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Suzie LeBlanc soprano The Whole Noyse (San Francisco) & Early Music Vancouver’s Baroque Festival Players Alexander Weimann music director & keyboard 
PLEASE NOTE: Tickets for this performance, at $63, $48 and $32 (students & seniors $3 discount) including HST are only available at the Chan Centre Ticket Office, or through Ticketmaster: 604 280-3311 or www.ticketmaster.ca. (Note: Surcharges apply to orders made through Ticketmaster). Rush Seats for Students with valid ID on sale for $10, at the door only, from 7:00 pm on the evening of the concert. This concert is included in our “Bring a Youth for Free” programme.
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This performance was made possible through the generous assistance of the Drance Family Fund,
the Nemetz Foundation, the Mary and Gordon Christopher Foundation, a number of major anonymous donors, and
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Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) began his musical career as a string player at the Gonzaga court in Mantua, and his chief responsibility for over twenty years was supplying Balli, Madrigali, and Intermedii for courtly entertainments. His publications of madrigals, which stretched compositional rules past their traditional limits, attracted wide attention. By 1608, with the production of his operas L’Orfeo and L’Arianna, Monteverdi (now the head of court music) had become one of the most famous musicians in Italy, respected for the intelligent way he explored new expressive possibilities and blended them into the profound depth of Renaissance musical tradition. In 1610, after a career almost entirely occupied with secular music, Monteverdi published a large collection of sacred music that contains his Vespro della Beata Vergine. For a composer now in his early forties this surprising publication has something of the quality of a declaration, reminiscent of Brahms completing his First Symphony at a similar age. Monteverdi, frustrated by his financial neglect at the Mantuan court, had turned his attention to sacred music in order to seek better employment, and the fact that he dedicated his 1610 publication to Pope Paul V suggests that he was aiming for a job at the papal chapel. Artistically, there was another reason — the Vespers is Monteverdi’s manifesto of a rapprochement of the old and new styles in sacred music, and at the time he must have viewed it as the crowning achievement of his art. The evening service of the Catholic Divine Office, Vespers has been celebrated daily since the sixth century in more or less the same form. Of the text of the liturgy, Monteverdi sets five Psalms, a Hymn, the Magnificat, and adds four motets and a Sonata, which when supplemented by prayers and a small amount of chant would constitute a service suitable for feast days dedicated to the virgin Mary. The most astonishing aspect of Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers is the confident mastery with which he combines a surprising variety of contrasting elements into a satisfying and structured whole. In the five Psalms and the Magnificat, he weaves an eclectic tapestry of modern and traditional techniques, incorporating traditional counterpoint, florid solo singing, virtuoso instrumental writing, dance-like movements, double-choir responses and dramatic textural changes, at the same time maintaining a taut formal structure based on the traditional psalm tones which are used as a cantus firmus. In the four motets which separate the Psalms Monteverdi uses the most modern form of writing for solo voices, while the Sonata is a virtuoso instrumental piece built around a chanted Marian litany. Particularly striking is the opening Domine ad adiuvandum, in which Monteverdi superimposes the Gonzaga fanfare (famous as the opening Toccata in L’Orfeo) above a traditional style of choral chanting. Overall, the movements are arranged to create a pattern of variety and growth, each of the large scale psalms having a different character and using different dispositions of the ensemble while the more intimate motets are arranged in order of their number of voices and complexity. The result is a steady forward momentum, suspended briefly by the serenity of the Hymn, and culminating in the Magnificat, whose twelve short movements recall many of the techniques that had been used in the earlier part of the Vespers.
ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE At one time it was considered obvious that any large-scale liturgical work would require orchestra, chorus and soloists, and performances of Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers have usually been forced into this mould, inflated by editors and performers into the 20th century’s idea of a suitable concert event of imposing proportions, in line with Handel’s Messiah or the Verdi Requiem. Recent researches into the performance of seventeenth-century sacred music, however, have made it clear that works like Monteverdi’s Vespers were generally performed by select ensembles of soloists, and were primarily conceived as large-scale chamber music: a choir is not mentioned in the score, and only solo instruments which never double the vocal parts are indicated. The work requires only ten singers, six string players, six wind players and organ for performance, and when approached in this way Monteverdi’s writing emerges with great clarity of intention. If seventeenth-century performers had more resources at their disposal than these minimum requirements, well-defined conventions allowed them to expand the performance in various ways. More chordal instruments (especially plucked instruments) could be used to realize the basso continuo, and instruments could be used to double the vocal lines. A small group of extra voices (called a ripieno) could be used to double lines sung by the soloists, but it was understood that these additions would only enrich and enhance the basic character of the piece without transforming it. This production of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 has as its core an ensemble of outstanding vocal and instrumental soloists from Vancouver, Montreal and the USA and Europe. The result, while perhaps seeming intimate to a modern audience, would have been large by seventeenth-century standards. — Ray Nurse |
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Suzie LeBlanc was born in New-Brunswick of Acadian heritage. Critically acclaimed by the international press for her luminous presence, vocal magic and impeccable phrasing, she enjoys performing a wide range of musical styles from the Renaissance and Baroque periods to French Mélodies, German Lieder and Acadian traditional songs. In 2008, she made her debut in the film world as the lead character in the feature film Lost song, directed by Rodrigue Jean. The film won the City TV’s Best Canadian Feature Film Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, Best Acadian picture at FIFA (Moncton) and was chosen as one of the Top Ten films of the year in Canada. Before this, she had starred in the music documentaries More than a thousand kisses and Suzie LeBlanc and a man named Quantz, both for Prometheus Productions, and more recently in ... read more
Matthew White was born in 1973 and began singing as a treble with St. Matthew’s Men and Boys Choir in Ottawa, Canada. Operatic engagements include work with the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Glyndebourne Touring Opera, New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Cleveland Opera, Opera Atelier, and Pacific Opera Victoria. On the concert stage he has worked with groups including Bach Collegium Japan( Masaaki Suzuki), Collegium Vocale Ghent(Phillipe Herrewheghe, Marcus Creed, H.C Rademann), Le Concert Spirituel(Herve Niquet), Nederlands BachVereniging(Jos van Veldhoven), Arsys Bourgogne (Pierre Cao), Tafelmusik (Jeanne Lamon, Yvars Taurins), Les Violons du Roy (Bernard Labadie), Ensemble Arion (Monica Huggett), Concerto Palatino (Bruce Dickey), the New York Collegium (Andrew Parrott), Le Parlement de Musique (Martin Gester), Oregon Bach Festival (Helmuth Rilling,John Nelson), Carmel Bach Festival (Bruno Weil), Capella Brugensis (Patrick Peire), Israel Camerata, ... read more
Mezzo-Soprano Debi Wong is a recent graduate from the Yale School of Music, where she specialized in Early Music, Artsong and Oratorio. Praised for her effective performances, Ms. Wong enjoys working as both a chamber singer and concert soloist. Highlights of her 2009 – 2010 season include Bach’s Singet dem Herrn and Ein Feste Burg ist unser Gott with Masaaki Suzuki; Haydn’s Salve Regina with Nicholas McGegan, The St. John Passion with Bruce Pullan in his final season conducting the Vancouver Bach Choir; Bach’s B Minor Mass with Simon Carrington and part II of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with Helmuth Rilling at the Oregon Bach Festival. Next season, Debi will be making her debut in early opera with Stephen Stubbs and a production of Monteverdi’s Il Ballo delle Ingrat. Debi was born and raised in Vancouver BC and is thrilled to be joining Early Music Vancouver for their 2010 festival.
