Author: Jeremy VanSlyke

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Luminous Voices releases their 3rd recording: “Sea Dreams”

Calgary’s professional chamber choir Luminous Voices announces with great excitement the release of their newest CD Sea Dreams.
Sea Dreams features the work of the same title by Canadian composer Peter-Anthony Togni. Sea Dreams is written for double mixed choirs and two flutes and will feature two top Canadian flutists Sara Hahn-Scinocco and Sarah MacDonald. The piece was commissioned by Luminous Voices and Sara Hahn-Scinocco with the support from the Canada Council for the Arts and Paul and Elwyn Brown, and was premiered on February 25, 2018 at the Bella Concert Hall, Taylor Centre for the Performing Arts, Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta.

“Sea Dreams is a work that reflects my relationship to the ocean and my thoughts about a journey of faith, a journey full of questions, fears, longings, hopes, dreams, and the gifts of disappointment,” says Halifax-based composer Peter-Anthony Togni. “Each choir represents a ship on the water. Getting into a boat or on a ship is a kind of leap of faith: we can only pray and trust that the journey will be successful.”

“We have forged a strong artistic bond with Peter-Anthony Togni over the past 5 years,” says Timothy Shantz, Luminous Voices’ Artistic Director. “There is something very luminous about his music, reflecting inwards and outwards. Togni exploits sonorities and colours that we really enjoy producing. The compilation of works on this recording represent a variety of styles and periods of his music and celebrates his 60th year.”

Sea Dreams also includes other works by Togni, including Totus Tuus, Requiem et Lux, Earth Voices, Psaume 98, and more. Guest artists include bass clarinetist Jeff Reilly, soprano Katie Partridge, and tenor Oliver Munar.

Luminous Voices, founded in 2012 by conductor and Artistic Director Timothy Shantz, continues to thrill audiences in Calgary and beyond through performances, recordings, and workshops. The choir has released two recordings, The Far West (2016) and Mendelssohn’s Te Deum (2015). Of The Far West, Joshua Kosman of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote “beautifully sung, as everything here is, by the aptly named Luminous Voices under Timothy Shantz.” The Far West was awarded the 2018 Choral Canada Award for Outstanding Choral Recording. The ensemble’s first recording, Mendelssohn’s Te Deum, was awarded the same recognition in 2016. Luminous Voices illuminates exceptional choral music of the past and present while supporting contemporary composers by commissioning new works. The ensemble’s vision is to encourage the advancement of choral art by providing a forum for collaboration among local and international artists in the development and presentation of choral music, as well as musical education programs.

For more information, visit www.luminousvoices.com, Facebook (LuminousVoices), Twitter (@LuminousVoices), or Instagram (@luminous_voices).

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“The Seeker” from Canadian composer Kevin Lau

May 20, 2020 (Halifax, NS) “The Seeker” from celebrated composer Kevin Lau – performed by pianist Victor Cheng, is released June 5, 2020 through Halifax, NS – based classical record label, Leaf Music.

Kevin Lau

Kevin Lau is one of Canada’s most active young composers. A prolific composer of orchestral, chamber, ballet, and film music. Described as a “self-assured voice” (Barczablog) with a “masterful control over his idiom” (Classical Music Sentinel), Kevin Lau has established himself as one of Canada’s leading young composers. Awarded the 2017 Victor Martyn Lynn-Staunton Award by the Canada Council for Outstanding Achievement, Kevin’s music has been commissioned and performed by ensembles across North America, including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Major works include Le Petit Prince, commissioned by the National Ballet of Canada and choreographed by Guillaume Côté.

