When Artistic Director and Conductor Kathleen Allan first took the helm of the Amadeus Choir in 2019, she commissioned Cree cellist and composer Cris Derksen to write the 30-minute Mass for Nîpîy which is about to make its world première. Allan was impressed with the expressiveness of Derksen’s works and “how beautifully she weaves together Indigenous traditional sounds with classical music.”
Water
Derksen was drawn to the idea of water (nîpîy in Cree) and wants to highlight the issue of water sovereignty—the inequitable access to clean water supply in Canada, especially among Indigenous communities. In Indigenous belief, water is alive, it has a spirit, and it remembers. “During my research, I listened to a lot of elders talk about water,” Derksen explains. “What struck a chord with me is when you respect water, water will respect you; when you don’t respect water, it will take you. Humans have not been respecting water for a long time and it’s alarming—so many rivers globally are drying up. We need to listen to what is happening.”
The resulting piece, Mass for Nîpîy, contains seven movements, each representing a prayer for water. It is also a call to action—to educate the public about the injustices in access to clean drinkable water not only in Canada, but also globally.
Allan describes the piece as a fusion of classical and “indie-rock” styles. It is sung in English, with interjections of traditional Indigenous vocables. The 80-voice Amadeus Choir will be accompanied by a piano, French horn and drums, with Derksen on cello, along with four Indigenous hand-drum singers. Allan says that while the piece is very approachable for the choir, the challenge will be to sing in the vocal style authentic to Derksen’s vision. “The tenors and basses are working on using a more guttural sound, and the choir will need to move out of their classical zone to produce a relaxed rhythmic feel.”
The concert is to take place in a unique setting: the Toronto Botanical Garden. The first half hour of the concert is Songwalks, an immersive outdoors sonic experience with audiences invited to wander along the garden pathways where, in the midst of nature and the spring blossoms, clusters of singers are strategically placed. They will perform short, new works created for this event by the Choral Creation Lab, an Amadeus Choir residency program for poets and composers to co-create original choral works. The immersive walks will culminate in the Mass for Nîpîy on a stage near the greenhouse.
Nîpîy’s Songwalks will take place May 27 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Toronto Botanical Garden. www.amadeuschoir.com.
