Season Listings | Programme notes

Archive Programme Notes

2015-2016

Cross'd By Stars
Henry Purcell: 'When I am laid in earth' from Dido and Aeneas. Libretto by Nahum Tate
Christoph Willibald Gluck: 'Che farò senza Euridice' from Orfeo ed Euridice. Libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi
Dean Burry: The Highwayman. Poem by Alfred Noyes
Leonard Bernstein, arr. Laura Jones: Three songs from West Side Story. Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Gustav Mahler, arr. Arnold Schönberg: Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer). Poetry by the composer

Spirit Dreaming
Harry Somers: Kuyás. Text from plains Cree narrations
Maurice Ravel: Chansons madécasses. Poetry by Évariste-Désiré de Parny
Heitor Villa-Lobos: Suite for Voice and Violin. Poetry by Mario de Andrade
Jouko Linjama: Saamelaislaulua. Poetry by Aslak Guttorm
John Beckwith: Tanu. Text from descriptions of Haida monumental art
Maurice Jaubert: Chants sahariens. Poetry from folk sources of the Taureg peoples
Peter Sculthorpe: Quartet No. 13: Island Dreaming. Text from chants and poetry of the
peoples of the Torres Strait.

High Standards
The songs of the Big Band era and the golden age of Broadway musicals.

Renovated Rhymes
Robert Jordah: Verses from Ogden Nash
Malcolm Forsyth: The Dong With a Luminous Nose. Verse by Edward Lear
Leslie Uyeda: The Sex Lives of Vegetables. Poetry by Lorna Crozier
Matyas Seiber: The Owl and the Pussy-cat. Verse by Edward Lear
Elizabeth Raum: Renovated Rhymes. Text by John V. Hicks
John Greer: Palm Court Songs of the Bubble Ring. Poetry by Dennis Lee
Donald Swann, arr. Laura Jones: Songs from 'The Bestiary'. Lyrics by Michael Flanders

2014-2015

Heroes, Gods & Mortals
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi: Orfeo, for soprano, strings and continuo.
Alan Hovhaness: Hercules, for soprano and violin. Text by the composer.
Monica Pearce: Leda Songs, for mezzo soprano, clarinet and string trio. Text by R.M. Rilke, HD, and D.H. Lawrence *Commissioned, premiere performance*
John Plant: Invocation to Aphrodite, for mezzo soprano, string quartet and piano. Poetry by Sappho.
Joaquin Turina: excerpts from Las Musas de Andalucia for soprano, string quartet and piano. Text by the composer.
Kurt Weill: songs from One Touch of Venus, arranged for mezzo soprano, clarinet and string quartet by Laura Jones. Lyrics by Ogden Nash.

On a Darkling Plain
Samuel Barber: Dover Beach for baritone and string quartet. Poetry by Matthew Arnold.
Walford Davies: Prospice for baritone and string quartet. Poetry by Robert Browning.
Juliet Hess: The Cloths of Heaven for baritone, flute, oboe, violin, viola, cello and piano. Poetry by W.B. Yeats
Dmitri Shostakovich: Seven Romances on Poems by Alexander Blok for soprano, violin, cello and piano.
John Tavener: Akhmatova Poems for soprano and string quartet. Poetry by Anna Akhmatova.

Puttin' on the Ritz
The Irving Berlin songbook

Songs of Travel
Louis Applebaum: Algoma Central for soprano, flute and harp. Text from the brochures and timetables of the Algoma Central Railway.
Elizabeth Jacquet de la Guerre: Le Sommeil d'Ulisse for soprano, strings and continuo.
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Songs of Travel for baritone, string quartet and piano. Poetry by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Vally Weigl: Songs of Love and Leaving for baritone, viola and piano. Poetry by Carl Sandburg.
Four Strong Winds. Canadian travelling songs by Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell and Ian Tyson, arranged for two singers, string trio and oboe by Laura Jones.