“The “Seeker” is an archetype—a person who pursues dramatic experiences in search of meaning, pushing the limits of his/her abilities (and skirting the edge of danger in the process) in order to find transcendence. The music is a sonic and physical exploration of the ‘daredevil’ spirit, found particularly in high-level athletes and performers. The playful, quick-footed tune that opens the piece unfolds largely without a harmonic ‘safety net’, careening through a variety of increasingly daring episodes, before returning to the opening few bars: a tranquil homecoming after a fulfilling journey. I am grateful to Victor Cheng, pianist and athlete extraordinaire, for so perfectly embodying the spirit of the “Seeker”.” – Kevin Lau

Kevin’s discography includes the JUNO-nominated “Spin Cycle” (Centrediscs), featuring the Afiara String Quartet and DJ Skratch Bastid; “Encount3rs” (Analekta) featuring the NACO; “Solo Seven” (ATMA Classique) featuring violinist Marc Djokic; “The Sounds of Our Time” (Naxos) featuring cellist Rachel Mercer, “Premieres” (Cambria Records) featuring violinist Conrad Chow and “A Dream of Dawn” (Leaf Music) premiered by the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra at Musikverein, Vienna, Austria . In addition to composing concert music, Kevin is also active as a film composer, arranger, and pianist. He has written the scores to over a dozen films, including Charles Officer’s feature documentary Invisible Essence: The Little Prince (2018), and has created arrangements for artists such as Sarah Slean, Suzie McNeil, Christos Hatzis, and groups such as the Art of Time Ensemble. He has performed many of his own works and collaborates frequently with artists such as Scott St. John (violin), Lynn Kuo (violin), and Victor Cheng (piano).

kevinlaumusic.com

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Halifax Camerata Singers release video for “Abide with Me”

Today (May 12, 2020) marks twenty-two days since the devastating attack that took the lives of twenty-two of our fellow Nova Scotians. Halifax Camerata Singers remembers, and sends our deepest condolences and love to the family and friends of the victims.

We remember the victims of the Nova Scotia Shooting April 18/19, 2020.

“Abide with Me” is part of the forthcoming ‘Solace’ album set to be released July 10, 2020.

Abide with Me (traditional / arr. Gary Ewer)
Halifax Camerata Singers
Jeff Joudrey, Artistic Director

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Recording Producer: Mark Warren
Recording Engineer: Rod Sneddon
Video Edit: Cassie Mann, Leaf Music

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Jaap Nico Hamburger added to Leaf Music Roster

April 29, 2020 (Halifax, NS) Halifax-based classical record label, Leaf Music is pleased to announce that Canadian composer Jaap Nico Hamburger is joining the label’s roster. Jaap Nico Hamburger is a Canadian Music Centre Associate Composer; President and CEO, Orange Music Inc., a Vancouver music production company; Member of the Board of Directors of City Opera Vancouver (2010-2020); and in 2019 was named Mécénat Musica’s Composer in Residence. 

A resident of Vancouver, BC, Hamburger’s compositions include symphonies, solo concertos, chamber music works, and commissions from Discovery Channel, Rex Video London UK, Turning Point Ensemble, and Dutch Television. He is a graduate from the Royal Sweelinck Academy of Music, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, with a soloist degree in piano.

Jaap’s first release with Leaf Music will be his piano concerto which was recently recorded at Montréal’s Maison Symphonique with the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal, with pianist Assaff Weisman and conductor Vincent de Kort – set to be released July 2020 – followed by two symphonies to be released in November 2020. Additional releases for 2021 include a group of chamber works, along with his first opera Goldwasser, currently in development, which is expected to bring Canadian culture to the world stage with a highly anticipated premiere in New York in 2021-22. 

