Pax Christi Chorale, a 100 plus voice Toronto choir, scored another impressive triumph yesterday with the world premiere of Stephanie Martin’s new oratorio “The Sun, the Wind, and the Man with the Cloak”. David Bowser, Stephanie’s successor as Artistic Director of PCC, gave us fine readings of English repertoire (Britten, Elgar, Vaughan Williams) before the intermission.
The new choral work is a charming retelling of the famous Aesop fable about the sun and the wind arguing who is the more powerful. Stephanie Martin’s highly effective score was enhanced in no small measure by playwright Paul Ciufo’s delightful libretto. This is their 2nd such collaboration, the first last year being the highly-acclaimed opera “Llandovery Castle”. It’s abundantly clear that these two are on the same wavelength, and one can only hope that they have plans for the future up their sleeve.
I’ve been following Stephanie’s development as a composer with great interest. She long ago had demonstrated her skill with shorter works, but in recent years she’s been tackling the large forms with increasing success. I remember the choral symphony “Babel” which premiered at Wilfrid Laurier University (Stephanie’s alma mater) several years ago. And last year there was the aforementioned “Llandovery Castle”. On the strength of what we heard last night, there’s no doubt that Stephanie has found her own voice as a composer, no small feat considering the plethora of musical styles nowadays. Her music is unabashedly tonal, but in a fresh, original way. The music spans a wide emotional range (as it must, especially in longer works), and the climaxes were most effective. I was deeply moved by the work, and I wasn’t alone. People remarked to me later they had been brought to tears on several occasions.
Of course, the success of a premiere depends to a great extent on the performance, and in that department, PCC and David Bowser more than rose to the occasion. The choir was thrilling in every respect. The men singing the Wind passages, and the women portraying the Sun rose to the considerable challenges of this new score. The 3 soloists, mezzo-soprano Catherine Daniel, tenor Asitha Tennekoon, and baritone Brett Polegato did themselves proud. Brett, just recently returned from a triumphant run of “Manon” performances at the Met, showed us exactly why he is one of today’s reigning baritones. Organist Daniel Norman, pianist Christina Faye, and percussionist Stefan Kitai were consistently outstanding. And although The Intermediate Chorus of the Canadian Children’s Opera Company had only a cameo role, they played it to the full, charming a large and appreciative audience at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church. The standing ovation was richly deserved.
It’s been said that getting a 2nd performance of a new piece is considerably harder than the premiere. I have a hunch this new oratorio (for once, a secular oratorio!) will be heard many times. It certainly deserves to be! Bravi tutti!
Howard Dyck, Nov. 2, 2019
‘The Sun, the Wind, and the Man with the Cloak’ premiere performance by Pax Christi Chorale, Yorkminster Park Church, Toronto
Such a well earned review! Thrilled that Howard enjoyed it and appreciated not only your wonderful composition but also Pax Christi Chorale’s interpretation and performance of your very special new oratorio! It suited us well indeed! And thank you to Howard for taking the time to write a detailed review! Wonderful! Here’s to the next performance of The Sun, The Wind and the Man with the Cloak!
Thanks to you Emily for the brilliant idea to commission this new piece. It will take effort to get the news out and find the next group willing to produce new music. Seems easier to stick with the classics – but I think our audience demonstrated that their is a thirst for new works, from our own time, expressing current issues, in our own way. Not that we don’t need Handel and Mozart – but excuse me – they’ve had their say for quite some time ; )