Category Archives: Music and musicology

Barbara Hannigan “dissolved in swirling sound… a spark of the holy fire”

Posted on February 25, 2015 by barczablog

The title of the movement is “Entrückung”, the text by Stefan George, the score to the String Quartet by Arnold Schoenberg, the concert part of the New Creations Festival curated by George Benjamin, a late-afternoon incarnation of the Canadian Opera … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | 1 Comment

10 Questions for Barbara Hannigan

Posted on February 21, 2015 by barczablog

Barbara Hannigan is one of Canada’s most remarkable exports, a brilliant singer, conductor and actor of rare conviction.  While I haven’t heard her use the word “actor” to describe herself, how can I omit it, when I struggle to describe … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Music and musicology, Opera | 4 Comments

Tafelmusik’s Beethoven: the romance continues

Posted on January 26, 2015 by barczablog

Let’s begin by saying I’m not your typical Tafelmusik fan.  Yes I love their work with Opera Atelier under David Fallis & at Messiah time with Ivars Taurins (aka Herr Handel), but I am often frustrated by them.  Tafelmusik could … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Opera 5: Modern (Family) Opera

Posted on January 24, 2015 by barczablog

I was invited to think and feel at tonight’s first performance of the Opera 5 program “Modern (Family) Opera”. I laughed a lot, I felt a lot, and my mind’s awhirl. The family theme is approached from two very different … Continue reading →

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Songs of Love and War

Posted on January 22, 2015 by barczablog

The title of today’s noon-hour concert at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre –“Songs  of Love and War”—is  a curious umbrella sheltering a diverse group of songs & composers.  I can only speculate on the rationale for the programme, created for members … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | 4 Comments

10 Questions for Heidi Melton

Posted on January 17, 2015 by barczablog

If a list of engagements on a website is anything to go by, Heidi Melton is coming into her own. Toronto audiences are lucky to be able to see the young soprano at a time when she’s taking on all … Continue reading →

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Talisker Players: Puttin’ on the Ritz

Posted on January 12, 2015 by barczablog

Talisker Players, that inter-disciplinary nexus for music & text, have made another crossover adventure. “Puttin’ On the Ritz” takes us into the world of Irving Berlin, in a series of songs sung by Bud Roach and Whitney O’Hearn. I’d call … Continue reading →

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10 Questions for Jocelyn Morlock 

Posted on January 7, 2015 by barczablog

Juno-nominated composer Jocelyn Morlock is one of Canada’s most distinctive voices. She is Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s Composer in Residence having just completed a term as inaugural Composer in Residence for Vancouver’s innovative concert series, Music on Main (2012 – 2014). … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Music and musicology | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Bud Roach: Arias for Tenor and Baroque Guitar

Posted on January 6, 2015 by barczablog

Every now and then a recording or performance comes along to challenge your assumptions, possibly giving you a new way of seeing things.    I’ve been listening to two Bud Roach CDs: 1-Sospiro: Alessandro Grandi Complete Arias, 1626 (recorded in … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Two books for the choral conductor: mortality at my fingertip

Posted on January 1, 2015 by barczablog

As the old year winds down I’m aware of the passage of time.  Reminders of mortality prod me, as if to say “you’re getting old”. To be more accurate, I’ve acted as though I were indestructible, denying my own pain, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Music and musicology, Reviews | 4 Comments