A thirteen-member company of singers and instrumentalists, led from the keyboard by Alexander Weimann, contextualized four works by Henry Purcell...This program was both ingenious and intricate: a collage in eight parts blending instrumental and vocal offerings to create a striking sampling of about eighty years of repertoire, from composers both famous and obscure, all linked together in an exploration of melancholy. The selection, superb musicological practice that approaches composition in its subtle selectivity and pacing, was matched by the splendour of the performances. Sopranos Shannon Mercer and Yulia Van Doren, alto Matthew White, tenor Charles Daniels, baritone Tyler Duncan, and bass Robert Macdonald were accompanied by seven fine instrumentalists...this was collegial, collaborative music-making of the highest level...Even the music by relatively unsung masters was powerfully evocative, in no small part thanks to the extraordinary commitment of ensemble leader Alexander Weimann. “Melancholy England” proved an astonishing performance of remarkable music — a brilliant conception which should instantly be repeated in other centres or, better still, preserved on disk.
Date:
Mon, 08/03/2009