Volume 17 Issue 8 - May 2012

NOTA BENEcultural shifts taking place at that time. And, it features two veryinteresting guest artists: baroque flutist Emma Elkinson, and narratorColin Fox.●●May 13: The Toronto Chamber Choir’s afternoon “Kaffeemusiks”are a mix of expert and entertaining commentary from music directorMark Vuorinen with music sung by the choir. In this, the last ofthem this season, choir and soloists perform Bach’s cantata Brichdem Hungrigen dein Brot (Break Your Bread For the Hungry). Theirpress release offers this invitation: “In the spirit of the cantata’sreflections on the transformative power of charity, we encourage youto contribute to our food drive for the needy who live in our richlyblessed city.”●●May 20 & 21: Among the diverse groups who choose to focuson a particular aspect of the vast musical universe is the TorontoContinuo Collective, whose aim is to explore the art of baroqueaccompaniment and all that it entails: figured bass harmony, supportingtext inflection, ornamentation, word painting, improvisation,and everything else that makes the music speak and come alive.Nota Bene Baroque.In this pair ofconcerts, entitled“L’Authentiqueamour français,”they’ll show offtheir skills in aprogram of rarely-heardgems ofthe 17th-centuryFrench Baroque,by composerssuch as PierreGuedron andMarc-AntoineCharpentier.With their lutes,violins, viols andkeyboards, they’llbe joined byguest soloists, soprano Emily Klassen and tenor Bud Roach.●●May 24 to 27: Tafelmusik’s music director, Jeanne Lamon, hasobserved that for them, playing Beethoven feels like playing “newmusic that’s exploding” because they come to it from the perspectiveof the music that has gone before, rather than approaching itfrom a 21st-century perspective. Conductor Bruno Weil has calledTafelmusik “a great Beethoven orchestra, because Beethoven needsthe passion of every individual player.” You can experience thispassion for yourself in this month’s group of concerts, when theyplay the mighty “Eroica” Symphony, paired with an even later work:Mendelssohn’s Symphony No.4, the “Italian.”●●And immediately afterwards, Tafelmusik embarks on an OntarioTour: You can catch them May 29 in Owen Sound (presented by theSweetwater Music Festival); May 30 on Manitoulin Island; May 31in Parry Sound (presented by Festival of the Sound); June 1 in PortHope (presented by Port Hope Friends of Music).●●May 27: How wonderful to be able to contribute to the welfareof our fellow creatures on the earth, and to that of their habitat,through music. Soprano Ariel Harwood-Jones is well known from herperformances with Tafelmusik (as soloist and within the ChamberChoir), with Opera Atelier, Sine Nomine ensemble and many othergroups. She has gathered together a formidable group of fellowmusicians — among them, harpsichordist Sara-Anne Churchill,gambist Justin Haynes, violinist Larry Beckwith —who all contributetheir artistry in a “Friends & Family Concert,” with music byPurcell, Handel and Bach. Admission is pay-what-you-can andproceeds will go to the Canadian Wildlife Federation.For details on all these and more, please see The WholeNote’sdaily listings.Simone Desilets is a long-time contributor to The WholeNotein several capacities who plays the viola da gamba.She can be contacted at earlymusic@thewholenote.com.Métis Fiddler QuartetPresentsA live performance of theirdebut albumThursday May 10, 20126:00 pm reception, 7:00 pm performanceLakeside Terrace, Harbourfront Centre235 Queens Quay West, Toronto, ON M5J 2G8Part of PLANET INDIGENUS co-produced by HARBOURFRONT CENTRE and WOODLAND CULTURAL CENTREPantone versionCMYK versionBlack & White versionFree admissionrsvp@metisfiddlerquartet.comCD available onlinemetisfiddlerquartet.com@metisfiddlerfacebook.com/metisfiddlerquartetMay 1 – June 7, 2012thewholenote.com 23