2013-2014

A Poet's Love
John Beckwith, arr: Love Lines. Various composers and poets
Gabriel Fauré: La bonne chanson. Poetry by Paul Verlaine
Alexander Rapoport: Fragments of Verlaine.
Robert Schumann, arr. H. Birston: Dichterliebe. Poetry by Heinrich Heine

Creature to Creature
Francis Poulenc: Le Bestiaire. Poetry by Guillaume Apollinaire
Miriam Gideon: Creature to Creature (excerpts). Poetry by Nancy Cardozo
Alexander Rapoport: archy and mehitabel. Text by Don Marquis
Giachino Rossini / C.E.F. Weyse: Duetto buffo di due gatti.
Lee Hoiby: Rainforest. Poetry by Elizabeth Bishop
Flanders & Swann (arr. L. Jones): Songs from "The Bestiary"

Anything Goes
The Cole Porter Songbook.

City of the Mind
Leonard Bernstien: On the Town (excerpts). Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green
Tommaso Giordani: Addio di Londra Text by Giovanni Gualberto Bottarelli
Various composers: Wienerlieder (selections)
Clément Janequin: Les cris de Paris
Erik Ross: Concrete Toronto. Poetry by Carl Wilson and Darrell O'Donnell
Jacques Blumenthal: Venetian Boat Song. Lyrics by Herman C. Merivale
Andrew Ager: Ellis Portal (excerpts). Libretto by Rex Deverell

2012-2013

On The Wing
Arvo Pärt (1935- ): Es sang vor langen Jahren
Lee Hoiby (1926- ): The Life of the Bee
Miriam Gideon (1906-1996): Creature to Creature
John Plant (1945- ): Sandpiper
Aaron Copland (1900-1990): As it Fell upon a Day
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767): Trauer-Musik eines kunsterfahrenen Canarien-Vogels
Lukas Foss (1922- ): Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird

Time and Tide
Edvard Greig (1843-1907): 'Solveig's Song' from Peer Gynt
Scott Good (b.1972): Deuil angoisseux
Ernst Toch (1887-1964): Poems to Martha
Walter Buczynski (b.1933): Three Songs
Gerald Finzi (1901-1956): By Footpath and Stile

Mad Dogs and Englishmen
The Noel Coward songbook

The Constant Lover
Seymour Barab (1921-): Lovers
Karl Heinz Füssl (1924-1992): Cantiunculae amoris
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) – Sono liete, fortunate, HWV 194 (Italian Duets, no. 3)
John Plant (1945- ) - Sonetto di Gaspara Stampa
Edmund Rubbra (1901-1986) – Amoretti
Kurt Weill (1900-1950) – Songs from One Touch of Venus

2011-2012

Muse of Fire, April 17, 18, 2012
Alexander Rapoport: Shakespeare's Aviary
Igor Stravinsky: Three Songs from William Shakespeare
Mark Richards: That Time of Year
Jean Coulthard: Sonnet 91
Howard Blake: Shakespeare Songs
Breath of Kings


Starry Night, January 31, February 1, 2012
Camille Saint-Saëns: Violons dans le soir
Othmar Schoeck: Notturno, Op. 47
Larysa Kuzmenko: Nocturne and Dance
John Plant: La notte bella
Gwyneth Walker: Songs of the Night Wind
Roberta Stephen: Nocturnes
Benjamin Britten: Serenade, Op. 31

Rumours of Peace, November 15, 16, 2011
Gloria Coates: Cantata da Requiem
Earl Kim: Now and Then
Robert Rival: Red Moon and Other Songs of War
Erik Ross: Corpses Have Grown
Alec Roth: Songs in Time of War

2010-2011

Façade, May 3, 4, 2011
William Walton: Façade
Harry Freedman: Pan
Alex Eddinton: Poems of Dennis Lee
Christopher Berg: Don' Let That Horse
Alexander Rapoport: Jabberwocky

