Here’s a little Messiah trivia to get you excited…
Did you know that the first performance of Messiah was presented in Dublin Ireland on April 13, 1742, as a benefit for people in a debtors’ prison? It raised enough money to free 142 men from the jail. The Kingston Symphony and the Kingston Choral Society are teaming up to perform this famous oratorio on December 5 – but don’t worry, we won’t be freeing anyone from the Kingston Penitentiary.
Handel was almost going to land in debtors’ prison himself right up until the Messiah premiered. He shouldered a lot of negative comments on the work, as people were upset that sacred texts were being put to secular music. But the Messiah eventually triumphed, as did Handel, and he never once accepted any money for any performance of the work.
When the version we’re familiar with today premiered in 1754, the money garnered went to benefit and orphanage, The Foundling Hospital, in London.
I always get excited about the Messiah. Its one of those works that never gets old, especially around this time of year. I think it’s because there’s just so much in this work. It’s unbelievable to me that it took Handel only 24 days to complete the Messiah – what a phenomenal task!
One of the things that always stands out to me is the “word painting” aspect of this oratorio. Word painting is said to enhance the text based on its musical treatment. In the tenor aria “Ev’ry Valley Shall Be Exalted” a single syllable of the word “exalted” is written with forty-six ascending notes. That’s a lot of notes!
For our performance of the Messiah, we’ll have with us guest soloists Tracy Smith Bessette, Marion Newman, James McLean, and Kingston native Geoffrey Sirett. Both Tracy and Marion have sung with us before.
Tracy has performed with the Opéra National de Paris, and has sung in the Messiah all over the world – including performances in France and Spain. We’re lucky to have her here in Kingston.
This will be Marion’s second time performing with us. She’s a vivacious scene-stealer whose distinct voice will captivate you. What’s amazing about Marion is that she started her performance career not as a vocalist, but as a pianist. At the age of 16 she performed Mozart’s Piano Concerto K. 488 in A Major with the Victoria Symphony. She has been featured on CBC radio several times, and is the recipient of a Career Development Grant from the Canada Council for the Arts. She is a high-calibre performer who lifts the Canadian classical music scene to the next level.
When the Messiah premiered more than 250 years ago, there was so much excitement surrounding it that organizers feared the concert hall would be over capacity. Men were asked to leave their “dress swords” at home and women were asked to not wear hoop skirts.
You can wear whatever you like to our concert on December 5 (well, maybe leave your sword at home). And just like the concert halls were in the 1700s, the Kingston Gospel Temple will be general admission for this performance. Get in the spirit of the season! Buy your tickets soon before they sell out!
Don't forget to check out my latest YouTube video interview here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfLf7MsndjA
Thanks for reading.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, Smetana...oh my!
I can’t wait for this weekend’s concert. And that’s an understatement. We’ve got some tremendous performances lined up this season, but A Romantic Journey is definitely one of the ones I’m most looking forward to. It features Smetana’s Overture to the Bartered Bride, Dvorak’s New World Symphony, and Tchaikovsky’s ever-popular violin concerto.
This concert is an absolute knockout. The orchestra’s going to kill me for programming these three pieces in one performance – but I hope you will enjoy it. It is full of inspiration, sentiment, and satisfaction.
Everyone experiences music differently, but it’s always my wish that we can share the emotions of the music with the audience. Music covers all the complexities of emotion, and especially all the complexities of love – tenderness, passion, and subsequently hurt and loss.
A highlight of A Romantic Journey will be Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto, written in 1878. Tchaikovsky knew all about love and passion in his own way, a sad way really, and he poured all of that into this concerto. As a result, this particular piece is easily one of the most technically difficult concertos ever written.
Andréa Tyniec will join us for this well-known score. I stumbled upon a video of her playing the concerto on YouTube, and I made it my mission to bring her to Kingston.
She is a fabulously talented musician – I guarantee you’ll want to see her tackle this ridiculously challenging piece. To perform this concerto you need endurance, and you need to be balanced – you have to have as much sensitivity as you have strength. Andréa has all of it, and she presents it with both poise and passion.
Andréa plays on a violin constructed by Januarius Gagliano in 1747. She won the opportunity to play on this instrument from the Instrument Bank of the Canada Council for the Arts. Every three years, musicians from across Canada compete intensely in front of a jury of professional musicians who decide which competitor will have the opportunity to develop their craft on an antique instrument. The winners choose the instrument they would like to use in order of their placement in the competition.
This violin was around for more than a hundred years before Tchaikovsky wrote his violin concerto, so to hear this piece coming from an almost 300-year-old instrument adds even more fascination. There’s so much history there. And to know that a young musician who is passionate about the classical music industry is carrying on this tradition and history is a fantastic thing.
Music is so central to my core – it’s how I relate to the world. This concert is, I hope, a chance for the audience to connect with the orchestra and with the world around them. The Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto is responsible for luring many people into the world of classical music. I hope that this concert will be no exception, and that everyone in the audience – whether they are long-time classical fanatics or newbies to the world of the classics – will be affected to their very core.
There will be two special performances of A Romantic Journey on Saturday, November 20 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, November 21 at 2:30 p.m. at the Kingston Gospel Temple, 2295 Princess Street. Tickets will be available at the door.
This concert is an absolute knockout. The orchestra’s going to kill me for programming these three pieces in one performance – but I hope you will enjoy it. It is full of inspiration, sentiment, and satisfaction.
Everyone experiences music differently, but it’s always my wish that we can share the emotions of the music with the audience. Music covers all the complexities of emotion, and especially all the complexities of love – tenderness, passion, and subsequently hurt and loss.
A highlight of A Romantic Journey will be Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto, written in 1878. Tchaikovsky knew all about love and passion in his own way, a sad way really, and he poured all of that into this concerto. As a result, this particular piece is easily one of the most technically difficult concertos ever written.
Andréa Tyniec will join us for this well-known score. I stumbled upon a video of her playing the concerto on YouTube, and I made it my mission to bring her to Kingston.
She is a fabulously talented musician – I guarantee you’ll want to see her tackle this ridiculously challenging piece. To perform this concerto you need endurance, and you need to be balanced – you have to have as much sensitivity as you have strength. Andréa has all of it, and she presents it with both poise and passion.
Andréa plays on a violin constructed by Januarius Gagliano in 1747. She won the opportunity to play on this instrument from the Instrument Bank of the Canada Council for the Arts. Every three years, musicians from across Canada compete intensely in front of a jury of professional musicians who decide which competitor will have the opportunity to develop their craft on an antique instrument. The winners choose the instrument they would like to use in order of their placement in the competition.
This violin was around for more than a hundred years before Tchaikovsky wrote his violin concerto, so to hear this piece coming from an almost 300-year-old instrument adds even more fascination. There’s so much history there. And to know that a young musician who is passionate about the classical music industry is carrying on this tradition and history is a fantastic thing.
Music is so central to my core – it’s how I relate to the world. This concert is, I hope, a chance for the audience to connect with the orchestra and with the world around them. The Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto is responsible for luring many people into the world of classical music. I hope that this concert will be no exception, and that everyone in the audience – whether they are long-time classical fanatics or newbies to the world of the classics – will be affected to their very core.
There will be two special performances of A Romantic Journey on Saturday, November 20 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, November 21 at 2:30 p.m. at the Kingston Gospel Temple, 2295 Princess Street. Tickets will be available at the door.
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