toronto arts coalition

Toronto Consort

As one of Canada’s premiere historical music ensembles, now celebrating its 35th season, The Toronto Consort breathes new life into the wonderful music of

Members of Toronto Consort

photo by Paul Orenstein

the Middle Ages, Renaissance and early Baroque periods for audiences across Canada, the United States, and Europe. They are musical explorers, pioneers and curators for this music which is an essential element of the history of Western civilization.

The members of the group are: David Fallis, artistic director and tenor; Michele DeBoer, soprano; Ben Grossman, percussion and hurdy-gurdy; Katherine Hill, viola da gamba and soprano; Paul Jenkins, tenor and harpsichord; Alison Melville, flute and recorders; Terry McKenna, lute; John Pepper, bass; Laura Pudwell, mezzo-soprano.

In addition to their popular five-program concert series in Toronto, they also present educational programs for high school students, such as “An Introduction to Medieval Music” and “Shakespeare’s Songbook.” Their most recent tour program was music from the time of Leonardo da Vinci which has now been recorded on the Marquis Records label.

As in past seasons, this year’s concert series includes a huge range of styles, genres, and nationalities. There are the courtly songs and dances of England’s Queen Elizabeth I, with actor Karen Woolridge portraying the feisty Queen, and lively 16th and 17th century Christmas music of Latin America and Spain, including villancicos, ensaladas, xácaras and romances, as well as rarely-heard masterpieces from Baroque Mexico and Guatemala. Then there are the exotic Persian love songs performed by Montreal-based ensemble Constantinople which has an enviable reputation for its unique combining of medieval music with the living traditions of the Mediterranean region; the spiritual and masterful choral tradition of the Franco-Flemish composers; and finally, the grand Missa Concertata of Francesco Cavalli (Monteverdi’s successor), for voices, strings, brass and continuo, plus other music also inspired by the spacious magnificence of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice. This season, there was also a fully-staged co-presentation with Opera Atelier - Monteverdi’s opera “The Return of Ulysses.”

In recent years, the Consort’s presentations have become somewhat more multi-sensory and theatrical as they continue to bring old music to modern audiences in a new way. They have collaborated with dancers, actors, Inuit throat singers, film makers (like Atom Egoyan), and have commissioned contemporary composers (Mychael Danna and Christos Hatzis). In partnership with Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, the Consort organized “Metamorphosis,” a city-wide festival of the arts in 2005, which showcased many local arts groups in performances, exhibits and special events with the theme of transformation.

This year, the Consort is coordinating a celebration of music and architecture, entitled “Sacred Spaces, Sacred Circles Arts Festival,” in partnership with Tafelmusik and Doors Open Toronto. Their own program, in conjunction with this event, is entitled “Music for a Medieval Labyrinth” which offers music associated with the ancient custom of walking the labyrinth – lively medieval dance-songs originally performed by the many pilgrims who visited these sacred places – as well as sophisticated Renaissance polyphony such as Josquin’s Missa l’homme armé, as well as music by the great J.S. Bach.

David Fallis, Artistic Director of the Toronto Consort since 1990 and undoubtedly one of Canada’s leading interpreters of early music, has recently become the historical consultant for the television series “The Tudors”, now in its second season, and is responsible for recording (often with members of the Consort) the “source music”. This is just another step in the growing international reputation of the Toronto ensemble.

For more information on Toronto Consort or Doors Open, visit www.torontoconsort.org and www.toronto.ca/doorsopen

Frank Nakashima