I admit, it sounds odd to be covering the Gala Opening Concert of the 2018 Festival in my fourth Festival review of the year. This is what comes of taking advantage of the pre-season offerings!
The opening concert brought a long-planned and long-awaited world premiere of a commissioned work, Sounding Thunder: The Song of Francis Pegahmagabow. This powerful new multi-disciplinary hybrid work revealed to the audience the remarkable triumphs and tragedies of a man whose history has until now existed largely as a footnote in military accounts of the First World War. The Canada Council for the Arts certainly didn't put a foot wrong when they gave this project a grant under their New Chapter programme, one of 200 projects so funded.
* * * * *
That work came in the second half. The first half opened with traditional Anishnaabe songs of welcome and recognition sung with drumming by the Wasauksing Little Spirit Singers, a group of children ranging in age from 5 to 20. They were followed by an elder, John Rice, speaking traditional words of welcome. Rice then explained for the audience the significance of the drumming as an expression of, and a means of seeking unity with, the heartbeat of Mother Earth.
Next we heard a suite of three excerpts from L'histoire du soldat by Stravinsky, a work which was first performed 100 years ago. The importance of this selection became apparent later on. All seven players relished the unique colours and effects of Stravinsky's writing for this unusual ensemble of violin, double bass, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, and percussion.
The next work was a new suite of miniature chamber tone poems, Masques of Canada, by Glen Montgomery. He's a long-time favourite of Festival audiences as a pianist who can, and apparently will, play absolutely anything and everything -- all in the same day -- but here took a bow as composer. The opening Bear seemed a bit anonymous to me, but there was no mistaking the more rapid and playful scherzando manner of Skating with Mahovlich and Orr. The austere and reflective Yukon Church then gave a moment of repose before the longest of the four movements, the lively and energetic Montreal Jazz.
* * * * *
After the intermission, it was time for the main work, Sounding Thunder. This unique piece melded together aspects of opera, theatre, music, film, and traditional singing and drumming into a gripping artistic experience for which I cannot imagine a proper genre title.
The text, by poet Armand Garnet Ruffo, told the story in a mixture of narrations and spoken dialogue, all couched in language that captured in prose and poetry alike the mystery of ancient tradition. The extensive musical score composed by Timothy Corlis couched this text in a shimmering soundscape of many colours, weaving an aura of theatrical magic. Corlis deliberately used the same instrumental ensemble as Stravinsky 100 years earlier, in the hope that the two works might be presented together as a double bill in future.
The work was divided into three acts, each one with three scenes within it, although the whole work was played without any breaks. The first act depicted the youth of Francis, his early immersion in the spiritual traditions of his people, and his growth to manhood. Act 2 was devoted to his wartime experience as a remarkably accurate sniper. The third act confronted us with the contradictions and roadblocks that beset his life after the war, living under the thumb of the all-powerful government Indian agents while struggling to help native peoples everywhere assert themselves and their treaty rights more forcefully.
The narration was given by Brian McInnes, great-grandson of Francis and author of a detailed and powerful book about the life of his remarkable forebear. His voice, always strong and clear, guided us through a story which of necessity is told in short, almost cinematic, flashes of time.
Waawaate Fobister performed the role of Francis, his lighter, ringing tone contrasting effectively with the deeper voice of McInnes. Even in a concert format which had him standing in one spot, the emotions and thoughts of the character were always crystal-clear.
Jennifer Kreisberg gave a truly haunting performance in both singing and speaking as the Deer-Woman Spirit, the guide and guardian of Francis. Jodi Baker Contin joined with her in several parts of the work in traditional singing and drumming.
Lest any of my readers be concerned about possible issues of cultural appropriation, I can reassure you that all of the people I have named so far are members of various First Nations traditions except one -- and composer Corlis has been given a traditional name by one of the native communities of the west coast. Also, the creators of the work consulted with other descendants of Francis Pegahmagabow in preparing the text and music.
In performance, Sounding Thunder had remarkable impact and power. The music and text united in a flow of story which gained power and momentum as it proceeded. The ensemble of seven musicians were guided by conductor Larry Beckwith in a pinpoint-sharp performance of a score with many momentary effects leaping out from the more general soundscape.
Especially notable was the performance of percussionist Beverley Johnston on a handpan, a special form of steel drum designed to be played with the hands rather than with sticks or mallets. She conjured remarkably evocative sounds from this instrument, highly formative in the overall sound world of the music.
Conductor Beckwith also presented the spoken parts of a shaman and the various non-native characters in the story: a general in the war, a reporter, and the obstructive Indian agent. No mean feat to utter these lines while still guiding the ensemble through some of the trickiest passages in the music! Personally, though, I felt the drama would be better served by having an actor who could differentiate between these diverse characters more, bringing a greater impact to these moments by focusing solely on the text.
It's unfortunate that the programme leaflet didn't credit the creator of the video backdrop. This montage of archival photos combined with artworks did so much to create the atmosphere of the various rapid scenes in the story as we heard it unfolding.
The opening concert brought a long-planned and long-awaited world premiere of a commissioned work, Sounding Thunder: The Song of Francis Pegahmagabow. This powerful new multi-disciplinary hybrid work revealed to the audience the remarkable triumphs and tragedies of a man whose history has until now existed largely as a footnote in military accounts of the First World War. The Canada Council for the Arts certainly didn't put a foot wrong when they gave this project a grant under their New Chapter programme, one of 200 projects so funded.
