Couperin’s Leçons de Ténèbres sets texts from Lamentations and is incredibly beautiful in a very French baroque way as well as rather being music to cut your wrists to. There’s a new CD recording of it by English sopranos Lucy Crowe and Elizabeth Watts with La Nuova Musica directed by David Bates. It’s very fine. Both Crowe and Watts give exemplarty performances. They use minimal vibrato; just enough to create some resonance in louder passages and both have a wonderfully expressive trill. Coupled with really expressive playing from Jonathan Rees – viola da gamba, Alex McCartney – theorbo and David Bates – organ, it’s a real pleasure to listen to. Interestingly the three sections of the Leçons are separated by two trio sonatas by Sébastian de Brossard where the instrumentalists are joined by Bojan Čičić and Sabine Stoffer – violins. It works really well. The disc is rounded out by Brossard’s Stabat Mater, another rather lovely piece of Lenten dolorosity. The singers on this last are Miriam Allan, James Arthur, Nicholas Scott and Simon Wall with Jonathan Rees – viola da gamba, Judith Evans – double bass, Alex McCartney – theorbo and Silas Woolaston – organ. The recording, made in St. Augustine’s Kilburn, is clear and well balanced with an ambience that suits the music well.
Leçons de Ténèbres
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It’s a quiet week coming up. There’s just a couple of churchy things that I’m aware of and they are both on the afternoon of Sunday 18th. On the island the Anglican Church of St. Andrew-by-the-Lake is holding a Piano Fundraising Party in aid of acquiring a new grand piano for their music program. Works by Mozart, Debussy, Gounod, and Jazz standards will be performed by Vadim Serebryany, Melissa Scott, Gilles Thibodeau, Kristin Day, Louis Lawlor, Jonathan Krehm, Rachel Krehm, Mike Milligan and Roger Sharp. It’s from 3pm to 5pm. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased either in advance from Roger Sharp at 416-779-3886/ 
Evolving Symmetry is the first of a promised series of collaborations by soprano Adanya Dunn, clarinetist Brad Cherwin and pianist Alice Gi-Yong Hwang. The focus will be on “modern” chamber and vocal works (for some value of “modern”) and last night at Heliconian Hall they presented French works ranging from the 189os to the 1960s.
The COC has just released the line up for the free lunchtime concert series in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre. It’s the usual rich and eclectic mix of vocal, chamber and piano music with world music, jazz and dance thrown in for good measure. Here are the highlights from my point of view:
Time to revive the “upcoming week” post I think. There are two items of interest in the next week. 
This review first appeared in the print edition of 
This review first appeared in the print edition of 
Tapestry Opera has now announced its upcoming season. There are three shows. The season begins in November with 
operaramblings 