Cultural and nationalist movement against an empire, banalities and war, mourning the death of children; these themes could all be said of today’s current global state. But, through the literature, visual and dramatic arts and musical expression, we find it is an ongoing battle of the human condition, spirit and journey. This is what has inspired the curation of this programme.

ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK (1841-1904)

As a student, it’s a heady business learning repertoire in many languages and historic periods, swimming in its beauty and aesthetic. But, as an emerging artist developing for the stage, I was quickly hit with the reality of the responsibility of the interpreter especially when performing works of a language and culture that were not of my lived experience. A big pivotal moment for me was the summer of 2000 when I received a Slavic Music Prize from Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques (Montreal), a scholarship to participate in the International Summer Masterclass Series at the Janáček Akademie (Brno, Czech Rep.) to study with mezzo Anna Barová and pianist Marta Vašková (see photo below). My project was the Gypsy Songs of Antonín Dvořák, poetry by Adolf Heyduk (part of the Májovci). It was the first time I was truly confronted with the responsibility of presenting a work, performing in a language that I didn’t speak but was the Mother Tongue of the Czech audience, interpreting a composer and poet that were so celebrated and important to the resurgence of the Czech language, literature, culture, and national identity in the Europe of 1880. It was a profound exercise of cultural accountability. With the fall of the Iron Curtain and the Velvet Revolution in 1989 and as a new Czech Republique emerged, the nationalist sentiments from 100 years prior once again rang. The summer of 2000 was my third tour in Central Europe, and from my previous engagements in 1996 (Opava, Praha) and 1997 (Ostrava, Olomouc), it was an ongoing important and intense cultural and linguistic learning curve for this young artist and student of humanity.

FRANCIS POULENC (1899-1963)

Les Banalités is somewhat of a bizarre musical romp when one considers the circumstances of which they were written. Poulenc was a man and composer who pretty much marched to the beat of his own drum, certainly inspired under the mentorships of the likes of Jean Cocteau and Erik Satie as he grew compositionally in the young collective known as Les Six. What is curious about this cycle is that it was written in Paris and in Noizay in 1940 during the Nazi Occupation of WWII. After being called up to serve in an anti-aircraft unit, he was released from service in July 1940 and began an intense spree of composing, of which Les Banalités came to fruition. The poetry certainly rings of banal themes until we get to Sanglots where even the endless cycle of suffering (war) is banal.

GUSTAV MAHLER (1860-1911)

Friedrich Rückert, poet, in 1833-34 wrote 428 poems in an outpouring of grief following the illness and death of his two children due to scarlet fever. These poems have been described as being manic documents of a psychological endeavour to cope with such profound loss. Mahler selected five of these poems to become the Kindertotenlieder (Songs on the Death of Children) which were composed between 1901-04, each song with their own perspective of the mourning process. Three years after the work had been completed Mahler’s daughter Maria died of scarlet fever and he wrote to Guido Adler, “I placed myself in the situation that a child of mine had died. When I really lost my daughter, I could not have written these songs anymore.”

Artist Bios:

Can’t come to the concert, but would like to support our event? Please consider donating tickets.

Your donated tickets will go to the students of the Regent Park School of Music and to the YMCA Youth Groups. Your generosity goes a long way to support the creation of dynamic events such as OpéraFest, MÉXICO CANTA and recitals such as this enabling our community cultural outreach. Your gesture is greatly appreciated and we thank you.

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BOX OFFICE:

ONLINE BOX OFFICE CLOSES AT 3PM, Saturday May 20, 2023.

For inquiries about the program or box office, please contact us at:

Tel: +1 416.927.9105

Email: info@stuartgraham.ca

JEANNE LAMON HALL, Trinity-St. Paul Centre, Toronto, Canada