Oct - Old Ottawa South

Page 20 The OSCAR - OUR 31 st YEAR OCTOBER 2005
Prolific Polyphany Hails From Our Midst
By Mary Belotti
photos by Catherine Culley
An Old Ottawa South resident
since 1998, Organist
Matthew Larkin has recently
returned to Ottawa from a series of
concerts and performances in the
United Kingdom where he appeared
as accompanist and soloist with the
Choir of St. John’s Anglican Church,
Elora, Ontario. Under the direction of
Noel Edison, the choir has achieved
international fame as one of our
country’s foremost professional vocal
groups. The tour began in London,
and moved on to Windsor Castle and
finally to Canterbury Cathedral, the
Holy See of the worldwide Anglican
Communion.
St. Paul’s Cathedral was the
venue for the first six performances.
Completed in 1675, Christopher
Wren’s architectural masterpiece
has been host to some of the most
distinguished musicians in British
history, including Thomas Morley,
Jeremiah Clarke, Maurice Greene,
Matthew Larkin, Music Director
and Organist
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and most notably, G. F. Handel. The
Cathedral was filled with tourists and
pilgrims throughout the week, and
they were regaled with music old and
new, with choral and organ selections
from throughout Europe and North
America. Both Organist and Choir
were greeted affectionately and
enthusiastically.
Windsor Castle is home to the
venerable St. George’s Chapel, a
spectacular gothic structure built under
Edward IV in 1475. Matthew performed
there on three occasions on the same
day, a sunny Sunday where the small
town was jammed with tourists so that
one could hardly move at all! Another
feature of Windsor is that it is only a
few kilometres from Heathrow Airport,
so the organ music was accompanied
every forty-five seconds or so by the
roar of jet engines. One tourist was
heard to mutter to another, “I wonder
why they built that castle so close to
the airport!”
Canterbury Cathedral is one of
the oldest liturgical structures in the
world. It is the seat of the Archbishop
of Canterbury, who is the spiritual
head of the Anglican Church. The
Cathedral was consecrated in 605 by
the first archbishop, St. Augustine.
Most of the present building dates
from about 1400, but the site has been
one of the world’s most important
spiritual shrines for much longer than
that. Geoffrey Chaucer wrote about
this in his “Canterbury Tales”, and
centuries later, T. S. Eliot did the same
in his play “Murder in the Cathedral”,
which dramatizes the martyrdom of
Archbishop St. Thomas à Becket, who
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The Boys’ section of the choir around Easter this year at Christchurch Cathedral
died there in 1170. Matthew performed
there on four occasions with the choir.
The gracious and ancient space is an
ideal environment in which to enjoy
the great music of the church, both for
performer and listener alike.
Of course, it is not only the British
who are treated to such concerts.
Matthew tours Canada when his
commitments permit and recently
participated in the Chamber Music
Festival in Ottawa along with many
other distinguished musicians. He has
been Organist and Director of Music
at Christ Church Cathedral since
September of 2003, and his dynamic
direction has enabled the already
established Choir of Men and Boys to
achieve significant success not only
by serving the liturgical agenda of the
Cathedral, but also as revered concert
performers. J. S. Bach’s St. John
Passion, which took place on Palm
Sunday, is a notable example of a great
work magnificently executed.
The boy choristers, ranging in
age from seven to fourteen, sing with
the men of the Cathedral Choir at
most Cathedral liturgies. The boys,
who come from all over the Ottawa-
Gatineau region, rehearse after school
on Wednesdays and Fridays, are
trained to the standards of the Royal
School of Church Music, and are in
demand themselves as a concert group.
They progress through a series of
levels, marked by coloured ribbons,
from junior singers to senior singers
and head-boys. The boys have the
Valdy to headline
October’s Underground Sound
Veteran singer/songwriter and
Canadian legend Valdy is
bringing his brand of laid back
folk music to the Glebe Community
Centre on October 19th as part of the
Underground Sound concert series.
Doors open at 7 p.m. with a concert
start of 7:30 p.m.
Valdy, who has deep roots in the
Glebe, has two Juno Awards, seven
Juno nominations and four Gold albums
to his credit. He has sold almost half a
million copies of his 13 albums.
An irrepressible soul who penned
“Play Me a Rock and Roll Song”, a
bittersweet memory of an easygoing
performer facing a rambunctious
audience, Valdy lived on both Clemow
Avenue and Second Avenue and
attended Glashan Public School and
opportunity to receive individual
vocal coaching, and many develop
into highly competent soloists in their
own right. Over the years several have
appeared in solo roles at the National
Arts Centre in oratorios and operas.
In today’s world, opportunities for
boys to sing in a professional-calibre
ensemble are few and far between.
The Cathedral Boys’ Choir offers an
outstanding experience to interested
boys and their families. Any boy
is welcome, regardless of previous
musical experience or religious
affiliation, so long as they are able to
keep the commitment and contribute
their best efforts to the good of the
choir. Furthermore, the choir offers
the opportunity for travel, community,
and recreational experiences that are
unique and exciting in their own right.
In short, this is an activity that can
open a whole new window in a child’s
life. Most of the boys in the choir are
active in other areas as well (sports,
for example), so involvement in the
Cathedral Choir should not be seen as
exclusive of other activities.
Anyone interested in more information
is welcome to contact Matthew at any
time. He can be reached most days
at the Cathedral Music Office, 439
Queen Street, Ottawa, K1R 5A6, or
by telephone: 236-9149 (ext. 12), or
by email at matthew-larkin@ottawa.
anglilcan.ca
Glebe Collegiate for a brief spell.
Tickets for his concert are on sale
at Compact Music’s two stores, the
Ottawa Folklore Centre, the Glebe
Community Centre and online at
www.theglebeonline.com. They
cost $20 each. All proceeds will go
toward the beautification of Bank
Street. Underground Sound, hosted
by the Glebe Community Association
(GCA) and the Glebe Business Group,
is a series of concerts by Juno Award
winners and nominees to raise money
to bury the hydro wires along Bank
Street during the upcoming Bank Street
reconstruction. If the City of Ottawa
decides not to go ahead with the plan to
bury the lines, the money will be spent
on other improvement projects such as
banners, art or benches.