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This afternoon, a packed house at Koerner Hall was treated to a rare and stirring performance of Edward Elgar’s oratorio The Kingdom by the Pax Christi Chorale, in honour of its 25th anniversary. The choir, augmented by its youth division, four soloists and orchestra, did justice to the glories of Elgar’s complex music. He was as much a star of the concert as its interpreters — a fact acknowledged by conductor Stephanie Martin as she held the scarlet leather-bound score aloft during the prolonged and noisy standing ovation. It’s a shame that we don’t hear great English choral works from… Read More »Concert review: Pax Christi Chorale reigns in Elgar’s glorious Kingdom

My husband Bruce Kirkpatrick Hill died in Vladimir Illich Lenin Hospital in Cuba, on March 18th, 2012. Bruce’s departure has changed my life forever. His loss is felt by so many friends and family who loved him dearly. Bruce gave me many gifts, but I’ll just talk about one big one here. About 20 years ago Bruce had one of his famous impulsive ideas: we would drive to Buffalo to hear a performance of “The Dream of Gerontius” by Edward Elgar. After all, Buffalo is just over the border and it’s so easy to drive there (this from the Vancouver… Read More »Facing the Music

If you’re ever down on Elm Street in Toronto you may have noticed a handsome new building for the YWCA.  (It’s just down the street from the Arts and Letters Club where Healey Willan was an active member, and just steps from the spectacular Elmwood Spa.)  The historic Edwardian building has been converted and renovated to create a wonderful living space with about 300 units for women who really need affordable, safe housing. You can read all about the green building project and how women can apply to live in this new facility at the YWCA website: http://www.ywcatoronto.org/page.asp?pid=76 Also an… Read More »YWCA song

Some weeks I experience such a diversity of music I forget what century I am actually living in. Let me give you a glimpse of my musical activities this past week: Sunday: sing, play and conduct for two Sunday morning masses at St. Mary Magdalene’s including amazing 8-part motet by Orlando di Lasso; rehearse Gregorian chant with our new group “Lady Chant” Monday: prepare this week’s history lecture; rehearse Pax Christi Chorale in Elgar’s monster oratorio, “The Kingdom” Tuesday: lecture on Schubert, Schumann and Chopin; host Trinidadian steel pan drum ensemble; rehearse Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with York baroque orchestra… Read More »Coming or going?

I’m thinking of the Windermere String Quartet as they prepare to play the premiere of my piece tonight. If they are like me, they are avoiding going out into the snow that continues to fall on Toronto this afternoon. Maybe like me they are practicing, and have persistent pets like my cat (pictured here, with her permission) who expresses her opinion of music by sitting on it. My cat apparently approves of Willan Missa Brevis #4. The string quartet we will hear tonight is called “From a distant Island.” I wrote most of the quartet while on sabbatical on the Isle… Read More »Snow and string quartet

The last carols have been sung, dollar store treasures unwrapped and devoured, remnants of Christmas feasts boiled up for soup, midnight masses faded, snow finally falls on our city and there is a fleeting moment to stop and take stock. Deep and even gratitude for friends and family adorns my silent night, and my heart nearly bursts with the profound joy that all this music brings. I am grateful for the wonderful people that surround me, the prodigious and varied gifts that they share willingly and without question, and for everyone who willingly receives these handcrafted blessings. I’ve spent a brilliantly… Read More »Fourth day of Christmas

Benjamin Britten writes in his introductory notes to Saint Nicolas: “The conductor must be cool-headed and should turn to the audience to conduct them in the two hymns.” I needed that sound advice on Sunday afternoon as we began our Pax Christi concert, only to discover the organ at Grace Church on-the-Hill would not  start up. The first half of the concert could be sung largely without the organ, but the prospect of performing a half-hearted St. Nicolas without the “King of Instruments” was a dreadful disappointment to both choir and audience. But apparently miracles still happen. Why was Tom Fitches in… Read More »Keep calm and carry on

St. Mary Magdalene Gallery Choir 1967 I want to post a brief tribute here to my friend Patricia Harton-McCord, a wonderful person and marvelous musician. She’s pictured here at choir practice with the Gallery Choir under the direction of Healey Willan in 1967. She’s the young singer in the second row, fourth from the right. She often recounted stories about those days and how Dr. Willan had been so generous with his time, mentoring and nurturing her obvious musical talents. I first met Patricia as a student at U of Toronto and got to know her again as a colleague… Read More »Farewell to a friend

Our eyes are blinded by the holiness you bear. The bishop’s robe, the mitre and the cross of gold obscure the simple man within the Saint. Strip off your glory, Nicolas, and speak! “Across the tremendous bridge of sixteen hundred years I come to stand in worship with you as I stood among my faithful congregation long ago. All who knelt beside me then are gone. Their name is dust, their tombs are grass and clay, yet still their shining seed of faith survives in you! With you it stands like forest oak or withers with the grasses underfoot. Preserve the… Read More »In search of Saint Nicolas

In four weeks my oratorio choir will sing the first performance of my new cantata “Winter Nights.” The four movement cantata is scored for strings, keyboard and percussion (yes, just like Benjamin Britten’s Saint Nicolas) SATB choir and tenor soloist. The poetry is from various sources, but I’ll admit my favourite poem was written by my sister Cori Martin. It’s called “Christmas Cattle” and it goes like this: Could it be true, old Thomas Hardy’s tale: at midnight, Christmas Eve, the oxen kneel to Bethlehem? Our parents slept. We kept a vigil till the magic hour, then crept outside, across… Read More »Winter Nights