A Medieval Tapestry

Enchanting Tales of Olden Times, Heard Through Modern Ears.

Wednesday, November 3, 2004, at 8PM
Trinity St. Paul's Centre

For Immediate Release - Toronto, October 5, 2004: Ancient meets modern when Talisker Players, Toronto's innovative vocal chamber music ensemble, opens its 5th season at Trinity St. Paul's Centre on Wednesday, November 3 at 8PM. Featuring soprano Jennie Such and tenor James McLennan, A Medieval Tapestry explores the world of monks and peasants, courtiers and noblewomen.

The Talisker Players approach this blend of old and new with their usual inventiveness. The musical selections are based on all kinds of texts from the Middle Ages, from folk songs to formal poems to philosophical writings, and from England through all of Europe to Persia and the Far East. The musical settings, however, are thoroughly modern. They are by an eclectic array of composers of the 20th and 21st centuries, writing for various combinations of strings, winds and piano. As always, the concert includes the spoken word ˆ in this case excerpts from The Travels of Marco Polo, and other first-hand accounts of life in that time.

The centrepiece of the programme is Kurt Weill's elegiac Frauentanz, seven medieval German songs for soprano, viola, flute, clarinet, horn and bassoon. A very early work (1922), it already hints at the theatrical flair and the penchant for jazz rhythms for which he is famous. Another highlight is the revival of A Sprig of Flowers by Violet Archer, one of the most important and prolific Canadian composers of the mid-20th century. The setting of poems by the 13th-century Chinese nobleman Kuan Han-Ching is written for tenor, flute and piano.

Talisker Players also offer works by three Toronto composers: Scott Good's Deuil Engoisseux, for voice and string quartet, is based on writings by Christine de Pisan, a 14th-century scholar whom modern feminists consider to be one of the first champions of the rights of women; Alastair Boyd's Rondel, for voice, violin and piano, is a setting of a poem by Charles, duc d'Orléans; and Andrew Ager's From the Rubáiyát, for voice, string quartet and horn, is a setting of selections from the work of 11th-century Persian poet Omar Khayyám (in the famous translation by Edward FitzGerald).

A Medieval Tapestry also includes He Does Not Come, by the much-honoured New Zealand composer Helen Bowater, a piece for voice, violin, viola, piano and tamtam based on Japanese texts from the 9th and 13th centuries; and Four Fragments from the Canterbury Tales, by the American Lester Trimble. This work for voice, flute, clarinet and piano, is considered to be one of the masterpieces of American vocal repertoire.

Canadian soprano Jennie Such has garnered praise for her "melting beauty of tone", and the "glowing conviction" she brings to the stage in opera, concert and recital. Recent career highlights include important debuts with Symphony Nova Scotia in Handel's Messiah; and the Calgary Opera Association as Johanna in Sweeney Todd. Having performed in Korea with Opera Atelier, she has appeared with the Handel Festival in Halle and at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Germany with MDR Choir and Orchestra. Last season, Jennie was featured as a soloist in the Aldeburgh Connection's Schubertiade. Jennie looks forward to performances of The Contract with the National Ballet Orchestra in Montreal (2005) and to returning to Opera Atelier for Dido and Aeneas, Orfeo, Médée and Armide. She is currently featured in the highly-praised production of The Handmaid's Tale, presented by the Canadian Opera Company.

Tenor James McLennan is attracting attention for performances across Canada, in a wide range of repertoire from Baroque to new music. A former member of the Vancouver Opera Ensemble, and an alumnus of l'Atelier lyrique de l'Opéra de Montréal, James looks forward to returning to Vancouver Opera (for Der Rosenkavalier) and to appearing in Kurt Weill's Seven Deadly Sins with Calgary Opera. A committed interpreter of contemporary music, he has worked with numerous companies, including the Banff Centre, Modern Baroque Opera, the Aspen Opera Theatre Centre, the Evergreen Gamelan Ensemble and the Tapestry Music Composer-Librettist Laboratory workshop. On the concert stage, James has performed with La Chapelle de Montréal, the Melos Ensemble of Kingston, the Toronto Choral Society and Aradia Ensemble.

###
Media Contact: Francine Labelle/flINK
416-654-4406
labellefrancine@rogers.com

- 30 -