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The Toronto Consort presents season finale ““ … heart stopping in its intensity …” —Toronto Star
Toronto, March 3, 2009 — For its 2008-09 season finale, The Toronto Consort presents one of the great musical masterpieces of all time, the Monteverdi Vespers of 1610 at 8:00 pm on March 20 and 21, 2009. Artistic Director David Fallis directs this special performance, which brings together an international group of players and singers — most notably British tenor Charles Daniels, whose exquisite singing of this repertoire is world-renowned. For tickets and information call the box office at (416) 964-6337 or visit www.torontoconsort.org Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers is a magnificent setting combining traditional chant with groundbreaking musical effects of the period. From the splendour of the richly-scored psalms to the intimacy of the sensuous motets, the Monteverdi Vespers is a work of infinite variety and profundity, and remains a landmark in the history of Western music. The Toronto Consort is renowned for its interpretations of Monteverdi’s music, including last season’s performance of the Stabat virgo Maria, which, “sung by nine unaccompanied singers, was heart stopping in its intensity…” (Toronto Star). The Consort’s Vespers feature a full complement of period instruments rarely heard in live performance, including cornettos, sackbuts, strings, recorders and continuo. Joining the Toronto Consort’s own singers, sopranos Katherine Hill and Michele DeBoer and bass John Pepper, are guest soloists Charles Daniels, Kevin Skelton and Bud Roach, tenors; Peter Mahon and Vicki St. Pierre, altos; and Andrew Mahon, bass. British tenor Charles Daniels is well-known for his performances of Baroque music, and is particularly sought out for his Monteverdi interpretations. He has made two recordings of the 1610 Vespers — one with The Gabrieli Consort, and other with The King’s Consort, which the Daily Telegraph praised: “Charles Daniels brings an almost amorous intensity coupled with some beautifully precise and delicate ornamentation." The Toronto Star gave a glowing review of Opera Atelier’s 2007 production of a Monteverdi opera featuring the Consort in the orchestra pit: “Conductor Fallis and a significantly augmented Toronto Consort combine with a stellar cast of singers … as gripping a period-authentic experience as one is ever likely to find anywhere.” Following the Vespers peformances, Fallis begins rehearsals with Opera Atelier for another Monteverdi masterpiece, the opera The Coronation of Poppea, which opens April 25 at the Elgin Theatre. The Toronto Consort presents
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The Toronto Consort
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