{"id":119879,"date":"2025-12-01T14:35:02","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T19:35:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=119879"},"modified":"2025-12-01T16:28:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T21:28:06","slug":"scrutiny-double-dixit-lotti-handel-tafelmusik-baroque-orchestra-chamber-choir-offer-double-bill-psalm-110","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/12\/01\/scrutiny-double-dixit-lotti-handel-tafelmusik-baroque-orchestra-chamber-choir-offer-double-bill-psalm-110\/","title":{"rendered":"SCRUTINY | Double Dixit: Lotti & Handel: Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra & Chamber Choir Offer A Double Bill Of Psalm 110"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Ivars
Ivars Taurins conducts the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir on November 28 at Toronto\u2019s Jeanne Lamon Hall (Photo courtesy of Tafelmusik)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra & Tafelmusik Chamber Choir: Double Dixit: Lotti & Handel. Steffani: Quinta Antiphona Sanct\u00e6 Cecili\u00e6; Lotti: Dixit Dominus in A Major; Handel: Dixit Dominus. Ivar Taurins, conductor. November 28, 2025, Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul\u2019s Centre.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The Latin text of Psalm 110 was the inspiration for both Italian composer Antonio Lotti (1667 to 1740) and German-English composer George Frideric Handel (1685 to 1759). Roughly contemporaries, their musical interpretations of the text offered a study in contrasts \u2014 and excellence in performance \u2014 in a series of concerts between November 28 and 30.<\/p>\n

The text is one of prophecy, describing the figure of a king-priest on whom God will bestow his power and authority. It predates the New Testament, of course, but for Christians, it\u2019s taken as a prophecy of Jesus as the Messiah, and in fact is referred to as such by Peter, Paul, and Jesus himself in the later biblical texts.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s not strictly considered to be Christmas music, it\u2019s definitely on point for the season.<\/p>\n

\"Ivars
Ivars Taurins conducts the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir on November 28 at Toronto\u2019s Jeanne Lamon Hall (Photo: Dahlia Katz)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

First Half: Steffani and Lotti<\/h3>\n

Notably, it\u2019s the first concert of 2025\/26 to include the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, along with a range of soloists drawn from its ranks.<\/p>\n

The concert opened with a brief piece by Italian composer Agostino Steffani \u2014 Quinta Antiphona Sanct\u00e6 Cecili\u00e6 \u2014 a piece dedicated to Saint Cecilia, patron saint of music. As conductor Ivars Taurins<\/strong> noted after the performance of the piece, her saint\u2019s day had just passed on November 22. The reflective work handily set the pace for the evening.<\/p>\n

Taurins also mentioned the connections between the composers, Steffani having mentored a young Handel, who then went to Italy to study with Lotti. He also pointed out the contrast between Rome, where Steffani and Handel had composed their works, and Venice, Lotti\u2019s home base.<\/p>\n

Steffani\u2019s piece begins with delicacy, building layers of counterpoint to a reverent finish. At times, the higher voices were a bit lost in the mix, at least from my vantage point in the orchestra seating.<\/p>\n

Lotti\u2019s piece followed. The choir\u2019s soloists, including countertenor Nicholas Burns<\/strong> (in alto parts), and the soprano section, dominated the first two sections (of 11) with lovely tone and harmony, with special mention to soprano Jane Fingler<\/strong> and alto James Dyck<\/strong> in a splendid duet.<\/p>\n

In the fourth section, the woodwinds offered a nice change of colours from the largely string-dominated orchestration, with some impressive work from Daniel Ram\u00edrez Escudero<\/strong>, who newly joined the Orchestra this season. The interplay between the woodwinds and Burns as a soloist was delightful.<\/p>\n

As an ensemble, the choir\u2019s performance was notable in the seventh and somewhat sombre section, holding shimmering long notes against the instrumental accompaniment. Soprano Roseline Lambert<\/strong> shone in the ninth section, with a gorgeous clear tone that played back and forth with the violin soloist and cellist in a trio arrangement. It was the only isolated section that garnered a smattering of applause on its close, in a break with the usual concert protocol.<\/p>\n

A trio of male singers and the trumpet (Norman Engel<\/strong>) took over in the tenth section, with an impressively clean handling of the decorative elements of the music.<\/p>\n

The piece ends with a dynamic and triumphant 11th section, finishing the first half on a strong note.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Tafelmusik Chamber Choir perform on November 28 at Toronto\u2019s Jeanne Lamon Hall (Photo: Dahlia Katz)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Second Half: Handel<\/h3>\n

Handel wrote his Dixit Dominus at just 22 years old. While it\u2019s clear he had been influenced by the older Italian Lotti, he adds a flair for vocal drama that was one of his trademarks. Finishing with his piece was a judicious choice on the part of organizers.<\/p>\n

Handel\u2019s version of Psalm 110 begins with a strongly rhythmic first movement, and solid ensemble work from the choir. In the second, Nicholas Burns<\/strong> sang against the lower strings with a lush tone and lovely embellishments.<\/p>\n

The music utilizes and plays with the choir\u2019s textures in various ways. The choir offered an impressive extended crescendo in the dramatic fourth section, one that rises, and then trails back down to nothing. It was a study in vocal control. The orchestra came to the fore in the second half of the fifth movement, their virtuosity emerging from accompaniment to centre stage.<\/p>\n

Also of note was the achingly sweet duet between Jane Fingler<\/strong> and Lindsay McIntyre<\/strong>\u00a0in the seventh and penultimate movement, set against strings and organ continuo.<\/p>\n

The piece comes to a dramatic finish as strings hand off the melody to the choir, singing Gloria Spiritus Sanctus. The work builds to a climactic finale that drew most of the audience to their feet.<\/p>\n

Final Thoughts<\/h3>\n

The Chamber Choir and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra work together seamlessly, each building their respective strengths throughout the concert.<\/p>\n

It the absence of superstar guest directors, it was a reminder of the power of the core ensembles at their best.<\/p>\n

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Psalm 110 inspired both Antonio Lotti and George Frideric Handel, both works contrasted in this concert by Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":119881,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[41660,74,11,19,875,41221,52,63],"tags":[1651,3224,3225],"yst_prominent_words":[6600,11955,6604,6601],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Copy-of-REVIEW-2025-12-01T142745.145.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-vbx","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119879"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119879"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":119889,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119879\/revisions\/119889"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119879"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=119879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}