Every year, the gods of Canadian music come together to curate the best new music coming from around this great nation of ours for us to feast our ears. They call it Canadian Music Week, and this year it kicks off on May 6.
It must also be noted that, lately, CBC Music has been doing its darnedest to find all the best new music in Canada and jam pack it all into a little thing called Searchlight.
It seems a no-brainer, then, that some of this awesome music should overlap — and it has! So here, for your viewing pleasure, is a list of some great artists who not only made it through rigorous voting rounds in Searchlight, but also will appear at CMW this year.
Yesterday, Ink Entertainment, the company that owns the two-headed beast that is Toronto's Guvernment Entertainment Complex, announced that the venue would be closing its doors in January. The facility is home to both the Guvernment nightclub and concert venue Kool Haus (previously known as the Warehouse). The complex first opened in 1996.
So far, not too many tears are being shed over the announced closure, and we get that. It wasn't the biggest venue in Toronto, or the most storied, or the coolest. (If you're wondering, those honours would go to the Rogers Centre, the Horseshoe Tavern and, as of right now, either the Hoxton or Adelaide Hall.) From the outside, it still looks like an actual warehouse. It's a hard place to get sentimental over.
That said, we're really going to miss the place. It occupied an important place in the city's music ecosystem, and we're not sure what's going to fill that void. Here are six reasons we're going to miss the Guvernment/Kool Haus.
Louis Lortie plays Wagner Live at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa Recorded Jan. 27, 2014
Long before orchestral music was broadcast on the radio or uploaded to YouTube, there were only two ways to enjoy it: you could get to a concert and expose yourself to this music, often for the very first time; or, you could find a copy of a piano transcription and let your 10 fingers be the orchestra.
Of course, playing an orchestral transcription requires a great deal of skill. That’s why pianists like Franz Liszt would create transcriptions and use them as a showy way to dazzle audiences. In modern times, with recordings of any piece of music available in moments, transcriptions have become passé or written off as merely showpieces.
On a frigid evening this past January at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Louis Lortie sought out to prove otherwise.
The Canadian pianist paid homage to Wagner with a solo recital of transcriptions by Liszt, Wolf, Rubinstein and himself.
"I decided that it would be a nice challenge to assemble a collection of works that would give some lettres de noblesse to music that has great depth and survives the absence of argument and text very well, with the bare bones of the music itself gaining a totally different layer," Lortie explained in the program notes.
Now you can listen to this, and more entire performances, on CBC Music's Concerts on Demand.
Program
Wagner: Prelude to Tristan and Isolde (transcript: Lortie) Wagner: "Liebestod" from Tristan and Isolde (transcript: Liszt) Wagner: "L’incantesimo del fuoco" ("Magic Fire Music") from Die Walküre (transcript: Wolf) Mozart: Réminiscences de Don Juan (transcript: Liszt) Wagner: Siegfried Idyll (transcript: Rubinstein) Wagner: Overture to Tannhäuser (transcript: Liszt) Liszt: Deuxieme Annee IV; Sonetto 47 del Petrarca (encore)
Here's your classical disc of the week for May 4. Each week CBC Radio 2's In Concert looks at new classical music releases and selects one recording that you need to know about.
Artists: Julia Fischer, violin, with Milana Chernyavska, piano.
Repertoire: Violin showpieces by Pablo de Sarasate.
Label: Decca
"I don't go on stage as part of the entertainment world, but as part of the art world," writes Julia Fischer in her new album's liner notes. Fischer is a supremely gifted violinist whose reputation has been established performing music by the pillars of the classical world: Beethoven, Mozart and Brahms.
So why now an album of music by Sarasate? Isn't he one of those lollipop composers who's only worth trotting out when it's time for the flashy encore? Not so, according to Fischer. She believes the 19th century violinist/composer's music has been under-appreciated and goes on to declare, "Good music moves us and motivates us to reflect, even to philosophize. It spreads joy and inspires us to dance or sing along."
Listen to Julia Fischer play "Zapateado," from Pablo de Sarasate's Danzas Espanolas.
Fischer recently rekindled her childhood love of Sarasate's violin works while attending the concert of a fellow violinist, who had programmed a selection of the composer's works. The occasion also caused her to reflect on the nature of concert programming today. Why, she wondered, is the skilful and wonderfully inspired music of composers like Sarasate, Kreisler and Paganini so often assigned the role of whipped-cream topping in the meal?
Her new release is an attempt to alter that perception, to demonstrate that the short, melodic and technically showy music by these composers can be entertainment and art.
Listen to Julia Fischer play Sarasate's "Serenade Andalouse."
