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The Toronto Consort presents “Pure sonic sensuality … the perfect antidote to tinny seasonal Muzak fraying our nerves these days.” Toronto, November 14, 2008 —The Toronto Consort presents the complete Christmas Vespers by Michael Praetorius at Trinity St Paul’s Centre at 8:00 pm on December 12 and 13, 2008. The Praetorius Vespers capture the intimacy and splendour of Christmas, and past performances of this audience favourite have consistently sold out. The 9-member period ensemble under the direction of David Fallis grows to over 60-strong when it is joined by vocal soloists Katherine Hill, Michele DeBoer, Dawn Bailey, Christina Jahn, sopranos; Peter Mahon, Vicki St. Pierre, altos; Paul Jenkins, Bud Roach, David Arnot, tenors; Andrew Mahon, John Pepper, Paul Oros, basses, The Toronto Chamber Choir, and a host of period instruments, to recreate a 17th-century Lutheran Christmas service. Tickets are available through the Box Office at (416) 964-6337. In his 2006 review of the Consort’s performance, Peter Goddard of the Toronto Star wrote, “Here's one tradition as pliable and diverse as they come. The enormous satisfaction it provided came via the imaginative mix-and-match skills of two remarkable musicians, Praetorius and Consort conductor David Fallis. Each in his own way blended pop with high art, fun with due reverence, all with an innate understanding that the music itself can make the season go better, and not vice versa.” The Praetorius Christmas Vespers is a jewel of the early Baroque period based on the Lutheran church’s Vespers service. The Consort revisits this Christmas service the way it might have been performed under the direction of Michael Praetorius in a large church in 17th-century Germany: voices, recorders, sackbuts, violins, theorbos, viols and two organs are positioned around the church and in the balconies. This early Baroque “surround-sound” experience culminates with the composer’s brilliant four-choir Magnificat, which is scored for 20 individual vocal and instrumental parts, and is interwoven with Christmas carols and other “best-loved German songs”, as specified by the composer. Sections of the Vespers performed by all 60 musicians provide a stunning contrast to the more intimate moments when just 4 or 5 soloists sing a capella. The Consort’s recording of this work for Marquis (MAR 335) is available in stores across the country or on-line through www.marquisclassics.com. In addition to the sheer logistics of staging the Vespers, Artistic Director David Fallis has faced the extraordinary challenge of piecing the service together through research and scholarly detective work. Without the benefit of previous performances or recordings of the complete Vespers performed in its original context, Fallis has relied on descriptions of similar events gleaned from church records and libraries. As always, a little creative interpretation goes hand-in-hand with Fallis’s scholarly approach, to create a unique and deeply moving Christmas concert. The Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany is an Artist Sponsor of the Toronto Consort's Praetorius Christmas Vespers on December 12, 2008. The Toronto Consort presents
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The Toronto Consort
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