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A Toronto Songbook | Walter Hall, Toronto
A Toronto Songbook | Walter Hall, Toronto
A celebration of song in Toronto through the 20th century
date: May 12, 2005
This concert was a slightly recast version of one presented on April 30, 2000, to celebrate the millennium; it was presented by the University of Toronto Humanities Centre and the Institute for Canadian Music as part of Voicing Toronto: The City and the Arts. We told the story of song as it flourished in our city through the 20th century, following three lines of discovery: firstly, by presenting a hundred years of song, from Ambrose’s “Die Lotosblume” (1901) to “A Man and his Flute” (2000); secondly, we remembered a number of great performers who either resided here or visited repeatedly; thirdly, we boasted of some of the Aldeburgh Connection’s commissioned pieces, particularly A Toronto Songbook, commissioned for the new century in 2000.
| Song | Artist | Composer | Poet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Die Lotosblume, Op.19 | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Ambrose, Paul | Heine, Heinrich |
| The Whitethroat | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Manning, Edward B. | Rand, Theodore Harding |
| The hour has come to part | Burgess, Norine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Broome, Edward | Oxenford, Edward |
| Oh! you Canadian town | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Burgess, Norine, mezzo; Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Allan, Norman Fraser | Bennett, Stan K. |
| Ariadne Waking | Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Smith, Leo | Hunt, James Henry Leigh |
| Sonnet to Sleep | Burgess, Norine, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Willan, Healey | Keats, John |
| I sing of a maiden (Two Christmas Carols) | Burgess, Norine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | MacMillan, Sir Ernest | anon. |
| Take me to a green isle | Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | MacNutt, Walter | Foster, H. E. |
| Cheerio! | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Burgess, Norine, mezzo; Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Faith, Percy | Faith, Percy |
| Ich atmet’ einen Lindenduft | Burgess, Norine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Mahler, Gustav | Rückert, Friedrich |
| The Salley Gardens | Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Irish folksong, arr. Britten, Benjamin | Yeats, William Butler |
| Everything is black (The Confession Stone) | Burgess, Norine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Fleming, Robert | Dodson, Owen |
| I love the jocund dance | Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Morawetz, Oskar | Blake, William |
| Abschied (Mörike-Lieder) | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Wolf, Hugo | Mörike, Eduard |
| The owl and the pussycat | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Burgess, Norine, mezzo; Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Ubukata, Bruce, piano; Ralls, Stephen, conductor | Somers, Harry | Lear, Edward |
| Toronto: Ramble (Studies and Rambles of Wasagewanoqua) | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Greer, John | Jameson, Anna |
| Venus and Pomona (A Toronto Songbook) | Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Holman, Derek | Finch, Robert |
| Blue Heron near the Old-Mill Bridge (A Toronto Songbook) | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Kulesha, Gary | Souster, Raymond |
| Brunswick Avenue (A Toronto Songbook) | Burgess, Norine, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Ross, Erik | Lee, Dennis |
| Spinnaker (A Toronto Songbook) | Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Bergs, Roger | Outram, Richard |
| A Man and his Flute (A Toronto Songbook) | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Beckwith, John | Waddington, Miriam |
| Won’t you meet me at Murray’s? – ENCORE | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Burgess, Norine, mezzo; Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Eckstein, Willie | Eckstein, Willie |