“We are delighted to welcome Jaap Nico Hamburger to our roster. He is poised to become recognized as one of the great composers of our time.  His wide palette of orchestral colours, clever use of folk song elements and driving energy are sure to delight music listeners in concert halls and streaming platforms alike in the years to come.  We are consistently impressed by Jaap Nico Hamburger’s bold and visionary approach to addressing difficult and challenging themes with hope and optimism through his music.  It’s a privilege for Leaf Music to help bring his growing repertoire to the world.” – Jeremy VanSlyke, owner – Leaf Music

jaaphamburger.com

29 avril 2020 (Halifax, N.-É.) – Leaf Music, maison de disques de musique classique d’Halifax, a le plaisir d’annoncer la signature du compositeur canadien Jaap Nico Hamburger. M. Hamburger est un compositeur agréé du Centre de musique canadienne. Il est aussi président et chef de la direction d’Orange Music Inc., entreprise de production musicale de Vancouver. Il est membre du conseil d’administration de l’Opéra de la ville de Vancouver (depuis 2010) et, en 2019, il a été nommé « compositeur en résidence » par Mécénat Musica.

M. Hamburger habite à Vancouver, en Colombie-Britannique. Ses compositions comprennent des symphonies, des concertos en solo, des oeuvres de musique de chambre et des oeuvres de commande pour la chaîne de télévision Discovery, pour Rex Video London UK, pour le Turning Point Ensemble et pour la télévision néerlandaise. Il est diplômé de l’Académie royale de musique Sweelinck d’Amsterdam, aux Pays-Bas, avec un diplôme de pianiste soliste.

Le premier disque de M. Hamburger pour Leaf Music sera son concerto pour piano, qui a été récemment enregistré avec l’Orchestre métropolitain de Montréal, à la Maison symphonique de Montréal, avec le pianiste Assaff Weisman et le chef d’orchestre Vincent de Kort. La parution de ce disque est prévue pour juillet 2020. Viendront ensuite deux symphonies, en novembre 2020. D’autres parutions sont prévues en 2021, dont une série d’oeuvres de musique de chambre, ainsi que son premier opéra, intitulé Goldwasser, actuellement en cours de composition. On s’attend à ce que cet opéra donne à la culture canadienne un retentissement mondial, avec une première très attendue à New York en 2021–2022.

« Nous sommes ravis d’accueillir Jaap Nico Hamburger dans notre maison. Il va être reconnu comme étant un des grands compositeurs de notre époque. Sa vaste palette de couleurs orchestrales, son utilisation futée d’éléments de musique folklorique et son énergie contagieuse raviront à n’en pas douter les auditeurs des salles de concert et des plateformes de diffusion en continu dans les années à venir.
Nous sommes régulièrement impressionnés par l’approche ambitieuse et visionnaire de Jaap Nico Hamburger, qui s’attaque, dans sa musique, à des thèmes ardus et difficiles avec espoir et optimisme. C’est un privilège pour Leaf Music de pouvoir contribuer à la diffusion dans notre monde de son répertoire grandissant. » — Jeremy VanSlyke, propriétaire de Leaf Music

jaaphamburger.com

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Cellist Christine Walevska releases Bloch’s “Nigun”

Leaf Music is proud to present Bael Shem “Nigun” from celebrated cellist Christine Walevska and pianist Akimi Fukuhara. Released April 17, 2020, this is presented on the 50th anniversary of Walevska’s debut recording on the Philips Classics label of Bloch’s Schelomo, Bruch’s Kol Nidrei, with Schumann’s Cello Concerto. Upon release in 1970, the San Francisco Chronicle called it “the greatest recording in the cello catalog“. After 50 years of concertizing across the globe many times over, in 2019 Walevska went to Montreal, Canada with pianist Akimi Fukuhara to record Bloch’s Nigun with former Philips Classics producer, Martha de Francisco.  

Bloch’s Nigun is a nod to the composer’s Jewish heritage and in memoriam of his mother. “Nigun” is literally “improvisation” or “melody” carrying recognizable melodies and gestures of Jewish folk music. Nigun is the second movement from Bael Shem: Three Pictures of Hassidic Life for Violin and Piano. 

