Pax Christi Chorale’s season finale live performance will function a brand new and impressive work by Timothy Takach, We Are Phoenix.
This multi-movement work for choir, string quartet, and video projections was commissioned by a consortium of 45 choirs from the UK, USA, and Canada. Pax is without doubt one of the collaborating choirs and might be giving the Toronto premiere on Might 10.
Timothy Takach, We Are Phoenix
Takach is an completed composer, particularly identified for his giant scale works for choir which can be typically impressed by the intersection of the pure, imagined, and human worlds. His music is commonly lyrical with wealthy harmonies, maybe reflecting his tenure as a singer with the skilled vocal ensemble, Cantus.
We Are Phoenix is especially poignant given our present zeitgeist, as society is concentrated on environmentalism and its human anxieties. Earth and its enduring resilience are Takach’s inspiration, and he parallels the human situation to the smash and renewal of the Earth.
On this new work, Takach has integrated materials from his present catalog, comparable to Nubes Oriebatur: the eruption of Vesuvius and Ragnarök. The previous describes an account of the well-known volcano’s eruption by Pliny the Youthful (61-112AD). The later, “Doom of the Gods”, weaves collectively the Norse delusion of the destruction of the world and rebirth with a recent scene of a group evacuating from a wildfire.
Pax’s Inventive Director, Dr. Elaine Choi remarks, “Ragnarök evokes an environment of thriller and stress, with chanting from the low voices. Because the treble voices ascend, there’s a glimmer of hope—suggesting renewal and light-weight rising from darkness.”
She provides, “Every motion invitations the listener right into a reflective and emotionally resonant soundscape.”
In distinction to the damaging forces of nature, there are very intimate and private moments as properly, such because the motion “Digging Up a Rose”, with textual content by Caitlin Vincent, who was additionally the librettist for Takach’s opera, “Computing Venus”. Choi describes this motion as, “earnest and totally charming. It captures a way of innocence and quiet marvel with nice sincerity.”
The textual content is drawn from many numerous sources to form a story. The poetry is wealthy with imagery and deep with emotion.
The collaborators embody Odin Quartet for this piece.
Canadian Composers
Choi provides, “On the identical live performance program, we are going to showcase a various number of works within the first half, with a particular deal with Canadian composers comparable to Frank Horvat, Mishaal Surti, and Indigenous composer Sherryl Sewepagaham.”
“We’re notably excited to current two items by members of our creative workforce: collaborative pianist Joshua Tamayo and choral scholar Clara Moniz.”
This program captures the spirit of our present second, mirroring each our struggles and, much more importantly, our resilience.
As spring indicators renewal, so too does this music.
- Discover extra live performance data and tickets [HERE].
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Albert Wong is a author, composer and musician primarily based in Toronto. He’s lively within the choral group and sings with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and Babεl. He additionally has a specific curiosity in gamelan music, and performs Balinese gendèr wayang with Seka Rat Nadi.