Rumours of Peace
Reflections on the cost of human conflict, and the hope for lasting peace
Tuesday and Wednesday, November 15 & 16, 2011, at 8PM
Pre-concert talks at 7:15 pm
Trinity St. Paul's Centre
For Immediate Release - Toronto, October 14, 2011: Toronto's inventive Talisker Players open their 2011/12 season at Trinity St. Paul's Centre November 15 and 16 with a dramatic and moving production titled Rumours of Peace. The adventurous musicians of the ensemble are joined by soprano Teri Dunn, tenor Lawrence Wiliford - two of Canada's most sought-after vocal stars - and the exciting young baritone Justin Welsh to present an eclectic variety of music exploring the cost of war, and the hope for peace - a timely subject in the season that includes both Remembrance Day and the International Day of Peace.
The music on this programme reflects the responses of writers and composers to many different conflicts, both modern and ancient. The British composer Alec Roth looked back to ancient times with Songs in Time of War, which uses words by the acclaimed novelist Vikram Seth "after the eighth-century Chinese poet Du Fu". Regarded as one of China's finest poets, Du Fu lived a precarious itinerant existence through decades of ruinous war in his country, and died in poverty. Roth's music, for tenor with violin, harp and guitar, beautifully reflects the lyricism and deep compassion of the poetry as rendered in modern English by Seth*.
The Korean-American composer Earl Kim served in the U.S. Army Air Force during the second World War, and flew over the remains of Nagasaki 24 hours after the atomic bomb was dropped. His remarkable piece Now and Then is a quietly passionate protest against nuclear war. Written for soprano, viola, flute and harp, it includes poetry by Anton Chekhov, W.B. Yeats and Samuel Beckett.
Also focussed on the second World War, but in a very different theatre, is Cantata da Requiem by Gloria Coates, an expatriate American who has lived for many years in Germany. A dramatic cantata for soprano with viola, cello, piano and percussion, it uses a variety of texts from women on both sides of the combat - including poetry, a telegram, a note from a school teacher and a BBC weather report. Cantata da Requiem is included on Talisker Players' Naxos recording of Gloria Coates's work, on the America Classics series. It has been widely praised by critics in Europe and North America.
Rumours of Peace also features works by two award-winning young Canadian composers: Corpses Have Grown, by Erik Ross, sets a poem by Ken Saro-Wiwa. Using voice with oboe, cello, vibraphone, harp and piano, Ross captures the sorrow and despair of the great Nigerian activist and martyr as he awaited execution. Red Moon and Other Songs of War, by Robert Rival, is a stirring setting of poems by Thomas Hardy, Carl Sandburg, Sara Teasdale, and the great Canadian hero Norman Bethune (the title poem), reflecting on many conflicts, from the Wars of the Roses, to the Boer War, to the Spanish Civil War.
*This production coincides with the release in Canada of The Rivered Earth, a new book by Vikram Seth. It consists of four libretti written to accompany music by Alec Roth - including Songs in Time of War - and reflects the long-standing creative collaboration between these two artists.
Ottawa-born soprano Teri Dunn has been described as "outstanding" by BBC Music Magazine. She is equally admired for her natural feel for early music, and for her daring approach to avant-garde works of today's leading composers.
Lauded for his luminous projection, lyrical sensitivity, and brilliant coloratura, American-born Canadian tenor Lawrence Wiliford is in high demand in concert, opera, and recital repertoire ranging from works by Monteverdi to contemporary composers. He has been recognized in particular for his interpretation of Bach and other composers of the Baroque period.
From his earliest student days, Justin Welsh has been hailed as one of Canada's most promising young lyric baritones. A former member of the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio, he has been featured in several mainstage productions with the Canadian Opera Company. This marks his first appearance with Talisker Players.
The Talisker Players are widely admired for their original projects that unite instrumental music, song and the spoken word. Joining them for this performance is the acclaimed actor and theatre director Ross Manson, performing excerpts from Vermeer in Bosnia, a collection of essays by Lawrence Weschler (originally published in The New Yorker) which compassionately consider our responses to some of the great human crises of the late 20th century. Each performance of Rumours of Peace will be preceded by an informal talk by the Talisker Players Composer in Residence, Alexander Rapoport. Free with a ticket to the concert, these entertaining and informative chats were instituted last season, and became an instant hit.
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Ticket information
Media Contact: Francine Labelle/flINK
416-654-4406
labellefrancine@rogers.com
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