2020 is the 100th anniversary of the independence of Poland and in celebration of this Christine played with pianist Jerzy Stryjniack in Carnegie Hall. During the month of March 2019, Walevska and Fukuhara played concerts in Japan, China and Taiwan. Following the concert in the magnificent National Theatre of Taiwan, Walevska returned to her home in New York City and flew to Argentina only two days later where she played two gala concerts opening the newly renovated Mendoza Theatre with pianist Daniel Goldstein. Together in Buenos Aires with Goldstein, she recorded a CD of Argentine compositions titled “Christine Walevska and Friends”.

To purchase any of Christine Walevska’s previous recordings including the 17 cello concertos Walevska recorded on the Philips Classics label put into a five CD Decca boxed set titled, “The Legendary Recordings of Christine Walevska” and “Goddess of the Cello”  or to find out more information, please visit www.christinewalevska.com 

CHRISTINE WALEVSKA, cello AKIMI FUKUHARA, piano

Bloch – BAEL SHEM, B.47: II.Nigun

Release date: April 17, 2020
Download or Stream here


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Charke Cormier Duo Releases “Bathymetric Terrains”


(Halifax, NS) Nova Scotia Duo Release Bathymetric Terrains
 
Nova Scotia’s Charke-Cormier Duo releases its latest recording, Bathymetric Terrains, at The Music Room on Saturday, February 15 at 2:00 p.m.   The album, on the Leaf Music label, is available February 14 and is distributed by Naxos of America.  Bathymetric Terrains muses on the ecology of oceans and tidal bays; bathymetry is the measurement of water depths.
 
Derek Charke (flutes) and Eugene Cormier (guitar) formed the Charke-Cormier Duo in 2014, releasing their debut recording, Ex Tempore, in 2018.  The album was nominated for the 2019 ECMA Award for Classical Album of the Year, and the composition Ex Tempore won the 2019 ECMA award for Classical Composition of the Year. The Whole Note magazine called the album “a fabulous debut!” The duo publishes their music under the Charke-Cormier Duo Collection with Doberman-Yppan in Québec. Both performers are highly accomplished musicians who are on the faculty of Acadia University’s School of Music.  
 
Canadian Music Centre Associate Composer Derek Charke (www.charke.com) is a JUNO and ECMA award-winning composer and flutist.  His music is eclectic – often defying categorization due to wide-ranging influences.  Dr. Charke is a professor of music at Acadia University Wolfville, where he teaches composition and music theory.  He also heads AEMS, the Acadian Electroacoustic Music Studio.   
 
Dr. Charke can see the fragile ecosystem of The Minas Basin from his home in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley, including the seabed that is exposed when the tide is out twice daily: “For a while now I’ve wanted to compose something about these hidden landscapes.  The composition includes multiple flute, guitar, and voice parts.  The solo parts are performed live while the backing tracks, processing, and soundscapes are projected through speakers.  For live performances, a video of various seascapes from around Nova scotia is projected on a screen.”

See a trailer video here:  

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhkQqQvZdRw[/embedyt]
 
The album was produced, engineered and mastered at Derek Charke’s studio in Wolfville, NS and at AEMS, the Acadian Electroacoustic Music Studio (sponsored by CFI-JELF, and the NS Research and Innovation Trust), with additional mastering by Jeremy VanSlyke.  
 
This project is funded in part by Arts Nova Scotia and Acadia University.
 
This project is funded in part by FACTOR, the Government of Canada and Canada’s private radio broadcasters. Ce projet est financé en partie par FACTOR, le gouvernement du Canada et les radiodiffuseurs privés du Canada.

FOR BROADCAST USE:

Nova Scotia’s Charke-Cormier Duo is releasing a new album, Bathymetric Terrains, at The Music Room on February 15 at 2:00 p.m.  This recording features flutes and guitar, and relates to the fragile ecosystems of the Minas Basin.  Bathymetry is the measurement of water depths.

The CD features music written for the Duo by composer Derek Charke, who is a professor of music at Acadia University.  In seven movements, the music references flowing water, the various levels of the ocean and explores the imagery of the ocean through rhythm and melody.

