I wrote last week about Canada’s choral ambassadors, spreading the word as they travel in the summertime. The Toronto Children’s Chorus did it in July, traveling to South Africa — and releasing a charming new album, Sounzscapes From Our Lands.
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
My favourite song on the album is “Child with the Starry Crayon,” which Toronto composer Eleanor Daley has set to a poem written by a then-Grade 5 student Dinushi Munasinghe:
The sun slowly sets,
Goes down for the night.
All the little children are sleeping.
All except for one,
The child with the starry crayon.
As the sun sets he slowly
Yawns, stretches, and gets out of bed.
He floats up to sit on the moon,
To draw on the fresh piece of black paper.
He doodles all night,
Some earth people watch him
As he draws the constellations.
The musical setting is as simple — and simply evocative — as the text. The Toronto Children’s Chorus sub-group Chamber Choir sings the harmonies with perfect balance and neat phrasing. Kathryn Tremills accompanies sensitively at the piano.
This is but one of 15 treats that reflect the Toronto Children’s Chorus’s last five years under artistic director Elise Bradley. Since she originally hails from New Zealand, she has been her native country’s own ambassador, supplementing Canadian content with music from the other side of the globe.
It makes for a nice cross-section of contemporary sacred and secular pieces, as well as some Canadian favourites, such as a nice arrangement by Stuart Calvert of Song for the Mira, which gets an added boost from Toronto Symphony Orchestra principal oboe Sarah Jeffrey.
Children’s choral music is not only alive and well but growing and thriving in Toronto, and this album is the latest bit of proof. A lot of albums recorded by children and things only a mother (and father, and grandparents) could love. This is much better than that.
You can find all more details here.
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