In Sarasate's day, there was no distinguishing between art and entertainment. He could not have found a greater champion today than the superb musical mind and astonishing fingers of Julia Fischer.
In honour of Coldplay's upcoming album, Ghost Stories, which comes out on May 16, we've put together the definitive Coldplay song matrix. We plotted out their biggest hits from depressing to happy and from downtempo to uptempo. (They don't really have any uptempo or happy songs, so we worked with what we had.)
This week, A Propos is featuring five superbly talented young Acadian women songwriters, singers and musicians: Marie-Jo Thério, Lisa LeBlanc and a trio called Les Hay Babies, made up of Julie Aubé, Catherine Noël and Viviane Roy. These great performers are all from New Brunswick, and there is great interest for their music in Quebec as well as in Europe.
"Marie-Jo Thério, almost a veteran now, blew the entire French world away more than a decade ago with her power and grace, her unique lyrics and, yes, her seductive Acadian accent," says Jim Corcoran, host of A Propos. "And then came Lisa LeBlanc, charming everybody with her disturbingly honest lyrics, voice, guitar playing and, yes, delicious Acadian accent. The most recent Acadian songwriting tsunami is a trio of young ladies, barely in their 20s, called Les Hay Babies."
Discover music from these amazing artists this week on A Propos.
As an additional treat, you can watch LeBlanc’s most recent video, “J’pas un cowboy.”
To see and hear the chemistry and harmony of Les Hay Babies, this is their performance of the song “Trop frette.”
And finally, if you'd like to revisit one of Thério’s intense and inspired songs, you can watch this rendition of “Café Robinson.”
A Propos airs on Sunday at 4 p.m. (4:30 p.m. NT) on CBC Radio 2 and Saturday at 11 p.m. (6 p.m. AT, 6:30 p.m. NT) on CBC Radio One.
In the season finale of Backstage Pass, we captured Royal Wood performing two songs for CBC Music's First Play Live concert series. To open the show, Wood performs "White Flag" from his 2014 album, The Burning Bright.
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CBC Radio 2’s Tom Allen takes us on a journey through musical history. The Dies Irae, or the Song of Death, has been referenced again and again over more than 40 human generations of popular music. It's a song buried deep in the subconscious of the collective psyche. It appears in nearly all of your favourite movie scores, from Star Wars to The Lion King. And as Allen reveals, it's one tune that we all have to sing — eventually.
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And Hannah Epperson re-imagines a Stompin’ Tom classic, "Sudbury Saturday Night," in a pared-down single-shot performance.
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CBC Music Backstage Pass airs Friday nights at midnight on CBC-TV (12:30 in N.L.). Check out the entire episode streaming above.
Every week, all year long, our music committee here at CBC Radio 3 listens to new and emerging Canadian music and picks the very best tracks for you to hear.
From the towering stacks of discs and piles of files, we select anywhere from six to fifteen to twenty new songs to be added into rotation on SiriusXM 162 and streaming online at cbcmusic.ca/radio3 each week.
In the spirit of musical discovery and to keep you in the loop as much as possible, we want to share those "adds" with you.
Click through our gallery above to meet our new "adds" this week and listen to the hosts talk about and play the artists today and all week on CBC Radio 3 by clicking the button below.
Which artists do you like best from the new "adds"? Which new artist do you think we should play on CBC Radio 3? Let us know in the comments below or tweet @CBCRadio3.
The R3-30: Canada’s Top Indie Songs for May 2, 2014
30. Teledrome "Boyfriend" 29. Betrayers "Spinnin' Wheel" 28. Language Arts "Oh Tangible World" 27.The Courtneys "Lost Boys" 26. Sabota "Stumble" 25. The Two Koreas "LP Winner!" 24. Tough Age "The Heart of Juliet Jones" 23. Secret Broadcast "More Than Friends" 22. Fitness Club Fiasco "Goldmine" 21. Napalmpom "Make Me Cry" 20. Port Juvee "All That's Fine" 19. Young Rival "Elevator" 18. Owen Pallett "The Riverbed" 17. Timber Timbre "Curtains!?" 16. Born Ruffians "Oh Cecilia" 15. Astral Swans "You Carry A Sickness" 14. Tokyo Police Club "Toy Guns" 13. Wild Night "Indian Summer" 12. The Wet Secrets "Floating In The Sky" 11. Chad VanGaalen "Leaning On Bells"10. Reef Shark "Frozen Beaches" 9. Mounties "Tokyo Summer" 8. Bend Sinister "I Got Love" 7. Sonic Avenues "Waiting for a Change" 6. Dearly Beloved "Enduro!" 5. Times Neue Roman "Way Way Down" 4. Dan Daly "Sirens" 3. Young Liars "Night Window" 2. The Ruffled Feathers "It Doesn't Last" 1. JPNSGRLS "Smalls"
Every week we ask you to pick a few tracks to throw into set during the R3-30 broadcast. We take a little detour from the chart to play a few tracks you've chosen based around a theme, we call it the Listener List.
