Volume 28 Issue 4 | February - March 2023

Bassist Robert Alan Mackie reappears as a
member of Vinta on the next disc, Beacons
(vintamusic.com). Other members include
Emilyn Stam (fiddle and piano accordion),
John David Williams (clarinet, diatonic
accordion, bass clarinet) and Nathan Smith
(fiddle and viola). One might expect hints of
Klezmer from the ensemble’s instrumentation,
but Vinta is based in the folk-dance
traditions of Europe, especially those of France and Sweden. Growing
out of Balfolk gatherings in the High Park neighbourhood of Toronto,
the enforced isolation of the COVID lockdown also provided an aspect
of the group’s inspiration. “At a time when joy and celebration were
far away, the four of us came together and shared everything we could.
First came the old tunes, hot meals and loud laughter – sure enough,
then came the new tunes.” The result is an album of original music in
traditional style(s), and one cover – Seduction, a 1929 waltz by
Frenchman Mario Cazes, which is combined with Mario and Everest
by Stam, “a wedding waltz written for dear friends.” A highlight for
me is another waltz, Rosedale Valley by Mackie, once again paired
with a composition by Stam, Regent Street Parade. Other pieces of
note include High Park by Williams, and the group composition Le
réveil des coccinelles, yes, those ladybugs again. Producer (and
mandolinist extraordinaire) Andrew Collins praises Vinta’s “unique
aesthetic driven by their original composing, arranging and virtuosic
playing. […] one certainty is that you will have a smile on your face.” I
couldn’t have said it better myself.
The next disc features half the members of
Vinta, Emilyn Stam and John David
Williams performing as a duo. I thought
Stam was a familiar name and searching
back a few years I found a disc by a local
group called The Shoeless – a “cross-cultural
stew, combining the sounds of Klezmer,
French, Celtic, Appalachian and English
music” in a trio with fiddle (Stam), banjo
and cello – so obviously her roots spread far afield. The current album
focuses on her Dutch heritage and draws on a collection of tunes
published in the early 1700s, the title of which translates as Old and
New Farmer Songs and Contradances from Holland. On The Farmer
Who Lost His Cow and other old Dutch tunes (emilynandjohn.com)
Stam plays five-string fiddle, piano and piano accordion, while
Williams adds harmonica to his arsenal of clarinet and diatonic accordion.
To 21st-century ears there is a certain sameness to the melodies,
but differing tempos and the way the duo switches up the accompaniments
makes for an entertaining listen that kept my attention. I’m not
sure if it is just the novelty of the titles, but highlights included The Pig
Scratches His Hole, The Mullet Fish and, of course, the title track,
along with the almost minimalistic The Friction Drum and the
haunting Farewell My Love with its harmonica lead. As well as songs,
there are numerous Gaillardes interspersed throughout this compelling
disc. And I feel I must mention, the graphic art includes…
ladybugs!
David Greenberg’s Multiple voices for One
(Leaf Music DG2022A davidgreenbergviolinist.bandcamp.com/album/multiplevoices-for-one)
is another disc that
combines traditional fiddling styles with
dance forms, contemporary arrangements
and compositions. For over three decades,
Greenberg has enjoyed a double career as a
Baroque violinist and Cape Breton fiddler.
His international career spans continents and his Toronto connections
have included performing as a member of Tafelmusik and Toronto
Consort among others. This disc features movements from Bach’s
partitas and sonatas for solo violin and other classical movements
intercut with a variety of jigs, reels and marches from various sources
and original tunes by Greenberg and his son Owen, as well Toronto’s
late legendary fiddler Oliver Schroer’s Enthralled. Greenberg plays
both Baroque and octave violins on the album, both tuned in period
style at A414. There is no overdubbing involved, he just plays one or
the other on each track, but the booklet includes a clever picture in
which he appears to be playing both at once with the smaller one
tucked under his chin, the other on his shoulder and the bow spanning
both instruments. Greenberg is an acknowledged master of
violin and fiddle techniques and, as this recording attests, possesses a
consummate musicality that spans genres and styles. An accomplished
clinician, he offers a variety of online tuition opportunities,
that latest of which is “Making Tunes with Intention,” a three-week
course exploring the composition and arrangement of traditional style
tunes – Celtic, Baroque, and classical – beginning February 26. You
will find details and registration at davidgreenbergviolinist.com/
mti-home.
Sticking with the violin family, but moving
away from the fiddle tradition, the next disc
features music for solo viola by longtime
CBC producer and frequent contributor to
The WholeNote, David Jaeger. In the spirit of
full disclosure I will say that I have had a
lengthy professional relationship with Jaeger
over the years as the administrator of New
Music Concerts but of course almost
everyone in the contemporary music
community could say the same. Since retiring from the CBC, Jaeger,
when not busy producing independent recordings for some of
Toronto’s finest musicians, has expanded his activities as a composer
and there has been a wealth of new work in recent years. Conjuring:
Viola Music of David Jaeger (Redshift Records TK524 redshiftrecords.
org) spans four decades. The soloist is Hamilton native, now Vermont
resident, Elizabeth Reid who rises to the various challenges the works
present with aplomb and conviction. She is accompanied by Alison
Bruce Cerutti in Sonata, Tristan and Isolde, written in 1992 in honour
of the 70th birthday of the composer’s mother (and her dog and cat),
and Sonata No.1 for viola and piano written just four years ago. The
Six Miniatures for unaccompanied viola are based on verses by
Scottish poet David Cameron, the texts of which are included in the
booklet, with the violist “in effect, playing the role of the reciter.” As
befitting a founding member of the Canadian Electronic Ensemble,
Jaeger’s three remaining works involve the use of technology in one
form or another. Constable and the Spirit of the Clouds is an adaption
of a work originally for solo cello. At the suggestion of Reid, Jaeger
reworked the cello score for viola and added an electronic track
“composed using a similar process,” i.e., examples of linear variation
observed in the work of English Romantic artist John Constable. The
result is intriguing. The final two works were written for the
thewholenote.com/listening
Multiple Voices for One
David Greenberg
The joyful rhythmic drive of Cape
Breton music meets the wondrous
fantasy of Bach’s musical tapestry
in an exciting collision of styles.
Conjuring:
Viola Music of David Jaeger
Elizabeth Reid, Alison Bruce
Cerutti, David Jaeger
Melodic viola, piano, and space-age
electronics highlight "Conjuring: Viola
Music of David Jaeger." Introducing the
compelling composing, and expressive
interpretations from Reid and Cerutti.
thewholenote.com February & March, 2023 | 47