With assured musicality and the varied tonal palette of a lieder specialist, Canadian lyric Colin Balzer's current season includes a debut on the distinguished Philadelphia Chamber Music Society series, Messiah with the Edmonton and Toronto Symphonies, his Atlanta Symphony debut in the Mozart Coronation Mass under Roberto Abbado; Mozart's Idomeneo and Mass in C in Salzburg under Marc Minkowski; Bach's St. Matthew Passion and Cantatas with Philippe Herreweghe and Collegium Vocale Gent and Don Ottavio in Mozart's Don Giovanni with Louis Langree conducting at France's Aix-en-Provence Festival. In 2010-11 New York hears his solo recital debut at the Frick Collection, as well as Messiah with Kent Tritle conducting both Musica Sacra and the Oratorio Society of New York, the latter at Carnegie Hall. In addition he participates in the Boston Early Music Festival performances and recording of Steffani's Niobe.... read more Charles Daniels was born in Salisbury. He was a Chorister and Choral Scholar at King’s College, Cambridge, and studied at the Royal College of Music in London under Edward Brooks. He has made over eighty recordings as a soloist including Handel’s Messiah with the Gabrieli Consort for Deutsche Grammophon, Dowland songs for EMI, Wojciech Kilar’s Missa Pro Pace with the Warsaw Philharmonic for CD Accord, Monteverdi Vespers with The Gabrieli Consort and The King’s Consort, Bach Mass in B Minor with Jos van Veldhoven and De Nederlandse Bach Vereniging, Tenorlied by Senfl with Fretwork , two recital discs, one based on 'Orfeo', for ATMA, Rubbra’s Amoretti with the Maggini Quartet,The Beggar’s Opera for Hyperion, and much Purcell and Bach. Concert appearances have taken him all over the world including regular appearances at the BBC Promenade Concerts, the world première of 'Songs of the Sky', a new song cycle by John Tavener with the oboist Nicholas Daniel and pianist ... read more Baritone Tyler Duncan is the winner of the 2008 New York Oratorio Society Competition, the Bernard Diamant Prize from the Canada Council for the Arts and the 2007 Prix International Pro Musicis Award which included debut recitals at Carnegie’s Weill Hall, Salle Cortot in Paris and at Pickman Hall in Boston. British Columbia-born, his recent engagements include Die Schöpfung for Orchestre symphonique de Québec, a tour of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Berlin’s Philharmonie der Nationen (Justus Frantz), Blow’s Venus and Adonis for Boston Early Music, and Matthäus Passion for the Dresdner Kreuzchor and Dresdner Philharmonie. Further credits include Handel’s Resurrezione for Halle’s Handel Festival, Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the Princeton Opera Festival, and Hidraot in Armide for Mercury Baroque of Houston. Mendelssohn’s Elijah in Munich, Winterreise for the Montreal Chamber Music Festival, Dream of Gerontius for the Elora Festival, Messiah with the Calgary Philharmonic and Weihnachtsoratorium with Tafelmusik as well as performances with the Singapore Symphony, Berkshire Choral Festival, Early Music Vancouver, Coast Recital Society, ... read more
Sumner Thompson is one of today's most sought-after young baritones. His appearances on the operatic stage include roles in productions from Boston to Copenhagen, including the Boston Eearly Music Festival's productions of Johann Georg Conradi's Ariadne (2003) and Lully's Psyché (2007) and several Eurpoean tours with Contemporary Opera Denmark as Orfeo in Monteverdi's L'Orfeo. He has performed across North America as a soloist with Concerto Palatino, Tafelmusik, Apollo's Fire, Les Boréades de Montréal, Les Voix Baroques, Pacific Baroque Orchestra, the King's Noyse, Mercury Baroque, and the symphonies of Charlotte, Memphis, and Phoenix. Highlight's of Mr. Thompson's 2008-09 season include Bach's St. Matthew Passion with Tafelmusik, Buxtehude's Membra Jesu nostri with Les Voix Baroques and Houston's Mercury Baroque, Mozart's Requiem at St. Thomas Church in New York City, a tour of Japan with Joshua Rifkin and Cambridge Concentus, and a return to the Carmel ... read more
