Toronto Welcomes International Artists for a Week Dedicated to Understanding Bach’s Universal Message

August 30, 2005 - The International Bach Festival today announced their second annual performance festival and educational symposium entitled J.S. Bach In The World Today: The Poetry and Politics of Bach’s Early Cantatas taking place from October 1 – 9 at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music.

Grammy-award winner and world-renowned conductor Helmuth Rilling returns for a second year as the festival’s Nicholas Goldschmidt Conductor-in-Residence to lead a series of lectures and concerts. High-profile artists and scholars will participate along side Toronto’s own gifted musicians and university students in an interactive series of open rehearsals, lecture-discussions and evening performances crafted to help the audience understand Bach’s universal messages of peace and compassion.

"Bach’s music holds meaning at many different levels," explained Artistic Director Doreen Rao. "There is a world of music in each cantata, and exploring where Bach wrote, what his texts reveal and how he crafted each cantata helps us to understand how his music is relevant in the world today."

At the heart of the festival is the dynamic five-day forum entitled The Cantata Series held from October 2 – 6. Audiences will experience the transformation of a piece of music from rehearsal to performance, which allows for a deeper understanding of the poetry and politics of Bach’s early cantatas.

"The Bach Festival is all about teaching through great music," explained Rao. "We want the audience to experience Bach from the performer’s perspective. We’re inviting the public into the process so everyone can better understand the music and the message. By observing a cantata rehearsal, contemplating its message, then hearing it performed the same day, the audience engages emotionally and intellectually with the performance."

The daily events in The Cantata Series are:

BachTalk

A lecture-discussion with distinguished Bach scholars on the historical, political and theological contexts of Bach’s early cantatas

The Discovery Series

A conducting master class led by Maestro Helmuth Rilling in collaboration with University of Leipzig Professor Martin Petzoldt followed by an open rehearsal with the International Bach Festival Choir and Orchestra

Cantata Café

A chance to meet and mingle with the artists

Intimate Evenings

A lecture-concert conducted by Maestro Helmuth Rilling which concludes the day with a discussion and performance of the selected cantata

The International Bach Festival includes a teaching and mentorship component, designed to bring together gifted students and international artists to work and learn together. Rehearsing and performing throughout the festival week, The International Bach Festival Choir and Orchestra combines the University’s MacMillan Singers and Israel’s Moran Chamber Ensemble with the Faculty of Music’s Professional Choir-in-Residence, The Elmer Iseler Singers. The University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra students will be mentored by members of the Toronto Symphony and Canadian Opera Company orchestras.

Israel’s Moran Chamber Ensemble, led by conductor Naomi Faran, is the 2005 International Choir-in-Residence. The 18-member choir sings regularly with the Israeli Symphony Orchestra and in addition to their participation in the Cantata Series, the choir will be performing an evening concert on October 8^th at Walter Hall.

Guest artists performing and mentoring throughout the week include Canadian soprano Lorna MacDonald, counter-tenor Daniel Taylor and German tenor James Taylor.

Other events at the International Bach Festival include:

Gala Opening Concert, October 1

Featuring the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra conducted by Maestro Raffi Armenian. Performance highlights include Vivaldi’s Concerto for Four Violins in B minor, Bach’s Concerto for Four Pianos in A minor and Berg’s Violin Concerto.

A Trio of Organ Recitals, October 3 – 5

Experience Bach’s organ classics performed on the Helmuth Wolff meantone organ, a national treasure at Knox College Chapel, University of Toronto campus.

Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, October 7

As the Faculty of Music’s Orchestra-in-Residence, Tafelmusik under music director Jeanne Lamon will be performing an all-Bach programme, featuring the Orchestral Suite no. 1 in C, Brandenburg Concerto no. 3, Concerto for Oboe d’amore and Concerto for Two Violins in D minor.

The festival culminates in a Thanksgiving Cantata Service at Trinity-St.Paul’s United Church on Sunday, October 9^th. Maestro Rilling conducts the combined choirs of Trinity-St. Paul’s United Church, VIVA! Youth Singers of Toronto, the Toronto Chamber Choir and the MacMillan Singers Chamber Choir in Bach’s Cantata BWV 29, "Unto Thee, O God, do we give thanks."

Faculty of Music, Edward Johnson Building
University of Toronto
80 Queen’s Park
Toronto, Ont. M5S 2C5