World Music - my/maSCENA

CD Review | Weyn Allah (Self-published, 2023)

By Zenith Wolfe on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Contemporary, Vocal, World Music

Weyn Allah Al Qahwa ensemble Self-published, 2023 Their first album explored the traditional songs of the Middle East; the second, Egypt, and the third, South Africa. Al Qahwa’s latest addition to their discography, Weyn Allah, is a much more ambitious venture: uniting humanity through original world music. No two songs are alike on this album. The titular Weyn Allah (Where is God) addresses social issues of inequity and racism to the tune of a qanun, saxophone and busy backing choral group singing in Arabic and English. Peace and Safety (Salma Ya Salama) incorporates French lyrics that promote acceptance, and Humanity…

CD Review | 2023 Syli d’Or Compilation (Les Disques Nuits d’Afrique, 2023)

By Hassan Laghcha on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Montreal, World Music

2023 Syli d’Or Compilation La Tribu Salsa Band; Abondance; Lil K HPB Les Disques Nuits d’Afrique, 2023 This compilation includes nine tracks by the three world music finalists of the annual Syli d’Or competition, recorded during the gala evening at La Tulipe on April 27, 2023. One of the best salsa band in Quebec, La Tribu (Syli d’Or winner) presents beautiful pieces that remain true to the salsa tradition of 1970s New York, where this music took root. Thanks to the talents of its quartet of singer-actors, this colourful band stands out for its original blend of humour and fiery…

CD Review | Calcutta 1789 (Atma Classique, 2023)

By Hassan Laghcha on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, World Music

Calcutta 1789 Notturna; Christopher Palameta, conductor Atma Classique, 2023 As the most recent addition to its world music catalogue, Atma Classique presents Calcutta 1789: À la croisée de l’Europe et de l’Inde, by Notturna, conducted by Christopher Palameta. A portrait of musical life in colonial India, this work illustrates early associations between Indian classical music, with its voluptuous, haunting melodies, and compositions by Purcell, Handel and J. C. Bach, among other European composers. The project highlights the complicity between the Notturna ensemble and musicians Uwe Neumann (sitar) and Shawn Mativetsky (tabla). Both Neumann and Mativetsky bring a musical depth and…

Pablo Ziegler and Masae Shiwa (Credit: São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra)

Pablo Ziegler: Music and Beyond Welcomes Back the Piazzolla Pianist

By Zenith Wolfe on 26 May 2023 Contemporary, Ottawa, World Music

This summer, composer and Piazzolla quintet pianist Pablo Ziegler is bringing experimental Argentine tango to Ottawa. On July 4, Ziegler will host the Opening Gala: Homage to Piazzolla concert for his third Music and Beyond season. It’s his first time as the festival’s gala performer, and his first time back since the start of the pandemic. But he’s kept busy with international performances in the meantime. During lockdowns, Ziegler and his wife Masae Shiwa started experimenting as a piano duo before visiting Japan, Brazil, and Argentina for duet concerts, with New York lined up later this year. Their concert at…

Tomson Highway (Credit: Sean Howard)

Tomson Highway: Music and Beyond Meets “Cree Bossa Nova”

By Zenith Wolfe on 26 May 2023 Indigenous, Ottawa, World Music

In the last two years, Cree composer and playwright Tomson Highway has published two books, recorded his newest album Cree Country, won the Governor General’s Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award for Theatre, and become an Order of Canada officer. With plenty of passion left, he’s now on a new mission: introducing the country to Cree bossa nova. On July 6, Highway will perform for his second season at Ottawa’s Music and Beyond festival. He last played at its summer 2018 concert, which he called a sign of the music industry’s post-pandemic “resuscitation.” He’s being accompanied by cellist and festival organizer Julian…

Newswire | Stella Musica Festival: Cultural Crossroads, from Spain to The Balkans

By Newswire on 1 May 2023 Classical Music, Montreal, Newswire, World Music

Montreal, Monday May 1, 2023. For an 8th edition, the Stella Musica Festival, under the artistic leadership of its founder Katarzyna Musiał, is back in order to promote women in music. The three events scheduled as part of the festival will take place from Wednesday, May 31 to Friday, June 2. Its unique formula includes an intimate concert, a round table and a Grand Concert. The festival presents artists of exceptional talent, offering an innovative programming highlighting various cultural traditions, from Spain to the Balkans as well as the music of Indigenous peoples. During this 8th edition, the public will…

CD Review | Suite Tango (ATMA Classique, 2022)

By Zenith Wolfe on 18 February 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Strings, World Music

Suite Tango Denis Plante, bandoneon; Stéphane Tétreault, cello ATMA Classique, 2022 Suite Tango keeps listeners on their toes with a series of six dynamic tango suites. The first suite, Argentina, establishes a casual, intimate tone after one of the musicians whistles along to the melody of the second movement, Silbando. The occasional clacking of shoes and the rustling of clothing in the background allow the listener to picture someone dancing along to the works, which persists into the second suite, Bach to Tango, carrying with it the feeling of familiarity. Each instrument briefly performs solo before reuniting in a competition…

Mathieu Lussier and Pentaèdre: Bassoon Party

By Pietro Freiburger on 4 February 2023 Chamber Music, World Music

In 2017, the woodwind quintet Pentaèdre launched its Carte Blanche series, a project which saw individual members plan an annual concert, choosing repertoire and partners. This year, the member in question is bassoonist Mathieu Lussier, who will be joined on April 4 by fellow bassoonists Stéphane Lévesque, Alex Eastley, and Mary Chalk for a concert titled Carte Blanche: Bassoon as the Party Gets Going! “The idea is to explore as much as possible: my own works, arrangements of pieces for other instruments and South American music,” said Lussier. Since a bassoon quartet is made up of instruments with an identical…

Ensemble Silakbo. Photo: Sofia Nathanlshar

Concert review | The Silakbo Ensemble: Merging cultures together

By Justin Bernard on 5 November 2022 Chamber Music, Concert Reviews, Contemporary, World Music

On November 2, the Silakbo Ensemble launched its Canadian tour with a first stop in Montreal, at Jeunesses Musicales Canada’s Joseph-Rouleau Hall. Formed by three Bulgarian musicians (Angelina Gotcheva, clarinet, Yoanna Bozhkova, soprano, Bogdan Ivanov, piano), Portuguese violinist Edgar Gomes and Filipino American cellist Mikko Pablo, this quintet was joined exceptionally by Adam Vincent Clarke, composer and piper proud of his Nova Scotia roots. Together they presented their latest project, named Est-Ouest. More than a gathering, it is an exchange, an interconnection, between the Canadian and Bulgarian musical cultures. As part of this project, three creations commissioned by the Silakbo…

Orchestre Métropolitain. Photo: Ludovic Rolland Marcotte

2022 Azrieli Music Prizes

By Justin Bernard on 1 October 2022 Canadian Music, World Music

Composers Aharon Harlap, Iman Habibi, and Rita Ueda hail from different backgrounds, each drawing from their own ancestral culture to present original music. Because each composer carried a message of reconciliation, they were awarded the 2022 Azrieli Music Prizes in the Azrieli Prize for Jewish Music, Azrieli Commission for Jewish Music, and Azrieli Commission for Canadian Music categories. Aharon Harlap: Past predicting the future Harlap grew up in Winnipeg, beginning his music studies at the University of Manitoba in 1962. After studying composition with Bernard Naylor privately, he studied with Peter Racine Fricker at the Royal College of Music in…

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