Love Letters, February 1, 2, 2011
Roger C. Vogel: Love Letters
Stephen Brown: The Shadow of a Leaf
Roger Quilter: To Julia
Andrée Previn: Two Remembrances
Arvo Pärt: Es sang vor langen Jahren

Intimations of Heaven, November 2, 3, 2010
Franz Schubert: Mignon-Lieder
Franz Schubert: Auf dem Strom
Jocelyn Morlock: Trakl-lied
Richard Wagner: Wesendonck-Lieder
Gustav Mahler: Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen

2009-2010

Illuminations, May 11, 12, 2010
Andrew Ager: From The Rubáiyát
Benjamin Britten: Les Illuminations
Gerald Finzi: Dies Natalis
Harry Freedman: Poèmes de Jacques Prévert

To the Sea in Ships, February 9, 10, 2010
Arthur Bliss: Sea Love
Juliet Hess: The Mariner's Albatross
Lee Hoiby: Bermudas
John Ireland: Sea Fever
Ernest MacMillan: Three French Candadian Sea Songs
John Mitchell: The Ship in Distress
Peter Sculthorpe: Island Dreaming
William Wallace: The Estranging Sea

The Plain Sense of Things, October 27, 28, 2009
Morton Feldan: The O'Hara Songs
Lucas Foss: Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird
Osvaldo Golijov: How Slow the Wind
Libby Larson: Saints Without Tears
Andree Prévin: Three Songs of Toni Morrison
Alexander Rapoport: Chicago Portraits

2008-2009

carmina nova, May 5, 6, 2009
R. Murray Schafer: Minnelieder
Luciano Berio: Folk Songs
Alexander Rapoport: Ballad

when we were young, February 10, 11, 2009
George Crumb: Federico's Little Songs for Children
Elizabeth Raum: Renovated Rhymes
Stephen Brown:Where the Geese Go Barefoot
Zae Munn: What's for Supper?
John Greer: Palm Court Songs of the BubbleRing

the lost generation, November 11, 12, 2008
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Along the Field
Ivor Gurney: The Western Playland
Juliet Hess: The Poplars
Ralph Vaughan Williams: On Wenlock Edge

2007-2008

the voyage out, May 27, 28, 2008
Gavin Bryars: The Adnan Songbook
Derek Holman: Daybreak and a Candle-End
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Songs of Travel

perfect propriety, February 26, 27, 2008
Seymour Barab (arr. Peter Stoll): Songs of Perfect Propriety
Stephen Chatman: Dandy Man
Jean Coulthard: Tarantella
Omar Daniel: You Are Where You Are
Lee Hoiby: Two Women
Kurt Weill (arr. Laur Jones): Four Songs from 'One Touch of Venus'

the harp of fire, November 20, 21, 2007
Frank Bridge: Dweller in my Deathless Dreams
André Caplet: écoute, mon coeur
John Foulds: Two Songs in 'Sacrifice'
Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov: Four Poems of Rabindranath Tagore
Arthur Shepher: Triptych
Naresh Sohal: Songs from Gitanjali
Rabindranath Tagore (arr. Suddhaseel Sen): Four Songs

2006-2007

tyger, tyger, May 29, 30, 2007
Violet Archer: Two Songs
Malcolm Arnold: Five Blake Songs
Colin Eatock: Tears of Gold
Craig Galbraith: The Tyger
Gordon Jacob: Songs of Innocence
Godfrey Ridout: Seasons
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Ten Blake Songs

true north, February 27, 28, 2007
John Burge: Winter
Stephen Chatman: Shadow River
Mary Gardiner: Zhawaninodin
Stephanie Moore: Reflective Pieces
Alexander Rapoport: Northscapes
Erik Ross: The Rising Fire
Roberta Stephen: The Eye of the Seasons

night songs, October 31, November 1, 2006
Andrew Ager: excerpts from Ellis Portal
Benjamin Britten: Evening, Morning, Night
Jean Coulthard: Two Night Songs
George Crumb: Night Pieces I
Laura Kaminsky: Twilight Settings
Camille Saint-Saëns: Violons dans le soir
Vally Weigl: Black Arch of the Night