This week on the show you'll hear your favourite songs about/relating to FOOD! Yes, food.
And now, the new theme! Seeing as International Dance Day happened this week and it seems that everyone forgot (how could you!) next week's them DANCE PARTY! Yes, the songs that make you move, groove and perhaps even bring out your inner Travolta circa Saturday Night Fever.
Post those suggestions on the blog or tweet @CBCRadio3
This week, there are literally thousands of shows that will take place across Canada. Think about that for a second. How do you even begin to know what's worth seeing?
Well, you can start with this carefully curated list.
Vance Joy's 'Riptide' pulls him closer to the number 1 spot
It didn't take long for Vance Joy to move from the open mic circuit in Melbourne to having a platinum-selling album and a five-record deal with Atlantic Records. He's the Radio 2 Top 20 hot shooter this week, placing Vance in the number three position. The tune is called "Riptide."
Throwback dance break with the Black Keys
Sure, they're about to release a new album called Turn Blue on May 13. Sure, their song "Fever" is the number one song on the Radio 2 Top 20. Sure, both the guys have been through the emotional upheaval of divorce over the last year. Fact is, at the end of the day, the Black Keys just want to make you dance, so dance! This one is from the BK back-catalogue, here's "Lonely Boy."
Matt Andersen brings burly soul to our studio
There is no doubt that Matt Andersen can sing, but the New Brunswick native also exudes a whole lot of soul. Check out this rendition of "I Lost My Way," in at 19 on the Radio 2 Top 20.
We're all familiar with spooning. But do you do it on the "East Coast" or "West Coast"? How about the occasional overnight "accidental"? If you're down with the subtleties of bed-sharing, read on.
Brooklyn's They Might Be Giants recently held a contest asking fans to create a music video for their song, "Am I Awake?" According to the rules posted on the band's website, awesomeness was a requirement and originality was a must.
One of the three winning entries nailed both points. Paul and Mike Swiatek's video cleverly names various sleep positions that any victim of a bed hog can easily relate to.
Detroit-born, New York-based MC Angel Haze pulled into Toronto's Hoxton for a set that was equal parts blistering lyricism, surprisingly strong singing and giant, weird love-in. Here are seven things you missed.
1) Security using metal detector wands on the way in
We've been going to shows in Toronto for more than a decade, and we can count on one hand the number of metal detectors we've been through. We're not quite sure what made the folks at the Hoxton think this incredibly stoked, not even remotely aggressive crowd was such a security threat.
2) One of the more diverse crowds we've seen at a show in some time
Speaking of the crowd, we'd love to see more audiences like this one. It was of roughly the same ethnic mix as the city as a whole, with people of all genders holding hands and making out and an age spread that trended young, but not to the point that over-30s felt geriatric. Why can't every show be this inclusive?
For a performer, having a DJ as your sole opening act is a high risk-high reward proposition. If it works, you can come onstage to a dance party in progress. If it doesn't, you're looking at a pretty bored and hostile crowd. Thankfully, DJ collective Sybil performed admirably, keeping the crowd entertained for two-plus hours with a set that ranged from PBR&B to classic house to Southern club rap.
4) People absolutely losing their minds for Angel Haze
Toronto has a reputation for stand-offish crowds, but no one told the folks at the Hoxton. In between the "ANG-EL-HAZE" chants as showtime approached and the full-on Beatles-on-Sullivan-style screaming that happened once she hit the stage, it was obvious the crowd couldn't play it cool if they wanted to.
5) Live proof that Haze can actually sing
Angel Haze usually gets talked about in the same conversations as Iggy Azalea and Azealia Banks, because they're all female rappers who came out around the same time. Take gender out of the equation though, and she has as much if not more in common with the new generation of rapper-singer hybrids like Future, Rich Homie Quan and Ty Dolla $ign, but with one key difference — she's a much, much better singer than all of them combined. On songs like "Supreme" and "Planes Fly," she proved that her vocals skills aren't just studio magic.
6) Haze pulling four young women onstage to act as back up singers/dancers
She seemed to select them based on the fact they were all wearing white shirts, which to be honest, if you're randomly grabbing people from the crowd, is as good a reason as any.
