{"id":62891,"date":"2019-10-02T15:46:44","date_gmt":"2019-10-02T19:46:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=62891"},"modified":"2019-10-02T18:11:58","modified_gmt":"2019-10-02T22:11:58","slug":"primer-leipzig-coffee-house-meets-torontos-1960s-yorkville-folk-scene-tafelmusiks-cafe-counterculture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2019\/10\/02\/primer-leipzig-coffee-house-meets-torontos-1960s-yorkville-folk-scene-tafelmusiks-cafe-counterculture\/","title":{"rendered":"PRIMER | Leipzig Coffee House Meets Toronto\u2019s 1960s Yorkville Folk Scene In Tafelmusik\u2019s Caf\u00e9 Counterculture"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tafelmusik Oboist Marco Cera, jazz musician\/arranger Andrew Downing, and singer Alex Samaras talk about putting together Haus Musik: Caf\u00e9 Counterculture<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Tafelmusik's
Tafelmusik’s Haus Musik: Caf\u00e9 Counterculture brings together German Baroque and the sounds of Yorkville circa the 1960s<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

H<\/span>ave you ever wondered about the difference between house vs. home? One builds a house \u2014 a physical dwelling \u2014 but home is made through living in it. This subtlety embeds throughout English, both the language and the culture, as we still meet with friends in different houses<\/em> \u2014<\/i> whether it be a coffee or tea house, or a pub (a public house<\/a><\/u><\/span><\/span>). When Bach moved to Leipzig in 1723, he ended up spending the rest of his life there \u2014 he made Leipzig his home<\/em>. He had his big family there, built a legacy that still sings through people\u2019s hearts, and played an important role in the city, including the bustling scene of the Leipzig coffee houses.<\/p>\n

Drawing from this rich cultural period, Tafelmusik<\/a><\/span> first presented Tales of Two Cities<\/a><\/u><\/span><\/span> in 2016. And now, on Thursday, Oct. 10 \u2014 a traditional Pub night \u2014 a small group from Tafelmusik returns to the idea of the coffee house, but this time, with a new friend, Alex Samaras, rolling into one of Toronto\u2019s favourite brewpubs, the Burdock<\/a><\/u><\/span><\/span>, to present a new rendition of Haus Musik: Caf\u00e9 Counterculture<\/a><\/u><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The project got started between long-time friends, Marco Cera<\/a><\/u><\/span><\/span>, oboist for Tafel, and jazz musician\/arranger Andrew Downing<\/a><\/u><\/span><\/span>. Marco met Andrew at a party 10 years ago through a mutual friend, and this is the first project they are collaborating in together. \u201cWhen I was asked from Tafelmusik to coordinate this Haus Musik back in April 2019, I accepted with enthusiasm \u2014 and immediately thought that collaboration with Andrew Downing would fit the program,\u201d says Marco. Marco grew up with big interest in all kinds of music. \u201cSince I was a teenager, I\u2019ve been trying to learn different musical languages \u2014 blues, jazz, bluegrass and traditional Italian music, on all sorts of instruments, and also studied improvisation,\u201d he says. As both Marco and Andrew stick to a wide omnivorous musical diet, when Andrew drew a fantastic parallel to the Leipzig coffee houses from a great moment in Canadian music history, the Yorkville Caf\u00e9<\/a><\/u><\/span><\/span> scene from the 1960s, Marco was on board immediately.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s quite difficult to imagine Yorkville being loose and creative today, as it\u2019s now full of boutique shops and expensive restaurants and condos. But once there stood flower children hangouts, including the famous, and now long-gone Riverboat<\/a><\/u><\/span><\/span>, downstairs at 134 Yorkville from 1964 to 1978 (it has been absorbed by the Hazelton Hotel since then), where Joni Mitchell<\/a><\/u><\/span><\/span>, Gordon Lightfoot and other hippy muses sang their hearts out. And once they zoomed into the idea, the next idea rolled in. \u201cWe decided we need to find someone to sing the beautiful songs we wanted to present,\u201d Andrew recalls. They called Alex Samaras<\/a><\/u><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Toronto local who grew up in the High Park area, it\u2019s hard to describe what Alex does in a single word. He\u2019s toured across Canada with the Queer Songbook Orchestra and A Sondheim Jazz Project. He has collaborated with choreographers Susie Burpee, Meredith Thompson and others. He does new operas, and teaches singing at the University of Toronto Jazz Department and Humber College. So when Andrew got in touch, this chameleon man was excited. \u201cI\u2019m thrilled to be part of a Tafelmusik show,\u201d he says. \u201cI grew up in a household that listened to classical music all the time and my parents took me to Tafelmusik concerts as a child.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Andrew
Andrew Downing and Marco Cera (Photos : Mark Sommerfeld & Sian Richards Photography)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T<\/span>he program consists of two halves: old German Baroque favourites (Handel, Fasch, Bach and Telemann) chosen by Tafel musicians, and Marco, Andrew and Alex<\/a><\/span> picked out the other half together \u2014 five songs from the 60s and 70s Yorkville folk scene. \u201cWe wanted to include as many Canadians as possible. And, we also wanted to choose songs that were not only beautiful by themselves, but that would take to an arrangement well. We also wanted a few very familiar tunes, like Both Sides Now<\/em> (Joni Mitchell), and Scarborough Fair<\/em> (Simon and Garfunkel), and some more obscure tunes by famous artists, like Winter Boy<\/em> (Buffy Sainte-Marie) and This is My Song<\/em>, by a group called Two Tones, which was Gordon Lightfoot paired with his high school friend Terry Whelan,\u201d Andrew says. The fifth song on the program will be Four Strong Winds<\/em>, by Canadian folk duo, Ian and Sylvia.<\/p>\n

