|
“Music can change the world because it can change people” – Bono
Music is powerful. Music connects us - singers, audience, community. Music can express joy and it can be comforting in sorrow. Music can be a light in the darkness. This program begins with a statement of hope. Ad Astra shares the message, in both Latin and English, “to the stars through difficulties, move forward, look upward, leave all cares behind.” The next piece asks the critical question, Can We Sing the Darkness to Light? This song asks the audience to imagine a world that is built on mercy and compassion rather than on greed and war. It could be beautiful. The next several songs explore themes of darkness and sorrow, beginning with a chilling Canadian Folk song telling the story of a whaling boat frozen in Frobisher Bay. As the ship’s captain holds on for one more whale, the crew miss the opportunity to leave before a storm hits and the ship is stranded in the ice for a long, devastating, potentially fatal winter. Weep, O Mine Eyes is an English madrigal first published in 1599. The poetry, though likely meant to be slightly over-dramatic, declares the wish to literally drown in tears of sorrow. We continue with another song of love and longing, Umru Mayne sets a Yiddish poem in an early Romantic era musical style. The title translates to ‘My Unrest.’ These words repeat several times throughout the song and seem to be referring to the haunting of a love that continues to overwhelm the poet’s every thought and action. Superstition is a classic Stevie Wonder funk song from 1972 in which he warns about the ‘dangers of believing too much in superstitions.’ This arrangement is set for a cappella choir and requires many of the singers to create instrumental lines by singing scat-syllables and additional harmonies. The next song explores the possibility of what life might be like withoutaccessible water. What happens if (when?) the water fountain runs dry? Though many of the lyrics are nonsensical in a childish sing-song style, Water Fountain is a commentary on drought and life. It begins with a simple melodic line and ends in many parts, multiple keys, and an array of chaotic sounds to help the listener feel increased discomfort and anxiety. The set closes with a tenor/bass feature of a song made popular from the movie O Brother Where Art Thou. I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow was originally written around 1913, recorded in the late 1920s, and revived in the 2000s with the release of the movie. From the darkness comes the light. Waniska, Wake Up, is a song about waking up to a beautiful morning and wanting to share it with someone you love. It is written by Sherryl Sewepagaham, a Cree-Dene artist from Little Red River Cree Nation in Northern Alberta. She uses a blend of Indigenous musical elements and Cree text blended with Gershwin inspired harmonies and a classical cello. Next, we explore the hope that can be found through faith with a Schubert setting of the Credo. We will only be performing the first segment of the Credo from Schubert’s Mass in G, however it will be sung three times through. The first time will be fairly true to the original setting, the second more drawn out and contemplative, and finally it will be performed with each singer moving at their own time. This aleatoric setting represents faith as a mystery, unique to each person, and the multitude of beliefs around the world, or simply the independence of each individual. Malakatumba was inspired by a singing game and includes imitating voices and nonsense syllables. The sounds are simplyfun to sing with no translation or literal meaning. The vocal lines are playfully combined with body percussion to create the energetic game-like vibe. The soprano/alto feature is a song written by Winnipeg artist Joey Landreth and arranged by Winnipeg conductor Scott Reimer. Better Together is a song about being there for your friends, overcoming the tough times, and surviving with the support of one another. Pentatonix made a cappella singing mainstream after their debut in 2011. Take Me Home is about appreciating the little things, remembering that “our heartbeats going strong” is the most important thing, and about finding comfort in home whether that is a place or a person. As the program builds to a conclusion, we focus on a message of supporting each other and building a community. Built with two musical theatre hits, Found/Tonightweaves together the song You Will Be Found from Dear Evan Hansen along with The Story of Tonight from Hamilton. We finish with two contrasting, heartfelt, and emotional pieces. A Sesotho song from South Africa, Hlonolofatsa, is a song of blessing and celebration. This represents the absolute joy of making music together. Our final farewell, Good Night Dear Heart, is a stunning setting of a Mark Twain poem as seen on the grave of his daughter who died and left him broken-hearted. Though the piece is full of sadness, the text has elements of hope and the recognition that you only grieve because you have loved something so much. Music is powerful. Music can be the light in the darkness. Thank you CMYC singers for taking this journey with me, it has been an absolute honour - Kendra
1 Comment
We are so thrilled to have been able to host CMYC 2021 in person this fall. Under the direction of the magnificent Marla Fontaine, and accompanied once again by the incomparable Loren Hiebert, our singers worked hard and sang their hearts out to deliver a beautiful concert! We are immensely grateful to the Dufferin Agricultural Society for the use of their grandstand, which allowed us to rehearse and record a concert outdoors while following all provincial protocols. Special thanks also go out to:
You can find individual videos of each song on our YouTube channel, or you can watch the concert in its entirety (including introductions) here: We're thrilled so many folks could join us for our day of learning and connection. This year's themes were Technology and Community, and we loved being able to explore them with you. Follow the links below to view recordings, download resources, and offer feedback for our February 12th Virtual PD Day! As always, please email [email protected] if you run into any problems or have any questions. Session 1: Avonlea Armstrong-Green https://youtu.be/XTA08_FaBuA Session 4: Dr. Stuart Sladden https://youtu.be/8AKpy3sCxOU Presenter Resources are available on Google Drive: If you click the link below, you'll be able to view and download files from our presenters! Each session has its own folder, so if a presenter shared resources, you can find them all together. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/11-T_Wqbf4bQplJlJY-Aj1tek3wCnP-Qg?usp=sharing Post-conference Feedback Form:
We'd love your feedback in order to help us plan and improve future events! Please fill out the form below, whether you attended live OR watched the videos after the fact. https://forms.gle/TWfk87HmUf62fHV5A Feel free to join us at our upcoming Annual General Meeting!
It will be held March 10th @ 6:30 pm on Zoom. Please email [email protected] for the link if you'd like to attend! Looking to watch our CMYC 2020 Virtual Choir video?
Follow the link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eR-GnR7oAuI&feature=youtu.be  Check out the full story here:
https://www.pembinavalleyonline.com/local/central-manitoba-youth-choir-goes-virtual Due to pandemic restrictions this year, CMYC 2020 is unable to follow our usual schedule of camps and tours - however, we have decided the show must go on, and this year, the show will be virtual!
Singers who auditioned in Spring have been contacted and will participate in a virtual camp on Saturday, October 3rd via ZOOM with our wonderful director Marla Fontaine and our longstanding and fantastic accompanist, Loren Hiebert. After rehearsing on Saturday, singers will independently record their videos on Sunday, October 4th, submitting them via the links provided in the Singers-only area (link found via email). Tracks will be compiled and edited by Virtual Music Productions and will be ready to share on Friday, October 16th for all to enjoy! Thanks to all who have played a part in making this a reality. While we don't imagine we can replicate a typical CMYC year in digital format, we know that there's still music left to be made and that CMYC 2020 will be an unforgettable, special experience. It is with a heavy heart that we announce that CMCA has decided to cancel our annual choral workshops this coming October.
In light of the restrictions that we expect will still be in place this fall, we do not foresee teachers being allowed to take students on bus trips to large gatherings so early in the school year. At this point we are not rescheduling for later in the school year, simply because we expect that schools and teachers will be very busy catching up if and when things open up later in the year. We look forward to resuming choral workshops in October of 2021, and we hope to find other ways to make music and celebrate our wonderful choral community in Central Manitoba in the coming months. |
AuthorPosts are written and moderated by the board of Central Manitoba Choral Association. Archives
October 2024
Categories |
RSS Feed