A musical trip through diverse Christmas and holiday traditions — that’s the imaginative premise behind the program for the Upper Canada Choristers and their Holiday Travelogue. Cantemos Latin choir will also be performing, along with special guest baritone Bradley Christensen.
Toronto travel blogger Nora Dunn is the tour guide for this journey through not only the globe, but the centuries, starting with an Irish carol that’s about 800 years old. Musician (and regular LvT contributor) Hye Won Cecilia Lee accompanies the choir.
We spoke to UCC’s Artistic Director Laurie Evan Fraser about the music.
Laurie Evan Fraser, Upper Canada Choristers’ Artistic Director – Conductor
Laurie Evan Fraser is a native of Troy, New York, who first came to Canada to study as a scholarship student at the Royal Conservatory of music. She studied piano, organ, and voice, and would go on to become a faculty member at the RCM, as well as a collaborative and solo pianist, vocalist, chamber musician and conductor.
She has a longstanding history of working in and with choirs, including as a soprano soloist, music and choir director, and as collaborator in exchanges with other Canadian choirs.
Baritone Bradley Christensen
In addition to performing as a vocalist, baritone Bradley Christensen is a voice teacher, and sought after guest clinician. He earned a BMUS (Hons) in Vocal Performance and a BA in Italian from the University of Auckland, followed by a MMus and a DMA in Voice Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Toronto.
He maintains a busy calendar as a performer, including appearances as a soloist with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Grand Philharmonic Choir of Kitchener-Waterloo, Ottawa Choral Society, and others, including engagements in New Zealand with the Auckland Choral Society, among others. As an opera singer, he’s performed with Toronto’s Opera Atelier, and in the US with Opera North.
Laurie Evan Fraser: The Program
Winter Fanfare, composed by Laurie Evan Fraser with lyrics by Jacqui Atkin, opens the program. “It’s more a celebration of winter than anything specifically tied to Christmas,” says Fraser. She wanted to counter the negative feelings many people have about the season with an upbeat celebration of its sparkling snow and magical moments. Jacqui Atkin is a frequent collaborator. “We work really well together.”
The piece makes a musical contrast with A Dream of Summer, the premiere of a piece by UCC tenor Matthew Secaur. His work uses text from a poem with a theme about optimism by John Greenleaf Whittier.
Secaur, as Fraser explains, has a degree in music, but got sidetracked into a career in IT. When he joined the choir, he was ready to get back to music, and to contribute. It’s the second piece he’s created for them.
“It’s charming. It’s a sea shanty,” she says. “It’s a breath of fresh air.” The piece is scored for bass and baritones, with body percussion, and a sense of humour. “It’s immediately accessible.”
The selections on the program travel through both time and space. “The oldest one we’re doing is the Wexford Carol,” Fraser says, noting some evidence that it dates back to the 12th century. “A lot of Celtic music has flattened sevenths. It has that haunting sound that a lot of Celtic music has.”
Fraser plans the concerts out two to five years in advance, depending on the guest artists and/or composers. When it came to baritone Bradley Christensen, when he worked with UCC last more than two years ago, she asked him about singing Vaughan Williams Fantasia on Christmas Carols.
“Which is such a great showcase for the baritone,” she says. He agreed to come back for the masterwork. “He has a wonderful voice, wonderful sense of humour,” she adds. “We love singing with him.” Laurie originally met Bradley through his mother Elise Bradley, former director of the Toronto Children’s Chorus. “I was the pianist,” she notes. Bradley first trained as a countertenor, then made the switch to baritone, and auditioned for the choir. “The rest is history.”
The program does lean heavily into traditions from the UK with the Vaughan Williams piece as its spotlight. But, along with the historical perspective, Laurie was interested in the different ways that cultures see the holiday, as expressed in the music. “In Latin America, they couch it in very personal terms,” she explains.
Cantemos, UCC’s Latin choir, will sing three Venezuelan songs. “The three Venezualen songs we’re singing put the Christmas story into three very different areas of Venezuela.” The Aguinaldo Carupanero, as she explains it, puts Mary and Joseph in the Caribbean, with the Wise Men drinking rum.
“Partamos a Belén by César Alejandro Carrillo — it’s a very current look at the story.” The song mentions local culinary treats and traditions of the region. “It makes the story very real for people who come from South America.” It comes in contrast with the typical British holiday fare, where the birth of Jesus is seen as an event that’s distant in both time and place. “Our view places it as exoticism.”
Cantemos will also sing El poncho andino, arranged by Carrillo for basses, tenors, baritones, and Ya viene la vieja from Spain.
Gilbert Martin’s Scottish lullaby, Baloo, Lammy (Lullaby, Little Lamb), which he based on a traditional 17th century Celtic carol, and Swedish composer Gustaf Nordqvist’s 1921 Jul, Jul, Stralande Jul (Christmas, glorious Christmas) are also on the program.
Jul, Jul, Stralande Jul, in Swedish by Gustaf Nordqvist is a kind of processional, where a young woman adorned with a crown of candles would walk in a slower rhythm. It’s not, as she points out, necessarily typical of Scandinavian holiday music. “The Swedish song is so beautiful, so stately and majestic.”
In the end, it’s about creating an inspiring experience for the audience. Fraser says the diversity of the program reflects their audiences. “We take our music out in the community,” she says. It draws people from a wide range of experiences and locales. “It’s very satisfying for them to recognize something.”
“I like the variety, and the history,” she adds.
- Find tickets and more information [HERE].
- The concert will also stream live via the choir’s website or directly on YouTube; there is no charge to stream, but donations are gratefully welcomed.
Are you looking to promote an event? Have a news tip? Need to know the best events happening this weekend? Send us a note.
#LUDWIGVAN
Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.
Sign up for the Ludwig Van Toronto e-Blast! — local classical music and opera news straight to your inbox HERE.