For all three, this element of time travel and cross-genre always felt natural and inevitable. Andrew\u2019s been listening to Tafelmusik for years, and it inspires him greatly in this project. \u201cIt\u2019s always inspiring to write for, and play with musicians of such a high caliber who care about making the music the best it can possibly be,\u201d he says. \u201cOf the musicians in the group, I know Marco the best, and know him to be an open, positive musical force who loves all kinds of music, so I knew the process of writing the arrangements would be met with the right spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marco and Alex are equally looking forward to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t wait to hear and to bring to life Andrew\u2019s arrangements of the songs from the Yorkville scene in Toronto in the 1960s and to collaborate with Alex Samaras,\u201d <\/span>Marco says. \u201c<\/span>I\u2019m looking forward, to see the reaction of the audience to this innovative soir\u00e9e. You don\u2019t get to hear Joni Mitchell, Simon and Garfunkel, played on <\/span>B<\/span>aroque instruments every day! I\u2019m curious to find out how these songs will sound next to the music of Bach.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>The pairing of classic folk songs with the arrangements played on <\/span>B<\/span>aroque instruments is a recipe for magic!\u201d <\/span>Alex notes. \u201c<\/span>As a singer, I\u2019ve never identified with one style or approach. so I\u2019m looking forward to feeding off the energy that the ensemble brings to the music from their <\/span>B<\/span>aroque\/<\/span>C<\/span>lassical background and combining it with improvisation and play.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Tafel regulars Elisa Citterio, Dominic Teresi and Charlotte Nediger will join these three interesting humans on the evening of the 10th, and with everyone\u2019s expertise and camaraderie, this show promises intimate conversations. <\/span><\/p>\n

We, <\/span>homo sapiens, are social beings, and as individuals, most of are in lifelong search of friends. And it\u2019s that feeling of camaraderie that brings us joy in times of high, and comfort in times of low. Then we make experiences and memories \u2014 such integral parts of being human. So take that stroll to the Burdock after dinner, get your favourite beverage and soak into the pub air \u2014 a neighbourhood\u2019s shared living room. Let your old and new friends serenade and talk to you, from times of now, and from afar. And stay until the last call.<\/p>\n

Tafelmusik present: Haus Musik: Caf\u00e9 Counterculture, 8:30pm on 10 October 2019, at the Burdock, Toronto. Details here<\/a><\/u><\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n

#LUDWIGVAN<\/em><\/h3>\n

Want more updates on classical music and opera news and reviews? Follow us\u00a0on Facebook<\/b><\/span><\/a>, Instagram<\/b><\/span><\/a> <\/b>or Twitter<\/b><\/span><\/a> for all the latest.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tafelmusik Oboist Marco Cera, jazz musician\/arranger Andrew Downing, and singer Alex Samaras talk about putting together Haus Musik: Caf\u00e9 Counterculture<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":62892,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[25164,74,15953],"tags":[31193,6479,1310,3222],"yst_prominent_words":[31380,17974,31780,31772,31770,31768,31767,31777,31775,12840,31779,25733,25728,31778,31771,31769,31782,31776,31774,31781],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/10\/Haus-Musik-header-10-19.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-gmn","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62891"}],"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\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62891"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62891\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62903,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62891\/revisions\/62903"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62891"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=62891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}