{"id":109263,"date":"2024-11-07T14:54:35","date_gmt":"2024-11-07T19:54:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=109263"},"modified":"2024-11-07T14:54:35","modified_gmt":"2024-11-07T19:54:35","slug":"preview-torontos-west-end-micro-music-festival-offers-two-programs-adventurous-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2024\/11\/07\/preview-torontos-west-end-micro-music-festival-offers-two-programs-adventurous-music\/","title":{"rendered":"PREVIEW | Toronto\u2019s West End Micro Music Festival Offers Two Programs Of Adventurous Music"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Graphic
Graphic for the West End Micro Music Festival courtesy of West End Music<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

REVELATIONS is the fourth iteration of the West End Micro Music Festival (WEMMF), which takes place over two weekends in November. On November 22 and 23, the Ecstatic Voices repertoire showcases choral works, and on the 29 and 30, I Saw a New Heaven blends voices and instruments, and acoustic and electric music through the ages.<\/p>\n

Simon Rivard, Music Director of the Edmonton Opera, returns to the Festival to lead both programs.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a closer look at what\u2019s in store.<\/p>\n

ECSTATIC VOICES<\/h2>\n

The first program spotlights choral and vocal works of the 20th and 21st century, pieces that offer listeners a bold and transcendent experience. An eight-person vocal ensemble forms the basis of the performance, drawing works that will challenge listener expectations, and take historic forms in new directions.<\/p>\n

The Program<\/h3>\n

Pieces by Canadian artists Cassandra Miller<\/strong> and Claude Vivier<\/strong> are featured in the concert. Originally composed for 16 voices, Cassandra Miller\u2019s The City, Full of People comes from Miller\u2019s meditations on the Tallis Lamentations, which she first heard at a church service as a teen. Specifically, she zeroes in on the last refrain, Ierusalem, Ierusalem, convertere ad Dominum Deum tuum. It\u2019s a lament for an empty city, and Miller uses that sense of yearning to colour her own music.<\/p>\n

Vivier\u2019s Cinq Chansons pour percussion take the idea of song into a different direction. It is written for a collection of percussion instruments that includes a variety of gongs and bells from Thailand, China, Japan and Indonesia. Vivier wrote it at the suggestion of percussionist David Kent, who had just returned from Indonesia with a cache of gongs and other small percussion instruments. It premiered in June of 1982, and consists of five songs: Chanson du matin,\u00a0Chanson \u00e0 midi,\u00a0Chanson au soleil,\u00a0Chanson \u00e0 la mort\u00a0and\u00a0Chanson d’adieu.<\/p>\n

In his program notes, the composer says, \u201cCinq chansons pour percussion\u00a0literally means just what the title suggests. The term \u2018chansons\u2019 is used in the Asian sense and describes five musical statements based on a few notes each.\u201d<\/p>\n

The work will be brought to life by virtuoso percussionist Aiyun Huang<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The Program<\/h3>\n