{"id":110038,"date":"2024-12-05T15:47:26","date_gmt":"2024-12-05T20:47:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=110038"},"modified":"2024-12-06T10:47:48","modified_gmt":"2024-12-06T15:47:48","slug":"preview-upper-canada-choristers-cantemos-present-a-holiday-travelogue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2024\/12\/05\/preview-upper-canada-choristers-cantemos-present-a-holiday-travelogue\/","title":{"rendered":"PREVIEW | Upper Canada Choristers & Cantemos Present A Holiday Travelogue"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The
The Upper Canada Choristers and Cantemos Choir (Photo courtesy of UCC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A musical trip through diverse Christmas and holiday traditions \u2014 that\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Toronto travel blogger Nora Dunn<\/strong> is the tour guide for this journey through not only the globe, but the centuries, starting with an Irish carol that\u2019s about 800 years old. Musician (and regular LvT contributor) Hye Won Cecilia Lee<\/strong> accompanies the choir.<\/p>\n

We spoke to UCC\u2019s Artistic Director Laurie Evan Fraser about the music.<\/p>\n

Laurie Evan Fraser, Upper Canada Choristers\u2019 Artistic Director \u2013 Conductor<\/h3>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Baritone Bradley Christensen<\/h3>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s performed with Toronto\u2019s Opera Atelier, and in the US with Opera North.<\/p>\n

\"L-R:
L-R: Baritone Bradley Christensen; Members of Cantemos Latin choir; Music Director & Conductor Laurie Evan Fraser (Photos courtesy of UCC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Laurie Evan Fraser: The Program<\/h2>\n

Winter Fanfare, composed by Laurie Evan Fraser with lyrics by Jacqui Atkin<\/strong>, opens the program. \u201cIt’s more a celebration of winter than anything specifically tied to Christmas,\u201d 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. \u201cWe work really well together.\u201d<\/p>\n

The piece makes a musical contrast with A Dream of Summer, the premiere of a piece by UCC tenor Matthew Secaur<\/strong>. His work uses text from a poem with a theme about optimism by John Greenleaf Whittier.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s the second piece he\u2019s created for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s charming. It’s a sea shanty,\u201d she says. \u201cIt’s a breath of fresh air.\u201d The piece is scored for bass and baritones, with body percussion, and a sense of humour. \u201cIt\u2019s immediately accessible.\u201d<\/p>\n

The selections on the program travel through both time and space. \u201cThe oldest one we’re doing is the Wexford Carol,\u201d Fraser says, noting some evidence that it dates back to the 12th century. \u201cA lot of Celtic music has flattened sevenths. It has that haunting sound that a lot of Celtic music has.\u201d<\/p>\n

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<\/strong>, when he worked with UCC last more than two years ago, she asked him about singing Vaughan Williams Fantasia on Christmas Carols.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich is such a great showcase for the baritone,\u201d she says. He agreed to come back for the masterwork. \u201cHe has a wonderful voice, wonderful sense of humour,\u201d she adds. \u201cWe love singing with him.\u201d Laurie originally met Bradley through his mother Elise Bradley, former director of the Toronto Children\u2019s Chorus. \u201cI was the pianist,\u201d she notes. Bradley first trained as a countertenor, then made the switch to baritone, and auditioned for the choir. \u201cThe rest is history.\u201d<\/p>\n

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. \u201cIn Latin America, they couch it in very personal terms,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n

Cantemos<\/strong>, UCC\u2019s Latin choir, will sing three Venezuelan songs. \u201cThe three Venezualen songs we’re singing put the Christmas story into three very different areas of Venezuela.\u201d The Aguinaldo Carupanero, as she explains it, puts Mary and Joseph in the Caribbean, with the Wise Men drinking rum.<\/p>\n

\u201cPartamos a Bel\u00e9n by C\u00e9sar Alejandro Carrillo \u2014 it’s a very current look at the story.\u201d The song mentions local culinary treats and traditions of the region. \u201cIt makes the story very real for people who come from South America.\u201d It comes in contrast with the typical British holiday fare, where the birth of Jesus is seen as an event that\u2019s distant in both time and place. \u201cOur view places it as exoticism.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cantemos will also sing El poncho andino, arranged by Carrillo for basses, tenors, baritones, and Ya viene la vieja from Spain.<\/p>\n

Gilbert Martin\u2019s Scottish lullaby, Baloo, Lammy (Lullaby, Little Lamb), which he based on a traditional 17th century Celtic carol, and Swedish composer Gustaf Nordqvist\u2019s 1921 Jul, Jul, Stralande Jul (Christmas, glorious Christmas) are also on the program.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s not, as she points out, necessarily typical of Scandinavian holiday music. \u201cThe Swedish song is so beautiful, so stately and majestic.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the end, it\u2019s about creating an inspiring experience for the audience. Fraser says the diversity of the program reflects their audiences. \u201cWe take our music out in the community,\u201d she says. It draws people from a wide range of experiences and locales. \u201cIt’s very satisfying for them to recognize something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI like the variety, and the history,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n