Tag Archives: cappellazzo

Across the Channel

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On Friday evening Toronto’s Diapente Renaissance Quintet [1] combined with Montreal based medieval music ensemble Comtessa [2] to create an intriguing programme at St. Thomas’ Anglican.  The concert was titled Across the Channel : English and French Music of the Hundred Years War; which was more or less accurate!  The works; vocal and instrumental, actually spanned from the 13th century to the latter half of the 15th; so a rather longer span than the war, but the “English and French” bit was true enough.  Unlike the war, Scots and Gascons were notably absent!

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Brews, Beauties and Brawlers

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So on Saturday night at St.Olave’s CE I finally managed to catch a concert in the Apocryphonia series.  It was titled Brews, Beauties and Brawlers and was billed as “classical” meets “punk”.  It was a collection of pieces for piano, solo voice and/or choir and organiser Alexander Capellazzo had recruited four voices of each type with soloists coming from the group.  Narmina Afaniyeva was at the piano.  Everybody (and some of the audience) had dressed for the occasion!

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Amor con Fortuna

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Tuesday evening the Diapente Renaissance Vocal Quintet gave a concert at Heliconian Hall of 16th century music from Spain (so music in the reign of Philip II for any Braudel fans out there).  It was surprisingly varied.  This was the age of the Italian madrigal so tha’s a big influence but with a definite Spanish twist.  Quite a few different composers and two principal genre; the villancico (which lives on in modern Christmas carols) and the ensalada; which is generally about catastrophe (brought about by sin of course) where everything turns out OK because the Virgin Mary shows up.  A lot of the music was unaccompanied but some pieces were accompanied by either guitar or vihuela (a kind of lute).  It was pretty varied with some pieces having significant solos for one or more singers, some having quite complex polyphony and others more strophic, almost folk song like, structures.  Plenty enough variety to sustain about 80 minutes of music.

diapente

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Sing to Me Again

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Apocryphonia has been around for three years or so but Sunday evening at Heliconian Hall was the first time I managed to catch one of their concerts.  I like that they don’t do mainstream repertory, rather seeking out much less well known works, and Sunday was no exception.  It was actually a collaboration with Syrinx Concerts and the show was in two parts.  The first part featured baritone John Holland and tenor Alexander Cappellazzo with pianist Ivan Estey Jovanovic performing 20th century songs mostly from Eastern Europe and the Caucasus while the second featured works from the same area arranged for oboe (Caitlin Broms-Jacob) and piano (Madeline Hildebrand).  I say “mostly” because each half included a piece by Toronto’s Srul Irving Glick.

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Echoes of Bi-Sotoon

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Echoes of Bi-Sotoon is a new opera by Cultureland Opera Collective. It’s in nine scenes based on the legends and the iconography of the Bi-Sotoon mountain; an important cultural site and transportation route in Khermanshah province in present day Iran.  It includes music by seven BIPOC composers[1] co-ordinated by artistic director Afarin Mansouri.  It premiered at Arrayspace on Thursday evening.

Bisotun-in-Kermanshah-Iran

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Lively Pirates at TOT

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Toronto Operetta Theatre opened a run of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance at the Jane Mallett Theatre last night.I think it’s got everything one could expect from a modest budget G&S production and maybe a bit more.  Bill Silva-Marin’s production is energetic with a lot of stomping, marching and mincing going on which makes the small stage (even smaller than usual as the band is on stage) look lively and busy.  The chorus is good and sings idiomatically.  The principals also appear to understand the genre and there’s some good acting and good, at times excellent, singing.

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