By SUSAN DOOLAN
It was a meeting of musical minds around
a unique composition. Carmina Burana captivated Barrie's choral
community, and the result is one gala of a concert next weekend.
Choralfest brings together around 130
singers from three different choirs, as well as all of the musicians in
the Huronia Symphony.
Carmina Burana is the highlight of a
program that includes selections of familiar opera pieces and one show
piece from Broadway. For Barbara McCann, having the opportunity to
perform with Carmina has been a life-long dream.
"I first saw it in New York City and the
New York City Ballet was part of it, flanked by the choir," said McCann,
adding that it included orchestra and costumes for the dancers. "It's
very flashy -- when Carl Orff composed it he believed in movement and
thought everything (all the arts) should go together."
The upcoming performance brings together
Barrie's largest choral group, The King Edward Choir, Lyrica Chamber
Choir, show choir Bravado!, and 16 singers from local high schools.
The Huronia Symphony will also be
showcased and John Barnum returns to Barrie as guest conductor.
Carmina Burana is not an opera. It is
actually a series of poems that were set to music by Orff. The poems,
which were found in European monastery, were considered lewd for the
time (1500s).
They were saved by a number of
intellectuals who would meet at the monastery. By today's standards,
songs of love, lust, debauchery and railing against the fates would
barely raise an eyebrow.
Selections from Carmina bookend the
concert. They will be familiar to concert-goers because the music has
been featured in numerous television advertisements.
"People who would not necessarily like
classical music would really think this is grand, I think, because it's
so showy," said McCann, who is artistic director of the King Edward
Choir.
Carmina is at its best when performed by
a lot of singers and in this piece, it is the men who really have an
opportunity to shine. McCann said it was a challenging but fun program
to work on.
The choirs had some help from
professional singers from the Elmer Iseler Singers, who acted as vocal
coaches and will sing with their sections (soprano, alto, tenor and
bass) at the concert.
Meanwhile, Steve Winfield, artistic
director and conductor of Lyrica Chamber Choir, has been working with
the 16 student singers during rehearsals for the concert.
Barnum, the guest conductor, brings
experience in both choral and orchestra conducting.
The Mississauga-based conductor was at
the helm of the Huronia Symphony for quite a few years and is returning
to Barrie especially to conduct this concert.
For Scott Boyer, music director of
Barrie's show choir Bravado!, Carmina has always been one of his
favourite pieces of music.
"A lot of our show choir people come from
traditional back grounds and are familiar with classical pieces and this
is one of the most exciting modern works that has been produced in the
last century," said Boyer.
"I'm thrilled to be working with Barbara
and King Edward Choir and Steve and Lyrica -- we all represent a unique
position in the choral music landscape but we all get along and work
really well together."
In addition to selections from Carmina,
the program includes Somewhere from West Side Story (Leonard Bernstein);
familiar operas by Puccini, Verdi's Madame Butterfly and others;
Borodin's Prince Igor Polovtsian Dances (in English).
The concert takes place Sunday, Nov. 7 at
3:30 p.m. at the W.A. Fisher Auditorium, Barrie Central Collegiate, 125
Dunlop St. W.
Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for age
18 and under, available at Music Pro, Page and Turners or by calling
721-4752.
news@thebarrieexaminer.com
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