That’s the Charke-Cormier Duo, launching their new recording, Bathymetric Terrains at the Music Room on Saturday, February 15 at 2:00 p.m.  The event is free and all are welcome.
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Mark Fewer, violin Hank Knox, harpsichord Present: Vivaldi’s “Manchester Sonatas”

Exceptional Duo Becomes First Canadian Artists to Record Exquisite Sonatas Unearthed from a Manchester, UK Library in 1973.

“I’d be glad to hear these gentlemen play anything … they make me want to hear whatever else they want to do. The
ensemble and intonation are perfect …” – American Record Guide


Leaf Music is proud to present a new recording of Vivaldi’s Manchester Sonatas featuring violinist Mark Fewer and harpsichordist Hank Knox. This is the first Canadian recording of the “Manchester” sonatas of Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741), a masterful collection of 12 works brought to light only in 1973. A follow up to their acclaimed 2018 recording of the Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord by J.S. Bach, this new recording from Fewer and Knox is available as of January 17, 2020.
These remarkable sonatas changed a great many hands over the centuries. When Cardinal Ottoboni – a patron of Vivaldi’s – died in 1740, a large number of manuscripts from his private collection were purchased by English classical scholar Edward Holdsworth. These manuscripts were then passed on to Charles Jennens, librettist of Handel’s Messiah. The scores came into the possession of several more collectors before coming to auction at Sotheby’s in London in 1918 and were acquired by renowned musicologist Newman Flower. When Flower died in 1964, his musical holdings were purchased by the Manchester Public Library, attracting the international attention of scholars and the media alike; Flower’s reputation as an eminent Handel scholar implied that important revelations concerning the musical giant were forthcoming.
However, a nearly exclusive focus on Handel resulted in the neglect of some of the other manuscripts, including these sonatas by Vivaldi which, despite being housed in Manchester’s Henry Watson Music Library from 1965 onward, were only discovered by British musicologist Michael Talbot in 1973.
The 12 “Manchester” sonatas, heard on the new album as arranged and recorded by Fewer and Knox in January 2019 at Eglise St. Augustin in Mirabel, Quebec, represent a high point of Vivaldi’s chamber music. The violin part offers complex compound melodies while the bass focuses primarily on its harmonic role, with both instruments free to improvise on the written score. Gramophone calls the sonatas “music of great beauty and vitality which will delight most if not all lovers of the late baroque.”
Known for his exceptional versatility, violinist Mark Fewer has been described as “intrepid” (The Globe and Mail) and “profound” (The WholeNote). His musical diet includes performances from the early baroque to the avantgarde, performing worldwide in famous halls such as Wigmore, Carnegie, and Pleyel, to smaller venues such as Le Poisson Rouge (NY), Bartok House (Budapest), and The Forum (Taipei). As a soloist, he has performed with the symphonies of Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, Quebec, San Francisco and Melbourne, as well as with groups such as the Fodens-Richardson Brass Band (UK), the Zapp Quartet (Amsterdam), and as a featured guest with Stevie Wonder and his band. He was a founding member of the Duke Piano Trio, has been a member of the Smithsonian Chamber Players for over 15 years, and was violinist with the St. Lawrence String Quartet at Stanford University. Artistic Director of the SweetWater Music Festival for 16 years, Fewer was appointed Artistic Director of Stratford Summer Music in 2019. A Juno and Prix Opus winner, he is currently Associate Professor of Violin at the University of Toronto.
Hailed internationally for his “colorful, kinetic performances,” Hank Knox performs on harpsichord in concert halls, churches, museums, galleries and homes around the globe. A founding member of Montreal’s Arion Baroque Orchestra, with whom he has toured North and South America, Europe, and Japan, Knox also regularly performs and tours with Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Les Violons du Roy and l’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, among other groups, ensembles and orchestras. He has released a number of acclaimed recordings on rare antique instruments as well as copies of historical instruments. He teaches in the Early Music program at McGill University where he conducts the McGill Baroque Orchestra and has also directed a great number of baroque operas.

