FFWD Weekly
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| MUSIC Early Music Consort of Calgary In this particular part of the world, the term "early music" generally refers to whatever is on Power 107 when your alarm clock goes off. Names like de Près and Dufay might call to mind especially cantankerous separatists, rather than composers from a long, long time ago. However, despite the dearth of opportunities to hear early music in Canada - and the Western part in particular - there is a sizable and growing audience for it. For the past five years, that audience has been handed a twice-yearly fix by the Early Music Consort of Calgary. "I think there's one other group (in Canada) that does one voice per part - that's what makes us unique, because there's only four singers," says David Partridge, of the Early Music Consort. That other group is the Toronto Consort, and even that is a bit different, he says. "They use a lot of instruments - I think we're the only a cappella vocal ensemble that specializes in medieval/ renaissance music." There are more such groups in the US, and many, many more in Europe, but Canada isn't exactly a hub of early music. That lack of opportunity has led two of the Early Music Consort's members to fly south. Partridge and his wife, soprano Katherine Zekulin-Partridge, are heading for the Early Music Institute at the University of Indiana, one of the only places in North America where they can focus full-time on their complex art. Their defection means the end of the Calgary ensemble, which also includes Christopher Fullerton and James Hume. They will present their farewell concert and introduce their one and only CD on June 5. "We've had five great years of music-making, and we've done two concerts a year for five years and tried to expose as many people as we can to what we do," Partridge says, "but now we have an even better opportunity... and that's just as exciting." What makes the move especially appealing for the couple is the 1996 appointment of Paul Hillier as director of the Early Music Institute. They have both spent summers studying with England's legendary Hilliard Ensemble, of which Hillier is the co-founder, and have modeled their local group on the ensemble. "I'm a Hilliard Ensemble freak," Partridge admits. "They're the best at what they do and they've been the best for years." Both the concert and the forthcoming CD include a collection of the group's favorite a cappella repertoire over the past five years, encompassing music from the 12th century to the 20th, with composers as diverse as Thomas Tallis, Clément Janequin and Arvo Pärt. Like the Hilliards, the Early Music Consort of Calgary prefer the live experience to a week in the studio. "It's difficult making a CD because you're communicating with a microphone, as opposed to human beings," Partridge says. "That's why live performance is so great, because you get to connect with the people you're trying to communicate with.... Yes, there are going to be imperfections that you'd be able to correct in a studio, but overall, you're going to get the intensity of that rapport with the audience." The ensemble have worked closely enough over the years and are comfortable enough with each other's voices, Partridge says, that they can use the forum of the live performance to take some creative chances. "What makes performance so exciting for us is that we often take a lot of risks, and in performance, you do things differently than you've done them in rehearsal, so that every time you sing a piece, it's different," he reflects. "That's what makes it really exciting, is that you're right on the edge - the whole thing could fall apart in performance, but if you succeed and pull it off, it's so rewarding." The Early Music Consort of Calgary CD won't be in record stores across Canada until the fall, but if you can't wait that long, you can get your hands on an early copy by calling Fidelio Records, or placing an order at the concert June 5. |
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