{"id":51292,"date":"2018-02-28T14:08:07","date_gmt":"2018-02-28T19:08:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=51292"},"modified":"2018-02-28T14:09:06","modified_gmt":"2018-02-28T19:09:06","slug":"scrutiny-orpheus-choir-of-toronto-shines-northern-lights-on-eriks-esenvalds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2018\/02\/28\/scrutiny-orpheus-choir-of-toronto-shines-northern-lights-on-eriks-esenvalds\/","title":{"rendered":"SCRUTINY | Orpheus Choir of Toronto Shines Northern Light On \u0112riks E\u0161envalds"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Orpheus
Orpheus Choir (Photo: Brian Chang)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Orpheus Choir of Toronto presented Nordic Light, with special guests \u0112riks E\u0161envalds, That Choir, and the Orpheus Concert Orchestra. February 24, 7:30 pm, Metropolitan United Church.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Latvian community of Toronto was out in force to support the visit of their compatriot \u0112riks E\u0161envalds and his works being presented by the Orpheus Choir of Toronto. Part of Latvia\u2019s official centenary celebrations, the concert featured the Canadian premiere of Nordic Light Symphony<\/em>. The Latvian ambassador to Canada, H.E. K\u0101rlis Eihenbaums, greeted the sold-out concert at Toronto\u2019s Metropolitan United Church. \u201cThe right place for the aurora borealis is right here in Toronto with \u0112riks E\u0161envalds,\u201d he said. This visit was three years in the making and an effort of many arts organizations spearheaded by the Orpheus Choir and Artistic Director Robert Cooper.<\/p>\n

Cooper, Artistic Director of Orpheus, was joined by That Choir and conductor Craig Pike as well as the Orpheus Concert Orchestra. The first half of the concert was a presentation of E\u0161envalds\u2019 smaller works including the final two movements of his Passion and Resurrection<\/em> oratorio. Orpheus performed the premiere of this work in Canada as part of its 2011 season and performed it again in 2013 with E\u0161envalds in attendance. The work includes readings from the Bible spoken by the Reverend Ilze Kuplens-Ewart and small ensemble, duets, and a feature soprano solo evoking Mary Magdalene.<\/p>\n

Following the Passion and Resurrection<\/em>, audiences were given a chance to see E\u0161envalds in action as a conductor. \u201cMy mom told me: you better choose one profession, not two or three,\u201d he said before taking the stand, \u201cwhen I found composing music, it was not my calling to conduct,\u00a0 but sometimes \u2014 I\u2019m happy to conduct.\u201d E\u0161envalds chose to conduct Long Road<\/em>, the English version of a Latvian song he set to the poetry of Paul\u012dne B\u0101rda.<\/p>\n

E\u0161envalds uses pitched water glasses to create a unique aural effect in several of his works. It would feature prominently over the evening. The highest pitches in any sound are usually the ones that we hear most prominently. When played, the tones of the pitched water glasses are very easily heard. Yet, the effect is rather different from a piccolo playing, or a violin at the top of its register. The glowing sparkle of the cluster tones of the water glasses is ethereal, thin, glassy, and unsettled. The overtones of the water glasses make them perfectly suited to the effect E\u0161envalds wants, subtly atmospheric and other-worldly.<\/p>\n

For their portion of the concert, That Choir delivered balanced excellence. The soloists throughout the evening from both choirs were lost in the cavernous space, yet sounded pleasant from far away. Pike\u2019s rendition of Only in Sleep<\/em> with Susan Bennett on solo was a particular highlight that displayed artistry and attention to detail. Maeve Palmer in Passion and Resurrection<\/em> was also a distinct standout.<\/p>\n

The signature work of the evening was E\u0161envalds\u2019 Nordic Light Symphony<\/em>. This large work incorporated a film made up of the stories and songs from 23 people from across the north of the planet about the northern lights. The major sections of the work began with distinct sounds. The first and final sounds of the symphony are of the wind, recorded in the Arctic. Other sections begin with the rushing of the water and another with the sound of whales breathing as they breach the surface.<\/p>\n

Parts of the orchestrations lined up directly with songs and instruments played by the on-screen storytellers. Other parts were independent of the screen. Because it was unclear whether the music or the stories took precedence, the overall narrative effect was a bit confusing.\u00a0 There was also a few moments where there was a misalignment of text on the screen to the singers. The musicians continued through and seemed unfazed. Disconnection is an inherent danger in live film performances.<\/p>\n

Nordic Light Symphony<\/em> tells stories in a way that shares the diversity of humanity\u2019s experience with the phenomena. Many of these stories are violent, with omens of war, fears of heads being chopped off, the threat of paralysis, and of voices being stolen. But also, many of the stories are of nicer things like beautiful angels in the sky or women bathing in the sauna. With so many stories, \u0112riks E\u0161envalds has created a work that displays the diversity and the sacredness of the cultural heritage of the northern lights.<\/p>\n

LUDWIG VAN TORONTO<\/em><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Latvian community of Toronto was out in force to support the visit of their compatriot \u0112riks E\u0161envalds and his works being presented by the Orpheus Choir of Toronto.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":51295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[14761,76,19,52,63,70],"tags":[6508,17192,9497,17193,3267],"yst_prominent_words":[11623,17187,17190,16881,16884,17186,14217,14056,16875,17179,17188,16876,17180,17191,17182,17181,17189,17183,9357,17184],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/02\/Orpheus_Choir.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-dli","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51292"}],"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\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51292"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51300,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51292\/revisions\/51300"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51292"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=51292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}