722056288224

Remember 130 Years Of Canadian Choral Music

Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Jean-Sebastien Vallee

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Format: 2CD

Cat No: ACD22882

PRE-ORDER: This item will be shipped with the aim to deliver on release day.

Release Date:  25 October 2024

Label:  Atma Classique

Packaging Type:  Jewel Case

No of Units:  2

Barcode:  722056288224

Genres:  Classical  Choral  

  • Description

    2024 marks the 130th anniversary of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, one of Canada's oldest, largest, and most recognized choral ensembles. Currently under the direction of Jean-Sebastien Vallee, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir is proud to celebrate its anniversary with the release of the album Remember.

    Many of the works featured on this double CD set are pieces of Canadian choral music history that have a symbolic or special meaning for the choir. They include Richte mich, Gott, a setting of Felix Mendelssohn's Psalm 43, which was performed at the choir's inaugural concert on January 15, 1895.

    The music selected for this album reflects the country's musical diversity and includes traditional songs like Blanche comme la neige from Quebec and She's Like the Swallow from Newfoundland. The album also celebrates Canada's rich tradition of choral composition spanning more than a century, from Healey Willan's An Apostrophe to the Heavenly Hosts, to Srul Irving Glick's 1988 Haleluya. Yesterday's music rubs shoulders with recent commissions like Andrew Balfour's 2022 Music Is Vibration, alongside pieces by contemporary composers including Imant Raminsh, Jocelyn Morlock, Christopher Ducasse, Shireen Abu Khader, Stephanie Martin, and Stuart Beatch.

    Through its performances, educational programs, and community engagement, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir aspires to introduce its audiences to choral masterworks from the past and present. TMChoir includes 24 professional singers and over 130 auditioned and experienced volunteer choristers. The smaller professional ensemble, the Toronto Mendelssohn Singers (TMSingers) is one of Canada's leading professional chamber choirs and was created to deliver more intimate, nimble repertoire.

    Currently serving as artistic director of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and professor of music and director of choral studies at McGill University's Schulich School of Music in Montreal, Jean-Sebastien Vallee is a sought-after conductor and pedagogue. He previously served as director of choral studies at California State University, Los Angeles, and was on the choral faculty of the University of Redlands.

  • Tracklisting

      Disc 1

      Side 1

      • 1. Chatman: Two Rossetti Songs No. 2: Remember
      • 2. Vogt: Jesus, Lover of my Soul (Arr. for Choir by Jonathan Oldengarm)
      • 3. Mendelssohn: Three Psalms, Op. 78 No. 2: Richte mich, Gott, MWV B 46
      • 4. Anonymous: Five Songs of the Newfoundland Outports No. 4: She's Like the Swallow (Arr. for Choir by Harry Somers)
      • 5. Anonymous: Blanche comme la neige (Arr. for Choir by Ernest MacMillan)
      • 6. Ducasse: O nata lux
      • 7. Glick: Haleluya

      Disc 2

      • 1. Balfour: Music Is Vibration
      • 2. Raminish: Ave verum corpus
      • 3. Anonymous: Of the Father's Love Begotten (Arr. for Choir by Peter-Anthony Togni)
      • 4. Morlock: Io, Io
      • 5. Beatch: a boy & a boy
      • 6. Willan: An Apostrophe to the Heavenly Hosts
      • 7. Abu-Khader: I Forgive
      • 8. Martin: Nothing Gold Can Stay