2005-2006

an die musik, May 31, 2006
Franz Schubert: Mignon
Franz Schubert: Der Hirt auf dem Felsen
Paul Hindemith: Die junge Magd
Mieczyslaw Kolinski: Lyric Sextet
Richard Strauss: Morgen
Robert Schumann: Abendlied

vox humana, February 15, 2006
Abigail Richardson: Agon
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Three vocalises
Lee Hoiby: Ariel's Vocalise
André Previn: Vocalise
Murray Adaskin: A Simple Tune Without Words
Harry Freedman: Toccatoa
MortonFeldman: I Met Heine on the Rue Furstenburg
Karel Salomon: Elegy and Dance

rumours of peace, November 9, 2005
Samuel Barber: Dover Beach
Gloria Coates: Voices of Women in Wartime
John Adams: The Wound Dresser
Osvaldo Golijov: Tenebrae
Margaret Fairlie-Kennedy: Maura
Stephanie Moore: In Flanders Fields

2004-2005

l'amour et la vie, June 1, 2005
Gabriel Fauré: La bonne chanson
Ernest Chausson: Chanson perétuelle
Daniel Foley: L'amour du mensonge
Alexander Rapoport: Fragments of Verlaine Dewi Minden: Ombres


Reflections of Eden, February 16, 2005
Lukas Foss: Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird
Francis Poulenc: Le bestiaire
Lee Hoiby: Rainforest
Lee Hoiby: The Life of the Bee
Euphrosyne Keefer: The Osprey

A medieval tapestry, November 3, 2004
Kurt Weill: Frauentanz
Andrew Ager: From the Rubáiyát
Violet Archer: A Sprig of Flowers
Scott Good: Dueil engoisseaux
Alastair Boyd: AncientSongs
Lester Trimble: Four Fragments fromThe Canterbury Tales

2003-2004

Let Evening Come, June 2, 2004
William Bolcom: Let Evening Come
Stephen Brown: MAXWELL, Larry Douglas
Chester Duncan: Sayings
Craig Galbraith: The Fenian Cycle
Ottorino Respighi: Il Tramonto

Sense & Nonsense, February 23, 2004
Elizabeth Raum: Renovated Rhymes
Malcolm Forsyth: The Dong with a Luminous Nose
Alex Eddington: Eight Poems of Dennis Lee
Andrew Ager: Five Bagatelles
Christopher Berg: Don't Let That Horse
Seymour Barab: A Little Light Music
Robert Jordahl: Verses from Ogden Nash

Spirit Dreaming, November 12, 2003
Marion Newman: Kinanu
Harry Somers: Kuyas
Harry Freedman: Anerca
Peter Sculthorpe: Island Dreaming
Jouko Linjama: Viisi Saamelaislaulua
donna Kelly Eastman: Old Cherokee Woman's Song
Heitor Villa Lobos: Suite for Voice and Violin
Maurice Ravel: Chansons Medecasses

2002-2003

Canti Amori, June 3, 2003
Seymour Barab: Lovers
Karl Heinz Füssl: Cantiunculae Amoris
John Plant: Invocation to Aphrodite
Roger Quilter: To Julia
Ronald Royer: Love's Labour

Chants des Voyageurs, February 10, 2003
Ludwig von Beethoven: Scottish Folk Songs, op. 108
Mieczyslaw Kolinski: Six French Folk Songs & Five Canadian Folk Songs
Rebecca Clarke: Three Old English Folk Songs
Gilbert Patenaude: Six Chansons du Detroit & L'Hirondelle
Diane Chouinard: Chanson folkloriques Québécoises
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Two English Folk Songs
Ernest MacMillan: Three French Canadian Sea Songs

contact: words.music@taliskerplayers.ca, 416-466-6546