Volume 27 Issue 3 - December 2021 / January 2022

“The practice of the time was for performers
to improvise their own ornaments and
scholars today debate endlessly as to exactly
how that was done. This concerto shows
how Bach himself did it!”
written two weeks apart in 1726, with the organ playing the solo
line. Twelve years later, Bach repurposed these movements to form
his Keyboard [Harpsichord] Concerto No. 2 BWV 1053, but with
upgrades. Changes to the harmony and refinements of the counterpoint
and voice leading are all consistent with Bach’s greater
experience as a composer, but most significantly, he wrote far
more florid versions of the melodies.” Michael will play these later
versions as his Da Capos [repeats of the opening musical material]
in movements one and three. “The practice of the time was for
performers to improvise their own ornaments and scholars today
debate endlessly as to exactly how that was done. This concerto
shows how Bach himself did it!”
For these performances, Michael has created an entirely new
score and parts to match his own vision for this reconstruction of
a bassoon concerto with oboe d’amore obbligato (to be played by
principal oboe, Sarah Jeffrey). I can attest to it taking him most
of these past seven months. As I write this, he’s just finishing
the string parts. (Adversity to advantage, once more!) Audience
members who want to hear this piece again should come back to
the TSO in February when pianist Angela Hewitt will play it as the
Keyboard Concerto No.2.
There will be a lot of familiar tunes on this program, but none
more immediately recognizable than the famous Air on a G String,
the second movement of Bach’s Orchestral Suite No.3. “Its simple
melody provides a lovely interlude amidst some otherwise complex
textures,” notes Jonathan.
The Brandenburg Concerto No.2 BWV 1047 is a riot of sound. The
four soloists, (violin, flute, oboe and piccolo trumpet) toss phrases
around, imitating and interrupting each other as if in competition
for the listener’s attention. “It’s an especially difficult piece for
the trumpet because it hangs around in the very highest range of
the instrument,” observes principal trumpet, Andrew McCandless.
“Just hitting all the notes can be a major achievement, but then
the sound can also be quite penetrating up there. One time, when
I was asked to play this, I showed up at the first rehearsal to find
my stand positioned off to the side – well away from the other soloists.
I was told this was because the trumpet is always too loud. I
told everyone, If any of you have to tell me to play softer, I’ll donate
back my entire paycheck. No one said anything and I got paid. For
me, this is an elegant ensemble piece. I try to blend like I’m Sarah’s
oboe duet partner.
Principal oboe Sarah Jeffrey agrees, “My very favourite role in
the TSO is being featured alongside my esteemed colleagues and
best friends. In this concert, I not only get to back up Michael in
an obligato role, but really mix it up with my other friends for the
Brandenburg 2. We often hang out together and it’s going to be like
one of our animated dinner conversations.”
After a 30-year “career” of listening to my colleagues of the
Toronto Symphony, I continue to be impressed with and inspired
by how good they are at what they do. To develop their level of skill
requires dedication akin to an Olympic athlete and their teamwork
rivals any sports franchise. Add to that their strong social bonds
and you have the magic that will be on full display January 7, 8 and
9, 2022 at Roy Thomson Hall.
Gary Corrin was appointed principal librarian of the Toronto
Symphony Orchestra in January 1992.
IN WITH THE NEW
Music for Change
Kronos and Tagaq
return to 21C
WENDE BARTLEY
“It’s not so much a place I go to as a place I come to.
It’s a freedom, a lack of control, an exploration, and
I’m reacting to whatever happens upon the path.”
Tanya Tagaq (quoted in WN May 2016)
Five years ago at the 21C Music Festival, the Kronos Quartet
introduced their Fifty for the Future project, performing
four of these works including the world premiere of Snow
Angel-Sivunittinni (meaning “the future children”) created by the
exhilarating and ferocious Inuk throat singer Tanya Tagaq. Spread
over five years, the project commissioned 50 new works by 25 women
and 25 men for string quartet, all designed to introduce future string
quartets to the diversity of contemporary musical ideas. In The
WholeNote article I wrote for the May 2016 issue, David Harrington,
first violinist of the quartet, described Tagaq’s voice as sounding “like
she has a string quartet in her throat.”
This year’s edition of the 21C festival brings these two forces of
creative fortitude back together once again, giving us a retrospective
look at the Fifty for the Future project in the form of a live film
documentary. On January 18, the multimedia performance piece A
Thousand Thoughts, presented in partnership with the Hot Docs Ted
Rogers Cinema, combines live music and narration by Kronos with
archival footage and filmed interviews with various artists, including
Tagaq. It offers us an intimate look at the Kronos initiative to build this
free library of 50 contemporary works which are available for download
on their website. Another
layer of the quartet’s commitment
to young performers will be a
two-day mentorship with students
from the Glenn Gould School,
culminating in a concert on
January 20 titled Fifty Forward.
On January 21, Kronos will
perform their concert Music for
Change with repertoire chosen to
express their current artist vision,
as articulated by Harrington.
“Everything we do as citizens,
as human beings, is a statement
about how we want the
world to be. Increasingly, I feel
my role as musician is to point in
constructive musical and cultural
directions as we attempt to help Tanya Tagaq
repair the torn fabric of our
20 | December 2021 and January 2022 thewholenote.com
20 | December 2021 thewholenote.com