Volume 27 Issue 7 | May 20 - July 12, 2022

concluding her recital with a four-movement improvisation. A staple
of the French organ tradition, this symphonic style of improvisation is
utterly thrilling, as the use of themes submitted by audience members
adds a level of spontaneity and excitement that is unparalleled.
Indeed, where in some contexts the flawless execution of a written
(and often memorized) score is cause for acclaim, here the expression
of musical ideas “on the fly” is well worth the price of admission,
especially when a theme is quickly and effectively spun into a
complex, improvised fugue!
Whether diving into an organ recital, Bach’s Brandenburg
Concertos, the Estonian Collegium Musicum, or one of the myriad
concerts and recitals on offer this month and next, there is little doubt
that Toronto’s music scene is recovering admirably from the challenges
of the past two years. While we may not yet be on the verge of a
new Golden Age, we remain hopeful that the progress experienced to
date will continue and that artists across this community will flourish
in ways both profound and unexpected.
Sophie-Véronique Cauchefer-Choplin
Matthew Whitfield is a Toronto-based harpsichordist and organist.
ORCHESTRAL
Continuing their front-and-centre focus on J.S. Bach and his music,
the Tafelmusik Orchestra presents Brandenburg Concertos 3, 4, 5 and
6 at Koerner Hall on May 28. These six multi-movement works, so
titled because they were presented to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of
Brandenburg-Schwedt in 1721, are widely regarded as some of the best
orchestral compositions of the Baroque era. While he appears to have
selected the six pieces from concertos he previously composed while
employed at Köthen and Weimar, Bach wrote out the presented scores
himself, rather than leaving that task to a copyist, a testament to the
importance of this presentation to the composer.
Unfortunately for Bach, the fate of these now-renowned scores did
not turn in his favour. Because King Frederick William I of Prussia
was not a significant patron of the arts, Christian Ludwig seems to
have lacked the musicians in his Berlin ensemble to perform the
concertos. The full score was therefore left unused in the Margrave’s
library until his death in 1734 and only rediscovered in the archives of
Brandenburg in 1849, receiving its first publication the following year.
Despite their century-long delay in attaining public exposure, the
Brandenburg Concertos have since become favourites in the modern
era, performed frequently both by large orchestras and historically
informed ensembles. In the hands of the period performance masters
at Tafelmusik, there is little doubt that this concert will be a thrilling
journey into Bach’s mind and music.
ORGAN
Even though it is often considered a niche component of the larger
urban music scene, the pipe organ community is full of dedicated
enthusiasts, rich history, robust musical material and fine performers.
Since its inception in 2005, Organix Concerts has emerged as a toptier
venue for some of Canada’s most renowned and gifted organists,
as well as a host to internationally renowned guests, two of whom will
visit Toronto this June: acclaimed Tournemire scholar Richard Spotts;
and the French organist Sophie-Véronique Cauchefer-Choplin.
Spotts performs on the Casavant pipe organ at All Saints Anglican
Church on June 22, presenting a program consisting of Charles
Tournemire’s Trois Poèmes. A mysterious and controversial genius,
Tournemire was a quintessential church musician in the French
tradition, renowned during his lifetime for both his improvisations
and compositions. Despite his formidable contribution to the art
form, however, his works are woefully understudied and underperformed
by modern organists, and Spotts has devoted the last decade
to unpacking Tournemire’s legacy and restoring the reputation of this
early-20th-century genius.
Cauchefer-Choplin will be featured on the immense instrument at
Timothy Eaton Memorial Church on June 29, playing a range of works
by Bach, Widor and the Canadian composer Denis Bédard, before
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