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Primadonnas and opera go together like hands slip into soft gloves, and this was as true in the early 17th century, when opera was created, as it is today. For this program we have put together our own cast of singing stars, with special guest Suzie LeBlanc, and the Consort’s Michele DeBoer, Katherine Hill and Laura Pudwell, to take on the roles of the early baroque’s leading ladies, performing music by Claudio Monteverdi, Luigi Rossi and Barbara Strozzi. Come and hear the vocal sparks fly! October 2 sponsored by
Henry Purcell’s Complete Fantasias on the Hart House Viols October 30 & 31, 2009 
In honour of the 350th anniversary of Henry Purcell’s birth, the Toronto Consort is proud to present a very special guest ensemble program: Les Voix Humaines and friends will perform an evening of music by the incomparable Purcell played on the Hart House Viols, a magnificent collection of original instruments acquired in 1929 by Vincent Massey, and now a treasure housed at Hart House at the University of Toronto. Don’t miss the rare chance to experience all sixteen of Purcell’s Fantasias for viols, played on one of Toronto’s best-kept secrets, this fabulous “chest of viols”.
A Spanish Christmas Who can resist the flashy rhythms and sensuous melodies of Christmas celebrations in the Spanish-speaking nations of the world? From both sides of the Atlantic, we bring you a fiesta of early music for the holiday season, with harp, guitars, percussion, winds, keyboards and voices. From the solemnity of motets by Victoria and Guerrero, to the intricate cross-rhythms of villancicos and dances from Latin America, this is Christmas celebration at its most delightful. December 11 sponsored by
From Praetorius to Bach: The early German Baroque is renowned for its magnificent sacred symphonies and concertos, performed with massed forces of voices, sackbuts, cornettos, strings, lutes and keyboards, often dramatically arranged around the listeners. The Toronto Consort is famous for its interpretations of this repertoire; for this program we focus on heartfelt works of anguish and redemption, including music by Praetorius, Schütz, Schein, and even early works by J.S. Bach that call for these forces. A sonic adventure like no other! As Canada’s leading ensemble specializing in the music of the Middle Ages, Renaissance and early Baroque periods, the Toronto Consort has performed many wonderful masterpieces of music for the lute: solos, lutesongs, larger ensembles. Now we expand our horizons around the world, when we are joined on stage by virtuosos from two other world lute traditions: Bassam Bishara, oud (the Middle Eastern lute, and the world’s original lute), and Wen Zhao, pipa, the Chinese lute virtuosa who so dazzled audiences in last year’s “Marco Polo Project”. The poetry of the lute from around the world! All concerts begin at 8:00 pm at Trinity-St.
Paul's Centre,
© 2009, Toronto Consort |
"This dear band - so expert, so rhythmically alive, so humourous, at times so touching - has such an infectious good time doing what it does well, I just sit and smile. " — The Globe and Mail
The Toronto Consort
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