Tafelmusik
Encyclopedia
The Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra (also known as Tafelmusik) is a Canadian
baroque orchestra
specializing in early music
. They often perform with choir and play on period instruments.
The orchestra was founded in 1979 by oboist Kenneth Solway and bassoonist Susan Graves. Violinist Jeanne Lamon
has been its musical director since 1981.
The orchestra has 19 full-time members who specialize in historical performance and technique, with additional musicians joining the ensemble when required.
The Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, under the direction of Ivars Taurins, was formed in 1981 to complement the orchestra.
, a historic church in the Annex
neighbourhood of Toronto
, with selected performances at the George Weston Recital Hall in the Toronto Centre for the Arts. They have also collaborated with Opera Atelier
.
Its annual Messiah and Sing Along Messiah have become very popular events during Toronto's Christmas season.
The orchestra tours about twelve weeks each year across Canada, the United States and Europe. It has also toured in the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong and Japan, as well as Israel and Greece.
Since 1993, Tafelmusik has been orchestra in residence at the German Klang und Raum Festival in the small village of Irsee
in Bavaria.
The University of Toronto Faculty of Music has partnered with Tafelmusik and appointed the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra as its Baroque Orchestra in Residence in 2004/05 until 2007/08.
In 2002 the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute was created to provide pre-professional and professional musicians with a unique training programme in instrumental and vocal baroque performance practice. The institute is a two week program consisting of masterclasses, private lessons, choral and orchestral rehearsals and small ensemble work.
The orchestra's recordings have also received the following awards:
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
baroque orchestra
Baroque orchestra
The Baroque orchestra is the type of orchestra that existed during the Baroque period, commonly identified as 1600-1750. Its origins were in France where Jean-Baptiste Lully added the newly re-designed hautboy and transverse flutes to his vingt-quatre violons du Roy...
specializing in early music
Early music
Early music is generally understood as comprising all music from the earliest times up to the Renaissance. However, today this term has come to include "any music for which a historically appropriate style of performance must be reconstructed on the basis of surviving scores, treatises,...
. They often perform with choir and play on period instruments.
The orchestra was founded in 1979 by oboist Kenneth Solway and bassoonist Susan Graves. Violinist Jeanne Lamon
Jeanne Lamon
Jeanne Lamon , violinist and conductor, born in New York, was raised in New York state, and began studying the violin at the age of seven. She studied violin at the Westchester Conservatory of Music with Editha Braham...
has been its musical director since 1981.
The orchestra has 19 full-time members who specialize in historical performance and technique, with additional musicians joining the ensemble when required.
The Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, under the direction of Ivars Taurins, was formed in 1981 to complement the orchestra.
Performing
Tafelmusik performs over 50 concerts for its subscription season at its home venue in Trinity-St. Paul's United ChurchTrinity-St. Paul's United Church
Trinity-St. Paul's United Church is a church belonging to the United Church of Canada in Toronto, Ontario. It is located at 427 Bloor Street West, just west of Spadina Avenue. The church is formed of a mix of three different former congregations and houses a fourth.Today, Trinity-St. Paul's has a...
, a historic church in the Annex
The Annex
The Annex is a neighbourhood in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The traditional boundaries of the neighbourhood are north to Dupont Street, south to Bloor Street, west to Bathurst Street and east to Avenue Road...
neighbourhood of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, with selected performances at the George Weston Recital Hall in the Toronto Centre for the Arts. They have also collaborated with Opera Atelier
Opera atelier
Opéra Atelier, a Canadian Baroque opera company was founded in 1985 in Toronto by husband and wife duo Marshall Pynkoski and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg. The company mounts operas from the 17th and 18th centuries which are presented at the Elgin Theatre....
.
Its annual Messiah and Sing Along Messiah have become very popular events during Toronto's Christmas season.
The orchestra tours about twelve weeks each year across Canada, the United States and Europe. It has also toured in the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong and Japan, as well as Israel and Greece.
Since 1993, Tafelmusik has been orchestra in residence at the German Klang und Raum Festival in the small village of Irsee
Irsee
Irsee is a village and municipality in the district of Ostallgäu in Bavaria in Germany.The centre of the village is dominated by a monastery , dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was founded in 1186 by Margrave Henry of Ronsberg to house a community that had grown up around a local hermit...
in Bavaria.
The University of Toronto Faculty of Music has partnered with Tafelmusik and appointed the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra as its Baroque Orchestra in Residence in 2004/05 until 2007/08.
In 2002 the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute was created to provide pre-professional and professional musicians with a unique training programme in instrumental and vocal baroque performance practice. The institute is a two week program consisting of masterclasses, private lessons, choral and orchestral rehearsals and small ensemble work.
Awards
- 2006 Juno Award for Children's Album Of The Year - Baroque Adventure: The Quest for Arundo Donax, and Classical Album of the Year
- The 1996 Echo Klassik Award for Best Orchestra of the Year (Germany's highest recording accolade)
- Four Canadian Juno Awards for Best Classical Album, most recently in 1995 for Bach's Brandenburg Concertos
The orchestra's recordings have also received the following awards:
- Diapason D'Or awards
- Record of the Year in Absolute Sound Magazine
- Disc of the Month in CD Review
- Nominations for Record of the Year in Gramophone Magazine
- England's The Penguin Guide has awarded Tafelmusik's recording of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons its highest accolade — the Rosette in 1994.
Discography
The orchestra has recorded over 75 records, DVD's and CD's. Some are to be found in Sony Classical's Vivarte series. The recordings include:- Bach's Brandenburg Concertos
- The Mozart Requiem (directed by Bruno WeilBruno WeilBruno Weil is a symphonic conductor. He is principal guest conductor of Tafelmusik, the period-instrument group based in Toronto, Music Director of the Carmel Bach Festival in California, and artistic director of the period-instrument festival "Klang und Raum" in Irsee, Bavaria...
) - The complete piano concertos of Beethoven (with Jos van Immerseel as soloist and conducted by Bruno WeilBruno WeilBruno Weil is a symphonic conductor. He is principal guest conductor of Tafelmusik, the period-instrument group based in Toronto, Music Director of the Carmel Bach Festival in California, and artistic director of the period-instrument festival "Klang und Raum" in Irsee, Bavaria...
) - Works by Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
- Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks coupled with Concerti a due cori Nos. 1-3
- Works by Salamone RossiSalamone RossiSalamone Rossi or Salomone Rossi was an Italian Jewish violinist and composer. He was a transitional figure between the late Italian Renaissance period and early Baroque.-Life:...