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The Joy of Cleaning

Why is it so much better cleaning someone else’s house than cleaning your own? Maybe it’s because you discover things about that person that you didn’t know before. For example, you can find out what they’ve been reading this week. You can also find out what they read last week, and also what they read six months ago, as well as many other interesting things that get swept under couches and forgotten. There is also a purer joy that comes from the act of cleaning. You can enjoy the interesting tinkling sounds that foreign objects make as they get sucked… Read More »The Joy of Cleaning

Tragedy of the Walnut Cruller

It was a morning ritual. It didn’t hurt anybody and it imparted a mild, somewhat guilty joy; a harmless addiction ameliorated by a trace element of goodness. Since I have to drive early on Tuesdays to York University for “Music and Culture” lectures, I treat myself to one, simple pleasure. I approach the doughnut drive-through window and order my usual, to go: “A large coffee with milk and a chocolate walnut cruller, please.” Just saying the words was cathartic. On this particular morning the thin, crackling voice came back to me through my lowered car window with a terrifying edict,… Read More »Tragedy of the Walnut Cruller

Free Christmas download

Yes, it is a bit absurd that I’m posting a free Christmas piece on August 17, but leaders of choral organizations all over the musical world need to plan their repertoire far ahead of time. They have to choose music far in advance to plan thematic programmes, to provide material for press releases, to order music in time to rehearse and perform concerts and church services. I’m giving you “Portinari Nativity” four months ahead of time since I figure it will not be published, and you can really only sing it once a year, and I want you to have… Read More »Free Christmas download

No place like home

This summer in Britain offered up many profound delights: walking the ancient pilgrim road to Canterbury with my sister; hearing Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius performed magnificently in Gloucester cathedral; listening to Arvo Part in the dark at the tomb of Edward II; standing in the yard for Shakespeare at The Globe Theatre; standing in the gallery in the Royal Albert Hall for Wagner’s Die Walkure; meeting up with choir friends from Ottawa and Toronto; travelling to  Tewkesbury for the Jongen Mass; seeing Vermeer at the National Gallery; hiking the Malverns with Shawn and Dave; experiencing Billy Budd at Glyndebourne with… Read More »No place like home

The Pilgrims’ Way

After about a year of anticipation, my sister and I set out on our very own Canterbury pilgrimage. Our goal was to walk 40 miles from Rochester to Canterbury with the aid of our expert guide, Derek of Walk Awhile who custom builds walking tours through Kent. Each morning Derek packed us a lunch bag full of local bread, cheese and fruit, and gave us detailed instructions along with an ordinance survey map. Our compass got us out of a few tricky navigational errors, but on the whole we managed to find the trail. Each evening we arrived at our… Read More »The Pilgrims’ Way

The blog days of summer

Out of the blue, while holidaying in the fabulous fresh air of friendly British Columbia, I received an email from England. Tomorrow I’ll be going down to a Toronto studio to be interviewed for a BBC 4 radio show about Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius. That’s all because of this blog and my posts about that composer. So, I keep on blogging, even though here, on a weekend break with my parents, the Ontario summer is so hot and humid one can barely summon the strength to lift a cold beer. Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to hearing a couple of my… Read More »The blog days of summer

Herbert Hortingswell

Tomorrow night (Friday, June 14) Andrew Adair is playing an organ recital at St. Mary Magdalene’s Church in Toronto. The theme of his programme is organ music written by past directors of music at SMM over the years. I think Healey Willan and Andrew Ager will be front and centre. A composer named Herbert Hortingswell will also appear, with his dissonant, spiky composition, based on the Gregorian chant “Lazare, veni foras” (used by Clemens non Papa in his polyphonic composition of the 16th century.) You may wonder why you don’t recall his tenure at SMM. So, what I’d like to… Read More »Herbert Hortingswell

Gardening

I find myself talking to the tiny seeds as I drop them into the dirt. “Good luck little seeds” I whisper as I bury them in the cool earth, and I remind myself that I am made of this rich, damp stuff. “Dust thou art, and to dust shalt thou return” I mutter as I tamp down the little garden grave that will soon come to life, if the sun shines and the rain falls, and I tend it well. Each plant I encounter today reminds me of someone – a friend, a colleague, a Toronto politician– a wild theatre… Read More »Gardening

Toronto concert scene

A friend asked me if the Toronto Symphony Orchestra was the only classical group performing a concert series in the GTA. They were surprised to learn about the rich underworld of strange and beautiful music thriving in every corner of our city. One of the chief joys of living in a noisy, diverse, odd smelling, crowded, untidy city is the abundance of imaginative and risk-taking musical activity practiced here, ranging from Palestrina to Poulenc, Schmelzer to Shostakovich, gamelan to Gregorian chant; lively concerts presented not by the five or six major groups, but by smaller organizations that just need a… Read More »Toronto concert scene

Edwardian Opulence

After Pax Christi Chorale’s mammoth performances of Handel’s SOLOMON, final juries and exams at York University, I thought I needed a little break. I stepped back from the routine of rehearsal, teaching, writing and performing to recharge my musical batteries. I spent four days with the Elgar Society, North American branch, at our annual conference in New Haven, Connecticut. That might seem like a potentially somber gathering, but it was an absolutely fabulous event. One of the best things about attending a musical conference is that you get to meet a whole lot of great people from far flung places… Read More »Edwardian Opulence