The Toronto Consort

2011-12 Season Announced
Highlights include A Spanish Christmas, Charles Daniels in Recital, and The Original Carmina Burana

"The music was balanced and period-perfect. The whole effort felt authentic in a natural, unforced way … Music Director David Fallis is a magician.”
—Toronto Star

Toronto, June 8, 2011 — Artistic Director David Fallis has announced plans for The Toronto Consort’s 2011-12 season, its 39th year of outstanding period music. One of Canada’s premiere period music ensembles, The Toronto Consort is known for inventive programming that breathes life into the music of the Middle Ages, Renaissance and early Baroque.

The 11-12 season concerts showcase the riches of early music: Venetian Splendour, an exploration of the splendid music associated with the church of San Marco; A Spanish Christmas — a seasonal celebration featuring music from the Spanish-speaking nations of the world; Charles Daniels in recital with a program of exquisite French and English lute songs; A Musical Bestiary, a program curated by the Consort’s Alison Melville; and The Original Carmina Burana, a look at the music by medieval wandering poets that inspired composers over several centuries. 2011-12 subscriptions are available through the box office at (416) 964-6337. Individual concert tickets for the Consort’s 2011-12 season go on sale on September 6. For more information, visit www.torontoconsort.org

Returning this year: The Toronto Consort Sunday Sampler series of two concerts at 3:30 pm. This introductory series is perfect for people who don’t know the Toronto Consort, or for concert-goers who prefer matinees. The Sunday Sampler includes A Spanish Christmas on Sunday, December 11, 2011 and The Original Carmina Burana on Sunday, April 29, 2012.

Venetian Splendour: The Music of Johann Rosenmüller
October 21 and 22, 2011

The Toronto Consort launches the 2011-12 season with a flourish of Venetian opulence, as heard through the ears of a German composer. Johann Rosenmüller was a virtuoso trombone player who also wrote music. Inspired by the brilliant architecture of the church of San Marco in Venice where he worked, Rosenmüller wrote some of the most glorious music for voices, strings, cornetti, sackbuts, lutes and keyboards since the time of Monteverdi.

A Spanish Christmas
December 9, 10 and 11, 2011

Flashing rhythms and irrepressible spirit are hallmarks of Christmas celebrations in the Spanish-speaking nations of the world on both sides of the Atlantic. The Consort returns to 16th and 17th century Spain and Latin America for its Yuletide concert with a full range of textures — guitars, lutes, harp, bajón, voices and percussion. The music on this program is by turns haunting, boisterous, and soulful.

Charles Daniels in Recital
January 27 and 28, 2012

The Toronto Consort offers a rare chance to hear renowned English tenor Charles Daniels in a solo recital entitled It was a lover and his lass, featuring exquisite lute songs from the English and French Renaissance. Daniels is known for his magnificently nuanced and sophisticated musicianship; his singing and “transcendent vocal virtuosity” (The Guardian) has enthused audiences around the world. It was a lover and his lass features Daniels accompanied by lutenist David Miller in works by Thomas Morley, John Danyels, Thomas Campian and Etienne Moulinié.

Generously supported by Vivian Pilar

A Musical Bestiary
March 23 and 24, 2012

Just in time for the first day of spring, the Consort’s own recorder virtuosa Alison Melville curates a program of music to celebrate the creatures of earth, sea and sky, and some magnificent mythical beasts. Well-known to Toronto audiences for her ongoing Bird Project, Melville brings her verve and imagination to this program of music from Renaissance Europe, including “The Ape, the Monkey, and Baboon”, “The Counterpoint of the Animals”, “Le chant des oyseaux”.

The Original Carmina Burana
April 27, 28, and 29, 2012

For its 2011-12 season finale, The Toronto Consort presents The Original Carmina Burana — the music that inspired Carl Orff and many other composers over the centuries. Discovered in a monastery in Austria, the original Carmina Burana is one of the most beautiful collections of medieval song dating from the 13th and 14th centuries. The songs in this anthology are attributed to the wandering scholars of the day and the subjects include love, springtime and spirituality. With voices, hurdy-gurdy, fiddle, recorder, lute and harp, The Toronto Consort brings these glimpses of an earlier era to life.

Evening concerts begin at 8:00 pm and matinee concerts begin at 3:30 pm. All concerts take place at Trinity St. Paul's Centre, 427 Bloor Street West

Full subscription prices range from $93 to $219; Regular individual concert tickets go on sale September 6, 2011 and prices range from $22 to $59.

Club Consort tickets: $10 for those age 30 and under with valid photo ID.
Box Office: (416) 964-6337 On-line ticketing at www.torontoconsort.org Follow us on Facebook

The Toronto Consort gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Toronto Arts Council.

Media Contact: Luisa Trisi, Big Picture Communications (416) 481-1161 ltrisi@sympatico.ca