7) Haze wading into the crowd, but giving them a warning first
Haze seems to love her audience as much as they love her. For her last song, "New York," she really wanted to wade into the crowd, but warned them that "the last time I went into the crowd, I separated my shoulder really badly." The crowd promised she'd leave unscathed, and she went in, moving from one side of the venue to the other, rapping the whole time.
Actor Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2) showed off his budding guitar skills on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last night when he busted out the Spider-Man theme song, albeit with a folky, bluesy twist and an assist from the Roots.
What do you think of Garfield's performance? Does it stack up against his Amazing Spider-Man costar (and girlfriend) Emma Stone's epic lip sync win opposite Fallon earlier this week?
Welcome to In Tune, your weekly classical news feed on CBC Radio 2. Saturdays at noon, Katherine Duncan shares the classical music and musicians people are listening to and talking about, here in Canada and around the world. Here's a look at the stories we're featuring this week.
This week, it's a special edition of the show, dedicated to the connections between classical music and your favourite feline!
Does your kitty get skittish when you take her to the vet? According to a new study, classical music might help.
The true story of a fugue, composed by a cat. Domenico Scarlatti heard the melody when his pet cat, Pulchinella, walked up and down his piano keys. Not unlike the many videos of cats you can find on YouTube, all no doubt inspired by the original Nora the Piano Cat.
What is it about having a cat, that can make you want to have more cats? That's one of the cat-human psychological phenomena researchers have been studying. Russian composer Alexander Borodin's many pet cats ruled the roost, but they may also have inspired one of his most beautiful melodies. After all, there's nothing quite as peaceful as the sight of a sleeping kitten.
Mythbusters! While titles like "Mi-a-ow" and "Kitty's Waltz" may fool you, neither of those two movements from Faure's Dolly Suite are actually about cats.
A feline-tastic evening? That's what Denver's Center for Animal Wellness is offering: a multi-media cats-only event with a prrrfectly charming classical soundtrack.
And, A Day in the Life of Leo, a CD of classical music designed for you and your cat to listen to together.
Anton Bruckner once called the viola, "the heart and soul of the orchestra" and this rehearsal video shows the late Romanian conductor Sergiu Celibidache taking that very seriously.
The infamous perfectionist can be seen here rehearsing Bruckner's Symphony No. 7 and being hilariously disappointed with the violas.
It may just be the most hilarious thing you see all day. Poor violas.
Country music queen Dolly Parton is back with a new album, her 42nd in almost 50 years in the business. Called Blue Smoke and out May 13, it’s a collection of all the varying sounds and styles the Country Hall of Famer has dabbled in over the years, from bluegrass to gospel and straight-up country.
You can listen to the new album below until May 12, and be sure to check back on Wednesday for our interview with Parton, who spoke about the new album, singing duets with both Kenny Rogers and Willie Nelson and why she included an Appalachian murder ballad.
Jeanne Lamon steps down as full-time music director of Toronto's Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra when the current concert season draws to a close. It's the end of an era for one of Canada's most successful performing arts organizations. Tafelmusik is marking the occasion with a run of farewell concerts and a new compilation CD, The Baroque Virtuoso.
Click "open gallery," above, to flip through Lamon's personal photo album, including her reflections on 33 years of musical milestones with Tafelmusik.
If you're in the Greater Toronto Area, you need to know about an upcoming run of concerts to celebrate Lamon. The Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra presents The Best of the Baroque, featuring Lamon's favourite pieces from more than three decades of concerts. Some of the members of the orchestra have also written "goodbye gifts," newly composed works based on variations on movements by Henry Purcell, which will be performed in Lamon's honour.
The concerts take place May 8, 9, 10, 11 and 14 at Jeanne Lamon Hall at Trinity St. Paul's Centre, and May 13 at George Weston Recital Hall.
Concert attendees will be able to purchase a limited-edition commemorative CD, The Baroque Virtuoso, with highlights from Tafelmusik's discography of more than 80 albums. Proceeds will support Tafelmusik's emerging artist training programs.
Lamon is one of Canada's most decorated musicians. In April, she received the Howard Mayer Brown Award from Early Music America for lifetime achievement in the field of early music.
If you have a Tafelmusik memory, please share it in the comments below.
A festival like Canadian Music Week — which runs from May 6-10 this year — can leave a music lover feeling overwhelmed. Bands from across the country, and across the world, are descending on Toronto, creating what seems like a dizzying array of musical options.
You are your own person, and totally capable of making your own musical decisions, but if you feel like you need a bit of a hand in narrowing down your options, we've found two venues for every evening that we think is worth checking out.
