The latest short animation from the Canadian Art Song Project is extremely quirky and about as steeped in a certain kind of Canadian nostalgia as one could possibly get. It’s called The Piece Atop His Pate and appears to be about Bobby Hull losing his wig in a hockey fight although it may also be lamenting the NHL mandating helmets. I’m really not sure.. Why this is seen as a significant event in Canadian history also puzzles me but apparently it’s worth writing a song about.
The words are by Bill Richardson with rather percussive music by Jocelyn Mortlock. It’s performed with spirit by Keith Lam and Steven Philcox and it’s accompanied by rather cute Saturday morning cartoon style animation by OCAD students. Here’s the Youtube link. Perhaps it helps to watch it in your underwear while drinking a Molson Export.
Known to Dreamers: Black Voices in Canadian Art Song is a new CD from Centrediscs and the Canadian Art Song Project containing Canadian art songs composed by or setting lyrics by Black Canadians, sung by Black Canadians. The first set on the disk is Robert Fleming’s The Confession Stone (Songs of Mary) which sets texts by Owen Dodson’s texts about the life of Christ from his mother’s point of view. It’s a very beautiful piece and must be in the running for the most performed Canadian song cycle of all time! Curiously though it’s only been recorded commercially once before (by Caroline Gélinas on ATMA Classique). The singer here is Measha Brueggergosman-Lee. She wouldn’t be my first choice for this piece but she sings it pretty well. I find her style a bit mannered but she’s accurate and her diction is good. Steven Philcox accompanies with great skill (as he does on all the tracks).
Found Frozen is a new CD from Centrediscs featuring songs by Jeffrey Ryan. The centrepiece of the disc is his Miss Carr in Seven Scenes. It’s a setting of extracts from Emily Carr’s notebooks for mezzo-soprano and piano performed here by Krisztina Szabó and Steven Philcox. I’ve heard them do the piece twice live, including 
operaramblings 