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 likely one of the taking part choirs and might be giving the Toronto premiere on Might 10.
Timothy Takach, We Are Phoenix
Takach is an achieved composer, particularly recognized for his massive scale works for choir which can be typically impressed by the intersection of the pure, imagined, and human worlds. His music is usually 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 included 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 fantasy of the destruction of the world and rebirth with a recent scene of a neighborhood evacuating from a wildfire.
Pax’s Creative Director, Dr. Elaine Choi remarks, “Ragnarök evokes an environment of thriller and rigidity, with chanting from the low voices. Because the treble voices ascend, there’s a glimmer of hope—suggesting renewal and lightweight rising from darkness.”
She provides, “Every motion invitations the listener right into a reflective and emotionally resonant soundscape.”
In distinction to the harmful 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 completely charming. It captures a way of innocence and quiet marvel with nice sincerity.”
The textual content is drawn from many various 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’ll showcase a various choice of works within the first half, with a particular give attention to Canadian composers comparable to Frank Horvat, Mishaal Surti, and Indigenous composer Sherryl Sewepagaham.”
“We’re significantly excited to current two items by members of our creative staff: 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 alerts renewal, so too does this music.
- Discover extra live performance information and tickets [HERE].
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Albert Wong is a author, composer and musician based mostly in Toronto. He’s energetic within the choral neighborhood and sings with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and Babεl. He additionally has a selected curiosity in gamelan music, and performs Balinese gendèr wayang with Seka Rat Nadi.