Download or stream Vivaldi Manchester Sonatas here

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Saman Shahi added to the Leaf Music Roster

December 2, 2019 (Halifax, NS) – Halifax based classical record label, Leaf Music is pleased to announce that Canadian composer Saman Shahi is joining the label’s roster. An active composer, performer and advocate of contemporary classical music, Shahi’s work steps outside convention and is deeply influenced by Iranian traditional music, rock and electronic music.

Shahi’s first release with Leaf Music will be the song cycle Songs of a Wandering Soul set to be released June 19, 2020. The work features Tiffany Hanus (voice), Scott Peterson (Electric and Double Bass), Cheryl Ockrant (Cello), Natalie Wong (Violin), Peter Lutek (Clarinet, Bassoon) Derek Grey (Percussion). The recording was produced by the composer himself and recorded at Canterbury Studios, Toronto, Ontario.

Along with Songs of a Wandering Soul, Shahi is currently preparing material for his first full-length album in late 2020 entitled Breathing in the Shadows. The title comes from a song-cycle by Shahi based on poetry by women from across the globe, commissioned and sung by Soprano, Maureen Batt. The album will feature performances by tenor Fabián Arciniegas, collaborative pianist Tara Scott, and solo piano by Shahi himself. This project is supported by the Ontario Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Toronto Arts Council. One of the song cycles featured on this album, “Orbit” won the second prize in the Canadian Association of Amatuer Musicians’s inaugural Composition Competition in 2019.

ABOUT SAMAN SHAHI

Based in Toronto, Shahi is a founding member and executive director of Iranian Composers of Toronto (ICOT), Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre, and an affiliate member of the Canadian League of Composers. He was recently appointed as the Music Director at the Peterborough Concert band, and works as a composer-teacher with the Canadian Opera Company. His works have been performed by the Windsor Symphony Orchestra, Windsor Youth Symphony Orchestra, Symphony on the Bay, Orchestra Toronto and others across Canada. He has received commissions from ensembles worldwide including the National Ballet of Canada, and Tirgan Festival.

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Leaf Music and Music Nova Scotia Proudly Presents “Orchestrated Neighbours”


Orchestrated Neighbours brings together 16 African Nova Scotian and Indigenous youth artists, aged 16-28 from across Nova Scotia, to compose original music with each other in a team setting. Four songwriting teams collaborated with professional arrangers, performance artists and session musicians to perform and record their songs.

This is the second project from Orchestrated Neighbours, being released through Music Nova Scotia and Leaf Music. This project is a “mash-up” of various Urban contemporary (hip-hop, R&B, soul, etc) and Classical genres, that combines artistic and community goals through outreach, creation, and collaboration.

Download or Stream Orchestrated Neighbours HERE

The Orchestrated Neighbours project endeavours to braid artistic and community goals through outreach, collaboration and partnerships to improve Music Nova Scotia’s representation and service in African Nova Scotian and Indigenous music communities.

Orchestrated Neighbours is presented by ANSMA, the L’nuta’ql: Find Your Talk Music Showcase, The Province of Nova Scotia, Leaf Music, Music Nova Scotia, and the National Arts Centre.

1. Together We Can – Zamani Millar (vocal), Jhamelila Smith (vocal), Todd Googoo (vocal); Bela String Quartet (ensemble) arr: Andrew Jackson
2. Can’t Get Up – Edwin Hull (vocal); Mitchell Paquette (vocal); Chudi Harris (vocal); Bela String Quartet (ensemble) arr: Karlene Francis
3. Two Ways – Shay Pitts (vocal); Wolfcastle (vocal); Paollo13 (vocal); Bela String Quartet (ensemble) arr: Karlene Francis
4. Ghost – Jody Upshaw (vocal); Jericoe States (vocal); Jade Bennett (vocal, guitar); Bela String Quartet (ensemble) arr: Andrew Jackson


This project is funded in part by FACTOR, the government of Canada and Canada’s private radio broadcasters.
Ce projet est financé en partie par FACTOR, le gouvernement du Canada et les radiodiffuseurs privés du Canada.

