
many of Dowland's best-known
bon-bons - Can she excuse, Flow
my teares, Fine knacks for ladies,
In darkness let me dwell, and so
on. There are so many recordings
of this repertoire around, one won~
RE. C 0 RDS
l IM IT E D
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