* * * * *
That work came in the second half. The first half opened with traditional Anishnaabe songs of welcome and recognition sung with drumming by the Wasauksing Little Spirit Singers, a group of children ranging in age from 5 to 20. They were followed by an elder, John Rice, speaking traditional words of welcome. Rice then explained for the audience the significance of the drumming as an expression of, and a means of seeking unity with, the heartbeat of Mother Earth.
Next we heard a suite of three excerpts from L'histoire du soldat by Stravinsky, a work which was first performed 100 years ago. The importance of this selection became apparent later on. All seven players relished the unique colours and effects of Stravinsky's writing for this unusual ensemble of violin, double bass, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, and percussion.
The next work was a new suite of miniature chamber tone poems, Masques of Canada, by Glen Montgomery. He's a long-time favourite of Festival audiences as a pianist who can, and apparently will, play absolutely anything and everything -- all in the same day -- but here took a bow as composer. The opening Bear seemed a bit anonymous to me, but there was no mistaking the more rapid and playful scherzando manner of Skating with Mahovlich and Orr. The austere and reflective Yukon Church then gave a moment of repose before the longest of the four movements, the lively and energetic Montreal Jazz.
* * * * *
After the intermission, it was time for the main work, Sounding Thunder. This unique piece melded together aspects of opera, theatre, music, film, and traditional singing and drumming into a gripping artistic experience for which I cannot imagine a proper genre title.
The text, by poet Armand Garnet Ruffo, told the story in a mixture of narrations and spoken dialogue, all couched in language that captured in prose and poetry alike the mystery of ancient tradition. The extensive musical score composed by Timothy Corlis couched this text in a shimmering soundscape of many colours, weaving an aura of theatrical magic. Corlis deliberately used the same instrumental ensemble as Stravinsky 100 years earlier, in the hope that the two works might be presented together as a double bill in future.
The work was divided into three acts, each one with three scenes within it, although the whole work was played without any breaks. The first act depicted the youth of Francis, his early immersion in the spiritual traditions of his people, and his growth to manhood. Act 2 was devoted to his wartime experience as a remarkably accurate sniper. The third act confronted us with the contradictions and roadblocks that beset his life after the war, living under the thumb of the all-powerful government Indian agents while struggling to help native peoples everywhere assert themselves and their treaty rights more forcefully.
The narration was given by Brian McInnes, great-grandson of Francis and author of a detailed and powerful book about the life of his remarkable forebear. His voice, always strong and clear, guided us through a story which of necessity is told in short, almost cinematic, flashes of time.
Waawaate Fobister performed the role of Francis, his lighter, ringing tone contrasting effectively with the deeper voice of McInnes. Even in a concert format which had him standing in one spot, the emotions and thoughts of the character were always crystal-clear.
Jennifer Kreisberg gave a truly haunting performance in both singing and speaking as the Deer-Woman Spirit, the guide and guardian of Francis. Jodi Baker Contin joined with her in several parts of the work in traditional singing and drumming.
Lest any of my readers be concerned about possible issues of cultural appropriation, I can reassure you that all of the people I have named so far are members of various First Nations traditions except one -- and composer Corlis has been given a traditional name by one of the native communities of the west coast. Also, the creators of the work consulted with other descendants of Francis Pegahmagabow in preparing the text and music.
In performance, Sounding Thunder had remarkable impact and power. The music and text united in a flow of story which gained power and momentum as it proceeded. The ensemble of seven musicians were guided by conductor Larry Beckwith in a pinpoint-sharp performance of a score with many momentary effects leaping out from the more general soundscape.
Especially notable was the performance of percussionist Beverley Johnston on a handpan, a special form of steel drum designed to be played with the hands rather than with sticks or mallets. She conjured remarkably evocative sounds from this instrument, highly formative in the overall sound world of the music.
Conductor Beckwith also presented the spoken parts of a shaman and the various non-native characters in the story: a general in the war, a reporter, and the obstructive Indian agent. No mean feat to utter these lines while still guiding the ensemble through some of the trickiest passages in the music! Personally, though, I felt the drama would be better served by having an actor who could differentiate between these diverse characters more, bringing a greater impact to these moments by focusing solely on the text.
It's unfortunate that the programme leaflet didn't credit the creator of the video backdrop. This montage of archival photos combined with artworks did so much to create the atmosphere of the various rapid scenes in the story as we heard it unfolding.
The final scene of the work depicted Francis passing from this life to the next, in a dream in which he relived his earliest encounter with the Deer-Woman Spirit. The music flowed directly then into a closing traditional song in which all four of the native performers joined in singing and drumming as the instrumental ensemble first fell silent, then stood up to join them in the singing.
And here a remarkable thing happened. Slowly, in twos and threes, the audience began rising to their feet and joining in the song until almost the entire assembly of hundreds were on their feet. I felt an enormous lump in my throat at this communal affirmation of the significance of all that we had seen and heard that night, a true time of reconciliation.
Sounding Thunder gave its audience a powerful and much-needed gift -- something to think deeply about outside, under the stars, as we made our way back to our homes.
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