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Stick&Bow Release “Resonance”

Marimba and cello form a vibrant and compelling – if unconventional – duo in the hands of Stick&Bow, comprised of Canadian marimba player Krystina Marcoux and Argentinian cellist Juan Sebastian Delgado. Resonance, the debut recording from the Montreal-based award-winning musicians, explores a wide palette of repertoire and styles, transcending tradition with new arrangements of music from Bach to Boccherini, and from Nina Simone to Radiohead. Performing Baroque or tango, rock or gypsy-jazz, Stick&Bow brings unique passion, wit, and technical mastery to eclectic and powerful arrangements of some of the most celebrated music in history, presenting the infinite potential of their combined instruments in refreshing and unexpected ways. Resonance is released on the Canadian label Leaf Music on November 1st, 2019.

The new album – with its bilingual liner notes, in true montréalais style – opens with a captivating mélange of works by J.S. Bach, with a transcription of the Adagio from the Sonata for viola da gamba in D Major swinging into the Prelude in D Major from the Well-Tempered Clavier. Also taking inspiration from Bach is American singer-songwriter Nina Simone, who adopts the composer’s contrapuntal style for the 1928 tune Love Me or Leave Me, here in an irresistible new arrangement. The album features not one but two fandangos, with Boccherini’s take on the traditional Spanish folk dance from his Quintet No. 4, and Paco de Lucia’s Entre Arrayanes, in one of Stick&Bow’s most technically challenging and creative arrangements, capturing the colour and essence of flamenco guitars.

A range of characters and moods emerge in three settings for marimba and cello of Bartók’s Romanian Folk Dances, while the gypsy-jazz style of Stéphane Grappelli explodes in Tzigane, with idiomatic embellishments and virtuosic cadence-like runs. The revolutionary Argentine composer and virtuoso bandoneon player Astor Piazzolla is represented with his lyrical and nostalgic Invierno porteño, winter in Buenos Aires.

More illuminating performances from the classical repertoire include two movements from Schumann’s Fünf Stücke im Volkston and the second movement of Shostakovitch’s cello sonata. The complex harmonies and instrumental textures of Radiohead’s Paranoid Android is a surprisingly convincing element of the album, with marimba and cello exploring a range of timbres, including electric guitar sounds.

Also dedicated to working closely with contemporary composers on daring yet accessible works, Stick&Bow includes two new works on Resonance: Jason Noble’s (b. 1980) Folk Suite, a set of miniatures inspired by the rich folk traditions of his home province of Newfoundland and Labrador; and Parisian composer and bandoneon player Louise Jallu’s (b. 1994) À Gennevilliers, injected with fresh, jazzy harmonies and a freely improvised rhythmic section.

First-prize winner at the Latin-American cello competition (2008), Juan Sebastian Delgado holds a Doctoral degree in cello performance from McGill University and Krystina Marcoux, first-prize winner of the OSM competition (2012), holds her PhD from the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique de Lyon. Their music has brought them to share magical moments from Banff to Colombia, passing by Armenia, Italy, the USA, Ecuador, France and two extensive Canadian tours in 2019 & 2020 as “Emerging Artists” of Jeunesses Musicales du Canada.

leaf-music.ca stickandbow.com


This project is funded in part by FACTOR, the government of Canada and Canada’s private radio broadcasters.
Ce projet est financé en partie par FACTOR, le gouvernement du Canada et les radiodiffuseurs privés du Canada.

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.
Nous remercions le Conseil des Arts du Canada de son soutien.