Category: Single Release

Leaf Music and Christina Haldane present Partons, la mer est belle, the first and only single from the forthcoming album, Tu Me Voyais, set to be released through Leaf Music on October 21, 2022. Carl Philippe Gionet’s arrangement of the evocative Acadian folk song Partons, la mer est belle is reimagined from a long lineage of interpretations from folk singers dating back to the 1800s.  

This traditional Acadian folk song reflects on the cyclical nature of life and the hardships of living and working on the ocean. The song stems from the aural tradition, where music and lyrics are passed down through generations without the use of notation or text, resulting in each new generation sculpting its own interpretation.   

Gionet’s arrangement focuses on achieving a balance between remaining faithful to the aural renditions he received in childhood and allowing Haldane’s tenor and inflection to drape a new interpretation over the music. Gionet’s arrangement is inspired by the 19th century Lieder style, in which the voice and piano share solo responsibilities and the spotlight equally. New harmonic colours provide depth to the musical landscape and expand the sonic palette of the piece. Certain liberties have been taken with the traditional text, including adding reprises to enhance the dramatic arc of the storytelling.   

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Christina Haldane’s career spans the UK, Europe, Asia and North America, and she is currently based in Canada’s Atlantic provinces. She has interpreted many lead opera roles, having performed for opera houses such as The Finnish National Opera, The Royal Opera Covent Garden, Scottish Opera and Musica Viva Hong Kong. Her specialty is performing Handel’s Heroines, Comedic Bel Canto roles and Contemporary opera. Christina enjoys performing and curating recital and chamber music concerts, and she is often invited to perform with leading orchestras. Her exploration of contemporary music has led to many collaborations with composers, and she continues to bring their vocal works to life. Christina is a bilingual English and French speaker with Acadian heritage, and she is proud to be a citizen of Canada and Great Britain. 

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Christina Haldane – Partons, la mer est belle 

Release Date: September 2, 2022 

christinahaldane.com 

leaf-music.ca 

MEDIA CONTACT: Andrew Brown | andrew@leaf-music.ca 

For immediate release (Halifax)…March 4, 2022. Leaf Music is thrilled to announce Infusion Baroque’s newest single: “Sonata in G Major” composed by Maddalena Lombardini Sirmen. 

Known for her exceptional violin performances and compositional innovation, Maddalena Lombardini Sirmen was also an impressive businesswoman and one of the first female professional instrumentalists of the 18th century. She composed a healthy portfolio of chamber music for strings, in particular, sonatas. In her first opus, including “Sonata V in G major”, Sirmen pushed convention by creating ambitious structures and playing with alternating tempi.

(Illustration – Parissa Mohit)

“Sonata V in G major” marks the third single of a series of releases for Infusion Baroque’s album Virtuosa, to be released June 10, 2021. The 2-disc recording encompasses 15 works that were either composed or performed by women, and were recorded on historical instruments. 

Since 2017, one of Infusion Baroque’s primary initiatives has been The Virtuosa Project, a series of concerts, lectures, and web videos dedicated to women musicians of the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. This project, which highlights over a dozen relatively unknown women who made substantial contributions to Western classical music, has generated a great amount of interest at a local and international level, resulting in requests from international presenters for the ensemble to tour the Virtuosa program in the United States, France and the U.K.  

The CD will include a comprehensive booklet and companion website which will include stories, images, and archival material pertaining to the women featured on the recording. The objective is to provide cultural and socio-economic context for the women’s lives as well as for their music, and to highlight their accomplishments in the face of adversity. Many of the featured women were pioneers in their field.

Infusion Baroque draws new audiences to early music through a truly captivating concert experience, deftly combining seasoned musicianship with theatrical elements. Playing music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries on historical instruments, the four women of Infusion Baroque enthrall audiences across North America with their creative and interactive programming.

Infusion Baroque’s performances have been described as “dynamic and alive” (Early Music America) with “polish, energy, and finely-honed style… merrily breaking established traditions” (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Winners of the Grand Prize and Audience Prize at the 2014 Early Music America Baroque Performance Competition, the ensemble charms audiences with its dynamic programs such as “Who Killed Leclair?” (an interactive murder mystery soirée based on the unsolved murder of the famous musician); “Rebels and Rivalries” (featuring scandalous stories from the lives of great composers); and “Son of a Bach!” (narrating the multigenerational saga of the famous musical family).

Infusion Baroque has released two recordings with the Canadian label Leaf Music to critical acclaim. The ensemble’s latest album, a world-premiere recording of quintets by Georg Anton Kreüsser, was nominated for an Opus Prize by the Conseil Québecois de la musique.  According to Fanfare, “the playing of these musicians … is superb. They play with a liveliness and unforced energy that seems to grow naturally out of the music… combining spontaneity and abandon with technical perfection.” The ensemble’s debut recording of trio sonatas by C.P.E. Bach was described as “real baroque … gripping and full of character” (Radio-Canada).Since 2017, Infusion Baroque has been exploring the lives of historical women performers through The Virtuosa Project. Fascinated by the great number of women who made their mark as musical performers despite considerable barriers and stigma, Infusion Baroque devoted an entire concert season in 2018-19 to exploring their lives and music. The ensemble also produced a web series which tells the story of four female musicians of the past, and is looking forward to producing a CD recording and documentary on this exciting topic to be released in 2021. (photo – Danylo Bobyk)

Infusion Baroque: “Sonata in G Major”
Release date: March 4, 2022
Digital Release
Stream/Download HERE

infusionbaroque.com