Paul Grindlay has performed in Canada, the USA, Europe, and Japan. His bold stage presence and unique vocal abilities have captivated audiences in productions of Don Giovanni (Leporello) for Opera Atelier, Die Pilger von Mekka (Vertigo) for the Vienna Chamber Opera, Handel’s Messiah and numerous Baroque and Classical concert works with prestigious organizations throughout North America. A prominent concert artist, Mr. Grindlay has appeared with Tafelmusik, The Portland and Pacific Baroque Orchestras, the American Bach Soloists, the Carmel Bach Festival, the Toronto Consort, Les Voix Baroques, Le Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montréal, the Victoria, Kingston and Red Deer Symphony Orchestras, the Vancouver Chamber Choir, Bach Choir and Cantata Singers, the Ottawa Choral Society, Pro Coro Canada, the Alberta Baroque Ensemble, Richard Eaton Singers and the Calgary Festival Chorus (among numerous others). He is probably best known for his interpretation of Baroque music, where his agility and resonant ... read more
Exploring the intersection of sound, music and the imagination – these are the realms which Tony Funk finds himself in. After teaching college for nearly two decades, Tony continues to share ideas through his work with singers, conductors and church musicians at conferences, choral workshops and sacred music festivals throughout the world. In Tony one finds the unique confluence of professional singer, vocal teacher and expert choral director. Two masters degrees, one in music (University of British Columbia) and the other in theology (Trinity Western University), provide the academic foundation for his work. Musical ideas have been honed through many experiences including the study of German Lieder in Austria with the late Dr. Eric Werba. While in New York, Tony sang with Alice Parker’s professional choir and after ... read more
Alexander Weimann, who in 2009 became the music director with Vancouver’s Pacific Baroque Orchestra, is one of the most sought-after ensemble directors, soloists, and chamber music partners of his generation. He has traveled the world as a member of the ensemble Tragicomedia; as a frequent guest of ensembles such as Les Boréades, Cantus Cölln, Freiburger Barockorchester, Tafelmusik, and the Gesualdo Consort; and as musical director of Les Voix Baroques and Le Nouvel Opéra. During the 2008 season he led the Portland Baroque Orchestra in Handel's Messiah, conducted the Pacific Baroque Orchestra on a tour of Canada and the USA, and performed Bach's Harpsichord Concertos as soloist with Les Violons du Roy. Both the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra regularly invite him to play as soloist. After working as an assistant conductor at the Amsterdam, Basel, and Hamburg opera houses, he directed his own productions of Pergolesi's La Serva Padrona with the Freiburger Barockorchester; Pepusch's Beggar's Opera at the Palace Theatre ... read more
The Whole Noyse San Francisco’s wind band The Whole Noyse, a perennial favourite with Vancouver audiences, will return for this performance:
Early Music Vancouver’s Baroque Festival Players For this performance, Early Music Vancouver’s Baroque Festival Players will be directed from the keyboard by Alexander Weimann. The ensemble includes leading early music specialists from Vancouver and from across Canada and the USA:
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Suzie LeBlanc
Soprano Ellen Hargis is one of America’s premier early music singers, specializing in repertoire ranging from ballads to opera and oratorio. She has performed with many of the foremost period music conductors of the world including Andrew Parrott, Gustav Leonhardt, Paul Goodwin, Monica Huggett, Jane Glover, Simon Preston, Daniel Harding, Paul Hillier, Harry Bicket, Craig Smith and Jeffrey Thomas. She has performed with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Virginia Symphony, Washington Choral Arts Society, Long Beach Opera, CBC Radio Orchestra, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Teatro Lirico, Tragicomedia, New York Collegium, The Mozartean Players, Parthenia, Piffaro, Fretwork, Emmanuel Music and the Mark Morris Dance Group, and has become regular performer with Chicago’s Music of the Baroque, the American Bach Soloists, Seattle Baroque and the Portland Baroque Orchestra. She has appeared at many of the world’s leading festivals including the Adelaide Festival (Australia), Utrecht Festival (Holland), Resonanzen Festival (Vienna), the Vancouver Early Music Festival, .
Matthew White 
Debi Wong 
Colin Balzer
Charles Daniels
Tyler Duncan
Sumner Thompson
Paul Grindlay
Tony Funk
Alexander Weimann